As the new school year approaches, be it virtual or on campus, one of the most important ways to to lay the foundation for a successful school year is building meaningful relationships (teacher-student & coach-teacher). Teachers and coaches will facilitate "getting to know you" and "all about me" activities. Those activities can provide an overview of basic information, likes, and dislikes. However, I think that a more meaningful relationship can be made when we understand each other's culture, educational philosophy, disposition towards the content taught, and past learning experiences. Students come to school with funds of knowledge and experiences that impact how they receive and participate in instruction. Getting to know students' culture and bring that culture into instruction will make lessons more relevant to students. Students are more likely to feel engaged in classroom lessons and remember what has been taught when they are able to make connections. Are there particular math strategies that students use at home? What are the ways that students share and participate in conversations outside of school? What are the real-life situations during which students will actually use the math concepts they are learning? Are we encouraging students to use their L1 or other languages they know to support their learning? A teacher's culture plays a big part into how they work with their teams and how they facilitate instruction. Their past experiences with other instructional coaches, teachers, campuses, and teacher preparation programs also has a big impact on they approach their teacher role. For example, their culture might be one where being respectful to elders is extremely important and they might be less like to ask questions to some team members. There might be bilingual teachers at a campus that share the same L1, but the dialect is different. My first year as a campus coach, I quickly learned that my "Mexican" Spanish is the same a "Colombian" Spanish, "Venezuelan" Spanish etc! This discovery helped me revamp a few campus initiatives. I also made a point to learn about the mathematical mindsets of my teachers. This allowed me as a coach to set priorities and figure out more quickly how to provide more targeted support that was more likely to be welcomed by teachers.
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