Welcoming Families from Around the World

Pretending that I am working at a daycare, and there will be a new child coming from Bangladesh, a place or country that I only know the name or I have heard the name, but I even have no idea where its location in the globe, and moreover the child and his or her families’ culture and tradition.

As a professional in early childhood field, I really have to know each of my child’s culture and respect it in the way the school try to adapt the class activities with each child’s uniqueness and needs. For a successful plan to welcome and include this new child into the class environment, I will do five kinds of preparation:

1. I will first try to find where Bangladesh’s location is in the globe. Where it is close from or how far it is from my country. From this location, I will get to know about its seasons and weather.

2. I will study from some resources about the religion(s) exist in the country, because to some religions, they have rules or restrictions, for example the Moslem people cannot eat pork or the Hindus  cannot eat beef, etc.

3. I will learn about the celebrations or feast they usually celebrate annually. Celebrations are very close related to culture. From the characteristic of a celebration a race or country has, we can learn about what they like, and what we should or should not do.

4. Not least important is to learn about the family system whether they often have extended family or just a nuclear family. Understanding this aspect will help me decide how to involve the child’s family.

5. After getting deeper understanding about Bangladesh and its people’s characteristics, I will implicitly introduce about this place to the other children during lesson before the new child comes, for example show pictures of a girl or boy from Bangladesh wearing their traditional clothes or dancing their traditional dance, etc. I will then repeat or review on it after the new child comes. The first one to have all students get familiar with Bangladesh, and the second discussion is to have the new child feel comfortable, welcome and included. If possible, I challenge the other children to know the information from the new child directly.

6. I will put some decoration related to Bangladesh so that the child will feel more at home in the classroom. 

7. Once the child arrives, I will prepare some questions that I want to know about the child’s habits at home from his/her mother and/or things that the parents expect from me and the school. I will file the information for my reference.

Coming to a new place and adjusting with its surroundings will not be an easy thing for some people and especially children, because they have to struggle to become part of the new host culture while retaining their self-identity (Smidt, 2006). Therefore, it is going to be helpful for the host to prepare to welcome in order to help the child and family experience a smooth and pleasant adjustment. Preparation will not only make things look better, and may avoid mistakes, but it will also make the teacher feel more confident when he/she knows what and how to do so. 

Reference

Smidt, S. (2006). The developing child in the 21^st century. Chapter 6, “The Child in Culture” (p. 79).