We’re all at Iowa State to get a good education, or to give students education beyond the worth of tuition. And supposedly, our elementary, junior high and high school experiences were to prepare us for making that venture into the “real world” of college and later, the “real world” of work.

And when we submerge ourselves into these real worlds, we encounter scores of different people with different backgrounds and experiences, which simply adds to learning about that world.

You see, many ISU students come from pretty homogenous hometowns in small-town Iowa. I did. In my hometown, nearly everyone goes to some sort of a Christian church and almost everyone is white. There were a few residents who were part of other religions, but it wasn’t an influential force in the community. I didn’t encounter people of the Jewish, Buddhist or Muslim faith until I came to college.

I remember there being about three African-American students in my school, but they were adopted by a white family. And there was one girl in my class who wasn’t white, but she moved away.

Unless you are from a metropolitan area of Iowa, that probably sounds like your high school, too. And like me, you probably thought ISU was diverse when you came to school here.

There is much debate about diversity at our university, but the key focus should be learning about other people and their experiences. We have a special opportunity to work with people from all around the world, from tons of different cultures and with entirely different beliefs and experiences.

The key word here is learning.

We live in a world that is getting smaller everyday. No, the earth isn’t shrinking, but the barriers to communication are. And instead of reinforcing old barriers, people need to let their guard down a little bit and learn about others. If we don’t, we are forcing ourselves into isolation.

Recently, I was disturbed by a conversation with a friend. She is a student teacher at an elementary school and was telling me about all the concessions the school must make to children with differing religions because the parents dictated it as so.

She told me a little boy couldn’t join the rest of his class to visit a tree decorated with lights; instead, he had to sit in an office. The children couldn’t have a Halloween party, instead it was a fall party. These things might seem petty to be upset about, but in this changing world, it is important to learn about others —ÿno matter what your own beliefs.

People might say I am a little biased because I fit into a homogenous small-town Iowa. However, I think the key to people understanding each other is to learn about each other. We can’t ignore others because their beliefs are different. That makes us isolated and close-minded. It makes us vulnerable. It makes us uneducated and we thus have a lack of understanding.

Although parents may not want their children exposed to parts of society which are in conflict with their beliefs, they should not try to hold their children back simply because they fear their offspring may not adhere to the family belief system.

Having grade-school children learn about other people’s beliefs and cultures is vital. Children should learn about Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, the culture differences of East Asia from the Western world and so much more.

Learning increases understanding. When you learn something from a different culture, you remember it, and it is easier to attach it to things you experience in your everyday life. For example, in my travels to other countries this past summer, I met and worked with people from all around the world. I learned about their countries and cultures. Now when I read or hear the news, I understand more and sometimes I recall a unique perspective that wasn’t reported.

However, we have the opportunity to learn similar things here at ISU because of international and minority students. And we have the challenge of opening up either diverse or otherwise homogenous elementary schools to the same thing.

Children shouldn’t be excluded from an activity because their religion conflicts with it. Instead, they should learn about it and their parents should explain the differences as making people unique and different. Doing otherwise is simply a dangerous form of isolation.

Today, isolation is nearly impossible, but trying to shut people out from learning is wrong. It makes it harder for children and college students to understand the world and makes it harder to solve problems that affect all people, despite their beliefs.

We may not agree with others’ cultures, but how are we supposed to get along with people if we don’t understand what their beliefs are?

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Erin Payne is a senior in journalism and mass communication and political science from Rock Rapids.