Category: ECS203- Blog Posts

Part 1: 

My own experiences of being taught mathematics was more based around the Eurocentric way of the world. For example; the math word problems all tended to be based around situations us western people would understand which could leave some cultures out to face discrimination. Math was always based around an assessment portion whereas some children do not do good when it comes to big test therefore it would be hard for those kids to show what they know. In one of my math classes the children who did good on their math tests would get recognize which left some children out. Therefore, when I look back the math I was taught was based around individual achievement and competition, which can create an oppressive learning environment for students who do not adhere to these standards.  

Part 2: 

Inuit mathematics places a strong emphasis on the practical and concrete applications of mathematics in daily life. Inuit people might be taught how to weigh and divide fish for distribution or how to determine a harpoon’s trajectory for hunting, for instance. That mathematics is only abstract or academic by highlighting the value of mathematics in practical settings. Inuit mathematics is based on the Inuit worldview, which places a strong emphasis on the interdependence of all things in nature. Inuit students are taught how to observe, decipher, and apply natural phenomena, such as animal migration patterns and seasonal changes, to their everyday lives. This method goes against the Eurocentric view of mathematics as an objective and neutral subject and places an emphasis on how it is interconnected with larger ecological and societal systems. You could emphasize on multiple ways of knowing. Inuit mathematics recognizes that there are numerous modes of knowing and learning. Inuit students, for instance, might use their instincts and sensory perceptions to make choices about the surroundings and address issues. In addition to valuing cooperation and community participation, Inuit mathematics also understands that knowledge is produced and shared by both individuals and groups. This method sends out doubt on the idea that mathematics is an activity that is only personal and objective. 

Us teachers can maximize engagement and add instructional strategies in many ways, such as by putting up signs sensitive to cultural differences, using books in multiple languages, and encouraging parents and kids to emphasize their own cultural knowledge and background. One example from the reading is that teachers can ask one or two students to present a term from their native tongues to the class, explaining its meaning and the reasoning behind their choice. By doing this activity students and teachers pick up new vocabulary over time in many languages. 

Multilingual students who are encouraged to use their home languages alongside the language of the classroom come to see themselves as talented and accomplished speakers of multiple languages who are more likely to engage academically. As the reading explained, it is important to encourage individuals’ home languages so that they do not feel constrained by their current proficiency in the school language. It is crucial to understand that every child has a right to an education that matches their needs, so as educators, it is our responsibility to adjust to each student’s needs to maximize achievement.

Reading- https://www.edcan.ca/articles/multilingual-students/

It is crucial to discreetly and casually incorporate discussions like homophobia and the marginalization of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community into classrooms so that students can start to be exposed to these types of conversations and topics. It is important that this teaching aims to question popular conceptions of sex, gender, and sexuality in the classroom. This teaching encourages students to consider critically how gender and sexuality are portrayed in the society around them and to explore and express their own gender and sexual identities. The educational systems must include this within the curriculum, which can be done in many ways and can be done through cross-curriculum. It is important to recognize that this does not need to be its separate curriculum due to being able to incorporate it into all areas of learning. For example; you can provide a variety of viewpoints, such as those found in literature, art, and historical occurrences that emphasize 2SLGBTQI+ identities. The curriculum is not perfect and will never be due to it always needing changes or updates to keep up with society’s expectations. Even if the curriculum is designed to teach diversity and inclusivity, queer education is one component that must be included. We educators need to take responsibility for creating a welcoming and inclusive environment due to the education children learn now will shape what our future looks like. 

