It is my hope that all children feel nurtured, learn to feel valued, learn to accept others for their individuality, and to teach children and families how to identify prejudice and discrimination and create ways to eliminate both.
One of my goals is to create a safe, comfortable and inviting environment for all of my children and families. I will accomplish this in several ways. I will share all that I have learned regarding diversity and equity with my staff. We will learn as much as we can about the children and families. We will create an environment that combines home and school cultures. It should feel like a home away from home. Every child and family should feel welcome and comfortable in our center. We will also incorporate teaching acceptance of others and identifying and developing solutions for prejudice and discrimination into our curriculum.
I would like to thank all of my colleagues for all of their knowledge, insights and suggestions during this course. I have learned a lot from each and every one of you. I would like to wish all of you success with the next part of your journey!
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
Welcoming Families from Around the World
I am extremely excited, but a little nervous. A new family will be enrolling in our program in two weeks. The family is from Slovakia and will be arriving in the United States within the week. My goal is to make them feel safe, comfortable, and valued at our center. I would do several things to prepare for their arrival.
1. Send a welcome letter to the family introducing not only myself, but the center. I would also ask if they would like to come in and meet with me before their child was due to enroll. Before sending the letter, I would need to find out if the spoke/read any English. If they spoke no/little English find someone to write the letter for me.
2. Research the country of Slovakia. Search for information regarding family life, family celebrations, holidays, education, and forms of recreation.
3. Research what language is spoken. Get some children's books in the language. Make a poster of survival terms.
4. Speak to the children. Prepare them for the new child. I would explain where the family is from using a map. I would explain that the new child does not speak our language. We will need to teach the new child English. I would also ask for the children's input. I would remind them that they have just left their family and all of their friends. How can we make this new child feel welcome and safe?
5. I would arrange the environment according to any research I conducted. I would ad books and pictures to the classroom.
6. I would research any organizations in the community that could be a support system to the family and school.
7. I would write a letter to our existing families and ask for their support as well.
Everyone would benefit from my preparations. I would feel more prepared and able to properly support this child and family. It is my hope that the new child and family will feel welcome, comfortable, and safe in their new environment. I would like to make as smooth of a transition as possible. The other children in the classroom will be building their self-esteem and feel empowered by helping me prepare for the new family. Everyone will learn acceptance of others!
1. Send a welcome letter to the family introducing not only myself, but the center. I would also ask if they would like to come in and meet with me before their child was due to enroll. Before sending the letter, I would need to find out if the spoke/read any English. If they spoke no/little English find someone to write the letter for me.
2. Research the country of Slovakia. Search for information regarding family life, family celebrations, holidays, education, and forms of recreation.
3. Research what language is spoken. Get some children's books in the language. Make a poster of survival terms.
4. Speak to the children. Prepare them for the new child. I would explain where the family is from using a map. I would explain that the new child does not speak our language. We will need to teach the new child English. I would also ask for the children's input. I would remind them that they have just left their family and all of their friends. How can we make this new child feel welcome and safe?
5. I would arrange the environment according to any research I conducted. I would ad books and pictures to the classroom.
6. I would research any organizations in the community that could be a support system to the family and school.
7. I would write a letter to our existing families and ask for their support as well.
Everyone would benefit from my preparations. I would feel more prepared and able to properly support this child and family. It is my hope that the new child and family will feel welcome, comfortable, and safe in their new environment. I would like to make as smooth of a transition as possible. The other children in the classroom will be building their self-esteem and feel empowered by helping me prepare for the new family. Everyone will learn acceptance of others!
Saturday, December 7, 2013
The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression
I had just entered the fifth grade. I was in a new school. We had a girl named Susan who had Down's Syndrome. The first day of school the teacher asked for two students to be Susan's special helper. I was one of them. Susan's helpers would help during class time, play with her outside, and help if she needed assistance. Most of the children made fun of her or looked at her like she had the plague. Very few took the time to try to get to know her. Hearing these comments and witnessing the looks made me extremely sad. I often hoped she didn't realize what was going on. I felt privileged that I got to know her and her family. I learned a lot from Susan. I think the other children made fun of her or looked at her strange because they were either scared or had not had any experiences with others that had special needs. I think the teacher should have explained to the class that everyone has strengths to add to the class. I also think being honest about Susan and explaining how we all could help her would have been nice. I strongly feel that teachers need to teach compassion and acceptance of others!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)