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.
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
Dianne,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post I did not think about learning about meal times and how they work, very good idea. Meal times are an essential part of a family's representation. I do think that whatever we find out about the overall culture we will still have to make sure that the family practices these things as well.
Dianne,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your strategies for preparing for the new child. I especially appreciated how you made a clear plan to familiarize yourself with the surface culture and then specific ideas to respond to the unique needs of the child and family after you met them. Thanks for the ideas.