The five ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards the family is:
- research the country in which the family is from, the norms, traditions, beliefs, language.
- having a meeting with the family including the child, get to know them for who they are and not assume they are like their country.
- after gathering as much information as possible, I will then pass on such information to the other educators that I work with, so that they would be prepared also.
- as educators try to rid our thoughts of stereotypes or bias.
- within the classroom place a flag of South Africa, and during lessons refer to South Africa in some instances.
I would hope these preparations benefit both myself and the family in order that the family would feel comfortable sending there child to the care centre. Also we as educators would not offend the family in any way, by our words or deeds. There would be confidence developed within the family, that they would feel welcomed and appreciated for who they are. A bond between family and educators would develop. Both educators and family should not feel as though they have to lose themselves in the process but rather just acquire love and appreciation for another person.
I like how you included the African flag. I was thinking a typical class has 25-30 kids. That would be a lot of flags. However, you can by mini flags and stands at Montessori Services. You could also have a culture book in your reading area with every child's culture flags and pictures from their culture. This would actually be really fun!
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