Country: India
Ways in which I will
prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards the family:
1.
Through the
internet and the ELL teachers in my school, I will gather information about
their country
2.
Hold a
conference with an interpreter, and ask questions to get to know the family
3.
Ensure that I respect
the family’s answers to the questions I ask.
4.
Try to include
their culture and lifestyle, (ie holidays, celebrations, daily routines, etc) through teaching about various cultures and
lifestyles. I may even ask that they share information or possibly come speak
to my class.
5.
Do my best to
communicate the importance of them maintaining their home language and home
cultures or lifestyle, as it will help their child identify themselves as they
grow and develop and learn some of the English language.
6.
Ask the child
and family to share some of their language with me, so that I can use it in
class with the child and teach other children as well.
7.
Possibly
introduce them to a family or someone who can help them locate other people who
are culturally and linguistically similar.
My hopes are that these
preparations will help make the family and child feel more welcomed and
comfortable in our area, in our school, and in my classroom. I also hope that
it will help open that communication door and make them feel as if I am here to
help and that I respect them. I couldn’t imagine moving to a new country where
I have to basically start from scratch, learning the language so that I can
read signs and things in my surroundings, as well as find a home, get a job, or
as a child go to school and make all new friends who speak a language or behave
in ways that I may not understand. In being culturally responsive I believe it’s
important to ensure that you do your best to get to know the family’s culture
and lifestyle, in order to build a strong and stable relationship.
Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteYou have came up with some great ideas to involve your new family into the classroom. I really liked how you mentioned learning some of the language and/or having the parents come into the class to speak with you and the children. It shows value and importance to the new family as well as diversity to your current class.
I think that having a conference with the interpreter is a great idea. I never thought about that. We have coordinators that work closely with our school in response to different cultures. I find that this is a great resource for the teachers and students. It gives comfort to everyone involved.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin,
ReplyDeleteGreat ways of becoming culturally responsive. I never really thought of having someone from the family come and talk about their culture and experiences. I think this would help the children who are unfamiliar become more accepting and to learn something new about someone else.