Saturday, February 23, 2013
Welcoming Families From Around the World
My family’s country of origin is Spain and Germany. My grandfather mother was born in Frankfurt Germany and my Grandfather’s father was born in Madrid Spain. I have never visited these countries nor have I performed much research about life in Europe.
Five ways that I can prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards my family’s cultural roots is to listen to how they speak, look at how present themselves, and watch for signs of communication patterns. One way to do this is to take notes and document their unique ways of communicating. “. We need to document, respect, and learn about people from all over the world, particularly those who are dramatically different from us” (Boutte, G 2008).
Love would be another word I would use to describe how I could prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards my family’s culture. Love is used to describe feelings of respect, acknowledgement, dignity and worth. “In educational settings, love connotes that all humans deserve the right to dignity, freedom, and equal opportunities” (Boutte, G. 2008).
By showing a foreign family love and respect, I can offer them attention to their needs, and help them feel comfortable during their transition to a new country. By listening to them even if I don’t understand fully what they are saying, I can ensure that I am giving them my full attention. Lastly, by collaborating with a new family, I am learning from them as well and I am gaining insight as to their unique cultures.
References
Boutte, G. (2008). Beyond the illusion of diversity: How early childhood teachers can promote social justice. Social Studies, 99(4), 165--173.
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Very good post! I will use some of the five ways that you use to prepare yourself to help me when I encounter working with others from countries across the world. I would also use the tools that we have learned throughout the course to effectively be culturally responsive to other cultures.
ReplyDeleteAngela,
ReplyDeleteI like how you included listening to your list. Listening is a very important skill and you learn a lot by someone by just stopping and truly listening to them. We tend to neglect one another because we are so busy with our lives and don't take the time to stop and listen. I have noticed this in my own life and with my own children at times. We get caught up in this faced paced society and fail to acknowledge the richness of conversation.
Maggie, I like how you brought up the topic of listening from my post. We are working with our 4 year old on the topic of listening and then it follows remembering. We need to listen, but we also need to remember after we listen. Thank-you.
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