Cultural Tunnel Vision

"We all have tunnel vision, or at least blind spots, when it comes to equity and to cultural issues.  We don't see everything there is to see, and we don't even realize what we aren't seeing.  Sometimes children arrive in our programs to find a culturally assaultive environment, and we don't even realize it."  Janet Gonzalez-Mena makes this observation in her Exchange article, "Do You Have Cultural Tunnel Vision?" in which she gives examples such as the following:

"The mainstream way is to provide each person, no matter how young, a bed of his or her own (except for couples).  This value starts early — in infancy — as each individual is considered to have the need for private space.  The word individual is downplayed in some cultures, and the word private is practically nonexistent.  Some people in these cultures have only negative connotations associated with the word alone.  They equate being alone with being lonely.  Sleeping in a separate bed is not the norm, no matter what age.  When a child arrives in child care and is expected to put himself or herself to sleep in a crib or cot alone, this child may have a very hard time.  The sleeping dialogue is in a foreign language."

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