Invitation & Hospitality
Throughout my school experience, there were classes I enjoyed more than others. When it comes down to it, I believe the successful learning and the positive classroom experiences completely depend on the type of teacher you want to be. There are classes that I struggled in, but enjoyed them regardless because of the positive learning atmosphere and ways of teaching that my teachers brought to the class.
History is one of my favourite classes but depending on the teacher, it can be boring, difficult and feel too much of a lecture. However, I had one history class that truly was a positive learning experience. I recall my entire grade twelve class being assigned different countries that participated in World War II and having a real debate with our classmates in a large circle. This was a memorable way of learning. Students that did not like history, participated and enjoyed it because of the different ways of knowing and doing that the teacher created for us.
My English classes in high school were all positive classroom spaces to be in as well. They were visually appealing and our teacher tried to create fun spaces for writing and presenting in different ways. Often, she would take us to different parts of the school to do our projects rather than sitting at our desks for the entire hour. One of the spaces that I loved the most was when it was nice out and we could do our work outside on the grass. Her methods of teaching were unique and she created a safe place for everyone to come together and share ideas, thoughts and writing pieces without judgement.
Most of my teachers that cared about the sense of community in the classroom would have a lot of group activity. Whether this was discussing something as simple as a few questions or group projects and presentations. When everyone feels included and safe in the classroom, it makes the space more comfortable for everyone to express themselves and demonstrates what everyone has learned collectively. The teachers that didn’t allow us to have groups or rarely offered classroom discussions were the classes that everyone dreaded going to. Participation was minimal and the classes were boring.To build a hospitable and invitational educational environment and build relationships with students, I believe the first step is to be kind, caring and understanding. But the main thing I always want to stress: it is so crucial for teachers to understand that not every student learns the same. We should set up different ways of teaching – group discussions, group circles, basically just a variation of different ways to present an idea. We allow students to choose how they want to display the information they learned. Not everyone learns the same way, so why are we being forced to display our understanding the same way?
Space, Place & Boundaries
Places, spaces and boundaries are important for the teachers, educational assistants, faculty and more importantly, the students. If the space that we are trying to learn in is chaotic, disorganised and feels judgemental, is it not safe to assume learning would cease to be successful?
I do not recall my learning environment during my school years all that well. But what I do remember is that every classroom had rows of desks neatly lined up and white walls. The teacher’s desk would usually be at the front of the room – either at the front left or front right. There would be two whiteboards in the front of the classroom with vague notes to memorise and basic posters scattered on the otherwise plain walls. Sometimes there was room for a circle table or two in the back of the classroom or maybe for a bookshelf. My classrooms were often at full capacity, though. There was rarely any room to try to enhance the classroom to make it more appealing.
All of the classrooms, that I remember, clearly displayed the power dynamic in the classroom. The teacher is at the front either at their desk or at the whiteboard and the remainder of us students were neatly lined up in rows staring back up at our teacher. I was lucky with a few teachers in which they did not try to make the students feel less-than and created a positive learning environment for everyone. However, I often had teachers that showed their power by not being understanding, displaying annoyance at students that asked questions and would give their lecture and sit back down at their desk.
When I was in the classrooms where the teacher did not create a safe place for opinions, thoughts and questions, it made me feel very small. I am already a very shy, quiet person who tries not to bother others with questions or my thoughts. So, when you have a teacher that acts like this and then calls on students randomly to answer questions, it creates a toxic learning space and induces a lot of fear and anxieties. The students that feel the most impact from these negative experiences are often minorities in the classroom or those that have learning disabilities.
To make the classroom spaces feel more relational, I think it is important to be kind, caring and compassionate towards every student. At times, it might be frustrating to have to repeat things and answer questions that you think are redundant, but if these things are bothering you to the point where you treat the students with disrespect, perhaps finding another career would be more beneficial. I was impacted by being treated poorly by teachers because of my learning disability and extreme anxiety and so I am passionate about these topics.
Truth & Reconciliation
Throughout my years of schooling through kindergarten to grade twelve, the teachings of Indigenous Peoples varied greatly depending on the teacher. I honestly do not think I learned anything about Indigenous Peoples until grade six. I had a Métis history teacher who was a very compassionate teacher. I credit this teacher for giving me my love of learning history, focussing on Canadian Indigenous Peoples. This teacher did not teach out of a textbook because at that time, the texts were still outdated and only had a colonised view of teaching. Instead, this teacher would allow us to do group projects, group discussions, and speak of his own stories about his ancestors and what growing up Métis was like. However, after this grade six class, I never had the privilege to learn about Indigenous studies again until my last couple years of high school.
In high school I loved history so much, but it always bothered me how the history classes were focussed on other countries. Even when Canadian history was being taught, it began with the Confederation – rarely speaking about Indigenous peoples. Luckily, my school had separate Indigenous classes (called Native Studies at that time). These classes were excellent in teaching us about pre-contact Canada, The Indian Act, Residential Schools and present-day issues.
When it comes to learning about Indigenous Peoples, I have had to go out of my way to gain the knowledge that I do have. If it was not for me going out of my way to pick up extra history classes in high school, I would not be where I am today in terms of understanding and knowing. I even took the University of Alberta non-credit course about Indigenous Studies a few years ago for fun. I also go out of my way to follow Indigenous Elders and speakers on social media to gain their perspectives on things because I believe our media does not do this well. The Truth and Reconciliation booklet is an excellent resource to read and view. It can be used in younger grades because of the easy-to-understand texts and even though it is not as graphic as the history that actually happened, it still gives you the truth of what happened in a way that is easily digestible. It is a great tool to summarise the main points of reconciliation and how we can try and teach it in learning environments.