Part 1: Family and Community Characteristics  Create a family questionnaire/list of questions to gain a better understanding of families and their community. Your questionnaire/list of questions should, at a minimum (15 questions), address the following: socioeconomic conditions; family structures (single parent, divorced, etc.), relationships, stresses, supports, the family size, the household members, the roles of each person in the household (women’s roles, men’s roles, children’s roles, etc.), racial and ethnic characteristics, home language, cultural practices/values (holidays, celebrations, etc.), ethnicity, and their community resources/neighborhood characteristics (cohesiveness and organization, crime, violence, public parks, clinics, shopping, schools, etc.). Standard 2a. Knowing about and understanding diverse family and community characteristics.  Using your questionnaire/list of questions, interview a parent from each one of the following ethnic backgrounds; Asian American, Caucasian American, Native American, Hispanic American, African American, and Middle Eastern American (minimum of 6 interviews). Standard 2a. Knowing about and understanding diverse family and community characteristics.   Visit a local community agency and interview a professional at that agency that works to support and educate parents. Obtain information about the type of services they offer, the characteristics of families they serve (race, ethnicity, family structure, family size, etc.), the major needs of the families they serve, their views about the impact family characteristics and community characteristics plays on children’s development. What are some major concerns, difficulties, and needs of parents that he or she reports? Standard 2a. Knowing about and understanding diverse family and community characteristics.   Write a 1-2 slide summary about your experience using theory and research based on the interviews you conducted with the different participants of Part 1. Be sure to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of diverse families, as well as community characteristics by reflecting on why it’s important for teachers to understand family life, why teachers should be aware of contemporary trends affecting families today, and the types of diversity teachers may encounter when working with families. Standard 2a. Knowing about and understanding diverse family and community characteristics.