Welcoming a Family from Japan

A Family from Japan

 

I chose to have my family come from Japan.  

Ways to be Culturally Responsive:

1. Research the culture.

2. Invite the family into the classroom.  I will need to better understand the Japanese culture, when it comes to education.  I read on the CIA website that the most followed religions are Shintoism and Buddhism.  This will make celebrating holidays and events very foreign to my new student.  Christianity and Judaism are the most acceptably celebrated by schools in America and our calendar follows the events of each religion accordingly.  To be prepared I will need to know what holidays they do or do not celebrate and understand their values so not to offend them (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html). 

3.  Two-way communication in response to family's spoken language.  First I must find out if the child and parents speak English.  If this is not the case, information for the parents have to be translated.  If I must speak with parents in a conference, I will also need a translator. 

4. When in class I will have a few key words and phrases that will allow me to communicate with the child and that they will learn over time.  This will help with continually trying to integrate the student's culture in the classroom. Also, learning phrases that the child speaks it important as well.  It is key to have rituals and routines for this child to begin to understand what to do in a non-verbal way. 

5. Develop creative and alternative ways for student to show what they know and what they have learned (NAEYC, 2009).   In America, teachers single out students to make them more comfortable and develop a relationship with them in the ECE field.  In Japan, education is focused on the group and all the teachers are cohesively teaching the same thing (http://japanese.about.com/od/japaneselessons/a/061000.htm). Through observation of play and small group interactions from student to student and teacher to student I will be able to better understand how to support the student.

My preparations will benefit me and the family because they will see that I am making a concerted effort to include their child and understand their differences.  Hopefully the parents will feel supported rather than excluded from the culture of the classroom.  This will better the student's relationship with their peers and teachers.  Also, it will help the student transfer from home to school easier because their will be similarities between the two. 

References

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2009). Where we stand on responding to cultural and linguistic diversity. 

http://japanese.about.com/od/japaneselessons/a/061000.htm

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

As I went through this week, I cannot recall a situation where a microaggression occurred.  But recently in the news there has been controversy over a statement made by Phil Robertson of the A&E show "Duck Dynasty". 

 

(Some light humor)

As many of you know there has been a situation with one of the cast members from the show "Duck Dynasty".  A show about a family from the south that made an empire from building duck whistles.  The patriarch of the family came out with statement claiming that black people were happier when they were in the cotton fields.  He claimed, he always heard them singing while working and he never heard them complain.  REALLY???? Also in his rant he goes on to insult gays as well.  He compares homosexuality to bestiality.  Robertson's remarks are outright racist, homophobic and ignorant of reality.  He has literally hit each form of microagression with his statement. 
The CNN article:  http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/19/showbiz/duck-dynasty-suspension/

When I heard the comments that he made, I was immediately offended.  First, because I watched (past tense) the show.  Second, because he is not only going against what the Bible says by judging people and showing hate, but he is perpetuating the stereotype that Christians feel they are better than others.  The biases that he has inherited from his family members about African Americans and gays are completely off base and shows that the suppression of different groups of people is still happening in the modern world (especially in the south). 
Because of these comments I no longer watch the show. 

There have been many many other cases and situations like this in the media where race, religion and homosexuality have become a large part of politics topics and debates.  As mentioned in week 2 of the course.  It is important to address differences and not sweep them under the rug.  Invalidating situations such as this can be detrimental to the future of this country and its youth! I can guarantee that.  The comments show that there is still work to be done when it comes to accepting people who are different.