Belonging through Culture

September 4th 2026

We began by introducing ourselves to someone we hadn't met before—a small reminder that community grows through intentional moments of connection. Parents were then invited to reflect on one feeling they hope their child experiences at school each day. The words that emerged demonstrated similar hopes from diverse families: safe, happy, connected, welcome, included, heard, involved, and at home.

A story of belonging

Justin shared a deeply personal story about his daughter. Outside school, she is joyful, energetic and full of life. But each morning, as they approach school, he notices a change. She becomes quieter. More serious. More tense. As a neurodiverse child, school can bring uncertainty and anxiety.

And yet, Justin spoke about the moment he reaches her classroom door and feels himself relax. Why? Because he knows the adults waiting there—her teachers and teaching assistants—are intentionally creating a space where she feels she belongs.

It was a powerful reminder that belonging isn't accidental. It's built through relationships, understanding and the everyday actions of caring adults.

What is culture?

Together, parents created a collaborative word cloud exploring the question What is culture?

Culture is not just where our family comes from or the language we speak. It also includes the deeper values we want to pass on to our children—the traditions we protect, the ways we communicate, and the things we believe matter most.

The Story We Tell

Parents then explored a thought-provoking scenario:

A Grade 7 student rarely volunteers answers in class. When the teacher asks questions, the student often looks down or waits for someone else to respond. The teacher begins to describe the student as “quiet” and “lacking confidence.”

Parents discussed the following questions:

What are we assuming about this student?
What else could be happening?
“What information would we need before deciding that this child lacks confidence?”

The discussion quickly revealed how many different factors could lie beneath the student's silence. Rather than assuming a lack of confidence, parents considered the possibility of a new environment, questions of identity and belonging, culture shock, language differences, a lack of meaningful connection, or simply the challenges of adolescence.

The powerful takeaway was that behaviour is only part of the story—we need to understand the child behind it.

Connecting learning to children's lives

Justin shared his own experience of moving from Jamaica to university in Canada. Entering a new culture was both exciting and isolating. Conversations revolved around ice hockey—a sport he had never followed. Class discussions were framed almost entirely through Canadian examples, making it harder to connect with the learning. He also experienced everyday microaggressions, including assumptions about who he was because of where he came from.

His message resonated strongly:

When children cannot see themselves, their experiences or their culture reflected in the learning, making meaningful connections becomes much more difficult. Our role as educators is to build those bridges so that every child feels seen, valued and able to learn.

Some examples of how teachers at ISU are connecting learning to children’s lives were shared by Jamie:

Grade 1 - home country, heart country, languages we speak

Grade 3 - Identity maps

EC - exploring the food we eat at the playdough table

Community Share: The Power of Being Known

One of the most meaningful moments of the evening came through a simple partner conversation. Parents were invited to make eye contact with someone they didn't know well and choose one of three prompts:

Seen and valued: When have you felt truly seen, understood or appreciated?
Misunderstood: When have you felt misunderstood or felt you had to hide part of yourself? What impact did that have?
Background: What is one thing you wish people understood about your background before making assumptions about you?

The conversations were deeply personal. One parent shared that in Zimbabwe, social connection often happens around drinking, yet they don't drink. Rather than repeatedly explaining themselves, they sometimes say, "I'm not drinking today" simply to fit in.

Another parent spoke about growing up in South Sudan and experiencing bias and exclusion, and the longing to find people who made them feel they belonged. A parent with Cameroonian and American heritage described feeling caught between cultures—others assumed they should naturally belong to one side or the other, while internally they often felt like neither. We reflected that many of our children experience this same tension, even if they don't yet have the words to express it.

Justin connected these stories to his own experience of university in Canada, where it wasn't until his second year that he found a community of people with whom he truly felt connected.

The discussion reminded us that we all bring unconscious biases, and those assumptions can unintentionally disadvantage children. Culturally responsive education is not simply about celebrating different cultures—it is about genuinely knowing our students, listening to their stories, and resisting the temptation to assume we already know them.

School and Family Partnership Challenge

We ended with an invitation to respond to the following challenge: What can schools and families do to help children feel that their identity and experiences are valued? Many ideas were generated that we can explore and implement - we value this partnership that helps us continue to grow in our approach to culturally responsive approaches at ISU.

Chris ended with a Techie Brekkie reminder - the Friday Forums will always include an opportunity to explore and discuss an aspect of technology with a member of the EdTech team. Today’s question was: