Blog Post #9

1. At the beginning of the reading, Leroy Little Bear (2000) states that colonialism “tries to maintain a singular social order by means of force and law, suppressing the diversity of human worldviews. … Typically, this proposition creates oppression and discrimination” (p. 77). Think back on your experiences of the teaching and learning of mathematics — were there aspects of it that were oppressive and/or discriminating for you or other students?

In my personal experience, I’ve never felt personally discriminated while learning mathematics. I struggle in math and I have for my entire life, so although I haven’t felt personally discriminated, I do feel that students such as myself who struggled with math were oppressed in the classroom. I found that with most students who struggle with certain classes, they choose to stay quiet in class instead of asking questions because they feel embarrassed. This was true for my case, some of my best friends were good at math so I felt embarrassed that I struggled so much, therefore I never asked questions and the teacher never noticed. In some cases, it seems the teachers don’t focus on the students who don’t understand or seem difficult to teach. Today, I am afraid that I might have to teach math because I don’t feel like  I know enough, let alone be able to teach it to someone else.

2. After reading Poirier’s article: Teaching mathematics and the Inuit Community, identify at least three ways in which Inuit mathematics challenge Eurocentric ideas about the purposes mathematics and the way we learn it.

• One of the things that I found interesting was that a Inuit teacher said that they typically do not ask the students questions to which answers they do not know which I think makes more sense than our schools where we ask questions to attempt to get students to think deeply whether they know the answers or not.
• Another thing is that their education and language is very oral, so much so that they do not even have actual representation of numbers, but instead borrowed those from the European society.
• And lastly, they use base 20 instead of base 10 such as we use. They count their 10 fingers and their 10 toes which is different than the Eurocentric ideas.

Blog Post #8

Use your blog to craft a response to this student’s email. Consider the following questions:

1. What is the purpose of teaching Treaty Ed (specifically) or First Nations, Metis, and Inuit (FNMI) Content and Perspectives (generally) where there are few or no First Nations, Metis, Inuit peoples?

The purpose of teaching Treaty Ed is to inform the students on a different perspective other than their own. First Nations, Metis and Inuit people are a huge part of Canadian Identity and Canadian history, therefore they are extremely important to be talked about.  Treaty Education is important for students to understand Canadian culture which is more than just European ways, but also Indigenous ways. Learning through the First Nations perspective is crucial to understanding our history and learning from it to reach reconciliation rather than history repeating itself.

2. What does it mean for your understanding of curriculum that “We are all treaty people”?

For me, the term “we are all treaty people” is very important because it states that though the First Nations people were the ones who were colonized, they are not in this alone. It connects all Canadians through a support system: it sends the message that we must support one another and help each other. By understanding this phrase within curriculum, education becomes more open and inclusive to all students and cultures. Schools are a better place when the teachers start implementing the idea that together, we are all treaty people: no matter the race, ethnicity, or culture.

For this particular situation, I would recommend discussing with the coop teacher the importance of Treaty Ed has to you and hopefully they will help you figure it out. If that doesn’t work, maybe bringing in an Elder or a residential school survivor in to share their stories. Everything seems more important and real when someone is sharing their life directly with you. Either way, the students need to understand and respect the knowledge of Treaty Ed because it is important to be informed about for future generations.

 

 

Blog Post #7

The article suggests that a “critical pedagogy of place” aims to:
(a) identify, recover, and create material spaces and places that teach us how to live well in our total environments (reinhabitation); and (b) identify and change ways of thinking that injure and exploit other people and places (decolonization) (p.74)
1. List some of the ways that you see reinhabitation and decolonization happening throughout the narrative.
2. How might you adapt these ideas to considering place in your own subject areas and teaching?

1. Reinhabitation happens throughout the article. One of the main symbols that represents reinhabitation is the river. It contains both cultural and historical significance to the community.  Skill-building workshops that were offered where youth participants made their own audio documentaries based on the interviews they carried out with other community members. The article states “The audio media and ‘zines’ were chosen as a way to communicate the messages to the wider community about the experiences and perspectives of youth, adults and elders, about the river”. Decolonization occurred through these workshops and with the Elders during the bonding and restoration of remembering experienced and stories and passing them along to other generations.
2. In my major area which is English, narratives such as this one can be read and analyzed for major themes or ideas. Also the narrative contains many pieces of imagery and symbolism which is extremely important to English. Also English is about expressing oneself and if my students were able to take advice or inspiration from a narrative such as this, then maybe they could express themselves: their culture, traditions, etc. By adapting some of these ideas from the narrative , my students may discover more of a sense of self.

