Treaty Ed in the Classroom

Why is Treaty Ed Important in the Classroom?

Treaty Ed in a classroom is important regardless of the diveristy in the classroom. It is importamt because we are all treaty people and we all have a part to play in reconcilliation. The first step is being willing to learn and properly undertsand history. I think that often when there are racist remarks or a lack of willingness to learn in a classroom, as an intern had experienced, it can be from lack of knowledge. When teachers choose to neglect the required Treaty Ed outcomes the students see this and think this must not be important. In the conversation between Claire and Mike, Claire suggested that if we stopped teaching math people would notice. Similarly, when school cuts are made and Arts Education is downsized people feel like the school system does not value Arts Education. It makes sense that in a school that the teachers do not value Treaty Ed the students will not either.

To try make a difference in this school and stress the importance I think this intern needs to speak with the other teachers and help them to understand the importance of Treaty Ed. Additionally, it is a teachers job to hit the Treaty Ed outcomes. Next, I would suggest beginning from the basics with the students. As claire mentioned, if a grade 8 class has never learned about treaty education you cannot jump to grade 8 outcomes regarding it. You need to start at the beginning.

What does it really mean when we say, “We are all treaty people?”

In my opinion we are all treaty people because we are all apart of Canada’s history and we are on treaty land. Additionally, it is our responsibility to all play a part in truth and reconcilliation. To do this we must learn what we can and teach others what we know. Especially as teachers it is our responsibility to educate our students and include the Treaty Ed coutcomes.