Welcome to my blog and to English 372! I am looking forward to virtually meeting and connecting with all of my classmates and my course instructor throughout this semester.
Who am I?
(Perhaps) unlike many of you, I’ve already completed my undergraduate degree. I graduated with my BSc – Integrated Sciences, Behavioural Genetics in May 2018. Ever since, I’ve been working full time at UBC for Geering Up Engineering Outreach. My work focuses on managing programs that engage teachers and schools in hands-on STEM learning experiences. Here is a video showcasing our land-based STEM programs we run with Indigenous communities:
A special part of working at UBC is being able to continue my learning by taking some undergraduate courses after graduation, which is what brings me to this course.
What do I anticipate learning in this course?
This course examines Canadian literature as it relates to the relationship between Indigenous and European (settler) literature and orature. As a science student, I have not taken an English course (much less one focusing on the analysis of literature) since a 100-level introductory course. As such, I have lots to learn! I am excited to be able to develop skills in critical textual and literary analysis, writing, and communication. I am particularly interested in developing these skills in the context of understanding the history of Indigenous and settler literature in Canada.
Why am I interested in this course subject matter?
My work is focused on working with the education system in BC. The public education system has traditionally had inequalities between Indigenous students and non-Indigenous students. In BC, 2018 high school graduation rates for non-Aboriginal students were 87% and 70% for Aboriginal students. The BC Ministry of Education, as a part of BC’s new curriculum, has introduced First People’s Principles of Learning into almost all parts of the curriculum, for example, into the science curriculum – ‘Science First Peoples’ teacher resource guide for grades 5 to 9. This significant shift, along with projects such as the Equity in Action project, will, I believe, have positive effects on the goal of eliminating these inequalities. The opportunity to better understand and repair these inequalities is what interests me in this course subject matter. The understanding we will gain in this course will help us work towards reconciliation.
What are my expectations for this course?
I expect this course to be full of engaging and active online discussions and interesting and eye-opening readings. I expect to make mistakes, be wrong, and to learn as I progress. I expect to learn new knowledge and new skills and I expect to have some fun while doing it. If anyone likes calendars as much as I do, I’ve created a google calendar with the deadlines for all of the assignments that you can use: Google Calendar.
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Works Cited
First Nations Education Steering Committee. Science First Peoples: Teacher Resource Guide. West Vancouver: First Nations Education Steering Committee, 2016. Web. 9 January 2019.
Ministry of Education. “Graduation Rates in BC.” Education Facts. British Columnia Teacher’s Federation, March 2019. Web. 9 January 2019.
Province of BC. “Aboriginal Education in BC: Equity in Action Project.” Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 28 August 2018. Web. 9 January 2019.
UBC Geering Up Engineering Outreach. “Going Where the Kids Are: Land Based Learning.” Youtube. Youtube, 17 January 2018. Web. 9 January 2019.
UBC Geering Up Engineering Outreach. “General Information”. Geering Up. UBC, August 2019. Web. 9 January 2019.
JuneRoh
January 14, 2020 — 1:48 am
Hello, Katrina Smith!
First of all, thank you for sharing the Google calendar with us! It will be helpful throughout Engl 372!
Also, It is fascinating to know that you are focused on working with the education system in BC. So, what makes the difference in graduation rate between non-Aboriginal students and Aboriginal students? I heard some people are saying that because the federal government spends far more money on every aboriginal Canadian than it does on non-aboriginal Canadians, aboriginals do not care about their children’s education. What do you think about this opinion?
Looking forward to hear what you have to say!
-JuYeon Roh
Katarina smith
January 14, 2020 — 1:59 pm
Hi JuYeon! It’s nice to meet you. I’m glad you can make use of the calendar.
It’s an interesting and complex question you’ve asked, thank you for it. To start, I’ll quote this article: “The imposition of European-style education by colonial governments is reflective of entrenched policies of assimilation and cultural destruction”. The education system we have currently is a colonial founded education system, which may not appeal, or work well for Indigenous youth, which contributes to the difference in graduation rates. To speculate further – I think one part of it relates to what you said about “Aboriginals not caring about children’s education”, which I don’t think is the case, but, I do think it is true that Indigenous Peoples often lack trust in the public education system. The reasons are many but one prominent reason is the lasting effect of residential schools – survivors of this horrible system may naturally and rightfully be opposed to any sort of public, government-run, education system and could pass this onto their children and grandchildren. Also, what the public school system is teaching may not always align with Indigenous Peoples’ values and Principles of Learning, which could also be a reason – for example, most schools offer English and French classes, but what if an Indigenous student wants to learn in their own language?
I think this article highlights well some of the positive changes that have happened to increase graduation rates. I include it here to include the positive side of things. One thing we are working towards at work is offering a STEM summer camp that Indigenous students can attend and receive high school credit for, hopefully helping to contribute to increased graduation rates.
As to your question about Indigenous people not caring about their children’s education, I don’t think this is true. I think that some Indigenous people may not be interested in the colonial-based school system, but Indigenous people value education it might just look a bit different than our settler-focused education (see examples in the Canadian encyclopedia article).
Thanks for your comment!
wongelawit zewde
January 14, 2020 — 5:41 pm
Hey Katrina! Thank you so much for sharing the calendar! I just added it to my calendar.
I just want to add a little more on what has been said.
