For this assignment, imagine the following scenario:
You are working in an early
childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a childcare center, a social
service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently
emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You
want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are
enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support
families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about
their country of origin.
The name of “your” family’s
country of origin
For this assignment, I would like to imagine that my child and
their family are from Egypt and that I am welcoming the family in to my
classroom.
At least five ways in which
you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family
- I would
contact the family and ask them a few questions about some of their
values, beliefs, hopes and dreams for their child and their family.
- I would plan activities
and lessons that encourage the family to share special artifacts, family
photos, language, literature, music, and food that have deep personal
meaning to the family.
- I would
introduce the family to classroom prior to their first day by having the
children meet by Skype and including a short introduction of the family in
our class news letter.
- I would
increase the about of times that I check in with the family ensuring that
they feel comfortable and address any issues that may have come up, immediately.
- I would talk
to the children about whom to make new friends and explain ways to make
people feel welcomed.
A brief statement describing in
what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both you and the family
My
goal is to create a classroom environment that embraces the family’s culture
and not their implied surface culture based off what see from the media. I want
my current students to understand and build a connection with the child and
their family before they arrive which is why I think having a couple of meeting
via Skype would be a great way for the students to start preparing themselves
for our new family. I want the family to feel that they are apart of the school
and the classroom so providing them with opportunities to be apart of the
learning process lets them know that they are valuable contributors to our
learning community. Checking in with the family, frequently, will let them know
that they have an alley to confide in and that they are supported. They will be
able to address any issues that may make them feel powerless, marginalized, or
discriminated against.
