The setting I chose is the child care center; I have a child
joining my group from Denmark. Ninety-eight
percent of the country’s language is Danish; the other two-percent is
German. Denmark is an egalitarian
society that supports women in business with equal pay and access to senior
positions. Families in Denmark are
generally small and the nuclear family is the center of social structure. They encourage their children to independent
at an early age and they enter day care by age 1.
The five ways I would prepare to culturally responsive
towards the family joining my group would include:
- Learn how to greet the family in their native language. I would also post some common Danish words and phrases around the classroom.
- I would use the internet to educate myself about Danish beliefs such as the fact that they expect courteous behavior from everyone. They greet with a firm handshake and eye-contact.
- Plan a visit with the family in their home setting
- Invite the family to visit the classroom before the child’s first day.
- Create a short video for the family to view introducing myself along with the children in the classroom then I would video some of the activities the children engage in during their day. I invite the family to share any part of their culture that they feel comfortable revealing (I would permission from each child’s parent before videotaping).
I hope my choices of preparing
will allow this family to have some insight into who I am as educator and that
I am open and receptive to their child joining my group. Including the children should help to allow
the child an opportunity to put faces with the names of the children they are
about to build new relationships with.
Reference:
Denmark- Language, culture,
customs and etiquette (2015). Retrieved
from
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/denmark-country-profile.html
The video idea is interesting. It would give the family a way to feel connected even before they stepped foot in the classroom. Including the home language would be important. With my students from other countries, I let them use their language in the classroom. It is good for the dual language learner and the English speaking students. We have counted in Hebrew, Japanese, Tamil, Spanish and I have a new student and his mom is from Laos. The child was born in Connecticut but speaks his mother's language fluently. I am hoping to hear him use it soon in our classroom.
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