June, I think what you brought up is a big misconception that a lot of us have. To your point, Katrina Aboriginal people lost trust in the education system because it was introduced to them in a negative way that undermined Aboriginal culture and disrupted families for generations. Canadian education review report author Andrew Parkin says, “You’ve got generations of grandparents and parents who were scarred by their experience in education,” https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canadas-education-system-failing-aboriginal-students-report/article26246592/
It won’t come as a shock if education is perceived in Aboriginal Community as threat rather than “a key to success”. The learning process and knowledge creation really extends beyond our understandings of the Eurocentric learning processes and how the world views knowledge systems. The question we should be asking is that can we impose the modern education system to a society that already have a well-established culture, literature and way of living.
Katarina Smith
January 15, 2020 — 10:46 am
Hi!
Thanks for your reply and for adding to the conversation. I think your comment really summarizes what I was trying to get at succinctly, and I appreciate the way you explained it as I think it adds a lot of depth and clarity to the conversation.
I had forgotten the term “Eurocentric” and I think it is a key term in explaining the differences in graduation rates (among many other discrepancies), thank you!
zhanna kutlimetova
January 14, 2020 — 9:41 pm
Hello, Katarina!
I like very much your introduction blog and first comments to it, which invite to learn more about education of Aboriginal population in Canada. I totally agree with you that researching, understanding and removing inequalities in school graduation rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students is a very important process, which, I think, will not only enhance school improvements for Indigenous students, but help to improve the overall education system in Canadian schools. I noticed that graduation rates of Aboriginal students referred in your blog show slow, but steady rates increase after 2008. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, 2008 is the year when the Truth and Reconciliation program was officially launched in Canada. Do you think there is a connection between positive tendency in completion rates for Aboriginal students and the reconciliation movement in Canada?
In my opinion, the reconciliation education introduced in Canadian schools essentially contributes in healing the Indigenous and non-Indigenous relationships in schools and communities, which, in turn, increases the cultural support and focus in teaching exercises, and encourages the Indigenous children to be more involved in the learning process.
And, the same as JuYeon Roh, I want to thank you for sharing your Google Calendar with all important dates for this course; it will be useful for all of us!
PS: For some reason, I was not able to hyperlink the Canadian Encyclopedia in my comment, so here is the link: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/truth-and-reconciliation-commission
Katarina Smith
January 15, 2020 — 10:54 am
Hi Zhanna!
Thanks for your comment. I think that your hypothesis is likely accurate – with the introduction of the TRC came social, and educational changes in response. These responsive actions are of course slow in nature, which could relate to the steady but slow increase. The TRC also illuminated many issues to non-Indigenous Canadians and as you said, helped to start a healing process. The healing process looks different for each individual, so I don’t mean to speak to all people, but simply as a generalization. I think the introduction of the TRC also forced (in a good way) settler Canadians (including educators) to consider their relationships with Indigenous students, how they are teaching and talking about Indigenous history and culture, etc. I think, as you said, this helps to contribute to the steady increase.
As mentioned in the article I linked in another comment, another reason is the introduction of more alternative education programs specifically for Indigenous youth, which also came out of the TRC.
LaurenRapoport
January 14, 2020 — 11:13 pm
Hi Katarina,
I really respect the passion that you have for creating an inclusive and accessible environment for learning and your particular interest for respectfully approaching differences in the schooling experiences of Indigenous versus non-Indigenous students. I find it interesting to learn about how Science subjects can better integrate Indigenous knowledge and perspectives. I personally have found the Sciences in particular to be subjects that have a bias for the “observable” and “testable” qualities of the world and nature, rather than the intuitive or spiritual possibilities of the world around us. The empathy that Indigenous cultures can have for nature, for example, is meaningful to understanding Science and interacting with the environment. The experiment/research based perspective of the Sciences, I believe, can be limiting, and exclude a holistic approach to topics that could include both spiritual and tangible realities. For example, if doctors will assert that humans must not have a soul, because it cannot be seen, it only examines one type of truth. My question for you is: do you believe that the discipline of Science will be able to make more room for diverse spiritual and cultural truths?
Katarina Smith
January 15, 2020 — 11:09 am
Hi Lauren! Thanks for your super interesting question – it’s a topic I’m passionate about (clearly) so I really appreciate it.
I’m actually going to start with a story:
About two years, I had some instructors who were teaching our kindergarten workshop in a rural, northern Indigenous community. In this workshop, we talk about living and non-living things and define the characteristics of living and non-living things. As the instructors were going through the examples, they started saying how rocks (because they don’t breathe, consume, etc.) are not living things. The young 5 year-olds quickly corrected them to say, no, in our culture, rocks (and many other things) are living. For some of our staff, this was one of the first times they had to consider that perhaps, their knowledge of science was only influenced by Western culture and wasn’t a holistic or inclusive knowledge.
I hope the discipline of science will be able to make room for more diverse perspectives – I think it is up to those in the science field to be more open to listening and learning (including myself). Moreover, I think those in the science field need to realize that much of what we are “discovering” through the scientific method as you described, has always been known to Indigenous peoples. This summer, I had the opportunity to learn from an Educator all about Space Science in Indigenous culture. The stories he shared all illustrated concepts about astronomy that many of us settlers would assume were “discovered” by western scientists, when in fact, Indigenous People have always held this knowledge. Here is a link to some stories if you are interested.
To directly answer your question – I hope so! I think it is key that scientists listen, learn, and be open to new perspectives.