The population for children in different countries continues to grow rapidly in the U.S. For that reason, there is no surprise that I will be involved with diverse students during my journey as an early childhood professional.
I am going to imagine that I am a worker in the early childhood setting who has been notified that I will be working with a child who is from another country. The classroom is the early childhood setting I have chosen to work for and Thailand is the family's country. Here are the five ways I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family:
* Research the family's country. Learn the language they speak and how they communicate, activities they engage in, and the types of food they eat.
* Ask other professionals for their opinions and experiences about teaching diverse children. Find out their challenges and what strategies worked for them.
*Revisit personal biases. By doing so, this will allow me to provide the family with fair opportunities.
*Include pictures and activities in the classroom that are related to the family's country. This will bring comfort to the child and also awareness to the child's classmates.
*Set an appointment to speak with the family before hand. Understand what their goals are for their child.
I can only hope that this preparation can bring peace to myself and the family. I want them to feel comfortable, respected, and included. If the family feels comfortable, they may be motivated to communicate with me about anything and be involved in their child's education. I also hope that I can establish trust and a great relationship with the child and family. If the preparation shows to be successful, I will share them with professionals and other workers who work in an early childhood setting.
Great Post! I loved the five things you said you were do to be culturally prepared. Some of the things you chose to include I also chose to include. The ones that I did not include are great ideas and I would choose to include them now. I think speaking to other professionals is a great way to collaborate and to learn different techniques dealing with diverse children. Setting up a meeting is also another great idea to understand their goals and objectives for their child. Thanks for sharing. I learned new ideas :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great ideas! I especially liked the suggestion to ask other professionals for their best practices. That was one that I had not thought of.
ReplyDeleteChristina