Some of the ways we as future teachers can address homophobic, transphobic, biphobic and oppressive towards queer and trans people in the school systems is by opening are minds and hearts up to the struggles 2SLGBTQIA+ children face and realize we can help be a safe space.There are a handful of small things you as a teacher can do, hanging the pride flag, having pride stickers, posters, just having your pronouns visible to students. There are bigger ways to start or help educate students about 2SLGBTQIA+ people. An easy way is actively discussing 2SLGBTQIA+ members in simple conversations, like when discussing family dynamics.  Shutting down the negative or harmful talk or bullying is a very important. Actively using texts, books, movies and content that have 2SLGBTQIA+ people and perspectives. Most importantly is to create a safe place, 2SLGBTQIA+ members are humans who do not deserve any less respect, kindness, and humans rights than any non-member.

Teaching Treaty Ed or First Nations, Metis, and Inuit content and perspectives is teaching the true history of Canada. Treaty Ed helps students understand the roles settlers played in taking away the First Nations culture, land, rights and freedom. Teaching this type of education is most important to non-First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples. Settlers are the people who do not understand or know Treaty Ed, this type of education is not made for First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples it is made for the settlers. This education should be taught to help understand that First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples have suffered many injustices and we are in a time where we need to stop letting people feel less than for simply being who they are. Treaty Ed is a huge part of Canadas history and should be honoured through teaching.

My understanding of “We are all treaty people” is that settlers live on treaty land, Settlers own treaty land. This impacts my view on the curriculum because everything we do as teachers should be to honour the land we live on and every person who lives on it. Teaching are students that “We are all treaty people”  helps them become better humans, who will show kindness too all.

In my future classroom, I hope to actively create a classroom that is safe and welcoming classroom for any student who walks in. The walls will be covered in welcoming and encouraging pictures and posters. I am still working on understanding the full meaning and ways of teaching with a culturally relevant pedagogy. However, I would like to have students create a poster, PowerPoint or something creative to describe who they are as a person. This will help me understand my students on a personal level. Knowing who my students are personally will help me create a classroom that celebrates every student for who they are. I want my classroom to feel like a place for every student to be their most authentic selves. I want my classroom to sound like each student is having the most fun they could. I want each of my students to feel loved, appreciated and seen by me each and every day. I am still trying to figure out how to deeply incorporate a culturally relevant classroom in the future.

As a future teacher, incorporating a sense of place in my classroom would start by having students listen to a member of the community talk about their sense of place in the community. I would as explain to students my feeling of place in the community, the classroom, and other places I have connections to. Then I would have students brainstorm how they may feel a sense of place in these areas. I would then have the class come together to discuss how we could make our classroom have some of these things. This will create a sense of place that is more personal to the class and each of the students.

What’s your understanding of citizenship? How can we relate Treaty Education to citizenship?

Citizenship is the belonging to the place you call home or you are originally from. Citizenship can mean different things for other people and other countries. We do see the two types though out the different meanings. The two types are a “good” citizen and a “bad” citizen. A. “good” citizen fits in and does as they should by following the law, volunteering, and donating.  A “bad” citizen doesn’t fit into the nice little box that society calls the norm. “bad” citizens aren’t always bad people but society makes them seem as they are. Society tells us we should be a “good” citizen that doesn’t break from the mould, that is societal norms.

We can see treaty education as citizenship by looking at how little is being taught in are classrooms. The lack of knowledge being shared lives students to be a “good” citizen and fit inro the mould. If students are taught the truth about treaty education they will see the truth about the settlers and will not have the same views that fit the “good” citizen mould.

According to Levin article the curricula is not made by teachers for teachers. The curricula is made by the government. The curricula that is made to teach students is made by politicians and the government party that is in power. We see the ideologies of the governing party in the curricula, we see what they think should be taught to students. Levin does state “the main education groups: teachers, principals, seniors, administrators, and elected local authorities were always involved in curriculum reviews and decisions” (Levin). This is stating that teachers and school staff do have some say in the curricula, but they have to go through a long process that can take years. This further shows how little say teachers and school stuff have in what they teach to students.

The reading on the Saskatchewan Treaty Education document opened my eyes the growing need for treaty education. The mandate is an important way too keep Canada’s history alive. The treaty education curricula needs to be properly made and properly taught to students. The curricula should be created by elders and persons who have a deep understanding of First Nations history and culture. The curricula needs to reflect the truth about Canada’s past and present.

