Introduction

But Ms. Teresa, if Oscar doesnt believe Optimus Prime is real, then how can I trust him? I
look into Alexs big brown eyes and wonder how to answer that to his kindergarten satisfaction.
Every year, some culturally contextualized version of the theme, Is there a Santa Claus?
bubbles to the surface of consciousness for young learners. Since children often construct
meaning during play, I consider it a privilege when my students invite me into their imaginative
world as a trusted guide. Alex and his closest friend Oscar have been engaging in an on-going
debate about which super-hero is real; Optimus Prime or Batman. Each argues his case that one
is just a person dressed in a costume while the other is real. Keen interest arises among the
group, since everyone in class has some dearly loved character whose reality they now question.
As a class, we explore the possibilities. Consensus forms around the idea that perhaps it is alright
if Optimus Prime is real for Alex while Batman is real for Oscar. Though Alex nods in
agreement he still poses this question, But how can I trust my friend? In that moment, I realize
this question goes much deeper than differentiating between imagination and reality. Underneath,
its more about moving from tolerating diversity to celebrating it. Implied in the question, Alex
wonders if he can be friends with someone whose fundamental beliefs differ from his. I look
around the room, everyones gaze fixed on me; quietly awaiting my answer.
Trust is fundamental to all relationships and connects deeply to our sense of belonging. For Alex,
its not about believing in Optimus Prime or Batman. Trust means feeling secure that by
honoring Oscars right to believe something different, he wont be relinquishing his own. A
recent study of early childhood environments determined that trust can develop over time and
through a series of experiences that affect ones perception of anothers worthiness of trust
(Puig, 2015, p.187). So if Oscar doesnt make fun of him for believing Optimus Prime is real,
then Alex will learn to trust in their friendship. Unfortunately, even in the most deliberately
diverse classrooms, students self-segregate, seeking the comfort of sameness (Bronson, 2009).
As an educator, I am preparing my students for an adult world struggling to trust diversity.
Instead of sharing resources and ideas to solve urgent social, economic and environmental
problems, countries draw arbitrary lines, and people self-segregate over religious beliefs. If our
shared learning space is a microcosm of the world, then in order to create an integrated class

where children feel a strong sense of belonging and reap the benefits of group learning, I need to
help Alex and all my students find an answer to his question.
Literature Review
This study aims to create a classroom culture that celebrates diversity by increasing student
capacity to trust those whose views differ. The following literature review explores why and how
to build trust among diverse populations.
Why build trust with people who are different?
To me, the most valuable opportunity that group learning provides is the chance to incorporate
other perspectives into our understanding of solutions. Unfortunately, if we dont know how to
trust someone we perceive as different, it proves difficult to associate with them. Thats why as
primary teachers, we devote extensive time, especially in the early weeks of school, to the
exploration of commonalities through class meetings, group games, shared literature, music and
collaborative play (Denton, 2000). We are trying to increase a sense of belonging and trust to
build community. Frequently, I incorporate programs such as the Teaching Peace musical CD
and accompanying activities to help children appreciate the ways they are alike (Grammar,
1986). The songs even celebrate differences such as language and food preference. Grammar
further collaborates with Carol McCLoud (2006) who wrote, Have you filled a bucket today? to
provide teachers with resources to help students discover commonalities and interact with each
other. In fact as technology makes the world smaller, more valuable books and programs come to
market every year designed to help young children find similarities with others across the globe.
And yet, with Alexs question, I wonder if perhaps we need to go deeper. In addition to exploring
our commonalities, maybe we need to discover specifically how our differences benefit us. Not
just experience it through stories or music, but actually live it. Would this help my students build
more trust with those who view the world differently, or would it only create disunity in the
classroom because they are gaining group experience with their commonalities for the first time?
Even in the adult world, companies that utilize diversity of thought admit, Working with people
from diverse backgrounds is valuable, that doesnt mean its easy (Kelley, 2013, p. 190). Since
it proves challenging for adults, would differing perspectives confuse young children since they
are just forming a self-identity?

Some research suggests exposure to differing perspectives, especially through play, actually
improves rather than confuses cognition. For instance, biologists studying animal brains noticed
rats that played together had more evidence of nerve growth in the parts of the brain responsible
for executive functioning and emotional processing (Brown, 2009). In humans, people construct
their own meaning from a given lesson either through assimilation of the information into an
already existing framework of knowledge or by accommodating the new information through
changing that framework. In the struggle to accommodate conflicting information,cognition
develops (Pearce, 1977). Children do this the most through play since it has the creative
imagination which will be the motor of all future thought and even of reason (Piaget, 1951, p.
162). In addition to creating the zone of proximal development (Rogers, 1967), Magaluzzi
asserts that the conflict within socio cultural relationships during play in particular positively
impacts development (Edwards, 1998).
It seems this exposure also helps prepare children for the world they are destined to inherit. The
most innovative companies leverage the power of multiple viewpoints. David and Tom Kelley,
founders of the d.school (Design School) at Stanford University share their experience working
with companies around the globe.
Collaboration works especially well when members bring different backgrounds or
perspectives to the team. Thats why we mix engineers, anthropologists, and
business designers on projects teams with surgeons, food scientists, and behavioral
economists. By working in diverse multidisciplinary teams, we can get to a place
that would have been impossible for one of us to reach alone (2013, p. 186).

