Culturally Responsive Curriculum: Home Visiting
Educator: Special considerations for this family would be culture and language.
Together: Hello, [Speaking Arabic]
Educator: For culture, I would say to be very respectful and to ask a lot of questions. So, starting with this family I wasn't sure, but I always ask, "Is this OK? Would you like me to do this? Do you celebrate this? Do you talk about this?" And mom is very open, but I always ask just to make sure. If not, we can just review these and we can use them together ... Or if I see something, like the way she's dressed or something different, I ask her, like, "Oh, what is this?"
Mother: [Inaudible] the birthday.
Educator: Or when she says, "I had a special holiday," I always ask, "What are you celebrating and what do you do?" So I can be respectful, and so I'm more informed. And for language, at the beginning she told me she wanted to learn more English and she wanted my help. That's an owl. Owl. Yeah, it's a little hard to say. So, I do have to speak slower and remember to use simple words, because I know sometimes I may forget and I'll say things, and then she'll be like, "I don't understand," or, "Can you say it again?" and then I just find which words are easier for her to understand.
Mother: Not English for under and up ...
Educator: I try to learn simple words just so sometimes I know what they're talking about. For example, the kids will say, "here" in Arabic, and that's something that I picked up quickly because they would use it a lot.
Child: Momma. Momma.
Educator: The tail? Yes. The tail. [Inaudible]
Educator: How do you say tail?
Mother: "Dhil."
Educator: "Dhil?" OK. Tail. I also picked up how to say ball, mom, and dad, and when we say, "hello," we say it also in their language, in Arabic. [Speaking Arabic] We have started first with him learning more words in English because mom says in Arabic it's easy for him, but his English, he didn't have a lot of words that he knew in English at first. Does he know the word in Arabic?
Mother: Yeah. Then. I told him then.
Educator: But now that he has a larger vocabulary, she's trying to have him learn letters. [Singing] And she also talked about once he—she feels like he's doing OK, at least recognizing some, she would start transitioning to numbers.
Since his goal is the letters, we can also use the, "e, i, e, i, o." So, we can use the song for him to learn the sounds of those letters, too.
Explore ways to make a curriculum culturally responsive. Watch this short clip from the 15-Minute In-Service Suite, A Culturally Responsive Approach to Implementing Curriculum.