A “good” student

 A “good” student is one who comes to school ready to sit quietly in their desk and listen to the lecture given by the teacher. “Good” student does not act out or try and fight the structure of a normal classroom. Common sense in the classroom is this role of being a “good” student who doesn’t cause extra work for the teacher and school system. The student who fall into the “good” student role are privileged for their ability to fit into this role. The type of student we typical see in this role are students who have a natural ability or want to learn and so well in classes. The “good” students are the one who already don’t need as much attention and help with their school work. This gives the attention of the teacher to students who natural don’t need it. The privilege the “good” student gets is having the teacher invested in furthering the student’s knowledge. The “good” student has been shaped by the way people who are not the norm have been treated. People who are different from the norm have been made to feel bad about factors they cannot change. We see this with the “good” student type, if you are not the perfect student you are made to feel as though you cannot learn.

A Positive, Safe Environment”: Urban Arts High Schools and the Safety Mystique

 Students at arts schools see the school as being safe and a great place to go to school. The arts schools feel like a safe place for members of LGBTTQ+. Seeing how an ats school can be so much safer for members of LGBTTQ+ posses the question of what makes a school feel safe for in minority groups. Why can arts schools be so much safer than a regular high school? What makes regular high school unsafe? Those who feel safe in regular high schools have to be looked into to see how to change the view of safety. Who can we deem worthy of the need to be safe in public schools?

The students we see coming into these arts schools have to submit an application and have to go through a process similar to applying to university or college. The feeling of safety comes from the community, feeling as one can express themselves, feeling as the LGBTTQ+ students were safe, and how students were protected from violence they would see in other regular schools. The type of teacher that is in the school all helps make the school feel like home. Having teachers who want the school to feel like home and who encourage students to freely express themselves. These schools can remain as well known for their safe environment by carefully guarding which students are accepted into the schools.

This article is very interesting and brings up many good points about how arts schools are more safe than regular high schools. Although this is not a topic I find myself wanting to do for my essay. I would like to find a topic that focusses on how to make the classroom feel safer. I would like to learn something useful well doing this essay and this article didn’t help me learn something to use in my future class room.

Resources

Gaztambide-Fernández, R.,A., & Rivière, D. (2019). “A positive, safe environment”: Urban arts high schools and the safety mystique. Harvard Educational Review, 89(3), 397-420,518-519. Retrieved from https://login.libproxy.uregina.ca:8443/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/positive-safe-environment-urban-arts-high-schools/docview/2298318578/se-2

Throughout my schooling, I have seen and been subject to the Tyler rationale.  I had always felt I was just a number in a classroom, not a student who learned differently. Tests and essays were the main forms of evaluation. These types of evaluations are stressful and daunting for high school students and do not give a good chance to show knowledge. Well in middle school and elementary, I would find myself falling behind in classes but didn’t see how my teacher could help. The feeling of being rushed was present throughout all of my schooling. I would just start to understand the topic then we move on to a brand new topic. Now with my knowledge of the Tyler rationale, my teachers were being paid to teach knowledge in the most efficient way possible.

The school system didn’t prepare me for life after high school. When I got out of high school I could take tests, write essays and know how to cram for a test but didn’t teach me how to do a job interview or how to save money. The Tyler rationale focused on students pumped out students who followed the rule, came to class on time, didn’t miss class, and were good test takers. This limits students to the idea that the only thing to do after high school is college or university. The Tyler rationale is only made for one perfect type of student and leaves those who don’t fall into that category to fall behind and feel as if school is not a place they belong. This type of schooling leaves many limitations for most children throughout their whole life.

There are some benefits to having such a structured curriculum and schooling system. Structure does help students learn how to behaviours they will need throughout life. Having a structured pace does insure students will be prepared for the next grades to come. This timeline of school does give students the chance to have hiccups in their life before they are adults. Having students work in classrooms with other students their age helps students gain social skills by working and socializing with their peers. The student-teacher relationship also helps students gain social skills with adults.

Kumashiro defines common sense as the norms a culture or society has come to expect in everyday life. Common sense is looks different in every culture, society and geographical region. What we may see as common sense in the class room maybe unheard of in an other countries school system. Paying attention to the common sense can help you become a part of a culture or society but not all common sense practices are something to conform to. Many common sense practices are oppressive and outdated. Paying attention to the common sense can be a way of changing your views and values as an educator and member or society. My common sense of the curriculum is mostly based off of what I have experienced in schools. The curriculum should be followed and it is the only way to succeed throughout schooling. My common sense understanding of pedagogy is very little and was not something I saw or maybe noticed in my years of schooling.