Critical Teaching Manifesto
I, Kenzie Behrns, believe that teaching is not merely about transferring knowledge; it is about creating spaces where students can grow in empathy, engage in learning, and contribute their own world.
I Believe the Classroom Should be a Place for Continuous Learning: I will encourage curiosity and inquiry-based learning in my classroom. I will teach students to become active learners who engage in the materials, ask questions and think critically. I will guide students in connecting their classroom learning to real-life situations, helping them see the meaningful impact their knowledge and skills can have beyond school.
I Believe the Classroom Should be Welcoming and a Safe Place: I will create a safe and inclusive space within my classroom so my students feel like they can speak freely and be their true authentic selves by embracing their stories (Christensen, 2019). I will honour and pronounce all my student’s names correctly (Christensen, 2019). I will embrace differences in my classroom such as unique perspectives, identities, and the cultural heritages of all my students (Will & Najarro, 2022).
I Believe that Students Should Not be Afraid of Making Mistakes: I will normalize mistakes as learning opportunities. I will discuss the importance of mistakes in learning. I will avoid emphasizing perfection on assignments by designing assessments that reward the process as much as the outcome.
I Believe in Using Different Learning Strategies to Curate to Students Needs: I will accommodate different learning styles by using differentiated instruction. I will build in time each week for students to allow them to provide me feedback on how the adaptations are working for their personally learning (Goldberg, 2019).
I Believe that Treaty Education Needs to be Taught in My Classroom: I will have my classroom environment honor Indigenous ways of knowing. I will affirm my own responsibility to truth and reconciliation (TRC, 2015). I will not shy away from teaching treaty education and teach beyond a land acknowledgment (Bamford, 2023). I will emphasize and explain the statement, “We are All Treaty People” (OTC, n.d.) to the students in my classroom.
References
Bamford, A. (2023, September 28). “I expect more”: Why some Indigenous people in Sask. want Land Acknowledgements to change. CTV News Regina. https://regina.ctvnews.ca/i-expect-more
Christensen, L. (2019). Honour Their Names. Rethinking Schools, 33(3).
Goldberg, G. (2019). Teach like yourself: How authentic teaching transforms our students and ourselves. Corwin Press.
Office of the Treaty Commissioner – About the Treaties https://www.otc.ca/pages/about_the_treaties.html
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). Final Report, 2015.
Will, M., & Najarro, I. (2022, April 18). Culturally Responsive Teaching. Education Week.