5 ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family:
- I will research information about the country and learn about the culture of families from the country. Once I have done this, I can find pictures of families and places in Greece and post them around the classroom to make the child and family feel more "at home".
- I will think about my personal identities and any negative thoughts/attitudes I may hold and work on ridding myself of any biases.
- I will be very welcoming to the child and family when they arrive and show them around the classroom. While keeping in mind their culture's social habits that I researched beforehand. I will acknowledge the parents as partners in their child's learning and keep them involved in classroom activities throughout the year. I have an open-door policy for parents in my classroom.
- I will take time to get to know the student and his/her family. I want to build a relationship with the family and learn about the child's past experiences. I would even try to ask the family if they would be interested in teaching the children in the class more about where they lived so the whole class can learn about the child's heritage. (This would be a great activity to do for a day if you have a classroom with very diverse families from around the world!)
- I would also take interest in the child and family's background. I would love to learn some of the Greek language, maybe asking the family is there are any words I could teach to the class to show appreciation of their culture.
It is my hope that these preparations will benefit both the family I to help build a positive relationship and make the child and family feel appreciated, welcomed and comfortable being in my class.
Hello Jessica:
ReplyDeleteI have visited Greece and stayed there for 2 months. It is an absolutely beautiful country and the people are very warm and welcoming. During those 2 months, I discovered cultural similarities we have in the foods we make. For example, baklava, dolma (stuffed grape leaves) and cheese patties. Respect for authority figure like a teacher, is an important cultural belief. Respect for elderly people is another. In my Armenian culture, there have been few interracial marriages where an Armenian was married to a Greek person. The movie "My big fat Greek wedding" reflects lot of the Armenian cultural belief as well. Girls cannot go out without their father's permission. I hope you get to visit this beautiful country and encounter a fun cultural experience with the Greek people. Great post!
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI happen to be Greek and love the picture of Greece you posted! I often look for pictures of Greece to post around school and my home to remind me to go back someday. I was fortunate enough to visit cousins I had in Greece when I was 2 years old and often think about the day when I can have the opportunity to take my own family to Greece.
You gave some great examples of how you would honor a child and their family from Greece in your classroom! Another idea would be to find out the family's favorite food they like to make and possibly have the family make it for your class so the other children can taste. Also check out a Greek restaurant and ask for a paper copy of a menu that you can copy and laminate at school to use in your snack center and/or housekeeping area.
I was happy to hear that you would try to learn some Greek words! Kali mera means good morning, Yia Yia means grandma and Papou means grandpa. Make sure to practice rolling your r's if you ever do get a Greek family and trek to Greece:)!
Nicolette
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteAs always a beautiful post! You listed some great points. It's great to learn from the family, this way the child feel like their parents are part of the learning environment too. This makes the child happy too. Tamarah
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteIt is great that you are ridding yourself of biases that you may have and than you can treat your family with the respect and warmth that they deserve. I have always wanted to visit Greece it looks like a beautiful country. It is a good idea to build a good relationship with the family because as the school year expands you can embrace the family with knowledge of their country and know when their is something that needs your attention in the family.
Great Post Yvette
Jessica- I also included in my preparation for the new child the posting of pictures from the child's home country. I think, as you said, it will allow the child to experience some familiarity in the new environment. I like the idea of inviting the child's family in to teach the children about where they used to live. I think that it would be great if each family could do something like that through out the school year. Lastly, I really appreciate your inclusion of an evaluation of your own biases to make sure that you are truly prepared to welcome the family and their child. Great post! -Katelyn
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