This week we were given this situation to dissect:
You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care 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.
In order to complete this assignment, first choose a country you know nothing about as this family’s country of origin.
The country of origin I picked was Aruba.
Five ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family are:
1. To give them information and knowledge about resources that might be in my community that differs from them.
2. Incorporate information and have a “share” week all about this country in my child care center.
3. I will research surface facts about the country so I am aware of the families’ previous environment.
4. I will make sure to personalized contact with each member of the family so they feel that are wanted and needed in the center and that they matter.
5. To have the family become involve in the center by giving them many different ways and different times to come into the center.
1. To give them information and knowledge about resources that might be in my community that differs from them.
2. Incorporate information and have a “share” week all about this country in my child care center.
3. I will research surface facts about the country so I am aware of the families’ previous environment.
4. I will make sure to personalized contact with each member of the family so they feel that are wanted and needed in the center and that they matter.
5. To have the family become involve in the center by giving them many different ways and different times to come into the center.
How I hope these preparations will benefit myself and the family is so have a mutual respect for each other and work together to build a good relationship together.
You have some great ways of helping the new family adjust to the school. It is important to show them you are interested in their home country and that you will do whatever it takes to help them feel comforatble. It is very important to build a bond with our families from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteHello Abigail,
ReplyDeleteExcellent ways to get ready to work with families from other countries. I personally like very much your "share" week idea and your idea to provide them with knowledge of the community resources. More than often when people are new in the country and/or in the community they feel lost and disoriented so providing them with information about resources is very beneficial for newcomers.
Abigail,
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a 'share' week!! I like how you said you would provide the family with resources about the community that differs. I did not even 'look' at this from that viewpoint and love the idea, I simply focused on the classroom but your post reminded me sometimes helping a family extends beyond making the child 'comfortable' at school. Thank you.
After glancing at the other comments, I see that we are thinking alike. I love the idea of your "share" week. Is that something that each student gets a chance to be the center of? What a great way to make the children feel a part of and to include their home environments in the classroom.
ReplyDelete