Welcoming Families From Around the World

•          About 195 different countries exist in the world today.
•          According to the U.S. census bureau, the United States’ population includes individuals and families from 150 different countries.

 It is certain that as an early childhood professional you will encounter children from diverse backgrounds whose families may have come from many different countries. In what ways can you prepare yourself for working in early childhood settings which represent such diversity?

 For this assignment, imagine the following scenario:

You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

                For the purpose of this assignment I decided to use Ojibwa culture as “my family’s” ethnicity rather than use a different family of origin. I work with Aboriginal families often and am truly ashamed to say that I still do not know very much about their culture. Throughout this course’s materials, resources and learning, I am now more determined than ever to learn more about the diverse needs that are often present in my classroom. In completing research for this task I discovered several things that would be extremely useful with regards to being culturally responsive to Aboriginal needs. First, I learned that in Ojibwa culture, often names are not used. Children are often named things important in nature, but when speaking to or about one another they use the person’s role in the family (i.e. grandmother, daughter etc.). I also learned that there are manners in Ojibwa culture that are very important to their people and beliefs that are not necessarily understood by others. Children were taught bravery, patience, and self-control from the time they were born.  Here are some of the things the Ojibwa taught their children:

You may not walk between an older person and the fire.

You may not interrupt an older person who is talking.

You may not laugh if something unusual happens.

You may not go to the neighbors at mealtimes and look wistfully at their food.

You may not make eye contact with an elder who is not part of your clan.

The Ojibwa call themselves the Anishinabeg (or if singular, Anishinabe) for "first" or "original people." Native culture contains some very important myths, legends and stories that tell of their culture and religion. The website, tradition Ojibwa beliefs states that: “Christians and Muslims presume that man is created in the likeness of god, but that there is a separation between the two. The Ojibwa don't have a word or concept that separates man from his environment. The universe in which we live is alive with the spirit of the Manitou”. Ojibwa people value family, nature and the environment above all else, they do not only represent an important part of their culture but are a part of who they are individually.

I believe that knowing, understanding and appreciating the diverse cultures in your classroom is important to knowing and understanding the children and families you are trying to reach, educate and inspire.

References:

http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/northeast/ojibwa/villagelife.html

http://www.native-art-in-canada.com/ojibwa_beliefs.html

http://www.traditionalojibwebeliefs.com