Welcoming Families from Around the World

This week’s task is intriguing, we have to step out of our comfort zone and reach beyond the borders to unknown territories. We are about to get as diverse as we possibly can, and host a child from a country that we have no knowledge about. I have to create a plan that demonstrates how we will make this child, and his family, feel welcomed into our program. My new family will be coming in from Republic of Seychelles, which is an island in the western Indian Ocean.

I know nothing about this country or its people, therefore I will have to take steps and do a few things before they arrive, I would like the child to feel welcomed and a part of our program as soon as possible. The five things that I need to do are:

 !) Gather information about the island and its culture, traditions and practices. This I would do so that I can include posters and artifacts in the classroom so he will feel somewhat at home.

2) I would want to look into their education system to see what he will be familiar or unfamiliar with in our system so as to have some kind of continuance for the child.

`3) Find out all that I can about family: Important facts such as the child’s name, who the parents are and their names, where exactly they are from (city or rural) their hobbies if possible. This will help when we plan family night, some things that they are used to, can be incorporated in the activities and foods. We would definitely look forward to the family coming to the classroom to share some stories about their culture in Seychelles, and teaching us to make something that is special to them, like a craft or a dish in a planned activity

4)  I would do some self-reflection to see if I have any biases, stereotypes or prejudices with regards to his culture/heritage, and be aware of them in order to treat him with fairness and justice.

5. Finally, I would have a discussion with my class and their families about this new child that will be joining us. We would talk about how important it is to make him feel welcomed and belonged, and a real part of the group. We would locate the country that he is from on the world map, and talk about the things that are important to their age group, Items such as favorite foods, games they play, and see if there is any similarity to those we have. We would create a big welcome poster of all of us in the class and put it up so he and his family would feel welcomed.

My hope is that these preparations will help the family and their child feel comfortable and welcomed, and experience as smooth a transition as possible in this new environment. The child and family will feel cared for and they may start to develop trust and confidence in me early. This should also give me new experiences as a professional, as I continue on the journey to becoming an effective anti-bias teacher.

Early childhood class in Seychelles

                                            Primary school class in Seychelles