Communication and Culture
I work with families from several different cultures,
and I make a point of getting to know each family as well as their cultures and
family traditions. By doing so, it
allows the families to become both comfortable and to feel as though they
belong. However, I have a child whose
parents are Muslims, and have been very adamant about not having their child participate
in certain holiday festivities because of their religious beliefs. Prior to this week’s assignment I had a
different perspective on how I believed the parents were wrong in wanting their
three year to participate in holiday festivities. I felt it was wrong, a three year can’t even comprehend
what it means to be a Muslim and doesn’t understand why they can’t dress up for
Halloween, or participate in the Thanksgiving play or the exchange Christmas
presents or go on a field trip to the mall to take pictures with Santa
Claus. I my opinion these are all harmful
activities that are and should be a part of childhood memories. After this week’s reading and assignments, I’ve
realized that what I may view as being wrong or unfair because of my culture
and the way I was raised as a child does not determine what is right or wrong
when it comes to how different groups and cultures believe to be right for
their child. I’ve learned that you can’t
judge a book by is cover; as well as how important it is to think before one speaks
and the significance of the “Platinum Rule” and it’s impact when it comes to
effective communication.
How did you cope with this experience? Do you feel as though the family of the 3 year old should be responsible for communicating the reason for not being able to participate?
ReplyDeleteSandra is there anything you have done to make a Muslim holiday special for this child and make your other students aware of the culture he belongs to?
ReplyDeleteSandra,
ReplyDeleteI had a similar situation in my home day care. I thought what a shame parents would prevent their child from participating in fun activities. With this week's readings I thought about some of the rules I had growing up and this biggest one I can remember would be curfew. I can hear my Mom saying it stern and loud, "Be in the house before that sun sets." For whatever reason, it seems like the fun didn't start until it was time for the sun to set. However, curfew was set in stone and we dare not alter from it because there was definitely consequences!