Category: ECS 210

Here is the link to my Final Project.

When I was taught math in school, it was very product based education, we did note and questions and there at the end of the unit we wrote a test and this was the way all of my high school math was taught. It was only ever taught in one way and if you didn’t understand that way then that was to bad for you. There were lots of students who were really smart but the way that we taught math didn’t work for them, so they could do it themselves. It used to almost be an elite club of smart students in the higher math classes. Inuit math has a different style of teaching and shows math in a different way, it is used in different ways, it had a different purpose, and the presenter in class talked about how they struggled in math because they were actually working in a based 20 system instead of our base 10 system that we use. The math that they used had practical uses for them in their everyday life, whereas I never use quadratic formulas in my day to day life.

Treaty education is meant to help with reconciliation and decolonization in Canada, we want to provide the perspective of Indigenous peoples. Claire Kreuger refers to it a “settlers ed” when you are teaching a majority of non-indigenous students and in her video she defines it as “Learning the benefits and responsibilities that come with sharing this land, and it is about honoring the long history of this place.” She provided an outline to strive for within a classroom setting beyond the curriculum provided by the government, she also adds that no one will be a perfect treaty education teacher. Both Claire and Dwayne Donald mention that this is not just something that will happen overnight it is going to take time. Dwayne mentioned in his video that is is important to bring together the past, present and future to educate and fully understand, we have to look back to understand where we are heading. They also must learn about the relationships, and for each student to learn about their identity with in those relationships.

For me personally, I had only learned that we are all treaty people in the past two years, as a came to university and left my small town. It was never included in any of my early education, I remember the first time I had ever heard some recognize, the treaty land we were on at the U of R orientation, and I remember thinking to myself why would thing do that? As the year went on I have learned that we are all treaty people, we all live on the land represented in treaties. We also need to understand that there are two sides to treaties, and they do not just pertain to the Indigenous peoples, it applies to all canadians living on land provided to us through treaties. I still do not have a full understanding of what it all means to be a treaty person, but it is important to provide an understanding to students.

This week we were given an article by Jean-Paul Restoule, called “Learning from Place: A Return to Traditional Mushkegowuk Ways of Knowing,” is about showing the ways that cree students connect to the land and there culture. This child are going on a 10 day river trip with adults and elders, and as they travel up the river they will learn about there people connection to the land and how important it is to them. This story show us examples of decolonization and reinhabitation, and it is allowing them to have a chance to reconnect with the lands. This trip helps to bring back things that were lost in the process of colonization, like the connection with land, the value of their knowledge, and the connection between generations. Both the children and the elders learned from each the different perspectives they have, and how they can be a lined. “The river trip helped members of the community share linguistic, cultural, historical, and geographical knowledge” (page 81).

In the future I hope to be bring these ideas of decolonization and reinhabitation in to the classroom by have an educational environment, these subjects are really important to be taught in schools, but it is often taught in the same ways with no real change to the system. New ways of teaching such as recognizing treaty lands and that we are all treaty people, having speakers come into classrooms so students can see the real effects. It all depends on the community you are teaching in, on how you bring these new ways of learning, and how you can have students understand the actions, and how they can change it, decolonization is not something that will happen overnight, it is going to take many more years, and we have a long road ahead of us.

Being a ‘good’ student means to be able to learn the information that your teacher has laid for you, it means you can listen, sit quietly in class, ask meaningful questions, participate in conversation, and being able to take tests. A good student would be getting good grades, understanding what is laid out in front of them, and they should be moving through and understanding the material at the same speed of other students. This is all  what we assume to be ‘common sense’ from your culture, society and schooling background. Students that act out in class or do not learn at the same speed as other no longer fit this description, they are not considered to be a good student. 

This definition of a ‘good student’ is most for middle or upper class, white students, the ones that have been raised with these values. Common sense is determined by the leading cultural group, which means if you are not from that group you most likely are to face more challenges when it comes to schooling. This also disadvantages students with learning or physical disabilities, because it is made for the majority, and those not included in it do not always receive the same quality of education. It is impossible to see the negative effects of this because common sense is set up by the majority, and it works out for the majority, but there are always those left out.