Indigenous people are frequently looked down upon and not included in the level of living; instead, they are categorized as having a distinct way of life, which is incorrectly given that we are all treaty people and occupy treaty land. Treaty education is not a joke and is very important within the education system. Treaty education is to inform non-treaty people about Canada’s past, including how treaty people were treated. Children can learn about indigenous methods of knowing and thinking through treaty education. Claire mentioned how often instruction about treaties is intended for indigenous people, although it is intended for the settlers because the indigenous people already understand what has happened in the past and their ways of life. Teaching treaty education helps kids understand that everyone is a treaty person, not just members of a certain community. This is especially essential for younger kids since that’s when they’re still figuring out who they are, as Claire explained. Because of this, the students in your class may view treaty education as a joke or the teachers may be very slack and believe that there is no need in teaching it given that there are “no” kids from Nations who may not be aware that they are also treaty people. Dwayne also mentioned how, even though we might not be aware of it, we are all colonized. It is important to acknowledge that treaty education within the class is not just doing one reading about the past. Treaty education can be integrated into all subjects and is important to spend quality time teaching children about treaty education. Treaty education is deep learning not just skimming over the surface of it all. It also has to do with teachers’ perspectives on the matter, which is why your teacher refrains from introducing it to your class because she thinks the students there are no students that belong to a nation. This stood out to me when Dwayne explained, teachers’ attitudes about indigenous culture and history are reflected in how much of it they include in the classroom. This involves more than just using a timeline of the residential schools to analyze historical relationships and the past. The curriculum should not necessarily have one section for treaty education whereas it should be incorporated into all sections of the curriculum since we are all treaty people and many times is without teachers realizing. Treaty education may be included in many courses, and it’s crucial to give kids enough opportunity to learn about it. But, it’s up to the teacher to recognize its significance. Learning about treaties throughout the curriculum is important because treaties have rights and reasonability which are important for everyone to learn due to everyone being treaty people. In conclusion, one way to address this topic with your students is to stick up for what you believe in and, ideally, others will do the same. Explaining who you are and where you come from, as well as asking others to do the same, could help you convince your instructor that there are kids from many nations and show the importance of taking this topic up in class.

[Culturally relevant pedagogy and critical literacy in diverse English classrooms: A case study of a secondary English teacher’s activism and agency]: What will culturally relevant pedagogy look like, sound like, feel like, in your future classroom?  

Culturally relevant pedagogy will be incorporated into my future classrooms in many ways! First, I want to add this into my classroom to boost diverse students’ engagement and academic accomplishment, and it is an effective strategy for bringing the cultures, languages, and life experiences of the students into the classroom. It is important to add this into your classroom, so children develop a culturally diverse understanding of society as well as be able to maintain their cultural identity. All of my students and their personal lives will be a part of my culturally responsive teaching, which will go beyond simply focusing on the culture of one group. To incorporate everyone and make all children feel welcome, I must invite kids to speak and discuss their lives or cultures. This will enable me to arrange my lessons properly. Along with having visuals of different cultural expressions throughout the classroom so everyone can feel welcome. I will set high expectations that will be achievable for all students to meet and will incorporate some reading pieces, writing pieces, art pieces, and activities that involve dance and music. To help other students in the class learn about one another’s cultures through hearing and seeing the children’s cultural identities, I will allow children to express their cultural languages or identities. I will also add the three principles of culturally relevant teaching that were identified by Ladson-Billings in the reading Culturally relevant pedagogy and critical literacy in diverse English classrooms: A case study of a secondary English teacher’s activism and agency. 

[Placing elementary music education: a case study of a Canadian rural music program.]: How will you, as teacher, contribute to the sense of place for your future students? 

As a future teacher, I will contribute to the sense of place for my students by making sure the children can make connections between themselves or other people based on a place. It is important to acknowledge many different communities within a classroom which was explained throughout Placing elementary music education: a case study of a Canadian rural music program by “children have their own cultures that are different from the adults in their worlds as babies” and how music plays different roles within a children’s age as they grow up. The need to include different cultures in schools and communities when developing a lesson plan or program was discussed during the reading by using music class as an example, but this is true for all lessons, not just those involving music which is something I will ensure as a future teacher. I will make sure I am not only touching on the western ways but also non-western ways of life and places. I want to ensure all activities fit everyone’s religious beliefs therefore no one feels left out or uncomfortable, which leads to everyone feeling welcomed. In my sense of place, I want to incorporate group discussions and learning which offers a place for all children to participate. Group learning also allows individuals to work together, learn from one another, and build relationships. My end goal is to ensure that the abilities students acquire in class will benefit them outside of the classroom in the community and help them feel connected to the place we live in and the places around them. 

