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Culture includes values, customs and beliefs. It refers to a shared way of life. Culture influences the way a family communicates, its emotional expression, its social interactions, its learned behaviors, and family rules and norms. When children enter school, they do not leave their culture at home. They bring it with them.
When teachers are willing to learn about the culture of families, we have the opportunity to:
- Support and strengthen the relationships of families with their children, supporting their learning and development.
- Establish connections between what children learn at home and the cognitive skills they should develop in the school environment.
First 5 defines family engagement as "relationship-based partnerships that are mutual, respectful, and responsive between families and early learning and care providers. Family engagement includes families as leaders and advocates for their children. Family engagement happens when teachers and families actively engage in an ongoing process of building and maintaining these meaningful relationships."
To further involve parents in this process:
To further involve parents in this process:
- We will integrate culture into the curriculum: It is important that culture is integrated into the curriculum, either through the inclusion of topics related to cultural diversity or the implementation of practical activities that promote respect and inclusion.
- Encourage Parent Involvement: Parent involvement in school life is essential to creating a positive racial culture. It is important to encourage parents to participate in school activities and keep them informed about their children's progress.
I will do this through activities such as:
I will do this through activities such as:
- Food: We will invite parents to present us with a typical dish from their culture. Through a video they will show us how this dish is made, and they will bring us a sample so that our students can try new flavors.
- Clothing: We will ask our families to bring their children dressed in a traditional costume from their culture, so the child will understand that there are different characteristics in clothing according to the culture of each family and will learn to respect differences.
- Music: Our lesson plans focus on the importance of music within a culture:
- I asked parents to share their musical tastes with their children and dance with them to their favorite songs.
- I asked parents to get their children a toy musical instrument typical of their culture, and share it in class.
- Parents were asked to share with us an important celebration of their culture, with the goal that children recognize that there are different celebrations around the world.
- Parents were asked to research about a country in Africa and come to the classroom with their children and show us what they learned about that country.
When we celebrate the beauty in our many differences in the classroom, we foster understanding and respect with the children and families we serve. Showing families that we see and value all aspects of them, including attributes related to race, ethnicity, and culture, is a critical step in helping them feel welcome and connected to our school and to other families.
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