Critical Teaching Manifesto

Olawanle AgbebI

I believe that all children are unique and have something special they bring into the classroom, I want all students I come across be able to express themselves no matter who they are or where their family come from, as well as accept the differences of other students in the classroom.

  Indigenous way of knowing

I will continue to teach the importance of Truth and reconciliation to my students
I will always be respectful to the land, water and indigenous culture
I will always incorporate treaty teachings in my daily lesson and unit plans rather than just teaching once in a while or only during the  truth and reconciliation week , Margaret Kovach (2013) urges educators to pay attention to “treaty teachings” (p. 114): rather than simply “teaching treaty .

 Powerful Teaching Pedagogies

Pedagogies in course ECS 303 has taught me truly that the saying “action speaks louder than words” is what we need as educators. Researchers note that some educators say they’re practicing culturally responsive teaching, but a multicultural school potluck or diverse books in their classroom library sufficiently counts as affirming students’ culture in education. But culturally responsive teaching is deeper than that”.

I will daily find a way to make my instructions and the content of my lesson plan incorporate activities, videos, visuals, photographs, music etc. from different race, background, culture, religion, gender & sexualities that makes each student feel represented, respected, and welcome.

I will always make sure I know how to pronounce my students’ names correctly. “Students’ names provide the first moment when a teacher can demonstrate their warmth and humanity, their commitment to seeing and welcoming students’ languages and cultures into the classroom” (Christensen,

Linda,2019).

             Student Centered Approach

Developing a love of learning is one of a teacher’s goals. I want my students to become lifelong learners so I will involve them when making decisions and participate in learning experiences.

Collaborative projects offer chances to improve social and emotional intelligence as well as communication confidence. I will teach children to work together with the goal of cooperation rather than competition.

Kovach, M. (2013). Treaties, truths, and transgressive pedagogies: Re-imagining Indigenous presence in the classroom. Socialist Studies, 9(1), 109-127.

Christensen, L. (2019). Honour Their Names. Rethinking Schools, 33(3).