Received: (from news@localhost) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.7.6/8.7.3) id TAA22359 for nifl-family@novel.nifl.gov; Mon, 25 Nov 1996 19:37:47 -0500 (EST) Path: literacy.nifl.gov!nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov From: AmadorTuolumne Comm Action <HN4415@handsnet.org> Newsgroups: nifl.family Subject: Re: Input requested for new NIFL Initiative Date: 25 Nov 1996 19:37:45 -0500 Organization: National Institute for Literacy Lines: 108 Sender: listproc@literacy.nifl.gov Distribution: nifl Message-ID: <199611260031.QAA23729@sword.connectinc.com> Reply-To: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov NNTP-Posting-Host: literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Status: O X-Status: Hi, my name is Shelly Beeman (YES Partnership/ Healthy Children Coordinator) and I retrieve mail for Bonnie LInd, Director of Even Start. I noticed your request and had just downloaded this article. I thought it might make you feel a little better anyways... Well, here it is: Considering Culture & Values [This information was taken from the Parent-Professional Partnership Training Curriculum at the Center for Human Investment Policy, University of Colorado at Denver. For more information please contact Tina House at HN5129@handsnet.org.] When working with families it is of the utmost importance to consider the families' cultural heritage and their values in order to communicate effectively and build effective relationships with them. Families feel valued and cared for if the professionals they work with are aware of and sensitive to their family background and current interests. Actually, respect for other's values and sensitivity to their cultural background is bi-directional in the relationship. It allows for both parties in the relationship to find a common ground. People tend to like other people who are similar to themselves, so finding similarities leads to better relationships. When families understand your cultural background and beliefs, mutual understanding can develop. There are a variety of ways professionals can learn about families' values. Ask open-ended questions to parents during your meetings with them. Open-ended questions generally begin with "What, How, Can you tell me about...," etc.; they cannot be answered by "yes" or "no". They are questions which elicit lots of information and would be answered differently by different individuals. Open-ended questioning can be done in a relaxed and casual manner that doesn't feel, to the parent, like you are prying. Some examples are: * "What kinds of things does your family like to do together for fun?" * "What does a typical weekend look like at your home?" * "Can you tell me about your child? What kinds of things does your child like to do?" * "What do you want your child to learn at school this year?" By asking open-ended questions, professionals can listen to parents and hear the values stated or implied by the parent. This is also a time to let the parent know that you heard them correctly by rephrasing what they said. Use your own words, and label the values you understood the parent to say, even if they talked about their values in a general way. For example: - A parent tells you they spend most Saturdays cleaning the house and working on the yard; they spend most Sundays at church and are at their cousins' house for the rest of the day. -You could rephrase back to the parent that you see Saturday as a very busy day for household responsibilities. You also see that this family values their religion and their family very much. -You may ask them if their child could share some of their traditions, recipes, and stories with the other children in their class since you, as a professional, also value your family. Let them know that this is one way the children can learn about each other in your program. In doing this, you have just let the parents know a little about what you value as well. Another way to learn about families' values is to be aware of and listen for this kind of information in any conversation with the parent, even in very short casual situations such as when the parent comes to pick up the child from your program. When going on home visits, look for clues about the families' values around the house. For example: - There are lots of books and educational toys around the house, and the T.V. is tuned to Sesame Street. There are no signs of Power Rangers or other characters who represent violent play. You might assume that this family values education as well as non-violent and prosocial forms of play. Other ways to learn about families' values is to: * ask them their interests on a survey * ask them to bring an artifact, picture or story that reflects their heritage/family to a parent meeting and tell about it to the group * ask parents directly if there is anything you need to be aware of to have the best possible relationship with them and their child. Suggestions for use: * At a staff inservice, first brainstorm values in a generic sense. This way everyone is has the same understanding of what a value is. *Ask the group to generate a list of open-ended questions which could elicit information from parents about their values for their children and their families. *Break into pairs and practice interviewing each other so it will feel natural when doing it with families. * Have each staff member bring an artifact, picture or story that relates to their cultural background to share with the rest of the group. This activity can also be done with parents at a parent meeting. Posted by: HN5129@handsnet.org Center for Human Investment Policy 1445 Market St., #220 Denver, CO 80202 Connect Mail Sent: November 25, 1996 4:26 pm PST Item: R00cRlk
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