In this week’s blog post, I am going to be focusing on the “Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy as a Form of Liberatory Praxis” article by A. A. Akom. Hip hop is a product of Black people’s long history of resistance and struggle for freedom. In today’s society, hip hop is incorporated into people’s lives in a variety of ways, including media, sports, fashion, and music as a means of artistic expression and communication. Hip hop is often perceived unfavorably or as something that occurs outside of school in places like the “bloc,” “street,” “hood,” “club,” after school, after dark, and in unique social areas designated for “play” which is not the entirety of hip hop (Akom, 2009, p.53). This article goes into great detail explaining how hip hop is more than what many people think it is and how important it is to have a pedagogy approach to incorporating hip hop within a classroom. The Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy (CHHP) program is a tool within a classroom that “may respond to concerns of racism and other dimensions of social difference that Black people/people of color encounter in urban and suburban schools and communities,” is a reason why one would teach hip hop in the classroom (54). This program aspires teachers a place in teacher education courses to reevaluate their knowledge of hip hop as it intersects with race, class, gender, and sexual orientation, as well as by analyzing and theorizing to what extent hip hop can be used as a tool for social justice in teacher education and beyond, this approach seeks to address deeply ingrained ideologies to social inequities (52). Hip hop may help people express who they are by giving them a variety of options to express their sex, race, culture, and other identities. Hip hop can also be used as “tools for helping student teachers to identify and name the societal and systemic problems students of color face, analyze the causes of the problem, and find solutions” (63). Hip hop in the classroom improves a variety of relationships, including those between students and teachers, between students, and even between a student and their own culture or community.  

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

My understanding of citizenship is how you are connected to your land and in what ways you can carry out this connection. I believe it is important to understand the traditional customs of the land and not alter them for your benefit or because you want to make it more like where you came from to maintain or obtain citizenship. I believe that school has shaped me to be the citizen I am and have the views on my citizenship but schools also left out me learning about others’ citizenships. We can modify this by taking note of the various citizenships that other people hold and how they differ from our own or their new ones. Treaty education is important to acknowledge because it opens individuals’ eyes to the past. Never have I once thought of myself as a treaty citizen but due to my living on treaty land, I am. This results from white colonial settlers thinking of these treaty territories as “our land” rather than as their lands, to which we are the newcomers, and from not understanding the significance of these lands. Treaty education allows individuals to make the past a reality and allows children to build relationships with the land they are living on. The comment “Canada does not have enough money for reconciliation” caught my attention during the podcast. It is terrible that people believe and even think such things since it demonstrates how poorly Canada’s citizens are doing to welcome the Indigenous back onto the land that was originally there’s.  

After reading the Levin article I was able to develop a deep understanding of how the curriculum was developed. The curriculum is developed across the state, province, and country by the governments or people of authority. As stated in Levin the curriculum is also based around public policy which is about the rules and procedures governing public sector activity, what and how they are made, and policy studies which tend to focus on the process through which policies are created and the effects of such policies once in place (2007). The process of developing a curriculum has many people involved and is an exceptionally long process. Even though there is a predetermined curriculum, many schools have the option to decide what programs and courses they want to offer and how much attention they want to give them. One example is the fact that kids can enrol in any classes they choose to take because different high schools offer various courses. Some added information that was brought to my attention throughout the reading was how much the curriculum is based on the government and policies. I believe that a curriculum should involve a lot more people rather than just people of the higher powers. It was also brought to my attention that a curriculum goes through a political vetting process which is something I did not even know existed.   

When the readings discussed how changes to the curriculum can be influenced by evaluation policies in education, which may decide what to remove from the curriculum, add more into it, or place more emphasis on certain topics, it stood out and brought back memories of my education. The literature that described this procedure brought back memories of taking “CAT” examinations in primary school. At the time, I had no idea why I was taking these tests because I was simply following instructions, but now I can see their entire purpose. Reading the Treaty Education documents allowed me to connect back to the Levin article due to the similarities they had. They both expressed how the development and change processes were mostly run by higher-up people like the government. Some tensions that could develop are different cultures having different views on what should or shouldn’t be taught.   

