Category: ECS 210

Throughout elementary and high school, I was never one who excelled at math but I also didn’t fail at math either. I was average at it. I really disliked math because I felt that I wasn’t very good at it. That being said, I can’t think of a time in any math class that was oppressive or discriminating. However, math was very by the book. There was always an emphasis on showing your work as you did it. Math always seemed to just be taught a certain way. I always thought there was not more ways to teach math or to even incorporate different things into a math class. Also, myself and a few others were always the students who needed extra explanation on a math concept. Other students understood and grasped the concepts right away. Throughout my whole schooling all my math teachers were very helpful and spent time helping us understand before, during, or after class. It didn’t matter the level everyone was at; the teachers took time to help everyone out.

            Three ways that Inuit mathematics challenges Eurocentric ideas about mathematic purposes and the way it is learnt are counting, measuring, and localization. With counting, Inuit children learn to count in their language and then later will be taught English or French and will learn mathematics in that language they will be learning. Inuit children learn their numbers orally and do not have symbols for their numbers. With measuring, the Inuit people use body parts for measurement purposes versus devices to measure things. Also, the Inuit used a different calendar, their traditional calendar. This traditional calendar is not like a typical calendar with months named like May, June, July, etc. This traditional calendar goes off of natural events that occur annually in nature. As discussed in the article, one example of this is that the month of May would be “when baby caribou are born” (pg.61). Localization refers to “the exploration of one’s spatial environment and the symbolization of that environment with the help of models, diagrams, drawings, words, or other means” (pg. 56).

Reference: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1080%2F14926150709556720.pdf

I grew up in a small town in a white, Catholic family. I was with the same 17 people I graduated with from Kindergarten to Grade 12. So, I think of my upbringing and schooling as very different from others. In my school, there was limited clubs and sports for students and therefore, there was a definite hierarchy. Classes were often divided between the hockey players and the non-hockey players. In fact, I never knew until I was in my first year of university that high schools in bigger cities had a school band. That being said, there was also a lack of diversity in my school. Almost all students were white, there was very little to no students with disability, and content (in younger grades) was generally based on white, heterosexual characters. In high school, our content was slightly more diverse. But, the books we read about other cultures and races were limited. We got a few elders and residential school survivors to speak to our school. There were also many other groups that came in to talk about cultural diversity. But, while we did discuss different cultures and races, we did not talk about LGBTQ or disabilities.

My eyes were opened when I began attending the University of Regina. I have learned so much about things that I never had the opportunity to learn or experience in my small-town school. Ever since taking education classes at the University I have been taking steps to understand more about things I never experienced before. As a teacher, I will work to not let what I grew up around influence how I will teach my students. I will always question and challenge any biases I may have in my life and that is part of how I can work against them. I have learned so much and will continue to learn so I can work to be the best teacher I can be.

According the Levin, school curricula is developed through various policies which “govern every aspect of education” (Levin, 2008). This makes sense that policies would contribute to the development and implementation of curricula. Something I found interesting that Levin stated is that most times decisions in regards to curriculum are made with very little to no public knowledge. I found this interesting because the people whose children are learning should be aware of changes that are made to the curriculum, whether it is a small change or not. So, decisions and changes made about curricula are primarily made by the government. Also, curriculum is developed about “very general or broad goals and then much more specific learning activities and objectives” (Levin, 2008). In the article, it is discussed how postsecondary schools can have “powerful influence on school curriculum” (Levin, 2008). To me, this means that postsecondary schools have certain requirements for each program and therefore are looking for certain things from future students. So, it makes sense that postsecondary schools would have such an influence on curriculum since students want to learn things that will benefit the future schooling and have them qualify for those schools.

            The first connection I made from the article and the implementation of Treaty Education in Saskatchewan is that since all these curriculum decisions basically come from the government, it could be possible that the implementation of treaty education could be overlooked. Meaning, it has only been in recent education time that treaty education has begun to be implemented and many people still do not fully understand it. That being said, for teachers it can be difficult to teach about it if they do not have a strong understanding. I also think that no matter what decisions are made in regards to this, not everyone is going to have the same opinions and agree on everything. I think that it is a teacher’s job to do the best job they can on educating young people about treaty education because it is a part of our history and we live on treaty land. It is also up to the government to create curriculums that will best benefit the student and their learning as well as recognizing our country’s past and future.

