Welcoming Families From Around the World

     This scenario happened to me four years ago when I was teaching a prekindergarten class. The child and his family had recently moved to America from Russia. Although I knew where the country was located, I did not know many other details. I did not think about preparing myself prior to the child/family beginning at the school because there were children from other countries who seem to fit right in and acclimate well to the program. Plus, there always seemed to be a staff member from that country or know enough about a country of origin to offer support and/or insight.
     With this particular family, the only person who spoke some English was the child's father, so communication was difficult. In addition, nobody on staff could offer any strategies to help communication. If this were to occur again, which I am sure it will, I would prepare myself differently than before.
     If possible, I would invite the child and his/her family to the classroom before her first day of class in order for the child to become familiar with me, as her teacher, and the classroom. I would talk to the family and child to know her likes and dislikes, family culture and ask if they could bring in items from the home to display and share with peers to help the child connect school and home. I would also learn words in her native language to help with communication and print out pictures to help her learn common English words.
  Getting to know a family helps build a solid foundation trust and respect between the teacher and family. It allows the family to feel comfortable when leaving their child at school, and it allows the child to have a sense of safety and security with others.



Comments

  1. Donna HoltApril 21, 2019 at 11:22 AM

    Trisha,

    Thank you for sharing your story. Language barriers can be the most challenging. I like how you shared that you would add pictures the next time this situation may come about. Pictures are in many ways universal. Pairing English with Russian or other languages will help establish a foundation for communication. If you pronounce a word incorrectly, the child may correct you. This may become a new language opportunity; as you teach her English, she will teach you Russian. What a fun way to become bilingual or multilingual!!

    Wishing you well,
    Donna

    ReplyDelete
  2. Miguel's Education BlogApril 21, 2019 at 12:44 PM

    Hi Trisha,

    I enjoyed reading your blog. I bet it was hard to communicate with the rest of the family and I am glad that you would prepare yourself if something like this would happen again. I like all the ideas you came up with in inviting to class before the first day, and having them bring items that would display their culture. I also like the idea of leaning some words in their native language what a great idea never would of thought of that.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Haleema HicksApril 21, 2019 at 6:06 PM

    Thank you for sharing your experience. I would prepare myself by learning some basic key phrases to better connect with the family. I would also engage with the family and seek to learn more about their culture from them.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousApril 22, 2019 at 8:34 AM

    Hi Trisha, I am glad that you took into consideration be prepared the next time. At open house, we usually asks parents is it something that we need to know that's very important. Many of us educators does not be thinking about the different cultures or countries our children might be coming from. Like you stated, we suggested that they will fit right in like the others. So to be able to know our families and get to know them will help us out a lot. Great post.

    ReplyDelete

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