When I am teaching, I always try to acknowledge privilege, and the voices I choose to amplify. As I am a white female, I can acknowledge privilege I hold in society. I acknowledge that we need to amplify powerful voices of marginalized groups. We need to stray away from typical old-school inaccurate readings. We need to listen to Elders, learn about Treaties, learn about culture, the LGBTQ+ community, BLM, and so many more movements that amplify important voices.
I believe that education is for everyone. No matter who you are, you hold your own story, culture, and knowledge that you can teach others. The purpose of education & learning is to grow our values and knowledge. When we are teaching, we are sharing our knowledge with others while still understanding that we can always learn.
I resonate most with the Culturally Responsive and Inquiry-Based Learning. I believe that we have so much to learn from cultures different from our own, and that there are so many forms of knowledge. I also believe that it is important to gain skills using different forms of learning.
My teaching practice contributes to social justice because I believe in teaching that incorporates all voices, especially ones that are marginalized in society. I also believe in everyone learning from and respecting one another.
Some quotes I acknowledge are:
“Treaties are beneficial to all people in Saskatchewan as they are considered to be mutually beneficial arrangements that guarantee a co-existence between the treaty parties” (http://www.otc.ca/pages/about_the_treaties.html),
“Culturally responsive teaching is defined as using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively” (https://journals-sagepub-com.libproxy.uregina.ca/doi/pdf/10.1177/00224871020530020) and
“Ethnic individuals and groups have been making worthy contributions to the full range of life and culture in the United States and humankind from the very beginning. And there is no shortage of Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, March/April 2002 107 quality information available about multicultural education. It just has to be located, learned, and woven into the preparation programs of teachers and classroom instruction” (https://journals-sagepub-com.libproxy.uregina.ca/doi/pdf/10.1177/00224871020530020 03)
My teaching is part of education for Truth and Reconciliation. I believe that Treaty Education is important in every curriculum, and that Treaty Outcomes are important to meet in every class. I believe in students listening to Elders speak, and reading authentic resources from Indigenous writers.
My teaching philosophies are like a club. Everyone is welcome, you learn from one another, and you leave the room gaining motivation and knowledge.
Works Cited
https ://tophat.com/blog/pedagogy/
http://www.otc.ca/pages/about_the_treaties.html
https://journals-sagepub-com.libproxy.uregina.ca/doi/pdf/10.1177/00224871020530020
https://journals-sagepub-com.libproxy.uregina.ca/doi/pdf/10.1177/00224871020530020 03