Treaty education is a subject that is very important to be taught. Treaty education is teaching about the treaties and the history of how these things came to be. Teaching treaty ed is a way to honour their existence and our country’s history that can often be overlooked. In the article, “We Are All Treaty People”, it was stated that treaties are taught because it is a part of the indigenous stories. This stood out to me because storytelling is a very important aspect of indigenous culture and the treaties are also very important to their history so they are tied together. The purpose of teaching treaty education is to educate young people about the history of the place they are growing up and keep the history of what has happened here alive and keep young people aware of these topics.

            To my understanding, “we are all treaty people” means that those who live on land that a treaty covers are affected by them. Also, the people who live on treaty land, regardless if they are indigenous or not, should be educated on what the treaties mean, what comes along with the treaties, and the history. This is why treaty education needs to be taught as well. The people living on treaty land need to be aware of what treaties are. In the video of Mike and Claire, something that stood out to me was “treaty ed is not going to become less important”. This quote stood out to me because as a future teacher, I recognize the great importance of teaching these topics to students. Treaty education is not going to go away or become less important, it is going to continue to be taught and the significance of these teachings are going to become more important and as teachers it is our job to recognize this and do the best we can to teach it.

            This article is about a river trip and held many examples of reinhabitation and decolonization. It discussed the goals and challenges of the 10-day river trip. I personally have not paid much attention to these two concepts so this article was a great start and enhanced my thinking on these topics. Reinhabitation and decolonization can be linked in regards to education.

            The first thing I noticed in regards to the definitions of reinhabiation and decolonization was how there is such an emphasis throughout the article about teaching and the significance of the land, specifically the water. In the article, they participated in an excursion and it was during this time that the importance of the water to the Muchkegowuk culture was brought up. It is very important. An example of decolonization is that many traditions of the Mushkegowuk people were carried on. In this the young people spent time with the elders and had conversations. This resulted in skills, traditions, and other knowledge surrounding the culture to be passed on. Throughout the whole river trip the elders were essentially educating the younger people on the culture and told stories.

            I think place is an important aspect to consider in teaching. Since I am an elementary student, it will be very important to help students understand different concepts and cultures from our own, such as this article. So, for children this could be broken down into easier concepts and then be built upon further. Also, often times learning visually is beneficial to children so whether it is them creating the art or looking at the pictures and listening to the words of a picture book a visual take on things can be beneficial. Also, who we are teaching plays a big role in this. There would be a variation in teaching from a grade one student versus a grade four student. Whatever is being taught in school needs to be adapted to whoever is learning.  

To be a good student is to follow and respect rules and expectations. A teacher will typically have expectations for their student’s which is what may be their criteria for a “good” student. For example, Kumashiro shared two stories of students in which he thought that the students were not good students. However, they just learned differently and did not fit into his criteria to be a good student. Kumashiro took a while to realize that they were not bad students and that they just learned differently and viewed things in a different way.

            Students who may be privileged in regards to the definition of a “good” student are students who accurately fit into the category. Students who fit into to what a teacher views as a good student are most likely to succeed than students who are more challenging to teach and come across as “bad” students. What becomes impossible in regards to the commonsense is that not every student will learn the same way. Teachers may find it hard to move away from their commonsense idea of a “good” student but they must try to break that commonsense thought in order to help each student succeed. It will be impossible for every student to fit the fixed idea of a “good” student.

