Teaching of Aboriginal Studies Exam Review

     Tomorrow is our final exam in our Teaching of Aboriginal Studies class. Here is my completion of our exam review, wish me luck! 🙂

10 Ways to Assess for Racism/Sexism in Classroom Resources
1 ) Look at the Illustrations
     – Is there “tokensim”?
     – Who is doing what in the image?
2 ) What is the Story Line
     – Does the character need to adopt “white” traits to be successful?
     – Who solves the problem in the story?
     – What is the role of women?
3 ) What is their Lifestyle
     – Can you tell their social class?
     – Employment?
     – Housing?
4 ) What are the character’s Inter-personal Relationships
     – Who is the authority figure?
     – Who makes the decisions?
     – What is the family structure?
5 ) Who is the Hero
     – Whose interests does the hero serve?
6 ) What effect does the story have on a child’s Self-Image
     – How would the story make a child feel about themselves?
     – Is their race portrayed positively?
     – Would they feel like they are being stereotyped?
7 ) What is the Author’s Background
     – What qualifications does the author have?
     – Are they of the same race as the characters in the book?
8 ) What is the Author’s Perspective
     – Cultural context?
     – Personal context?
9 ) Look at Loaded Words
     – Tricky
     – Sneaky
     – Lazy
     – Docile
10 ) When is the Copyright Date
     – Is it outdated?
     – What were the thoughts of that time period?
 
Things to AVOID when Picking Books
– Inaccurate Information (mixing cultures together)
– Stereotypes
– Generic Portrayals of “Indians”
– Loaded Words (see above)
– Negative Images
– Isolated Information (no context and/or background)

Things to LOOK FOR when Picking Books
– Authentic Information
– Modern Descriptions of Aboriginal People
– Diverse (shows that there are many groups of people)
– Respectful Language
– Positive Image
– Relevance (local to your area)

Chapter 7, pg 175
Kanu, Yatta. (2011). Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives into the School Curriculum: Purposes, Possibilities and Challenges. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

     Studies find that teachers think that incorporating Aboriginal perspective is important in the classroom but these factors create difficulty:
– lack of knowledge/understanding about Aboriginal people
– teachers are excluded from decisions on how to integrate
   Aboriginal perspective
– lack of suitable classroom resources
– lack of long-term support from admin
– school structure doesn’t mesh with traditional Aboriginal
   education
– a teacher’s personal beliefs and biases

James Banks Levels of Integration of Multicultural Context

1 ) Contributions Approach
     – Incorporates heroes and holidays
     – No context for the information
     – Firm cutoff
2 ) Additive Approach
     – Incorporates a unit (April Raintree)
     – Doesn’t change any of the outcomes
3 ) Transformations Approach
     – Looks at information from different points of view
     – Changes the outcomes/curriculum
4 ) Social Action Approach
     – Students learn about issues and take action to solve them
     – Decision making process

Chapter 7, pg 169
Kanu, Yatta. (2011). Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives into the School Curriculum: Purposes, Possibilities and Challenges. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

     Teachers believe the integrating Aboriginal perspective is crucial for these reasons:
1 ) There is a need to learn from Aboriginal peoples. Some cited examples are,
     – stories & their message
     – spirituality
     – caring for an extended family
2 ) Learning needs to be culturally relevant
     – represents our student’s history, culture and experiences
3 ) Improvement of self-image & identity
     – there are many negative images in the media
     – we need to improve how Aboriginal students see themselves
4 ) Economic results of dropping out
     – Aboriginal populations are growing fast and have many young people
     – Canada as a whole is an aging population and needs more skilled people in
        the work force
5 ) Need for inclusion
     – Canada is a multicultural democracy
6 )  Need to inform Aboriginal students and other students of this
      information
     – all students need to understand Aboriginal background & understand
        how it has shaped Canada

Chapter 7, pg 173
Kanu, Yatta. (2011). Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives into the School Curriculum: Purposes, Possibilities and Challenges. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

     Here are some examples of things that a teacher has done that have incorporated Aboriginal perspective into her classroom:
– displays of artifacts
– posters
– current event flyers
– books by Aboriginal authors
– sharing circles
– guest speakers
– legends
– sharing of her personal vision quests
– using Aboriginal art and symbols
– positive content
– respect and warmth
– follows the mood of the class

Chapter 7, pg 191
Kanu, Yatta. (2011). Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives into the School Curriculum: Purposes, Possibilities and Challenges. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

     What does it mean to be a Facilitator of Integration? How can we facilitate the integration of Aboriginal perspective? Here is what teachers said they needed in order to facilitate the integration of Aboriginal perspective:
1 ) Teachers Professional Efficacy
     – teachers need knowledge of Aboriginal cultures
     – teachers need knowledge of appropriate Aboriginal pedagogy
2 ) Resource Adequacy
     – teacher need easy-to-use materials for students and themselves
3 ) PD Opportunities
     – teachers need PD opportunities to better prepare themselves
4 ) Sustainable Funding
     – teachers need to be able to have funds so that they can draw on the
       First Nations communities around them for resources
     – admin needs to be supportive and accountable
5 ) Change in School Culture
     – overhaul
     – things can’t change is the school culture wont change

Chapter 7, pg 194-97
Kanu, Yatta. (2011). Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives into the School Curriculum: Purposes, Possibilities and Challenges. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

     Here is a shortened version of the 12 Point list that is summarized at the end of Chapter 7 in regards to what needs to be done to be Facilitators of Integration:
1 ) All teachers need knowledge and understanding about Aboriginal:
     – history
     – issues
     – pedagogy
     – culture
2 ) School supports need to be in place (like funding & PD opportunities)
3 ) Curriculum development should include teachers
4 ) Easy-to-access resources
5 ) Curriculum/textbooks should feature Aboriginal culture, content, issues, pedagogy
6 ) High quality research on school culture (general and specific)
7 ) Strong/supportive admin who take action
8 ) More Aboriginal teachers
9 ) Funds allocated for Aboriginal integration
     – school liaisons
     – guest speakers
     – resources
10 ) Use elders to teach what you can’t (or what you shouldn’t)
11 ) Involvement of Aboriginal parents
      – guest speakers
      – committee members
      – volunteers
12 ) Change to the school structure
      – scheduling

MASS Position Statement on Aboriginal Education
      “The way forward must draw upon the knowledge and expertise found among Manitoba’s Aboriginal people.”
A ) Find ways to live in harmony & balance with yourself and the universe
      through sustainable & generative relationships
B ) Create & maintain healthy & diverse learning communities by using
      authentic learning contexts for all students
C ) Foster and support Aboriginal languages & culture
D ) Instill & fulfill the beliefs of responsibility (individually and community)
      in the classroom

4 R’s of Aboriginal Education
– Respect
– Responsibility
– Reciprocity
– Relevance

The 4 Imperatives
1 ) Historical
     – Need to respect treaty obligations
     – Achieve equitable outcomes
2 ) Moral
     – Gaps in quality of life
     – Higher drop out rates
     – Higher health concern rates
     – Higher incarceration rates
3 ) Economic
     – Dwindling work force with baby-boomers retiring
     – Economy needs full participation in the work force
4 ) Demographic
     – Aboriginals are the youngest and fastest growing population
     – Over 50% attend provincial schools
     – By 2016, 45% of Kindergarten students with be Aboriginal