Think back on your experiences of the teaching and learning of mathematics — were there aspects of it that were oppressive and/or discriminating for you or other students?

Looking back to my experiences of learning math, I think there were situations where some students were treated differently in the math classroom. I found throughout elementary school there would be a group of 3-5 students who would leave with a TA every math class while the rest of the class continued with the lesson. The idea of a European-style classroom with the curriculum and outcomes students have to reach by the end of the year was probably to blame for the group leaving and requiring more assistance with classes.

I found math in high school to be fairly inclusive. There were no TA’s and our teacher was so thoughtful and respectful answering any questions. He would have his door open at all hours of the day and would even stay after school and wait in case any struggling students wanted to stop by for help. I also found the 3 different levels of math classes available allowed students who struggled to take a different style of math, although this may have had consequences as only certain math courses are accepted at the university level.

Part 2: After reading Poirier’s article: Teaching mathematics and the Inuit Community, identify at least three ways in which Inuit mathematics challenge Eurocentric ideas about the purposes of mathematics and the way we learn it.

I did not read this article.

Teachers can try to maximize engagement among multilingual students by creating a safe and comfortable environment for all students and trying to include some of their languages in lessons in the classroom. Trying to label objects around the room with their language as well as in English to hopefully build their vocabulary. Another tool could be a board, with very basic day-to-day actions that have a visual as well as English words underneath it to communicate better. Say they want to use the bathroom. Having a picture of a toilet and having them communicate that way could be an alternative way to have students learn. Another potential solution that I would try is the use of technology, using an app or whatever is out there that helps with translation between instruction and the student.

I think incorporating multilingual students is one of the many challenges teachers will have to face, but I would not place it near the top of the list. Realistically thinking of how I would try to incorporate these students in my future classroom, and I would struggle. Especially if I did not receive proper support and help from administrators in terms of support needed to teach an already potentially oversized classroom filled with children who already struggle with cognitive or behavioural issues. What do you do? How do you handle this situation? What do you focus on and what do you take priority since you cannot simply cover all that is required with the time and resources you have?

Using different instructional strategies such as incorporating multilingual projects or assignments could be effective, as well as incorporating stories with different cultures, different perspectives, and diversity of people. Try to have your students represented in the course material. The TED talk we watched in class Wednesday, with Chimamanda Adichie discusses the idea of “a single story” and how impressionable and influential a story can be. Our brains jump to conclusions and paint a picture that may be biased or stereotypical if we are not educated enough on a topic, especially younger students. The idea of surrounding ourselves or our students with sufficient knowledge and representation to keep opportunities open rather than limiting students’ imaginations and scope of what is possible for them in the future is an impactful way to create more than one story.

Week 10: How might we begin to address the ways in which the systems that we teach our curriculum are intrinsically homophobic, transphobic, biphobic, and oppressive towards queer and trans people?

I think one way that classrooms can fluidly involve LGBTQ2S+ conversations is to bring these topics and discussions into the classroom more regularly. With any topic, there are influences by students’ families that cannot be controlled in the classroom, but informing, learning, and becoming comfortable with topics such as LGBTQ2S+ by having sufficient representation in the classroom is the first step towards intrinsic curriculum. Similar to how we learned to include Treaty Education into the everyday curriculum and try to include make it second nature for my students I would like to implement the same thing for the LGBTQ2S+ community where they feel a part of the class and treated equally as much as I can.

The Comprehensive School Community Health (CSCH) framework from Deepening the Discussion: Gender and Sexual Diversity (Publication from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education) mentions 4 components of creating a safe and accepting learning environment which include:

• High-quality teaching and learning
• Effective policy
• Healthy physical and social environments
• Family and community engagement

There are also additional and more in-depth breakdowns of each of the topics, going into more depth on how little changes and efforts can be made by teachers, administrators, students, families, and communities to create a safe and respectful environment for everyone, with emphasis on LGBTQ2S+. One example that is super simple to change as an educator that I am trying to work on is the language I use. “Everyone” instead of “Guys”, or rather than “he/she”, use “they”.

I think something that I can focus on as a young educator while looking at my philosophy is to try and have realistic goals of creating an inclusive, respectful, and safe environment for all my students. I emphasize realistic, as I find how philosophies and goals written on paper or learned in school are not realistic in the classroom. Realistic goals that can be implemented and impactful in the classroom.

I believe the purpose of Treaty Education, especially in places where there are little to no First Nations, Metis, and Inuit (FNMI) is to educate, acknowledge, and surround our society with teachings of our history from a perspective that has been silenced since the beginning of Canada and from the first time European settlers landed on what is now Canada. Making Treaty Education as common knowledge and everyday life similar to a math class or lunchtime in the school is important because Treaty Education isn’t just about the FNMI people but about all Canadians.

