Be aware, acknowledge and challenge my cultural assumptions/prejudices, be-liefs and values. By getting to know/learn about food, cultural celebrations, tradi-tions, language, dress, rituals is important in being culturally competent but NOT the only/most important part of being cultural competent. Most important part of be-ing cultural competent is ‘Managing Prejudices’ - all of us and everyone of us have some form/type of prejudice towards certain group of people (who are deemed different from us). Some people are uncomfortable with people who are skinny, have tattoos, have darker/lighter skin etc. Personally I find it difficult to work with people who have tattoos and it makes me ineffective in my deal-ings/interaction with them. To manage …show more content…
To understand and gain knowledge of different cultures and its practices is an ongoing learning process because cultural practices do change overtime so building effective partnerships/respective relationships with families/parents and communities (of diverse cultural groups) will help educators understand and also view the world through different cultural lenses. Best time to get to know (noted it is an on going process) families will be during enrolment whereby educators can seize the opportunity to encourage families to share some stories and key infor-mation about their background e.g. cultural practices, language spoken at home, meals preference etc. An interesting example I came across was, a child who was fully toilet trained, keep wetting himself at the service but is perfectly fine at home. Finding was - toilets for children at the service are shared with no doors hence child cant get himself to use the toilet as it is considered a shameful act (with ref-erence to his cultural background and country of origin) to use the toilet without privacy. Educators must always keep in mind that should a child notice/experience a disconnect between home and service (both their worlds), their opportunities to grow and develop sense of belonging, being and becoming will be