Cultural Diversity

I'd like to think I don't find myself communicating too different with people from different groups and cultures. If I do, it's because I'm generally asking questions to try and understand their backgrounds better. This happens a lot especially when I'm at work and talking with families. Recently, we've been getting a lot of families from different areas of the world or who have backgrounds that are vastly different than my own. Every time we get a new kiddo, my first thought is to ask the parents about routines and habits that they have that are culturally based or if they've adapted anything from our society into their cultural to make it easier on their children who will be growing up in it. They are always happy that I'm asking them and that I want to know. It makes them feel more included and it certainly makes them feel safer leaving their child with someone who actually cares about the diversity that their child comes from and deals with.

Outside of that, I don't think there is any difference in my communication. We're all people at the end of the day no matter what our backgrounds are. I try to be open minded, especially when first meeting someone because you should judge on character not on something like religion or race. This week we talked about the "Platinum Rule": "Do to others as they themselves would like to be treated". I try to enter every conversation and meeting with this in mind, wanting to make sure that I treat others how I want to be treated. It's what our parents teach us when we're young and it's something I think so many forget as they get older. If a fraction of us keep it in mind and pass it on to the younger generations, then maybe we can put some of that good back into the world.

Three strategies I think I would employ when communicating are:

• Learning: Being willing to learn and add to the knowledge I have is something that I strive for whenever I interact with someone new. It's what I strive for when talking with people that are both new to me and people that I've known for a while. There's always something new that you could learn.
• Respect: Understanding that my culture is not the only culture is something I do my best to embody at all times working with my kids and their families. Each culture has something different that they put significance on such as touching. Making sure that I respect these things is an important way of making communication go smoothly with my families.
• Talking: Just talking things out with families is always a good thing to do. I think when we discuss communication it's important to note that simply the act of communicating can go a long way. Many families won't actively speak about things unless you ask them first due to something in their backgrounds. So bringing up conversation and making sure there is a healthy line of communication goes a long way.