CREATING AFFIRMING ENVIRONMENTS

       As I look out the window of my 30th floor apartment at highways, jam-packed with vehicles sided with more towering cement with windows and make-shift dwellings tucked in, with a play area where the children are only to play on the paved and tiled spaces with clear 'Stay off the grass' signs, the stuff of this picture seems far away.. I can, however, provide the multinational, multi ethnic, 'multi-differing' incomes, multi-lingual and probably multi physical, emotional and cognitive strengths population. So other than the back yard, I am ready to go.

       To prepare my apartment (YIKES), I would start by ensuring the children who are planning to  attend are represented (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010). If possible, I would obtain pictures  of their immediate and extended families. Pictures of their countries  and animals for the cultural wall. I like the idea of having the children bring in artifacts of how they and/or their parents would like to represent their background (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010). Perhaps I would open the class by representing my heritage. Then in the following months invite  families to work together to build a representative table.  The work areas could  include matching of different occupations or tools specific to some of the countries. Also it would be good if the families could share toys specific to their countries. Some of my families use necklaces and bracelets as teething rings, for example,  that the child continues to wear until older. These sorts of things could be included .

     I would have dolls that represented different shades of skin and persona dolls that could also represent  differences that are not yet in our student body (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010). I would ask the families about household tools that are specific to their family and look to replicate them in the class. To represent the different cultures, I would take a month to use recipes from each area for snacks and lunch. Because the school is in my home, I can invite  parents in to help prepare the food, if possible.

     I would make a  of a collection of music specific to the families represented and another for dances. I will have asked for some specific first language words for each child, like greetings, names or familiar instructions and have these posted in the respective areas. i.e. greetings at the door, food requests in the kitchen, etc. I would request books in the child's mother tongue and invite members of the family to share them when they can in Circle. This could also be a time to teach some basic language and songs.

     Once the children are settled we would look to see who is missing. This discussion could be fostered by their taking photos while out and about or on vacation or shopping, etc. The assignment could be what kind of work do you see that you do not see in our classroom or are there people who look different than we have shown in our class. We would work together to make our school, a place they could see themselves and feel welcome.  

     Another idea that seems very doable is to contact a pre-school in their home country and have visits say every two weeks. Each school could share about their lives, share what the weather is that day, where they went on the weekend, and what they ate for lunch, for example. We would support these visits with research  and reading books.

     Because I will be in this apartment complex, we can be a part of the community events and perhaps design a few of our own. If children were included from outside our gates, it would require some sort of subsidy, perhaps partly from the tuition of the children who live here in affluent homes. This would have to be agreed upon among the parents, whatever over-seeing body I would require, and me. However, the eye-opening gains and life skills learned could break some of the 'difference' walls that now divide us.

As I come to the end of this thinking page, it seems more a possibility. I am learning that when our eyes are opened to what is around us, doors of opportunity open.

References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-Bias Education. Washington, D.C.:

            National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).