Preparing for a New Culturally Diverse Family

I have a hypothetical child joining my school who has emigrated from Egypt. I know that I want the child and her family to feel welcomed and comfortable; therefore, I will research her country of origin. Egyptian people are very helpful and friendly, they love to be helpful. I found the following very interesting about Egyptian peoples attitude.

“Egyptian people are generally very helpful, so tourists rarely have trouble finding assistance with directions or recommendations. It is not unusual for an entire crowd of Egyptians to surround you trying to answer a query. They stand very close when speaking, requiring very little personal space. Egyptians are accustomed to refusing every invitation the first time it was offered, so if your offer is genuine, repeat it a second time. The same goes with invitations from Egyptian people. They will offer something once out of politeness, but you know the offer is sincere if it is repeated. If you accept an invitation into an Egyptian home, such as for a meal, and you do not show, the hosts would be humiliated.”

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/culture-egypt-32949.html

1.      The first step to be culturally responsive is to know that I must invite parents more than once to a conference or to ask questions.  This is good to know that sincerity is evident when request or invitation is repeated.

2.      I do not want to just look on the surface, and because website research is generalized, I would have the family fill out a questionnaire. This would help me get information that goes beyond the surface.

I found a few sample questionnaires  here are the websites

·         http://www.stjamesschoolhwd.org/forms/PK_Family_Questionnaire.pdf

·         http://newparent.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/BT_Questionnaire_online.pdf

·         https://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200905/BTJCohen.pdf

·         http://www.keyschool.org/documents/PS%20Family%20Questionnaire%2009-10.pdf

3.      I would learn how to greet in their native tongue it is amazing, but there are numerous ways to greet depending on the circumstance. I found this web site that has numerous phrases and how to pronounce them. http://arabic.desert-sky.net/greetings.html

4.      I would find a translator to assist in our first meeting and future ones if needed.  I found the following website to find translators who speak Arabic in my area. https://www.elance.com/ls/usa/florida/boca-raton/arabic-translation-professionals/

5.      I would schedule of home visit if it they were open to it. Going to a persons home can really assist in getting to know a family better. You can also observe some of their culture. During this visit I would ask the child to create an all about me chart to share with her friends.

I would hope that this preparation would help me and the family feel more comfortable. It would demonstrate professionalism as well as care and concern about the family. These preparations would allow me to be culturally responsive, digging beyond the surface, and confidence to both me and the student.    I would hope these actions would have a positive effect on my relationship with my student.