Today’s class had two distinct chunks. Here’s the brief scoop on each one:
Lecture on Aboriginal Education
Dr. Jan Hare from LLED presented several key ideas related to working with aboriginal students and their families. It was a thought provoking presentation that, hopefully, got you considering how you will address the needs of the diverse learners in your practicum classrooms.
Below are Shep’s notes from the presentation:
Notes on lecture by Jan Hare
Presented in the First Nations Long House
October 5, 2009
Introduction to the stories of the four House Posts:
Beaver and Eagle – carved by Lyle Wilson
– images stress the importance of family origins
– Cedar is essential to the life of 1st nations people who live on the Northwest Coast
Raven and Spindle – carved by Susan Point from the Musqueam Tribe
– through the trickster comes learning
– Musqueam weaving a traditional art form
Wolf with Pup – carved by Walter Harris and Rodney Harris
– stories of intergenerational nurturing
– 3 humans emphasize the importance of listening before you speak
Man and Raven – carved by Dan Bevin
– stories of transformation and change
Terms and Definitions:
Indigenous – refers to the the original peoples of the different geographic regions of the Earth
Aboriginal – an inclusive term describing the original people who inhabit a geographic location
First Nations – a narrower term describing the original people of a particular geographic location
Tribe – The specific name for the First Nations people in a specific local region
Socialization of Indigenous Children:
- Children learn language from their social and cultural world
- marked differences in language learning between B.C. schools and the context of a First Nations community which emphasizes the preservation of oral tradition and learning through storytelling.
- there are rules and protocol for sharing indigenous knowledge
- spoken word may have more authority than text
- an example of a rule is, ‘don’t speak unless you have something to say’ this means that silence is acceptable in conversation
- other rules guide how to participate in a conversation
- talking circle formats are common
- stories and language use is closely tied to the land and the seasons
Residential Schools:
- Residential Schools have had a major impact on language learning among First Nations children
- the consequences have affected subsequent generations as intergenerational teaching and communication was interrupted by the residential school experience.
- this led to the erosion of traditional family structures that supported language and literacy learning in original and second languages.
- Many people who experienced residential schools lost their ability to be parents as they struggled to cope with abuse and neglect
Looking Ahead:
- Aboriginal parents want their children to be successful in school as long as they don’t lose their culture and language.
- Aboriginal education is for everyone as we live in a diverse multicultural society
- School curriculum needs to create space for indigenous knowledge
- Aboriginal enhancements have been added to the BC Curriculum
- Shared Learnings is a B.C. Ministry of Education Curriculum Document
- Many school districts have both people and resources to support aboriginal education
- If you don’t know how to approach certain areas of the curriculum, just ask. On campus the library at the First Nations Longhouse is an excellent resource.
More Pre-315 Preparation
In this follow-up to last Tuesday’s seminar, we took questions, outlined protocols for working in a school, and reviewed professional demeanour. In addition, we had you to think about your expectations – what did you think you would see, hear, do, and feel (in an emotional sense)? – before embarking on the tours.
Finally, we asked you to keep your eyes open for answers to the question “What is Middle School?” as you made your way around the schools.
If you’re curious, here are links to the websites of the 4 schools we are touring:
Cheers,
– Lawrence