Suzie Boss in Bringing Innovation to School supports the Kelleys conclusions. Teams are
smarter than the sum of their individual members (2012, p. 41), especially when made up of
people from different backgrounds. Heifetz adds, it is by taking into account the validity of
other viewpoints that the quality of our change initiatives will improve (2002, p. 78). Differing
perspectives then are like musical notes blending together to make a perfect chord and working
with diversity is the trend in todays marketplace.
How can we build trust with people who are different?
However, its not enough to assemble diverse children and expect them to blend together like a
perfect chord. Without support, I imagine the effect could be more of a cacophony. Freire

cautions, We have a strong tendency to affirm that what is different from us is inferior (2005,
p. 127). Additionally, the fear of being perceived as the representative of an inferior group can
adversely impact an individuals performance, whether he is consciously aware of it or not
(Steele, 1999). Notably, research about how to reduce stereotype threat involved building trust.
We were able to convince them [black students] our test was race-fair only when we implied
that the research generating the test had been done by blacks. When they trusted, they performed
well (Steele, 1999, p. 9). We all belong to a group perceived in a negative light by someone.
Even young children might subconsciously view themselves and others in the context of
societys stereotypes regarding ethnicity, gender, learning style, religious or cultural beliefs and
socioeconomic level. We need to help children trust they can be different and still belong. In
class, I incorporate several practices to build community including morning meetings, classroom
layout and an open, healthy rapport among the adults (Puig, 2015). However, in order to ensure
some students dont fade into the background while others dominate, young learners need more
than just an appreciation for their commonalities to interact effectively. They need support to
navigate their differences. In the following section, I outline research-based steps we can take to
support learners.
Remember that a child is part of a family...
Its important to remember both children and parents struggle to trust others with views different
from theirs. Parents often report frustration to me when their children try on new behaviors at
home from their learning in kindergarten. We love you and my child loves coming to school.
We just dont love the new behaviors we are seeing at home! This time of transition can be
unsettling for both parent and child, as children naturally test limits, renegotiating their position
within the family system. Even though this process would happen without exposure to
kindergarten, its natural for parents to want to pull away from different, or even blame those
other kids in class for new behaviors. According to social psychologist, Erik Erikson, they are in
the stage of Initiative vs. Guilt. In this stage, children seek an identity as separate but still very
connected to their parents. They begin to reach out beyond parallel play (playing alongside, but
not with others) to more collaborative play with friends (Edwards, 2012). This means though
they do pick things up from classmates, they will begin to test boundaries within the family
regardless of outside influence. John Dewey reminds us ...to learn the child must operate in a

learning environment that meets the developmental and individual learning constraints that are
characteristic for the child's age and this child's possible deviations from her age's norm. If this
condition is not met, construction goes astray (1938, p. 118). At this stage, students must trust I
will provide a safe space to explore their emerging independence, and parents need reassurance
that exposing their children to other viewpoints will not negate their own.
Teach students how to talk to each other
To gain appreciation for and trust diversity, children need to learn social skills to navigate their
differences and then have safe opportunities to practice in the classroom. Language protocols
allow children to simultaneously deal with conflict and experience the benefits of diversity.
When children use language to support shared thinking and learning they achieve much more
together than they would have alone (Fernandez, 2015, p. 54). As part of one study, groups of
primary children, representing a range of ability and socioeconomic levels were presented with
open-ended challenges both before and after receiving direct instruction regarding discourse
styles. Prior to the instruction, researchers noted that when trying to solve a challenge in a small
group, students limited communication styles had a negative impact on the groups ability to
achieve the task. After receiving instruction, their ability to achieve success together on even the
most challenging problems increased beyond what they could achieve alone (Fernandez, et al,
2015). Next, children need joyful, low-stakes opportunities to practice these skills. Guided
collaborative play allows children to effectively seek solutions in a safe environment when
confronted with new and sometimes conflicting information (Edwards, 1998, p. 271). By
carefully observing them practice new skills in less structured activities, we can ascertain much
about their inner struggle and determine the next steps to support them (Cohen, 2008).
As we support them, its important to encourage children to notice differences without guilt.
Otherwise, feelings of guilt can grow into prejudice or distrust since subconsciously children will
learn to associate different as something attracting adult disapproval. Many adults find the
subject of diversity uncomfortable to explore with young children and believe by overlooking
differences, children won't notice on their own (Bronson, 2009). However, studies with infants as
young as six months reveal children do notice difference and naturally categorize their world in
an effort to understand it. Patterson and Bigler (2006) divided preschoolers ages four and five

