In
order to welcome a new family from a foreign culture many steps and
preparations must be taken into consideration.
I am a teacher at a childcare center and I am getting ready to welcome a
family from Venezuela. I have never
traveled to Venezuela nor do I know anything about the culture or history of
Venezuela. In order to welcome the child
and the family I will begin by learning something about the surface culture
because although surface culture because although surface culture is not
critically important it may give us some common ground in the beginning while
we build relationships. I will also
research the language so that I can translate classroom orientation packets
into the family’s home language. I will
also need to label some classroom materials in the child’s language as well so
that she can continue to learn her language as well as English. In order to begin to build a relationship
with the family I will hold a meeting so that I can go over classroom
expectations and allow the parents to express their expectations for their
child’s learning. At this meeting, I realize
it may be necessary to hire a translator, because I do not speak Spanish. If the family feels comfortable enough I will
ask them some questions about their culture and their expectations and ensure
them that I am here to teach their child as well as aide them. I will also ensure that the child sees
herself and her family reflected in classroom materials and books. By taking these steps, I hope that they will
allow the family and me to begin to build a relationship and partner together
to ensure the best possible experience for their child. For the parents I hope this allows them to
see me as someone they can trust and cares about them and their child. For the child, I hope that she will believe
that she has a teacher who not only respects her but her family as well. As the teacher, I believe these steps and the
ones to follow will allow me to be the best teacher possible for not only this
particular child but others as well.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Joseph, I greatly appreciate your focus on building a strong relationship with the family and that it requires trust. Thanks for the reminder of the very basics of quality regardless of culture. The sencond element I will take with me is the support offered so the child will continue to learn their home language. I believe that it is so important. I have hired a native language speaker in each of the classrooms that has six or more children speaking a home language other than English, with instruction to teach concepts in their home language. Thanks for the great strategies.
ReplyDeleteHi Joseph,
ReplyDeleteDuring one of our previous courses I went to a Migrant and Seasonal Head Start to observe. Some of the strategies they employed, which may be relevant to our discussion this week were to offer transportation since many parents worked or did not have a way to transport their children to the center. Also, they gradually added in other foods and English as the children progressed. So they began learning in their native language and over the course of the two years they were they they eventually learned in both languages. Lastly, the center served as a liaison between the school district and parents to help them transition to the public school setting when the time came for Kindergarten. It was interesting to see the action plan in work.
I really like that you started with surface culture and plan on using that as your spring board. While it will not give you a tremendous amount of insight into the individual cultural values of the family it will give you a place to start and show the family that you are interested in learning more about their culture and how you can honor and serve them.
ReplyDelete