The fictitious family I chose is from China.
Five ways in which I can help them directly is to;
1. Empower the parents and the student. I will make sure I recognize the strengths and focus on the strengths to combat the weaknesses.
2. Link them to available resources. This is important because many parents feel totally lost when they are in a country that is not their country of origin. As an educator, I can build a database that will allow me to share resources of people I have networked in the past with which that can help these parents.
3. Respect their culture and customs. To achieve this I will incorporate materials into the class that reflects such customs and observes them.
4. Become better versed and informed about their traditions. To do this I must read, research, and interact and ask the family questions. I can also do this in the form of questionnaires.
5. Create an environment where they feel welcome and there is no place for oppression and marginalization. These preparations will benefit me and the family because we will both learn new things about each other and we will have collaborative communication where we both feel at ease. I can increase my knowledge by keeping up with up to date information of what is going on in their country.
As a parent, I would feel comfortable leaving my child with you. Providing an environment that is welcoming and nurturing is so important.
ReplyDeleteHi Dina,
ReplyDeleteYour plan looks wonderful. I cannot even imagine how scary it must be for families to leave everything behind to start a life in a new country. I especially liked your last comment about how learning about their culture benefits both of you. I am glad that you would not see it as work but as a learning opportunity. I think that is a really strong foundation for educators that children are not viewed as extra work or problems when characteristics about them require individuals to spend that extra time trying to make a child feel welcomed and secure not alienated because they are different. Great post, the picture is so cute!