The Baptiste family is a family from Haiti and speak French
but also English. Their three-year-old daughter will be joining the three-year-old
class at Early Learning Center. I want the Baptiste family to feel welcomed and
supported while being a part of Early Learning Center. At my center we primarily
speak English and must figure out a way to make sure we are culturally responsive
to our new family.
Five ways to prepare myself to be culturally responsive
towards the Baptiste family is to hold a family conference, find a way to be
able to support the child’s home language, individualize my programs curriculum,
display of multicultural books and toys around the classroom, and to think
about my own biases to ensure I am creating a fair environment.
I would first start with having a family conference to get
to know the family. This will help me to know and understand who is a part of
the family such as siblings, parents, and anyone else who may be in the home. A
family conference will also allow for the family to also get to know me and see
the classroom environment. I think this will help create a partnership between
the family and myself. This may help the child feel comfortable when the
parents are comfortable. Listening for understanding instead of just to answer
will make a difference in the partnership.
I would not want the
Baptiste family to not communicate with us due to language. I would ask for the
family to teach me key words as well as creating a picture card library. Since
early childhood programs serve as a two-way bridge between the dominant culture
and the child’s home culture (Derman-Sparks, 2010), I want to make sure I am
doing all that I can to make that connection.
For young children individualizing and adapting your
curriculum according to each child’s home culture is as essential to healthy
development as substituting cream cheese for peanut butter is for a child who
is allergic to peanuts (Derman-Sparks, 2010). I want to be able meet every child’s
needs and if the Baptiste has multiple children attending the center, I will
allow time for siblings to see each other to help them feel comfortable and
adjust to the new environment.
To feel welcome in a new environment I believe it is helpful
to have something familiar. I would inform the Baptiste family that they could
donate an item to the classroom to help us understand their culture we would be
happy to have it. I also would encourage the family to bring in a family picture
and something that could stay in the cubby for the moments to help feel secure.
I would have a variety of dolls, puzzles, books, and other materials to
represent not only their culture but a numerous amount of cultures to show how
people are different. The introduction of learning other cultures will help
bring about new discussions and curiosity.
I believe that being open to learning and understanding
other people will help me to think about my own culture. This will also help me
to check my own biases and see how they can affect my teachings and perception
of others.
References
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias
education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National
Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Family cultures:
Dynamic interactions [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Sharita,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your read greatly and I too would ask parents to bring things in from home they could share with the class. However, when things were broken, and it was out of my scope to be able to replace it I started to utilize my resources first before asking them to bring cultural items in. When I did this, parents would light up and begin to share more on what I was able to get for our classroom. This shows classroom and community support is behind them. “Activism often starts at the personal level. Reflecting on your own development is one key step. Incorporating anti-bias education into your work is another. So, too, are reflecting on your own development and assessing your work with children and families and with other staff” (Derman-Sparks, Edwards, 2010).
Reference
Derman-Sparks, Edwards, (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Sharita, your post was very interesting and informative. We usually have an open house at the beginning of each school year to build relationships and to get to know children and their families. Parents hold valuable information about the child previous experiences and knowledge that can be very useful in meeting their needs.
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