See when we teach tolerance and inclusion, so often whether we like it or not, the perspective learned is that this is about the less-abled or those funny people over there. The conversation is about why do you notice a child or a person is different and how do you come to accept that difference as being "Ok." The creators of Monk took it from a different perspective. The show started with sympathetic supporting characters who were just trying to help Monk survive in the world. However, soon the show shifted and the supporting characters began to realize that they were being successful because of the differences and unique characteristics Monk brought to the team. The lives of the team and eventually the viewer were enriched and empowered because of Monk's different gifts.
In schools, so often we want children to learn similar things, make similar products, accomplish similar tasks. We praise them for being creative when the embellish small aspects and provide individual flavor. We teach children to become very similar while talking to them about their own personal uniqueness. It should be no surprise that eventually they cry out to be different.
When we look for these children to enter the workplace, we look for the differences. We look for what makes them unique, the creative strengths they bring to the table that makes our workplace a more effective unit. We look to find the blend of enough similarities that coworkers and clients can accept the individual and enough differences to help the team innovate, create, and move the team forward. If we start with this perspective of teaching that we are better because we work with people who see the world very differently and can create different things that help us all grow, then perhaps it will be easier to mold our children into these successful future employees and neighbors.
Just like in Monk, we need people who see the world from a different slant. Those that take in information differently, think differently, and make things we could never dream of. In a country that cries out for similarity, it is time to encourage difference. Difference in the products we expect, difference in the way children explore learning, and difference in the way we encourage them to find their path. When our children are first in the sandbox, they don't see shades of skin, they don't see how fast or slow a child talks. They see the cool sand thingy that child is playing with. Inclusion and tolerance are not conversations about accepting others but rather acts of engaging others who uniquely make our lives more exciting, more interesting and more fulfilled. It's time we recognize that each child has different gifts, some are just more obvious than others. We need to encourage these different gifts rather than drive it from them if we want to grow as a society.
