Welcoming Families From Around the World

Think for a moment about the following two statistics:

-About 195 different countries exist in the world today.

-According to the U.S. census bureau, the United States’ population includes individuals and families from 150 different countries.

For this assignment, imagine the following scenario:

You are working in an early childhood setting and you receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family.  In order to complete this assignment, first choose a country you know nothing about as this family’s country of origin.

Five ways I can prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards a family from Yemen is by:

1. Identity- Understanding my own cultural identity, I believe, is the first step to being culturally responsive.  You have to be able to share who you are if you want others to do the same in order to work together.  Also, I can draw on similarities and comparisons to better connect with families.
2. Resources- Gathering information, going to a cultural event, learning the history and communicating with people can all help my understanding of the elements of that culture.
3. Integration- Integrating the culture creates a sense of acceptance, excitement, respect and comfort that helps make deeper connections with children and families.
4. Language- It is important to incorporate the home language somehow.  This can be done visually and verbally.  If the language in the early childhood setting is different from the home language I would make it known that since the child and/or family is learning a new language then I would like to learn their language as well.  This way everyone is learning and experiencing similar feelings.
5. Involvement- Involving the family helps everyone see that they matter in the child’s life from family members to myself as an early childhood professional.  Also, family members can act as cultural resources for myself or the greater community.

I hope that these preparations will benefit myself and the family in a few ways.  I hope that it will be a learning experience for all.  This simple idea can help subside any power relations and focus on the more human experience of getting along, learning new insights and building a relationship that centers around doing what is best for the child.  I hope to create a partnership of communication, support and trust that can come from investing the time and effort in culture and family.