A new child join us from Senegal
A child from Senegal has arrived at our local head start. But first I must learn some things.
In order to help the child there are several things I must do to learn about the child and his culture.
In order to help the child there are several things I must do to learn about the child and his culture.
- A thorough search about the country of Senegal such as the location, and language.
- Learn about the traditions, food beliefs and culture of the child, I want to learn about the child's surface culture as well as the deep culture.
- Prepare my home and school with pictures and artifacts from the countries if possible.
- Learn words such as hello, goodbye, yes and no in the child language
- Make sure that I am aware of any micro aggressions or biases that I have that could keep me from communication correctly with the child.
Diversity incorporates acceptance and respect. I think it is important to recognize people as individuals; Respect individuals for what makes them different as well as their similarities to others. We want the child to feel comfortable and when children are in a dominate culture that does not empower their family culture, the children can feel lost in two different worlds. Nadiyah Tayler explained that children can start to feel separate from the family and even view the family culture as wrong or not as important as the dominate culture.
I think your last point about identifying any micro-aggressions you might have based on your knowledge (or lack of knowledge) about the country you might have. I know we have been discussing this for weeks, but it did not cross my mind to think of my own questions about the country or any micro-aggressions I might have. I think in taking the time to research we all learn more about the country and the culture and this will help to eliminate any concerns we might have.
ReplyDeleteArthurine,
ReplyDeleteI love that you are examining both the child and family's surface culture and their deep culture. It would probably be easier and more efficient to just stick with the surface culture but the pursuit toward greater understanding shows a great deal of respect for this child and his family. I love the emphasis on photos and artifacts as well. I hadn't even thought of this most basic support!
Hi Arthurine,
ReplyDeleteIt is so good you chose to receive a child from Senegal.I love the fact that you will do a search to better understand the country, the location, culture and learn some words in the language. One thing i never thought of is your idea to be mindful of microaggressions. It was one area that challenged me about racism, stereotypes and biases.I guess they will really be happy to converse in their language even though you will only be able to say a few words, It will show a lot of commitment on your part and go a long way to make them comfortable in your program. It is a good effort. Thank you.
Arthurine,
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone about your thoughtful insight of watching for microaggressions. Sounds like you really are using the information we are learning :)