Welcoming Families From Around the World

 

My “family” will be attending the child care I work at.  They just moved here from Italy.  Getting to know about their culture, beliefs, traditions and family life will help them make the transition for their child easier.  They need to feel comfortable in their surroundings and feel welcome.

1.       I will make sure to have things that are part of their culture in the classroom so they fell comfortable and welcome.  It will help to have things that are familiar to them.

2.       I will either speak to or met the family before their child starts at my center.  I want them to know I care about them and want to make it an easier transition for them. 

3.       I will educate myself on their culture and learn about their differences from my culture. 

4.       I would let everyone else in the center know about our new family that is starting.  This will give them some time to forget about any bias or stereotype they may have with this family.  They can also be a part of welcoming the family. 

5.       I would try to learn a little bit of their language.  I know how difficult this would be for me but I would like to know some basic words or phrases I could use with the child in order to try and communicate. 

Blog: The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

                I am currently the teacher in a Waddler classroom (my kids are about 9 months-15 months).  I wanted to do something special for the children to give to their parents for Valentine’s Day.  We made a very cute picture that had the children’s footprints on a heart with the saying around it “I love you from the very bottom of my heart to the tips of my toes”.  There is a little girl in the class that is from a Japanese culture.  I was in the room when her father picked her up and took the gift out of her mailbox.  He kind of looked at it and then looked back at us and said “bye” on his way out the door.  I looked at my aid and said, “Do you think he was upset?  He didn’t have an expression and all of the other parents were very excited about the gift.  Do you think that in their culture they don’t do anything with Valentine’s Day?  I really hope he wasn’t offended.”  She responded that she thought he was surprised that his daughter had made something for him and that we had taken the time to do something.  I thought that maybe I should take time to learn about their culture so I do not run into this same type of problem again.    

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

            One microaggression that stood out to me this week was from the scenario about the woman who had a male friend that was gay.  She assumed that he would be good at helping her decorate.  I guess her thoughts about gay men are that they are fabulous at decorating. 

Another microagression that comes to mind is one that happened to myself.  This is something pretty personal that I don’t like to bring up.  I guess some would think my nose is a little larger than it should be.  One night I was at dinner with my friends and a stranger said something about me being Jewish.  I am by no means Jewish at all.  I am Catholic.  His stereotype of Jewish people was that they have big noses.  I found this very offensive and hurtful.  This experience made me realize that stereotypes are not always correct and it is hurtful to assume things about others.