September 5, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — When it comes to making children aware of issues of diversity, "Angela Castañeda, associate chair of the sociology and anthropology department at DePauw University, said adults have to do more than just talk: They must assess their own feelings about race and recognize their biases," notes an article at eHow. "They may start by asking themselves how they feel when they see a person of another race on the street. Do they cross to the other side?"
The piece, which is headlined "Talking To Your Kids About Race", notes, "Children decide who and what is important by what they see -- and what they do
not see -- in their environment. So it's especially important for families in homogeneous areas to find ways to diversify their experiences. 'You can't expect your child to be diverse if you're not modeling diversity,' Castañeda said."
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Professor Castañeda earned her doctorate in cultural anthropology from Indiana University. Her research interests focus on issues of identity, festival, religion, and expressive culture among communities of the African Diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean. Learn more here.