The Syilx Okanagan Nation Alliance website has a list of anchor books teachers can use in their lessons. The books are specifically about the Syilx people, which is the community’s land on which I teach. For my final project, my partner and I researched how to use anchor books authentically in teaching. We will look to use some of these books as we develop our lesson plans.
How to measure learning using a holistic approach
This resource is useful as it breaks down the holistic learning model into sections that teachers can apply in their practice. One of the most valuable sections gives examples of how to measure learning using a holistic learning model. There are also beautiful images of holistic learning and how interconnected the teachings are. You can see how the cyclical designs relate to life and all relations. I hope to use this resource to support why it is important to add an emotional competency in education as it helps teach to the whole child.
This article describes “Settler ethics” which includes discussing, accounting for, disrupting, analyzing, unsettling, and challenging settler identities and knowledge. The work addresses the settlers’ perspective and how settlers have not been accountable for the actions of their ancestors and things like land acknowledgements are often done to say, “See, I did something, I’m fixing it”, but they are like empty promises that only really help appease the conscience of the settler, not actually enact change for the colonized.
I think that settler ethics are an important thing to address and recognize as my partner and I look to build a unit based on creating teacher confidence using Indigenous ways of knowing and doing. We need to make it very clear that we are not the owners of these practices and give credit and recognition to Indigenous Peoples.
This UBC website explains the importance of land acknowledgments.
“Land acknowledgements are considered a respectful, yet political, statement that acknowledges the colonial context of the Indigenous territory/territories where a gathering is taking place. It recognizes relationships between land and people, and in particular Indigenous peoples’ continued presence on the lands being acknowledged” (2021).
The website also gives suggestions on how to create a land acknowledgment and how to make it more personal. I was under the impression there was a standard template for land acknowledgments, so it was wonderful to learn that it is more authentic and meaningful to make them more personalized. For my final project, my partner and I will make a personal land acknowledgment and demonstrate how it is one way teachers and students can start to build a relationship with Indigenous ways of knowing and learning.
Holley, L. C., & Steiner, S. (2005). Safe Space: Student perspectives on classroom environment. Journal of Social Work Education, 41(1), 49-64. https://doi.org/10.5175/JSWE.2005.200300343
This article highlights the importance of creating a space where students feel empowered and safe. Often referred to as “safe spaces,” this article extends this thinking to describe how important it is to make students feel ‘safe(r) and brave(r)’ spaces (2005). Holly & Steiner explain that ‘safer and braver’ spaces can be created when there are clear ground rules for discussion, modelled respect for others’ opinions, and participants behaved in a non judgmental way (2005). Building a ‘safer and braver’ classroom helps students become empowered learners. Ideas and frameworks from this article will be helpful for my final project as my partner and I look at ways to foster teacher confidence in the classroom. By creating safer and braver spaces, both learners and educators will feel more comfortable sharing their learning journeys.
This link specifically goes to a post about how cultural appropriation is disrespectful. However, the entire blog is very relevant and addresses a variety of issues, including the diversity of Indigenous people in Canada (which connects to my other post M3,P3). The blog posts are to the point and have links to more information if you choose to dive deeper into a topic. I hope to use the post of cultural appropriation in my final project as a reminder of how non Indigenous people simply can’t “borrow” aspects from Indigenous cultures. It is disrespectful. My partner and I plan to address this in our final project.
Seeing as my partner and I are focusing on the teaching of the Syilx people, we are hoping to use local stories in our final project. This article describes the Indigenous perspective of the famous story of the Ogopogo that lives in Okanagan lake. It would be a great legend to share and have discussions on its origins and how (and why) it changed over time.
Constructing Indigeneity: Syilx Okanagan Oraliture and tmixʷcentrism
This is a research paper written by a member of the Syilx Okanagan People. Jeannette Armstrong’s objective is to share the history and culture of the Syilx People with the hope of revitalizing their language, knowledge, and traditions. For my project, my partner and I have decided to focus our curricular content on integrating Syilx peoples’ way of knowing and learning. We want to be intentional about not placing Indigenous peoples under one umbrella. We recognize and respect that all communities are different and want our lessons to reflect that.
This website describes the guidelines for traditional talking circles and how they can be incorporated into the classroom. It also links to the First Nations Education Steering Committee with more information and ideas for talking circles from a classroom governance perspective. I would like to address talking circles in my final project and connect them to the holistic approach to learning. They are a key activity that can be incorporated in classroom management and governance.
This provincial website explores the 3 competencies (thinking, communication, and personal & social) that all students need in order to engage in deep, lifelong learning. I’m interested in diving deeper into how these competencies relate to student learning. For my final project I will compare them to the Indigenous ways of knowing the learning and also see if a fourth competency (an emotional competency) can be either integrated or stand alone.
