Eritrea

Eritrea

Eritrea's population comprises nine ethnic groups, most of which speak Semitic or Cushitic languages. The Tigrinya and Tigre make up four-fifths of the population and speak different, but related and somewhat mutually intelligible, Semitic languages. In general, most of the Christians live in the highlands, while Muslims and adherents of traditional beliefs live in lowland regions. Tigrinya and Arabic are the most frequently used languages for commercial and official transactions. In urban areas, English is widely spoken and is the language used for secondary and university education.

Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/country/profiles/eritrea.html

 

In order to be culturally responsive I will do more research on the country. I will read the child’s registration documents to find out about the work of the family. This may lead me to know about their economic position. I will ask the registrar about the parents’ level of English in order to plan for our first meeting.

During our first meeting, I will share that I am thrilled to have a student from Eritrea in my class. (Letting them know I would love to know more about their home country). I will ask questions at our meeting in order to find out about their culture in order to plan appropriately.

*By doing this, I will learn about the family. Knowing more about the family will allow me to be respectful of the child’s culture and act in a way that supports the values of the family. Honoring the child’s culture will make his/her transition into American education system less cumbersome. Children are interested in new places and people and being able to share a small bit about the child could make it easier to develop new friendships.

Eritrea's nine nationalities
Tigrinya woman	Rashaida woman
Afar woman	Tigre woman
Kunama woman	Saho woman
Nara woman	Hedareb woman
Bilen woman	One heart

Sometimes I'm To Blame..

The memories I have of incidents when I witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression occur almost weekly. As a teacher in a diverse school filled with an equally diverse staff affords me the chances to witness relationships, encounters, and exchanges between those two groups. Most instances are subtle, even non- recognizable to others, but as we are studying micro-aggressions, I am hyper focused on what I witness.

Dr. Sue Laureate, 2010

 

The first of these instances places me as the unintentional aggressor. I teach kindergarten, and we allow, and encourage parents to come up and have lunch with their children. The parents can assist other children that may need it, and it helps to build community in our class. One child had a rough beginning. He arrived speaking no English, and having never been in a learning setting away from his mom. He tried to run away, and we had to “bar the door” to keep him from running out. Very quickly, he realized school was safe and fun and began to tell his mom not to wait outside our door. Mom would arrive at lunch, and hand feed him. It was as if he was a toddler and couldn’t do it himself. In the beginning, I would tell her “No, he can do it on his own.” Because of mom’s limited English, she didn’t understand my words, but she did feel my condemnation. After returning after the Winter Break, I no longer said anything. The child was making such incredible progress that I wanted her to focus on that.

          When beginning this class, I recognized my micro-aggressions towards this family and have changed my approach. I realize that meals, and the way they are handled are part of this family’s culture and I have no right to impede on their methods. This child has pushed back in small steps and he no longer lets her feed him, and their methods naturally move away from this. What I overlooked is the bonding that occurs during these lunches. I overlooked her motives for seeing her child each day. That was my error.

 

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In order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity, I simply checked my ego. It was my ego that said, “Kindergarteners can’t be helped to eat their lunch.” “They are too big for help.” When we check our own biases and let go of the implied power we hold, it puts parents and teachers on a more level playing field. Teachers don’t need to play a power card in order to be effective.  

At this time of year, I am right here with this....Happy "Almost Summer Teachers!"

MicroAgressions in Real Time

Over the Memorial Day holiday, my daughters and my mom went to the National Harbor. We go each year and stay at the Gaylord Hotel. This year there was a Saudi Arabian Government sponsored graduation event. All Saudi citizens  graduating with their masters attending colleges and universities  throughout the United States are invited to participate in a single ceremony that allowed family and friends to attend. Additionally there were 100's of employers there with non-stop interview sessions for the candidates.
The hotel was completely overbooked and 95% percent of the guests were Saudi families.

We were fascinated by the varying degrees of clothing options that women chose. Also fascinating was the family dynamics we could observe. My girls are used to seeing scarved women, but my mom was somewhat overwhelmed. At one point we were sitting outside around a fire pit and my mom asked a woman if she spoke English. The woman replied, "Of course!" My mom went on to ask her about her clothing and if she was hot wearing the additional garments. The woman kindly replied that it is much warmer in Saudi and so she felt the temperature was nice.
Although my mom didn't mean to offend, I am sure this woman felt some level of embarrassment from the questions. I am sure she has answered that question hundreds of times. As Dr. Sue mentioned in the Laureate video, we often don't know we have offended, and I am sure my mom meant nothing by it. But it is those everyday indignities that stick with a person and cause deep level hurts.

I enjoyed being semi immersed in the Saudi world for the weekend. It was amazing to see so many mothers graduating!

Diversity and Culture?

 “Diversity is what we live each day.”                                     - elementary teacher

“We are diversity”                                                                   - elementary teacher

“Culture is the part that keeps groups together. It’s the easy and fun stuff like music, art, literature, foods, and celebrations.”                           -elementary teacher

 

 

*Many responses described surface level culture. Many consider diversity to be based on race and ethnicity.

 

Omitted Areas Discussed

Many did not share the culture of THEIR specific family. Many did not share the role of required/legal culture. (Those required by the government of their country of origin).

 

Several answers in regards to culture, family, identity, and diversity influenced my own thinking. When listening to a dear colleague discuss her family, I was reminded that there are people in the world who still view groups as “them” and feel obliged to judge the cultural choices of others.

3 Items That Would Accompany Our Family In Case of Emergency

*COC's for each daughter
Both of my daughters are adopted from Russia as babies. Their Certificate of Citizenship is the one document that makes them AMERICAN citizens. Even if our family were to be relocated, it would be important, critical to have this document.

*Adoption ScrapBook for Big Girl

*Adoption ScrapBook for the Wee One

Although photos can be reprinted, and many pictures are saved online in various locations, there are many bits and pieces of each daughters contained in their adoption scrapbooks. Items such as reciepts, hotel keys, medicine wrappers, tickets to ballets while in Russia, restaraunt napkins, and a variety of items from each of the four trips to Russia.


 If I found that I could only keep one item, I would have to keep the girls' COCs as this is their legal paperwork. I'd be broken hearted to lose their scrapbooks. Mostly broken hearted for the girls.

I realize that "things" aren't as important to me as I thought they would be. Although I would be devastated if I lost items, in reality photos are online and everywhere so I could almost recreate many memorable moments.

Perspectives on Diversity and Equity (EDUC - 6164 - 2)

Starting the newest course...(EDUC - 6164 - 2).
Looking forward to sharing with lots of new classmates!
Have a good weekend everyone!

jg

Micro Aggressions

It didn't happen this week, but it has happened often in relationship to me having daughters that are born in Russia.

"Why didn't you adopt in the US? There are many needy children here."

"Do your girls know their REAL mom?"

"Don't you hate it that your girls were born in Russia since they are so against the US?"

It could go on and on..Most don't mean to be ignorant, but it is exhausting at times to here these things..When I adopted, Russian American relations were fine, and now that we hate each other, I get the comments much more. Thank you Putin.

I just hope that my girls don't here it too much when I am not around. I don't want that stress on them.