First Grade Religion Debate

In my field placement full of first graders, we were discussing a social studies lesson on leadership. The students were generating a list of leaders on the white board, when one child raised her hand and said, "God." Another child raised his hand and said his leader was Jesus. This sparked a debate between five or six children. They were debating whether God and Jesus were the same person or not. One child said, "God is Jesus so he doesn't count as two different leaders." Another child said, "No God is Jesus' dad so they are two different leaders." My teacher proceeded to write both names on the board and allowed the children to talk it out with each other. Some children did not even know who "Jesus" was. This conversation among six year olds, made me come to a very important realization. Children are bringing their backgrounds, culture, religion, and diverse beliefs to the classroom even this early in their education. It is important to keep this in mind as teachers, even in the younger grades because it does have an effect on the students and how they accept your teaching.