Monthly Archives: February 2013

Aboriginal students- standing with them

In Canadian history aboriginal people have been treated terribly. Residential schools were meant to strip the identity of indigineous peoples. Young children were removed from their homes and their cultures. Unfortunately as a result of this terrible past many aboriginal youth are growing up without a sense of their cultural identity. This disconnect can be seen as a direct result of their parents and grandparents being forcibly removed from their traditions, langauge and culture.

In recent news aboriginal children and youth had formed a ‘suicide pact’ as you can read in the article below.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/apartheid-system-of-programs-blamed-for-native-suicide-pact/article5750176/

I think the most interesting part of this article is the reference to the effects of the racially selective social programs the children take part in. While the intention of these native only programs was to be culturally sensitive it seems that they have just isolated native children from benefitting from other social services.

When thinking about this in terms of education I know many schools have aboriginal classrooms and programs that are meant to allow aboriginal students to connect with their culture during school time. I however don’t see why more teachers can’t incorporate aboriginal ways of knowing in to mainstream classrooms.

I read about an interesting study for my positive psychology class called “Salmon Cycles”. This science field study incorporated contemporary and western views of science with traditional aboriginal ways of knowing such as incorporating knowledge about the ecological relationships, a sense of place and stewardship of the land. The participants in the program were able to become connected to their culture and learn contemporary science. It is important to note that this program took place outside of school. There is no reason however that schools can not incorporate this type of experiential learning.

My friends and I presenting our research about promoting resiliency in aboriginal youth.

Aboriginal students deserve to feel connected to their culture and I hope in the future I can incorporate aboriginal ways of knowing and of learning in to my classroom since it is so important to help all students develop a sense of identity.

Today the Idle No More movement is empowering young people to be connected to their roots and be proud of their culture. I hope by the time I have my own classroom aboriginal students I meet can proudly teach me about their traditions and culture.

Here is a video of native students fighting back against negative and racist stereotypes that they encounter:

TBH- Cyberbullying is getting out of control

This excerpt from the bully, the bullied, and the bystander gives some tips to prevent bullying.

Caring Schools

Gather information about bullying at school directly from students.
Establish clear schoolwide and classroom rules about bullying
Train all adults in the school to respond sensitively and consistently to bullying.
Provide adequate adult supervision, particularly in less structured areas, such as on the playground and in the lunchroom.
Improve parental awareness of and inolvement in working on the problem.

Although these tips are useful for the prevention of bullying in school they don’t translate to the online world that students inhabit. Tip #4 makes it clear that less structured environments need more supervision. The internet is potentially the most unstructured environment that students have access to. The nature of social media makes it difficult for teachers to intervene in bullying. The internet is often a lawless, ruleless place that parents don’t know much about and teachers can’t intervene in. The internet is like the wild West for bad choices and harmful behaviour. Showdowns between students can happen with parents and teachers completely unaware until the real life aftermath comes to the surface. Students can bully each other online and often anonymously. When students feel that they are anonymous all bets are off and students whom you wouldn’t expect to be socially aggressive in person can suddenly become the harshest of bullies.

There are a few things in the video in particular that piqued my interest.

Firstly the bully is described as being ‘infected’ and hosting the virus. In some ways this makes her a passive recipient and removes some of the responsibility from her. An interesting perspective because although bullies must be held accountable it is important to understand that bullies often need help. Their bullying can sometimes be the result of immaturity, poor choices and can even be seen as a cry for help.
I also appreciated the inclusion of the english classroom scene. This scene illustrated the very real possibility that this could happen under your watch without even suspecting it.
This video also reminded the audience that unlike physical aggression and intimidation, social aggression can follow the victim home, there is no hideaway or respite from online attacks.

The video also showed other students standing up for the victim online. I think online it’s easy to be a bystander but this video showed how students can fight back against cyberbullying by publicly posting their disagreement with mean attacks, or anonymously reporting abuse to Facebook.

A few other things that caught my eye were the references to ‘selfies’ and ‘TBH”. Although these existed in some forms when I was in high school the way these posts are used now is quite different.

TBH- or ‘To Be Honest’ posts are chain posts that invite others to post ‘honest’ comments about each other on each other’s walls. Sometimes these posts can be harmless and even nice. Take for example this post I saw on the facebook page of a young family member of mine:

Some students will be lucky to receive positive affirmations like this from friends, others not so much.

As seen in the video, these TBH posts aren’t always nice. The video also showed quite a few ‘selfies’s. These are often pictures young girls are taking of themselves in sexualized poses, little clothing or making pouty faces. Young people are using these pictures to compare themselves to their peers as well as make comments on each other’s physical characteristics.

I think this is a good reminder that the trends in social media are always changing and new platforms like tumblr, snap chat or pinterest can suddenly gain popularity. As an educator it is important to understand that this is the reason why instead of investing time on solely monitoring these sites, it is important to teach students about how to be a good citizen of an online community (don’t share passwords, report anything hurtful, nothing is truly anonymous).

A “New to You” sweater

What a successful event! My friend Jill organized a sweater swap for “National Sweater Day”. The idea is to turn your thermostat down just a little bit and wear a sweater instead to conserve energy!

We set up a table where people could bring in their gently-worn sweaters to trade. A local thrift shop (Phase 2) got us started with some sweaters to start off the day. I traded in one of my sweaters (a soft yellow hoodie) for a black cardigan with grey cuffs and then helped Jill out for the afternoon shift. I think Jill did a great job with this event- I think it touched on a lot of ideas and initiatives students on campus are passionate about like recycling, environmental conservation, thrifting and not to mention saving a little money on your utilities bill!

Seeing Jill get interviewed by the Whig Standard was really cool for me, as I know how much the success of this event meant to her! The photographer was also extremely nice and professional. Jill and I look a bit silly here, the photographer kept telling us to look at each other and laugh! Interesting photography technique- I usually just ask people to say “cheese!”

http://www.thewhig.com/2013/02/07/sweater-event-all-about-the-environment