Welcoming Families From Around the World

 Scenario:

A child will be entering the class from a different country.  How can you prepare?


I am selecting the country of Laos.  To prepare for this student entering my classroom, I would research the country to gain background information.  Laos is a country in Southeast Asia, with a population of 6.5 million people.  The languages spoken are Laotian and Thai.  Most people are farmers, and the most popular crop is rice.  Laos is considered to be the least developed country in Asia, and the population lives in rural areas.  According to the United Nations World Food Programme, 23 percent of the population is food insecure.  According to UNICEF, “40 percent of the population has no sanitation facilities.  Approximately 70 percent of five-year-old children do not have early childhood education opportunities”.  

I would want to incorporate Laotian words into our classroom.  To do this, I would ask the family to help me write words to label our class in their home language.  I would ask them for music from their home country and children’s stories.  I would also invite them into our classroom to tell stories from their home country.  Pronouncing their child’s name correctly would be a great way to show respect for the child and would help to show respect for their culture.  Inviting the family to share family pictures, or to take photos of them to post in our classroom would also show respect for their family.  I would represent the new child as I do all children in the school by posting word wall words in their home language with pictures, posting pictures of their families.  Placing materials around the room to reflect the family culture; such as food boxes (either donated by the family or found at an Asian food store), clothes to dress up in, games or toys that are familiar to the new child, will also help to make the child feel more comfortable.  Learning and using words of greeting also goes a long way when meeting a family from another country.  I would do my best by using a few words to communicate with the family, using a translating application if I cannot find local resources.  

Hopefully, I would make the family and the child feel welcome, and we would be on our way to building a relationship of mutual respect and teamwork to educate their child.   


Comments

  1. Anthony SingletonAugust 15, 2020 at 11:27 PM

    Hi Rebecca,
    I think it is great that you would incorporate the family's culture into the curriculum in order for the child to feel welcome. Building a positive relationship with the family is a very important piece in making sure that a classroom is fully inclusive.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Julia NuqulAugust 16, 2020 at 12:22 AM

    Hi Rebecca,
    I liked your ideas for welcoming the Laotian child into your classroom. One thing you need to know about Asian cultures is that they do not like to be singled out. They get very embarrassed and uncomfortable. The child and parents would feel much more welcomed if you had every child and parent do the same at the same time. It is so important that you would work hard to pronounce the child's name properly, but you might never accomplish this :) What goes a long way, though, is to ask what the child's name means. Most east Asian cultures put a lot of thought into their children's names.

    ReplyDelete

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