I chose to do my critical summary on Maxine Greene and a focus on aesthetic experience. I chose this topic because I have never really understood how big of a role the arts play in education until this year as I have been taking classes that require experimenting with the arts for student’s engagement. I am also interested in Greene’s thoughts and theories on aesthetic education and want to learn more about how much of an impact this has on a student. To develop my ideas and gain a general understanding I looked at a book review of Maxine Greene’s book, “Variations on a Blue Guitar: The Lincoln Center Institute Lectures on Aesthetic Education” reviewed by Rosalie M. Romano. I also may go find a physical copy of the book at the library by Maxine Greene to deepen my understanding for this topic

            This book review of Greene’s book it states that “it is a philosophical call to bring arts into the classroom, deepening the experiences and animating a sense of self that connects … engagement” (Romano, 2001). Also, it is stated that this book by Greene is about how arts can shape children’s development both emotionally and intellectually and works towards a “meaning of aesthetic education”. Greene’s definition of aesthetic education is also included which is, “education for more discriminating appreciation and understanding of the several arts” (Romano, 2001). Just by reading this book review I am eager to learn more about how aesthetic education impacts students in the classroom and learn how beneficial it can be. I am already making more sense of my current classes involving the arts and understanding why we are doing the things we are doing.

            My next steps will be to answer the questions I have such as, how the arts impact children emotionally and intellectually, what the benefits are to using aesthetic approaches, what Greene means by “aesthetic moments”, and any more questions I may have while continuing my research. I will also search for more articles and read them and possibly read Greene’s book as it sounds interesting.

Resource: Romano, Rosalie (2010) “Variations on a Blue Guitar: e Lincoln Center Institute Lectures on Aesthetic Education by Maxine Greene,” Journal of Educational Controversy: Vol. 5 : No. 1 , Article 23.
Available at: h ps://cedar.wwu.edu/jec/vol5/iss1/23

The four models described in the article are transmitted, product, process, and praxis. The benefits of transmitted are it is an order of contents approach, it’s a process that knowledge is transmitted to the students in an effective way, and the teachers who follow this model often have no concerns with curriculum issues. The drawbacks of this model are that a syllabus typically doesn’t emphasize the importance of topics or what order they should be studied in, it is only concerned with content, and teachers will limit their planning to the content they want to transmit to their students, according to the article.

            The benefits of the product model are it is very organized, the curriculum is not resulted from ‘armchair speculation’ but from study, and has a clear notion of outcome so that content can be organized and the results can be evaluated, according to the article. The drawbacks are there is no social vision and there is not a programme to guide the process of curriculum construction. It also takes away from the students and they are left with little to no voice and can also result in unanticipated results, according the article.

            The benefits of the process model are that the interactions between teachers, their students, and the knowledge is key. Outcomes are not the central idea for learning. The students have a voice. The drawbacks, according the article, are it has such a wide, broad term that it has become interchangeable with ‘education’ and can lead to a huge variety on content. The quality of this model falls onto the quality of the teacher following it.

            The benefits of praxis, according to the article, are that action is also committed, collective understandings are closely watched as well as structural questions. Also, it is committed to exploring the practice with their peers. A drawback is that it is a more radical view.

The most common model used in my schooling experience has been the process model. Certain elements of the transmitted and product models have been experienced as well but in my own experience the process model has been most relevant.

Some things these models made possible in the classroom is continual learning, structured guidelines to learning, the hidden curriculum including the nature of relationships between teacher and student and class organization, steps to accomplishing goals, and working with others.

            Some things made impossible by these models in the classroom are that the process and praxis models present problems in context to informal education (according to the article) and that some curriculum aspects only truly make sense alongside the class, the teacher, the course, the lesson, and basically anything to enhance the learning of the individual.

Kumashiro believes that learning different methods is essential to improving as a teacher. Common sense limits what is considered to be consistent with the purposes of schooling. Also, Kumashiro stated that their goal in Nepal was to share with them what was known as more common sense in the United States. They felt that teaching should consist of more than lectures, memorization, tests, and textbooks. Kumashiro also says that common sense limits what is considered to be consistent with the purposes of schooling.

It is so important to pay attention to the ‘common sense’ because every classroom has ‘norms’ to conform to. It is also important to pay attention to because it has the potential to limit what is the purpose of schooling. Kumashiro also says that common sense does not tell us that the status quo is oppressive and rarely tells us that schools need to prioritize challenging oppression. Also, common sense is not what should shape educational reform or curriculum design but rather is what needs to be examined and challenged. Different cultures should be taken into account as what is common sense to one culture may not be common sense to another. Every student also has a different home life which should be taken into account. Not every student will have the same needs as another and therefore common sense should not be considered the same for each student.