into two groups; one group wearing red t-shirts and the other group wearing blue for three
weeks. The children demonstrated no outward indication that the shirt colors affected their play,
but when interviewed, they reported believing the children in opposite colored shirts were
inferior (pp. 847-860). In well-intentioned efforts to establish common ground by overlooking
diversity, adults leave children to reach their own conclusions about what they see. When
children notice difference, rather than inadvertently shaming them or overlooking it we need to
celebrate. We can establish commonality by comparing human diversity they naturally notice to a
garden of flowers, spotlighting how variety actually increases the beauty of the same garden.
Children can begin to think of people in their school, neighborhood and city ...as different
colored roses growing in the garden of humanity and rejoice to be among them (NSA, 1995, p.
113).
Use literature thoughtfully...
Sometimes children distrust what they do not understand or see in their own home environment.
One gentle way to accustom children to diversity is through the selection of literature that
portrays the demographics of the classroom, including race, family system and gender. In order
for children to make meaningful connections to the text, they must see themselves reflected in
the story. By seeing their peers in the stories, they learn to make meaningful connections to them
as well. In an early childhood classroom, where the pictures in the books are worth a thousand
words, what the teacher chooses to read indirectly conveys what the teacher thinks the group
should value. One study effectively used literature to help students develop global citizenship
competencies starting with awareness of and empathy towards perceived others across the
globe (Sarker, 2013, p. 4). As students become used to the diversity in the literature, they
develop a trust for it. The stories become familiar so, not only do children learn to see
commonality where they once perceived only difference, but also, they learn that because the
teacher values this diversity, it is safe for them to value it as well. They learn its ok to be
different and still belong.
Provide support for children with special needs...
Each year more parents of children who learn atypically seek alternative educational settings for
their children. This leaves many public charter schools with a high percentage of students with

special needs(Innovations Academy SARC, 2014). Children who learn atypically, require special
support to access the benefits of group learning especially in regard to reading social cues,
communication and the reciprocity inherent in building trust. Even though people access
community differently, everyone has the same need to feel a sense of belonging.
For instance, one of the greatest misconceptions about people with autism is that they dont have
feelings. In fact, some research is showing that the autistic brains emotional centers actually
become more stimulated in certain situations. Autistic children might actually feel more intensely
at times than their typical peers. Brain scans reveal that the problem lies in their ability to
understand that others have feelings and experiences the same as they do (Eide, 2006). Temple
Grandin in Thinking in Pictures, explains how she struggled with social interactions because she
lacked a concrete visual corollary [i.e., cognitive understanding] for the abstraction known as
getting along with people (1995, p. 274). She goes on to explain how she was able to
cognitively develop understanding using symbols. In the classroom, we can provide examples
using cartoons or stick figure symbols with simple word captions to illustrate complex social
concepts. Using pocket cards with visual cues to support better understanding is one method to
promote a sense of belonging by improving equity of access to the collective learning. But even
more than a specific technique, inclusion needs to be an attitude permeating all our change
efforts in the classroom. It helps to remember All Children are children. The perception that
some children are normal and others are deficient and therefore need to be repaired in some way
is still a concomitant of a society that values uniformity rather than diversity (Kunc, 1992, p. 5).
Listen to childrens questions
Students are most motivated to learn when the questions come from them (Deci, 2008). Children
need educators to hear the burning questions in their hearts and not judge them, just honor the
questions and help find the answers collectively. How can I better hear what they say they need
to trust? It helps to look to successful mentors in this regard, living resources who succeed at
creating classroom environments that cultivate trust through honoring student voice. Melissa
Han, a third grade teacher, works to empower immigrant students by honoring their opinions in
making important decisions within the classroom regarding schedule, topics of study and
problem solving. She explains, I wanted student voice to give confidence to my students when
reflecting on what they learned and how they learned. I also wanted them to use their voices to

advocate for one another and strengthen our community. Because she conveys trust in their
abilities, they learn to trust themselves and each other. Jennifer Takahashi, a Reggio Emilia
trained kindergarten teacher shares her expertise at helping children see multiple paths to the
same solution. She expresses trust in their ability to construct meaning in the process and curates
their work in such a way as to inform continued learning. Both Jennifer Mercer and Jill Keltner,
pioneers of implementing Brent Camerons work with natural learning (2009), nurture selfdirected, lifelong learners by courageously committing to teach without any form of coercion in
the classroom. They spend time listening to and honoring their students perspectives, helping
them to articulate personal learning goals and then connecting those goals to the greater good of
the learning community. With these educators, students learn to trust the classroom is a place
where their diverse passions and interests will be respected. As students gain trust that teachers
respect their viewpoints and interests, they will become more open to trusting other perspectives.