I know nothing about this country, but I chose it because when some of my ancestors came over they came from what was Bohemia at that time. It is now the Czech Republic. So I thought why not start there. As I was doing this I thought about the boy from my family who came over on a boat under a lady's dress in order to escape, from what I don't know. This could not have been an easy adjustment for him, while he had left his royal family behind and hidden with a servant lady. He was nine when he arrived. What did the United States entail? I'm sure it's difficult for children even today. I figure this assignment would give me a starting place to find out about this country. The story above is all I've ever known about it.
Czech Republic
Just arriving in the United States from the Czech Republic is a family that I will be working with this year in our Early Childhood Program.
Preparing myself to be culturally responsive towards this family
1) I would look up the language of the country and try and learn at least hello and goodbye along with a few other phrases that would be welcoming to family.
Possible one to let them know that I do not speak Czech -Nemluvím česky .
Hello - Dobrý den
Goodbye -Na shledanou
These and other phrases can be found at Czech Phrases
2) I would research what the social system of the Czech Republic was like, the education system, the religions, and the government. This would help me to get a better idea of what the family had been exposed to in their home culture.
3) I would plan a home visit with a translator if one was available and if not would do my best to translate what I could. I would also ask around to find out if there were places in the community, in which, I could find services for them that would be helpful and put them in touch with those.
4) I would prepare things in my classroom from their culture words, pictures, or items. I would also check into foods for snacks.
5) I will prepare myself to listen to the family and be understanding of their needs and frustrations, as I'm sure there will be some. I will work to find ways to connect with this family and not over step their beliefs on parenting. I will work to with them to help them feel like they are apart of our environment through, language, discipline, and participation.
6) Look into Early Childhood organizations in the Czech Republic and ways to connect to professionals there.
It is my hope that these preparations will benefit both me and the family.
Preparing to work with a family who is from a different country and background than mine or one I am familiar with would be quite the challenge. Knowing that there are 195 different countries that exist in the world today, and according to the U.S. census bureau the United States' population includes individuals and families from 150 of those there is is good possibility that I will be working with many children that I can not culturally relate too. I hope that these preparations will allow me to get to know the family and what their goals are for their child's education. Getting to know them and their social identities will help me form an educational environment that is friendly and welcoming for them. What I learn through research may also form some biases within myself or bring about some that I was not aware of. Knowing my background and what I have experienced personally I will be able to set these aside and get to know this family. I will work through the research to understand things and form partnerships with not only this family but possibly early childhood professionals in the Czech Republic.
Helpful Web Resources for connecting to the Czech Republic
European Union
Ginny, I loved your post. Thanks for the link to Czech words,thans awesome. I said I would learn some helpful phrases as well. Working for Head Start, this is often how we meet out families. Thanks again
ReplyDeleteGinny,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your ideas for welcoming the family. I love that you included the Czech words and that you would check into the social system in their country. That is a very important factor because their may be things that the family expects from you that we do not consider here in the U.S.