What does it mean to be a “good” student according to the common sense? 

• A “good” student is someone who understands the ideal way to act, learn, and participate within the class which may look like being on time to class, submitting assignments on time, taking notes, sitting still, paying attention to instructions, performing well on tests which is what everyone student should do or know to do through the understanding of common sense. Many times, children who do not follow these “good” student rules end up being looked at negatively or as “bad” students. Teachers frequently assume that when students ask why something is done a specific way, they are arguing or not being good students because they are not following instructions. As opposed to Kumashiro’s reading, which provided a high school student N as an example. N faced difficulties with other teachers but the approach that was taken in Kumashiro’s reading showed how N just wanted the opportunity to express his understanding and points of view instead of only hearing or listening to what the teachers had to say because it is what must be taught and is the only thing that is taught. 

Which students are privileged by this definition of the good student?  

• Children who are privileged by this definition are individuals who have the common sense of what a good student is and show good student qualities like being on time to class, doing their homework, handing in their assignments on time, participating in class, having parents that are involved and being able to sit and listen with no learning disabilities. I also believe that many of the time it is the white westernized students who are considered “good” students due to them speaking English and having the “white” people characteristics. Children who are also very privileged at home and who come from a home that has more money are often looked at as good students. Some of the examples of why this may be is because they may have all the school supplies, are clean looking with nice clothes and have a healthy nutritious lunch.  

How is the “good” student shaped by historical factors? 

• Historical considerations are part of the ideal definition of a good student since in the past, white people were viewed favourably and people of color were viewed badly. The majority of people of color or some cultures were not welcomed or represented positively in society. The treatment of students who spoke their native tongue at residential schools in the past serves as a powerful illustration of this. Overall, though, historical events have influenced what a good student is by highlighting that the ideal student is someone who can fit into the dominant culture of society. 

Hidden Curriculum  

Within the education system, there are two common types of curriculums one being the formal curriculum and the other being the hidden curriculum. A formal curriculum is a well-planned curriculum that includes objectives, material, learning opportunities, resources, and assessments as part of a school’s academic curriculum. It is now well-accepted that there is a hidden curriculum within the education system. When lessons are taught in the classroom but aren’t expressly addressed in curricula, it is said that there is a hidden curriculum. Some examples of the hidden curriculum include children learning how to line up, be polite, and share.  

As discussed by Giroux in “Schooling and the Myth of Objectivity” creates a different principle of the hidden curriculum from the many previously had to make it a helpful tool for someone to learn something by themselves and comprehend how schools work to encourage the social and cultural reproduction of society. Giroux does this by arguing how the hidden curriculum needs to take up a more central than supplementary position in curriculum theory. Giroux believes that with the hidden curriculum starting point in the late 1960s and early 1970s, “schools came to be seen as social sites with a dual curriculum, one overt and formal and the other hidden and informal” (284). Giroux often makes the argument and explains how the official curriculum, which exclusively addresses instructional outcomes rather than socialization factors, misses the wider picture of why individuals should attend school.  

Before I begin working on my assignment, I need to ensure that I have a better and more detailed understanding of Giroux’s opinions and observations on the hidden curriculum. I’ll accomplish this by reading additional works in addition to the one I used for this post. I need to still locate and comprehend two more peer-reviewed studies that support or criticize the hidden curriculum. Before writing my critical summary I am going to make sure I can fully answer the questions “What does this concept/topic mean”? “How does this curriculum scholar define this topic”? “Where do these texts converge/diverge”? “Considering what we have read/discussed in class, what is this text missing”? “What do the others offer?”. I am going to make sure I keep track throughout my learning of all the resources I used to give them credit. 

Citation: 

Giroux, H. A. (1981). SCHOOLING AND THE MYTH OF OBJECTIVITY: STALKING THE POLITICS OF THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM. McGill Journal of Education / Revue Des Sciences De l’éducation De McGill, 16(003). Retrieved from https://mje.mcgill.ca/article/view/7420