Welcoming Families From Around the World

I am a first grade teacher in a public school, and a student from Portugal has just been assigned to my classroom.  Hyland (2010) recommends that to prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards him and his family that I learn more about the culture and customs of his home country and to make it a part of the school curriculum.  First, using the internet I research Portugal to find out the primary language, Portuguese, and the dominant religion, Catholicism.  I also learn about the protocol for eating, which is to wait until everyone has food before eating and to leave some food left on your plate when you are done eating.  This is good to know, so I do not misinterpret why he is not eating all of his school lunches.  In addition, I learn the importance of the extended family.  I can use this information to give him ideas for story starters.  Finally, I learn that eye contact is very important when communicating; however, using too many hand gestures is being too demonstrative, so it is recommended to limit hand gestures.  I will need to keep these things in mind when meeting with his parents and during my instruction, too.  Second, I will meet with the English as a Second Language instructor for tips and advice as to how best to meet this child’s needs.  I will find out from her his English ability and that of his parents.  In addition, I will set up a meeting with his parents and the school’s translator, so that I can meet them and learn what their goals are for their son.  Third, I will learn a few words in Portuguese in order to communicate a greeting to him and to ask how he is doing at various times throughout the day.  Fourth, I will find some books that he can read in his home language during the school day.  Fifth, I will obtain one of the school’s laptops and contact out technology instructor about the Google translator app, so that he and I and the other students can type messages during the day in order to communicate with each other.  I will use this application to type our classroom newsletters in his home language for his parents. It is my hope that by preparing in these ways, I will better meet my new student’s academic and social needs in the classroom. The translator and the translated newsletter will help to foster an open means of communication between the school and the family.  It is my hope that the student and family will feel comfortable at our school and a part of its environment. 

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/portugal.html

Hyland, N. E. (2010). Social justice in early childhood classrooms: What the research tells us. YC:

Young Children, 65(1), 82--87. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the ProQuest

Central database:  http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/197637742?accountid=14872

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression 

When I think of an incident of when I have witnessed someone else as the target of oppression, I think of my two daughters.  Unfortunately, more times than I would care to admit they get into verbal slights with each other.  They will say things to “dig” at the other person in order to put the other one down and make the other one feel bad about their looks, their personality, or their grades.  They are only saying these things to build their own selves up and to feel more superior to the other, thus diminishing any sense of equity in the household.  I know that they are being sisters, and it reminds me of how my own sister and I interacted as teenagers; however, I try to instill in them that words do hurt.  We recently watched the movie The Breakfast Club together.  There are so many incidences of stereotyping and microaggressions throughout this movie.  I used this as an opportunity to talk with them about how we often judge people based on the way they look and act and how words can really be painful.  They agreed that it was very similar to how high school is today.  I hope that by talking with them when they start these verbal attacks on each other and by addressing them in the moment, they will learn the uselessness of them.  I think seeing a movie like The Breakfast Club where the insults were so blatant and real-life for them, also made them realize how painful and oppressing words can be.

 

Tanen, Ned & Hughes, John (Producers) , & Hughes, John (Director), (1985) The

            Breakfast Club [Motion Picture], United States: Universal Studios.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions 

My personal experience with having witnessed microaggression was when I attended my cousin’s wedding.  She was marrying a second generation Japanese-American.  I was driving the more elderly members of the family to the church.  Our great-uncle, who had fought in the Korean War, was sitting in the backseat of the car.  As I pull up to the church, he exclaims, “Why are all these Japs here?!?”  I quickly explained who his niece was marrying, and that was why he was seeing so many Japanese people coming to the wedding.  I was embarrassed by his slight, but I had been raised around many family members who made ignorant remarks, so I knew to not internalize what was said.  I then silently prayed that there would be no more outbursts during the wedding ceremony or reception.  Luckily, my prayers were answered. 

In my observations this week, I perceived more of a level of frustration than discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes of people.  We are a Title I school, and several of are students are not getting the proper medical care that they deserve.  It may be because their parents cannot afford to take off work to get them to the doctor or that they do not have medical insurance to afford a trip to the doctor.  If this is the case, we try to find out without offending anyone, so that we can make a referral to the health clinic for them.