Blog Post #6

What does it mean to be a “good” student according to the commonsense? Which students are privileged by this definition of the good student? What is made impossible to see/understand/believe because of these commonsense ideas?

According to the common sense, a “good” student is one that is attentive and does not challenge the teacher. In the 1917’s this was preferably a white, heterosexual, middle to high class male.  The “good” student is a student without disability, who can perfectly comprehend and respond to the teacher’s wishes. The good “student” is seen as one particular type of student, where there is no diversity. This is why today, though diversity is more accepted, the white race, the people without disability, the men, the heterosexual, etc. are the ones who are still see as superior in the classroom. They are the “normal” ones according to society and the education system rewards by being named a “good”student. These are the students who are privileged. The students who are favored by the teacher because of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc. The privileged student is the one who repeats back the “right” answer teacher and doesn’t ask questions about why and does not challenge the teacher.

Due to these commonsense ideas, it becomes difficult for the teacher to see where they are going wrong. All students are so diverse, some may not be responding to the teacher’s current strategies because maybe they aren’t interesting them enough. There are different answers to different situations, therefore it may be difficult to let all these ideas loose at the same time, but in the end that will better form the students and help them understand. All students are equal and are “good” in their own way, every one of them are individuals and will have different ways of approaching education. Diversity needs to be supported in schools instead of cast aside.

Blog Post #5

You have been asked to examine the curriculum of the subject area you expect to teach once you graduate. Re-read that curriculum with the frames of literacy presented this week: autonomous and ideological? In what ways are these two frames present in the curriculum that you examined? Which one is more prominent?

I have decided  to focus on grade 12 English Language Arts. The grade 12 curriculum refers both to the autonomous and ideological frames, but mainly autonomous. The outcomes and indicators are generally about skills such as writing essays, speeches, poems or listening to readings, videos, etc. The curriculum centers itself around learning the basic skills of reading, writing, listening, etc. which is autonomous. The curriculum is also ideological because the ELA curriculum does refer to different backgrounds and cultures. They mainly talk about Canadian or First Nations identities and cultures. The curriculum could use some updates to better fit with an ideological view, but for now, it does cover some of the basic such as practices and social acts, as well as it has certain contextual aspects to it. Therefore, though the curriculum is prominently based on the autonomous frame, there is a little pathway created in curriculum to support the ideological frame which hopefully will be renewed to fit that frame more effectively.

Blog Post #4

Before Reading: How do you think that school curricula are developed?

I think school curricula is developed by teachers, administration and some contributors from the ministry of education.  These people would then get together and talk about what is necessary for the youth to know in each grade and each subject.

 

After Reading: How are school curricula developed and implemented? What new information/perspectives does this reading provide about the development and implementation of school curriculum? Is there anything that surprises you or maybe that concerns you?

The government is a huge contributor to the development of the curricula. It is the governments decision what is essential and unnecessary for the students to learn.  The article states “Policies govern just about every aspect of education—what schooling is provided, how, to whom, in what form, by whom, with what resources, and so on.” Therefore the government controls education: teachers must teach what the government says because they are the ones who create the policies.

This reading altered my perspective on the curriculum because I always thought that teachers had the majority of the voice on what they believe is important for the students to know. Since the teachers are the ones who are in the classroom day in and day out with these kids, it seems as though they should have more of a voice in the process of developing curricula. Instead though, curriculum and school is seen as a political process instead of an educational one. I thought the curriculum would be developed through a democratic standpoint, instead of a government-ruled standpoint.

My major concern about developing curriculum is that day to day teachers don’t have enough say in the elements they need to teach their students. Another concern is the timeline that curriculum stands. A new curriculum is released and by the time that is learned and used in schools, education has already evolve again and the curriculum needs to be reassessed. Education is forever changing which makes it difficult to pin point what is important for another fifty years or so.

 

 

Blog Post #3

Choose 1 idea about education that is meaningful to you (we all have philosophies of education). Find a quote about education (probably from a theorist) that connects with your philosophy. In a post, unpack that quote. Think about what it makes possible/impossible in education. What does the quote say about the teacher, about the student? How is it related to your own philosophical understanding of curriculum and of school?

The quote I chose was “By giving our students practice in talking with others, we give them frames for thinking on their own.” by Lev S. Vygotsky. I liked this quote because my teaching philosophy is very individual to each student, I want real opinions and answers from my students. I do not want to assimilate or group my students together because each one is their own individual person with their own personal feelings, opinions and experiences. Working and discussing with other students is beneficial to give the students basic teamwork skills, but it also helps develop language which is a key tool in voicing your opinions. The quote states that by working together and exploring other peoples’ ideas, students begin to voice theirs as well – whether they agree or disagree, the students begin to use language to speak their own thoughts instead of everyone else’s ideas. Unlike education from a hundred years ago which was much more centered on telling the students what to think, today’s education is centering around cooperation and becoming an individual, not just a member of the group. If all educators thought this way, it would open up many new possibilities – opinions would not be deemed wrong or right but instead would be seen as thoughtful contributions to discussion, students would understand the importance of language and the importance of teamwork. Students would learn to speak for themselves and respectively listen to others even if their opinions differ.

