Saturday, October 22, 2011

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The country I chose for this blog assignment is Greece.  This is a country that I am not familiar with, but in the past there was client enrolled in my counseling program whose parents are from Greece.  So I felt this county would be appropriate for this assignment.



1.     I would find an interpreter if needed to communicate

2.     Since individuals from Greece are passionate about their background, culture, and ancestry I would begin by educating myself on the traditions customs of Greece such as the festivals, holidays and foods that have long been a part of the country.

3.     I believe it would be especially important to learn about the countries religious traditions.  For example, the Orthodox Church is very present in education and children have obligations to religious courses and pray all together every morning before starting the classes in private or public schools.  Also is may be useful to learn of Greek the superstitions of religious nature.

4.     It would also be important to learn about Greek communication and family relationships.

5.     Finally I believe it is important to communicate with the family themselves.  Getting to know the individual family unit and build a relationship while understanding their expectations of the program.

I believe that this preparation will help the family feel welcomed and accepted in a new environment.  Also I believe that this will help form a partnership with the family to provide the best care for the child.

3 comments:

  1. Leone,
    It is important for the educators to know about the country, culture, traditions, beliefs, as well as language to help a new family from another country. But at the same time we as educators could do so much so having a traslators is a great idea.
    Thank you for the great post.

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  2. How would most people react if a child did not eat until a prayer was said? Most EC educators would simply tell the child to just eat. Understanding that prayer is so important in education in the child's home country is vital to including them into their new school. Thank you for sharing.

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  3. Leon'e,

    I think it is a great idea to get a translator if needed. This can be quite feasible if you rarely have new students from new countries that do not speak English. However, if the need for various translators increases, a new strategy may need to be created. Great list of action plans!

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