What Does Child-Like Innocence Look Like?
Adults are full of pre-conceived notions about the world. Since we have more experience and thus more opportunities to make judgments, we are quicker to judge and to jump to conclusions than are children. While having this life experience is valuable, children have a definite advantage in that their minds and hearts are naturally more open. There’s no question that today’s world is more diverse than in the past. We are exposed to cultures, religions, ideas and philosophies that we may not have been even 20 years ago. This change can have a tremendous positive impact, but can also create tension. With each successive generation, diversity in our world only increases and children who are shown how to be patient and accept others will become more tolerant and compassionate. Intolerance and prejudice have to be learned. For instance, we may hear a relative or neighbor generalizing about a different culture. We may have a bad experience with someone of a different faith. We may hear a class
