Having an understanding of how curriculum is made was very beneficial to me. I had not realized how much of the curriculum process was politically motivated and the Levin article helped to explain some of the politics and reasoning as well. It made me very grateful that I am not in politics. The pressures of trying to have all of the constituent’s voices heard and all opinions listened to would be very difficult. The pressures of trying to make cohesive decisions, policies, and curriculum, while trying to provide for such vast differences would be incredibly difficult. Somehow, I had this picture in my head of a small group of professors voting on subjects and how they should be taught, and it is good to have a more realistic view.
It was really good to read the Treaty Education document and see the effort that is being made to hear the voices of a group of people that have been ignored, excluded and treated horrifically for a very long time. Beyond that, the Treaty Education Outcomes and Indicators show a desire to not only hear, but learn and teach students that we are all Treaty people, which is something that I certainly did not learn in school or in my community. While this is very government mandated, and looks to have been a difficult document to make, it speaks to me of a strong effort to learn and grow. There are quite a few groups of people, committees and government organizations that worked on this document. It would have been fraught with controversy in deciding what should be in it and what should not. It seems that the document does really group together all Indigenous people and all Treaties in one document instead of addressing learning about the wide variety of groups Indigenous people. Although this document and curriculum development does have many pitfalls, this document also resonates well with another book about Treaties that we read in Indigenous 100, particularly in relation to the spirit and intent of the Treaties as that is a big part that has been denied. This makes me excited to learn more, both inside and outside of the classroom.
Treaty Education Outcomes and Indicators https://www.edonline.sk.ca/bbcswebdav/library/materials/english/docs/Treaty%20Education%20Outcomes%20%26%20Indicators%20-%20Feb%2021%202013.pdf
Curriculum Policy and the Politics of What Should be Learned in Schools https://www.edonline.sk.ca/bbcswebdav/library/materials/english/docs/Treaty%20Education%20Outcomes%20%26%20Indicators%20-%20Feb%2021%202013.pdf
Hi, Jen
I had a similar vision of how I thought curriculum decisions were made, I thought it was much more small scale. I didn’t realize how many influences went into these decisions, so I can relate when you said it was nice to get a more realistic view.
Regarding treaty education, I also had limited experiences learning about Indigenous perspectives and treaty history. I completely agree with you when you wrote: “It seems that the document does really group together all Indigenous people and all Treaties in one document instead of addressing learning about the wide variety of groups Indigenous people”. I think that addressing the multiple Indigenous cultures/treaties is the next push our education system needs to assemble.