Celebrations

Fri, 10/03/2008 - 06:39 — admin

Celebrations! Why children’s services should get festive!

Meni Tsambouniaris and Shikha Chowdhary – Ethnic Child Care Family & Community Services Co-operative (Rattler article, December 2006 edition)

Australia’s population is culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse, and the need for inclusive practices in children’s services is obvious.

According to the 2001 Census:

  • 21.9% of Australians were born overseas;

  • 13.3% of Australians were born in Non English Speaking countries;

  • 15.2% of Australians speak a language other than English at home; and

  • 18.9% of the NSW population speak a language other than English at home. 1.

Celebration is a part of life. Every culture has its own significant dates to celebrate – be they religious, historical, national or festival! At this time of year, however, the main Christian celebration – Easter –is ubiquitous and almost impossible to ignore. Not surprisingly, it prompts many centres to engage in discussions about whether to celebrate or not.

In children’s services, celebrations do tend to focus on Christmas in December and Easter in April. However, we would argue that children benefit from celebrating a number of social and cultural festivals.

For many people, it is a huge challenge! Yet some see it as a great opportunity to embrace diversity and shift away from the fixed ideas of traditional celebration. By avoiding ‘Easter only’ celebrations and embracing a variety of culturally significant festivities, we move towards affirming a more inclusive, diverse society.

At a political level, we believe such an initiative emphasises equal opportunity for all Australians. To strive for equity, it is imperative to implement programs that provide all children with the same opportunity to develop within a culturally relevant context. As we attempt to educate children about respecting others, we need to equip ourselves with the knowledge to answer queries and deal with diversity.

Why do some children’s services choose not to celebrate?

Quite often, children’s services choose not to celebrate any cultural or religious festivals at all, for a variety of reasons, including:

  • ‘It is too difficult’

  • ‘It is a sensitive topic’

  • It’s inappropriate if, for example, the children are too young to understand the particular activities planned

  • Families connected to the service are opposed to such celebrations.

We believe that by excluding cultural/religious celebrations from programs altogether, services run the risk of jeopardising the desired consistency between children’s home and ‘away’ lives.

Furthermore, if we don’t celebrate events that are important to a child’s family life, for fear of not respecting others or ‘doing the wrong thing’, we defeat our purpose of providing ‘meaningful experiences’.If we are not acknowledging a significant event/celebration, we cannot claim to take responsibility of caring for that child in a cultural context.

The fundamental questions to ask when considering whether/what to celebrate are:

1)What is the purpose of each celebration?

2)Who is the target group? (That is, do we have children from particular groups who celebrate/do not celebrate?)

3)What do we chose to celebrate?

4)How do we celebrate?

 

1) What is the purpose of each celebration?

The purpose of celebration is to recognise the deeper cultural and religious values associated with children’s lives. Children receive messages about what is valued in our society (and what is not), through what we recognise, place importance on, respond to and educate about. Therefore, we should not place emphasis on one celebration at the expense of all others.

Celebrating the major festivals that are important to the children in our care, can:

  • Foster positive attitudes towards self and encourage pride in cultural identity;

  • Support the development of inclusive policies/practices and promote diversity;

  • Help foster the desire to learn more about and respect others;

  • Demonstrate our similarities and differences;

  • Contribute to the development of respectful relationships with families; and

  • Give staff the opportunity to establish a cultural connection with families by engaging in discussions about their significant cultural/religious events and the meaning of each;

2) Who is the target group?

Based on the diversity reflected in our enrolments, we need to develop policies around celebration, which reflect the cultures and religions represented at the service. Also note which families do notcelebrate certain occasions.

3) What do we chose to celebrate?

Services should accommodate the diverse cultural, religious and linguistic needs of their children and families by:

  • Establishing strong partnerships with parents in order to access appropriate information regarding celebrations and other relevant cultural information; and

  • Developing policies/procedures around celebration in partnership with parents.

All celebrations need to be planned in consultation with parents to ensure they are appropriate. Parents should also be encouraged to participate in the implementation of the celebration.

4) How do we celebrate?

Planning and programming needs to take into account all of the important celebrations identified by families. When celebrating festivals, we need to be careful to avoid tokenism, marginalisation and stereotyping – all of which may lead to children developing unrealistic perceptions of different cultures and events. Below are some points to consider:

Create balance in the occasions you celebrate

Encourage consultation with – and involvement by – parents

Let the children decide what to celebrate – and how

Evaluate your celebration program and related policies

Be sensitive to children’s individual needs

Represent festivals equally and research thoroughly

All children should feel included, not marginalized

Take on board festivals relevant to children

Include meaningful activities, based on interests

Offer celebration resources to parents and staff

Newsletter articles, resource materials, books… 2.

Conclusion

When we consider that we live in a multicultural society where many religions, festivals, celebrations and child-rearing practices are embraced, we need to acknowledge these differences when developing programs for our services.

An inclusive program:

  • Recognizes the significant role that celebrations play in building self-esteem and self-identity in young children;

  • Encourages children to feel connected and empowered thus providing a validating experience for children and their families; and

  • Enriches all children’s experiences by promoting multiculturalism, inclusiveness and diversity.

It is important to create a balance within the service in terms of celebrations. Decide on an approach that is relevant to your service, the children and their families. Once all areas are addressed correctly and all points of view are taken into consideration … you are heading in the right direction. Happy celebrating!

Meni Tsambouniaris isCco-ordinator,Bicultural Support Pool and Shikha Chowdhary is the Programs Manager at Ethnic Child Care, Family & Community Services Co-operative Ltd.

1.ABS Census 2001

2.Tsambouniaris,Meni, Festivals & Celebrations; Bankstown Early Integration &Networking Group, BCRG, 2004

References

Bisson,J. (1977). Celebrate!
An Anti-Bias Guide to Enjoying Holidays.
Redleaf Press, St. Paul, MN USA

Casley,Marilyn (2001). Celebrating
With Children; A Cultural Perspective.
STTAR Program.