Working in a country that has a population with so much
diversity can be challenging. Especially
with it involving individuals and families from 150 different countries. I can only speak from experience, so I am
choosing the setting to be at a child care center. Hearing that a family that has recently emigrated
from their country Egypt to the U.S. and will be joining my center is exciting,
but research is going to be completed to ensure that this family is comfortable
and supported during their child’s time with us.
Egyptians, are very patriarchal, the male in the dominant
role (AFSUSA);
this means that we will have to be very sensitive and not judgmental when it
comes to their family dynamics. Speaking
to the family in a whole will be important but making eye contact with the
father would be a practice that I will probably do more of. Because it is not common for someone other
than family to take care of your children it will be difficult for the family
to leave their child with our program.
To ensure their safety and the quality; asking them to come and complete
some observations along with completing a director/teacher conference. It is imperative for the family to know our
expectations but it is also important for us to know the families expectations of
us. Knowing that the dominant religious
belief in Egypt is Muslim, it will be important to know of any dietary needs
for the child so that I can ensure that there are substitutes for each
meal. Depending on the child’s age it would
be great to let the child share some traditions with the classroom. The children love learning about each other
and this assists with the children learning diversity.
Preparing for any child that is joining our program can be a
challenge. But with the help from my
team and constant in the know of other cultures is the reason we have been so
successful with our families. Both our families
and the program benefit from preparing and the stress level is hardly
visible.
Hi Crissy, I agree both parties should know the expectations of the other so that the experience is more beneficial to both. Both the family as well as the educator is being exposed to something new and the experience for both will be rewarding if expectations are made clear from the beginning. Learning new cultures in my opinion aren't always hard but when you know more about the culture it is easier to adjust.
ReplyDeleteHi Crissy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting us know a little about Egypt. It is quite a challenge like you said meeting a family different from the dominant culture. Too many things run through the mind like what if the parents don't like my appearance or my dressing culture is different from theirs? Will this strain our relationship? Nonetheless, I see it as an opportunity to affect a child's life positively.
You came up with some great ideas. I think that the most important thing that we can do when we get a new child from a country that we don't know is to research the country so we have a little more information. Our research makes a great starting point in getting to know the families.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post Crissy. I must say that I learned a little more about Egypt and their family system. You bring up a great point of involving the entire family, yet still considering the father as your main focal point because this practice is a norm for them. Again this just allows us to see how important it is to be open minded, flexible, and accommodating in order to provide children with great and profound experiences.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Emily