The language of diversity

Young children use language to formulate their understanding of the world around them. The schools of Reggio Emilia believe that children have many languages at their disposal and have used the concept of "100 Languages" to represent this much broader vision of self-expression. Oral language is, of course, a very powerful language and the degree to which we develop expressive and receptive language has implications for learning, depth of understanding and the formation of relationships with others.

In 2005 I met a family with two moms. They were the first couple to discuss with me the need for sharing the language of family within the community. They knew from experience, and perceived within this new community, a discomfort that adults expressed when they met them and their children. What do your children call each of you? How do you want other adults to refer to you when telling their children how to address you?

This conversation led to a group discussion and, five years later, we are continuing this conversation as we attempt to talk more openly about race, ethnicity and socioeconomic class. It is not unlike early language learners who need labels to represent things, people and places so that they can begin to formulate and express their understandings.

Last week a high school teacher told me that she needed help finding the language with which to respond to students' concerns about race and difference. She said that she had been in situations where students wanted to discuss difficult issues and she found herself limited in her ability to respond to foster and enrich the conversation. Sitting in an advanced geometry math class I had the same feeling. The vocabulary of the discussion had little meaning for me even though I could follow the thinking and guess at the definitions of the terms.

Jerome Bruner says that children use language to create culture. What is the language of diversity that will lead a community to develop a more inclusive, more sensitive and better informed culture to support authentic and caring relationships among its members?