The quote labels the teacher as the guide to carefully and thoughtfully guide students to come to their own conclusions and voice that idea without fear of being shut down. The teacher’s role would be to make sure the students have plenty of group work where hey can think for themselves without the teacher’s over weighing opinions. The students’ role would then be to be honest with themselves ans with the others and learn respect for opinions that don’t match theirs- the students would use cooperation skills to reach their own individual conclusions.  They could discuss in a kind and civil manner and expand  their knowledge and see things from others’ perspectives without having it forced into their brains.

Curriculum and school today are evolving into a more open and accepting environment of new ideas, opinions, etc. Therefore this quote fits into my philosophy of education and also into the new curriculum – having the students realize they have a voice and showing them how to use it. Also by creating opportunities for group work, it allows the students to grow and create bonds. Some schools are not evolving as fast and may still see it as the teacher is the expert, passing along knowledge to the younger generation. This can be a setback for my philosophy, but every child is different and educators are becoming more and more aware of that, which is why my philosophy connects with this quote and as schools continue to evolve, students will feel more free and confident to speak for themselves and make their own decisions.

Blog Post #2

Curriculum development from a traditionalist perspective is widely used across schools in Canada and other countries. Can you think about: (a) The ways in which you may have experience the Tyler rationale in your own schooling? (b) What are the major limitations of the Tyler rationale? (c) What are some potential benefits?

A. In my own schooling experience, I have experienced the Tyler Rationale in many of my classes: the teacher would lecture at the front of the class and later there would be some sort of assessment (usually a test) to prove our knowledge. I find that my high school teachers followed the curriculum as closely as possible so that we, as students, hit all of our objectives. Though they did teach us everything that was required of them, the method of the Tyler Rationale created little to no space for interpretation or discussion amongst the class, especially in classes like English and History.

B. The major limitations of the Tyler Rationale are that it is teacher-directed, where students are made to listen instead of discuss or question – this then creates a strict environment for students to make their own assumptions or opinions. Also since it is so teacher directed, the students’ learning needs are irrelevant because there seems to be no true interaction of opinions between the teacher and the student.

C. Some potential benefits of the Tyler Rational is that it gives teachers a rigid structure of how to teach it, all that’s left for the teacher to do is insert the proper information – it is organized in a way that creates more simplicity for the teachers and becomes an efficient way to teach the curriculum thoroughly.

 

Blog Post #1

Blog Post #1: How does Kumashiro define “commonsense”? Why is it so important to pay attention to the “common sense”?

In the reading of Kuamshiro’s (2009) Against Common Sense: Teaching and Learning Toward Social Justice (pp. XXIX-XLI), Kumashiro defines “commonsense” as “what everyone SHOULD know” (p. XXIX) . An example he gave was that to him it was common sense to eat three meals per day, whereas to the people of Nepal, it was common sense to only eat two meals per day. He made it clear that common sense is not what one could know or might know, but instead what one should know. The problem with common sense is that each geographical area, culture, race, etc. can have different ideas of common sense or norms. For us, boys and girls are mixed in the classroom together – no division. In Nepal, their classrooms were organized with boys on one side of the class and girls on the other. Common sense is so important to pay attention to because not all common sense is the same – my common sense might be different than your common sense. For a personal example, my family has dessert every night after supper, for us it is just common sense to have dessert. On the other hand, my boyfriend’s family only has dessert on special occasions like birthdays. We grew up in the same city and same neighbourhood, but each have our different commonsensical ideas based on how our parents raised us.

Oppression is also an important reason to pay attention to common sense. If we become to comfortable in our norms and never challenge the status quo then that leaves room for tradition and oppression to set in. Not every student learns the same, for some the traditional style of teaching does not work the same as interactive teaching, but because some schools have got stuck in their ways, they have allowed oppression and traditional norms to set in. For some schools, oppression is common sense for them as they do not know any other way of education and learning because they have lived their whole lives learning the same things, the same way

About Me

Hi, my name is Hillary Mercier. I am from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and currently a student at the University of Regina. I am pursuing a career in secondary education with a major in English and a minor in French. This is a space for me to post important information for my educational portfolio.

I hope you enjoy looking at my portfolio!