INSIGHTS ON FAMILY CULTURE

Imagine the following:

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.  What would those items be and why would you choose them?  How would you explain to others what each of these items means to you?  If, upon arrival, you are told that you could only keep one personal item and give up the other two, what would you keep and how would you feel?  What insights can you gain about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general as a result of this event?

ANSWER:
  The three items I would take in addition to one change of clothes would be a bible, a pair of glasses, and a picture of my family.  My glasses are important to me for seeing (symbolically, they are a reminder to look at things in the right perspective).  The picture of my family is important to me because it keeps me focused on the most important people in my life.  My bible is the greatest source of support that I have had in my life, and it would have to be my support throughout another challenging time. In the event that I had to give up everything accept one item, I would keep my glasses because I must have them to see what is before me.  The picture of my family I would hold in my mind and the Word of God found in the scriptures of the Holy Bible I would hold in my heart.  I would feel confident in my choice because throughout my entire life I have cherished my family and the Bible, and now it would be the time to put those two things to work in my life in a different way—as the fuel that keeps me going throughout a very different kind of challenge called survival.
 

Check out these interesting resources and share your perspectives:

• Text: Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
• Chapter 5, “Learning about Culture, Language, & Fairness” (p. 55 only)

• Video: Laureate Education, Inc.  (Producer). (2011). EDUC 6164: Perspectives on Diversity and Equity [DVD].  Family Cultures: Dynamic Interactions. Baltimore, MD: Author.
  
  In this program, three early childhood professionals discuss culture, its nature and scope, including family culture diversity, and introduce ways to provide respect, support, and empowerment when working with Family Diversity.

• Article: Christian, L. G. (2006). Understanding families: Applying family systems theory to early childhood practice. Young Children, 61(1), 12–20. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the ProQuest Central database: http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/pqdweb?did=1042679491&sid=1&Fmt=4&clientId=70192&RQT=309&VName=PQD

• Article: Harris, S. R. (2008). What is family diversity? Objective and interpretive approaches. Journal of Family Issues, 29(11), 1407–1417.
  Retrieved from the Walden Library using the SAGE Premier 2010 database.

• Article: Keat, J. B., Strickland, M. J., & Marinak, B. A. (2009). Child voice: How immigrant children enlightened their teachers with a camera. Early Childhood Education Journal,
  37(1), 13–21.
  Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Academic Search database.