Darya Melekhova on Vesti.FM: parents and school should raise children in respect for other peoples

For Russia, as for a multinational state, where about 200 nationalities live, the problem of interethnic relations is always acute. The interethnic conflicts now arise because of political, social and economic reasons, changes in the ethnic composition, the presence of negative ethnic stereotypes, etc. All this can negatively affect the child's social and psychological development, therefore the problem of education of the interethnic relations culture is among the most important educational problems, an analyst of Vestnik Kavkaza, Darya Melekhova said in the National Question program on Vest FM.

According to the expert, the principles of Russian education linked to the development of interethnic relations are the education of mutual respect between people, the protection and development of the ethno-cultural characteristics and traditions of the peoples living on the territory of Russia.

"As psychologists say, children under the age of 4 still do not know about the existence of different peoples, and their attitude to peers does not depend on nationality.  Later, during the fifth year of life, the child's self-awareness, both personal and national, is beginning to awaken. During this period, parents should bring up a benevolent attitude in a child towards people of a different nationality through a game and favorable psychological situation, " the analyst said.

Melekhova stressed that the primary school education plays a particularly important role in this process, since the younger school age children are especially susceptible to the new information.

According to the expert, in this regard, one of the main tasks of parents and teachers is to bring up sensitive and responsible citizens, able to respect human dignity and individuality. "Today, schools should develop immunity to various attempts to influence the minds of a younger generation by various nationalist movements and organizations, but first of all students should be taught respect for the values, traditions and cultures of different peoples. In the educational process, it is important to pay more attention to the history, traditions, languages of different peoples of the world.The more children will have experience with different cultures, the less there will be conflict situations in the children and adolescent environment, " the expert concluded.