I have received word that the
child of a family who has recently emigrated from Senegal and will be entering
my preschool classroom soon. All I know about
Senegal is that it is located on the western tip of Africa I want to prepare myself
to welcome the child and her family. Luckily,
I am enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to
support families who have immigrated; I need to know more than surface facts
about their country of origin. I have created a list of five ways I can prepare
myself to be culturally responsive towards this family.
1)Engage in self-reflection to recognize
my own cultural lens and biases. This is a helpful step for me
allowing me to explore and reflect upon where any of my assumptions, attitudes
and biases come from and in understanding that how I view the world can lead me
to misinterpretation of behaviors and inequitable treatment of culturally diverse
students and their families.
2)
Gain
knowledge of the family’s cultural background can give me a sense of views about behavior, rules of
decorum and etiquette, communication and learning styles; however, I will need
to be careful not to form stereotypes. This could be done through research, conducting
a home visit, consultation with parents,
and community members to gain insight. Some areas I can explore include: family background and structure, education,
interpersonal relationship styles, discipline, time and space, religion, food,
health and hygiene, history, traditions and holidays.Learn a few words or
statements in the family’s home language. Translate important school to home
information to the family’s home language.
3)
Develop
an awareness of the broader, social, economic, and political context in order to
address social issues such as racial inequities, poverty, etc. because the educational system reflects and
often perpetuates discriminatory practices of the larger society. For example,
I can examine how current policies and practices in discipline might discriminate
against the child. I can create a “critical/social justice classroom” grounded
in the lives of all the children that involves dialogue,
questioning/problem-posing, critiquing bias and attitudes and teaching activism
for social justice. For example, I can engage students in a discussion of
school or classroom rules. I can commit to being open and honest in answering
children’s questions about differences.
4)
Review
my curriculum for racial and cultural bias. Add
multiple resources that reflect and support the cultural norms of the child and
family, such as culturally relevant materials, literature, photos, games, and
traditions to the classroom. Create a classroom environment that communicates
respect for diversity through anti-bias education.
5)
Begin
building trusting relationship with the child and her family keeping in mind to
be culturally sensitive to communication styles. Assume that the child’s parents
care about their child and have something to offer. Encourage them to provide
insight that will help me teach her.
I hope these
preparations will provide the child and family with a sense of feeling valued, respected,
and safe as well as a sense of connectedness and community while avoiding feelings
of marginalization and invisibility. As a result, I will benefit as I gain
insight about the child and her family culture that will allow me to facilitate
her learning as well as the learning of all students while extending my own
learning and fostering acceptance of differences.
References
Culturally%20Responsive%20Classroom%20Mgmt%20Strat2.pdf
