The new family I will prepare to receive in my childcare center is from South Korea. Some ways I plan to be culturally responsive towards this family are as follows:
I would research South Korea to find out something about the country. Learning about where the family is from would allow me to find out some differences and similarities of our countries.
The second way to prepare for my new family is to learn how to pronounce their names. I believe this to be most important because your name is a part of your family culture. I want to be respectful towards the family and make an effort to help them feel I am making an effort to establish a good relationship.
The third way to prepare is to learn a few words in their language. Being able to say hello and welcome them with a smile will make the introduction less stressful. I have seen first hand how language can be a barrier or a bridge to communication.
Fourthly, I would learn how they prefer to be greeted. It is important to know whether they prefer a handshake, whether eye contact will be an issue or who is greeted first, the father or mother.
Lastly, I would find someone in the center or community who had experience with families and children from South Korea. I think our communities have a wealth of experience that we can tap into. This South Korean contact could be used for me as well as for the family to have contact personally in the future.
I believe preparing for the family will help ease transition in the child care center as well as the community. This preparation will show the family they are important to us and we want them to be a part of the center. Finally, preparation will assist me as an educator to get a good start in establishing and maintaining a good relationship with the family.
Great ideas and thoughts for the ness family. It would make them feel welcomed when you know a few words in their native tongue. Learning how to pronounce their names would go a long way to build trust and a great relationship with the family. You are right to be cautious about touching or not touching each culture has its own ideas on if it is approprate.
ReplyDeleteI love how you would learn how to greet them in their native language. The fact that you would learn how to pronounce their names will also make them feel that you are willing to get to know them and want to help them in any way possible.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary,
ReplyDeleteI liked your idea about researching their home land to learn if there were any similarities between our two countries as well as some of the differences. Also learning some of their greeting phrases is a nice welcoming touch. I am sure that they would appreciate your efforts in welcoming them here.