For Assignment one I have chosen the topic of Hidden Curriculum, I picked this topic because it is one that I am really interested in because children can pick up so much without adults even realizing. The hidden curriculum is something that can change so often, I think it has a very powerful influence on students. I have one article that I have chosen to use as a source in my essay. The article is called “Tracing and countering the hidden” talks about the hidden expectations within a classroom, the things that are not written on a piece of paper but children are still required to do it. 

This article also goes on to say that is society that also sets the hidden curriculum, with the values of people and what is acceptable. This article stated that there are four, important layers of curriculum, and they are different for countries and locations, with society’s values changing from place to place. This article also shows how important it is to look beyond the obvious and do a deep analysis of the many hidden layers that shape our curriculum, and that it is more than meets the eye. It also says we need to dig deeper so that we can better educate students.

I have not decided whether or not to continue with this idea, because there are so many different possibilities to choose from and I have struggled to find another article to go along with the one that I have already picked out. If I do continue with this idea I would dig deeper into the meaning of what defines the hidden curriculum and what it looks like here in Saskatchewan. I also want to see how it can change from teacher to teacher because everyone sees the hidden curriculum differently.

1. Curriculum as a Syllabus to be Transmitted – This is the outline of what students should be learning in the classroom and it is provided by the government. The article states this would usually be transferred to the student teaching right out of a textbook. This is a very structured way of learning, it follows a logical order and it is beneficial to many students as long as they have no missed learning something in the past. This also means this may be easier for a teacher to teach this way with everything just coming straight out of a book. This curriculum does not work for all students, some need extras, and not all students function at the same rate, and understand things at their own pace.
2. Curriculum as a Product – The article states that this is the way of learning “Objectives are set, a plan drawn up, then applied, and the outcomes” (Outcome = Projects) this has both benefits and drawbacks. There is not a lot of room for movement within the classroom and the learning experience, especially for children in the classroom that may struggle with concepts or who cannot keep up with other students within the classroom. This is not the most flexible way of teaching in the classroom, and even though there are many benefits to teaching this way, it seems to be something that teachers are starting to move away from. 
3. Curriculum as Process – In this model the attention moves from teaching to learning, this is very helpful to children as are learning new things. “Curriculum is not just a physical thing, but rather the interaction of teachers, students and knowledge.” this shows use that curriculum can be more than just laid out objectives it is also the actual learning that happens in the classroom along with how to prepare and evaluate. This Model shows it an active process where teachers and students can improve together. This model is beneficial to both teachers and students, and students will get a more round education. A drawback of teaching this way would be that there might not be a lot of structure for some students who may need it, and it would be hard for teachers to adapt and change every singe lesson they teach in school.
4. . Curriculum as Praxis – This shows the constant evolution of teaching, it is develops through interaction and reflection, and it is a more informed way of teaching. this way of teaching allows for there to be change to help both teachers and students, follow and work in unison to from a better way of educating students. The drawbacks would be that this is extremely hard if you did not have students ready to engage in the subject matter, and to participate with in school.

In the small town where I grew up most of my teachers taught with the first two methods with all classes being structured and already laid out when the students came in the room. We knew what we were going to learn and their was only the teachers way of seeing and doing the questions, there was also very limited thinking outside the box.

This article is very interesting, it provided a different way of looking at common sense. Common sense is that knowledge that everyone seems to have, it is the things that you do not have to even think about before you do because they just make sense. The article explains that common sense means something different depending on your environment, and culture. This teacher’s experience in a country that was foreign to them, and the difference between the education system they grew up in and the system they was now a part of. In the article Kumashiro states “Common Sense limits what is considered to be consistent with the purposes of schooling” they interfere with what is sometimes best for students.

It is challenging to recognize the commonsensical because teacher is told what to teach and what not to teach in a curriculum. (we are told that is what students should be learning the important information. It is hard to refuse these ideas of common sense because it is what our whole world is based around. Anti-oppressive education is very important to help students and not have different thing interfere with in the education. It is very important to see common sense so that we can rise above it, not try to let it change the way teach. Teaching is not just about meeting the outcomes set by the government, it is about helping a student reach their full potential.