The name of "your" country of origin
What I learned:
In Panama, children in poor families will help out by working on farms. "Three Panamanian organizations—Casa Esperanza, FUNDAMUJER and Fundacion Tierra Nueva—are teaming up to provide nonformal and flexible education opportunities for 7,100 child laborers." (gvnet.com, 2004)
Panama is a huge mix of culture and different ethnic groups due to the Panama canal, the port of transit and how many different people came to work there. (O'Leary, 2011)
I also found out through my friend that Panama had a woman as president! In Panama, women hold leadership roles.
"Women enjoy public equality with men, and are seen on the job and in public places such as restaurants, mingling freely with male family members, while being accorded deference and respect." (everyculture.com, 2010)
5 ways in which I prepare myself to be cultural responsive to these families
1. I would have words in both English and Spanish around the room, describing the items as well as books that have both languages.
2. I would offer information to the parents in Spanish, as well as English. Hoping that the information in Spanish will help them with their transition into our center.
3.By learning their family customs, and their boundaries/rules I will work with parents to develop a plan for their children.
4. A typical family in Panama consists of a husband and wife, with their children.
5. Panamanians value education, and the literacy level is at 90%! I will continue to focus on their goals of achieving a educated literate child.
Brief statement describing in what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both you and the family
I hope by having an understanding of their culture, and their family life I can work with the parents to help their child develop appropriately. I hope to gain a level of respect with the families but showing an interest in their culture, their family life and their child.
On a level right now, it would be great if I deceide to join my friend on her trip. While I will be with locals, it would be nice to have an understanding and a respect for the culture before I arrive.
Resources:
O'Leary, Patricia. (2011) Personal Interview. 19/10/2011
http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Panama.htm
http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Panama.html
I hope by having an understanding of their culture, and their family life I can work with the parents to help their child develop appropriately. I hope to gain a level of respect with the families but showing an interest in their culture, their family life and their child.
On a level right now, it would be great if I deceide to join my friend on her trip. While I will be with locals, it would be nice to have an understanding and a respect for the culture before I arrive.
Resources:
O'Leary, Patricia. (2011) Personal Interview. 19/10/2011
http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Panama.htm
http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Panama.html
5 comments:
cassie,
You have some very good preparation tips. Having words around the room in their own native language as well as the new language would help them develop their language skills. I like your idea about offering information to the parents in their home language and about learning their customs so that you can better prepare to develop an education plan for their child.
Hi Cassie,
You wrote some great ideas about helping the family from Panama feel culturally responsive in the classroom. Your idea about displaying words and providing families with information in both languages,Spanish and English are great ways to help the family feel comfortable and welcome in the classroom. It is amazing for me that Panama has a woman for President and women enjoy public equality with men. It is good to know that their is a country where women are treat equally as men. Great job!
Cassie, You provided interesting information about Panama. You mentioned that many children were laborers, and I wonder if you think a child who had little social time would have any difficulty relating to a child's socail interactions here? Nice Post with great ideas!
Christina,
As a child worker I think it might be difficult for the child to understand social interactions, but it also opens up a great teaching opportunity for me as an educator.
I can discuss both cultures with the children. (Both cultures meaning the classroom culture and the new child's culture.)
Yes I understand that the child in my classroom will have different cultures, but we would work on the social connections of the classroom as a culture in itself.
Cassie,
I like your preparation in welcoming children and families from Panama is your classroom. Providing families with information in both English and Spanish can help families develop stronger language skills in their native and dominant language. We must foster a classroom environment that supports all cultures in our classroom so that children can feel welcomed.
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