The name of “your” family’s country of origin Laos:
Children of Laos
At least five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family:
1. Learn about their native language: This is important because children will be speaking in their native language for many thing it is important that I know some words to help them feel comfortable in class. for example their language "Lao (or Laotian) belongs to the Tai language family which also includes Thai, Shan, and languages spoken by smaller, related ethnic groups in Laos, Thailand, Burma, southern China, and northern Vietnam. The languages in the Tai family all share a common grammar and tone structure.
-Lao is spoken not only in Laos but in Northeastern Thailand, an area called “Isan”, and the language itself is often called “Isan” (or pha-sa Ee-san) in Thailand. The languages are basically the same but have some differences between them which developed because of historical differences between the Isan area and Laos.
-The Lao language has many regional varieties in both Laos and Northeastern Thailand. This web site (and the phrasebook on the web site) describe the language as it’s spoken in Vientiane, the capital of the Lao P.D.R. The main difference between these varieties is tonal - different varieties will have some changes in tone from the Vientiane Lao tone chart. There are also some differences in vocabulary from region to region"(thailao.netlaofact).
2. Learn about their culture: Learning about the culture would help me to understand why the children may act the way they do especially if they are to loud or they don't talk at all. For example,"Laos was once known as Lan Xang, meaning "the Kingdom of a Million Elephants." It was given the name by King Fa Ngum in 1353. In a home setting, meals are served while siting on a mat. The Lao eat with a fork in the left hand. Some ethnic minority languages have never been codified in written form. A small percentage of older people and those who attended high school prior to. The eldest man is the patriarch of the family. The Lao have great respect for their parents and elders. Among the Hmong, the household. Lao women wear western- style blouses with colorful calf-length, sarong-style skirts made of locally hand-woven materials in multicolor designs and fastened with a silver link"(www.wveryculture.com).
3. The third thing I would prepare is custom. When children come from another country it is very hard for them to get use to new custom. I would want the class to learn their custom and than help teach our new student our custom so it is important to know their custom. For example during nap time it will be hard for many of the children to go to sleep because many of them never sleep by them self. Majority of their meal is served with sticky rice it will take sometime before they get use to having a meal without the sticky rice.
4. The fourth way is asking the family if I could visit their home so I could get a better understanding of their culture. I would asked if the children would also like to bring something from home to make thing a little more comfortable for them. This is common at our school, especially when we have a new student that comes from another country we ask the parents if we can visit their home so the children or child can feel comfortable with us in their own environment.
5. The fifth way I would ask the families if they would like to come into the class and sit with their child one day during the week for the day to make child feel comfortable and the parent feel at easy. This would set the tone for the new families here in their new school.
A brief statement in what ways you hope that these preparation will benefit both you and the family?
I would hope the family would feel the warm and the welcome from the other children in the class. I would want them to be as comfortable as if they were still in their country. The most important benefit I want them to know is that I am here from them if they need me and my staff is also here for them.
Reference:
www.thailao.netllaofact.htm
www.everyculture.com
Hey Darrell,
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting post! I learned a lot about Laos, and I think you had many good ideas that would help the family feel comfortable with their child in your class.
One of the things that I thought was important was what you said about naptime. A lot of kids have a hard time at naptime at preschool, even when they are not from another country, and I agree that an issue can be that the family all sleeps together at home, so the child is not used to sleeping alone. So that is a very good point - it is very common in many other cultures, and happens some in our country too, but not as much.
It sounds like you would do a great job with someone from another country coming to your class!
Carol
Hello Darrell! The five ways that you chose to prepare yourself to be culturally responsive to your new student and family were great. Visiting the child's home is an awesome way to learn more about the child and to observe the child's interactions in his/her comfort zone. Home visits are a great way to introduce yourselves to new children and families of young children. It definitely makes the first day of school a much easier day for both you the teacher and the family. Great post! You would be a great teacher when having to prepare for the transition of cultures and families in your learning environment.
ReplyDeleteCotati
Hi Darrell, The pictures you posted brought Laos alive and your post. You had a lot of great ideas. Teaching your class about the customs of the new child before hand is a great idea. The new child will have to feel more more comfortable upon entering your class. And your current students will feel a litttle bit more empowered to help the new child in the customs of the classroom.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post
Deborah