‘We are all treaty people’ is important to recognize and understand when relating it to the curriculum because the curriculum will affect and impact students. Learning about different practices of culture and religion the word inclusion comes to mind. Why would learning about FNMI culture be any different? It would be difficult having students who do not agree with Treaty Education, but chances are it was a learned behaviour from their parents who are most likely uneducated on Treaty education. I think exposing Treaty Education is the first step toward reconciliation.

Q 1: What will culturally relevant pedagogy look like, sound like, feel like, in your future classroom?

After reading Lopez (2011) Culturally relevant pedagogy and critical literacy in diverse English classrooms: A case study of a secondary English teacher’s activism and agency I think culturally relevant pedagogy will have to depend on where I am teaching, and the students that make up my class. If I were to teach within the city of Regina, culturally relevant pedagogy would look different than if I were teaching in Northern Saskatchewan or another province. Applying culturally relevant pedagogy in my classroom sounds like it would be rather difficult with lots of learning curves as using relevant information would be constantly changing as well as the difficulty of navigating within the curriculum. Lopez (2011) mentions how the English curriculum doesn’t state how to teach as long as the information is being taught.

Also involving critical literacy as well as culturally relevant pedagogy is another thing to include in the classroom. A way for my students to understand and be engaged in the relevant pedagogy.

My classroom would have students succeeding while engaging in activities as well while striving to achieve culturally relevant pedagogy, and try to have my students understand their current cultural beliefs and values. I think this may be overlooked, understanding yourself before exploring other cultural pedagogies. Having self-awareness opens the door to having awareness towards others outside your person or social circle. From there take a deeper dive into social and cultural pedagogy.

I honestly don’t fully understand culturally relevant pedagogy in the classroom, as I do not think I had this in my classrooms growing up. I grew up in a small town, monoculture school, and think it would be beneficial to me to hear other perspectives and thoughts on what their classrooms would look, sound, and feel like.

Q 2: How will you, as teacher, contribute to the sense of place for your future students?

After reading Placing elementary music education: a case study of a Canadian rural music program by Julia Brook (2013) I have some early argumentative comments on the article. My first thoughts and comments after reading is that I grew up in a similar rural community (1 hour Northeast of Winkler) and had a similar music program where there were seasonal music concerts (Fall, Christmas, Spring) performed by all age groups of the elementary school. I did not enjoy this, nor did 75-80% of students who had to part take since it was mandatory. I did not feel any closer to the community. What I will say created a community feeling, or a sense of place in my rural area, were the relationships among peers and community members. Since it was a similar farm town to Winkler, where the generational roots have been in the area for years since it was also a farming community, the interactions, and social groups were so small, always seeing the same faces, always interacting with a cousin or relative of someone you know closely was the reason for a sense of community, I wouldn’t say the music is what brought us together. It was the constant interactions and social circles within the community that brought a sense of security and therefore a sense of place.

How would I contribute to the sense of place for my future students? I think trying to create a safe environment will play a large role. Hard to do? Yes, very much so but as long as I am always working towards that goal, my classroom can constantly improve at being a safe environment for my students. I think another area where I can create a sense of place is inclusion among peers. Create events or times throughout the day to interact with other classrooms. Reading groups for the older grades in elementary schools to read to the younger kids. Have the older kids teach the younger kids. I think creating events or times to blend grades and get familiar with other students can create a safe or more comfortable environment for my students.

First off, I think I will start with my understanding of citizenship before watching the Westheimer video. I think citizenship is being a contributing member of the society within a nation. Doing one’s ‘job’ to help the group, is almost the idea of conforming or being an outcast in some sense. Where the state or government creates citizens through the school system, law-abiding and ‘good’ citizens that teach you to fall in line, and follow society’s unwritten rules and codes. That’s my understanding of a good citizen and citizenship.

I took away a few points while listening to Westheimer’s video, from how anybody can be a good citizen, the ideas of schools past, present, and future, and standardization. I found it interesting when Westheimer discussed the responsibility of teaching controversial topics in the classroom when asked about teachers instilling values and character or if that should be up to the parents. I never thought of this idea, but agree with him, as I believe in showing the evidence and allowing the students to think and feel what they want to believe. Not forcing a particular belief on them, and ultimately understanding and learning about how part of citizenship means to understand adults can differ on important social concerns but stressing the importance of finding a way to work together and move forward together.

Cappello’s podcast was an interesting listen, as I found it difficult to follow at times. I heard the passion he felt towards treaty education of the past and how it needs to change towards the future in the education system. My biggest takeaway from his podcast was near the end of the listen when he discussed an Indigenous people’s future, not just their past of colonialization and genocide. The example he gave, speaking about if a Ukrainian person was hypothetically banned from practicing their culture here in Canada, they would still have a place to practice their culture somewhere else. But if you said the same for Indigenous peoples, they wouldn’t have anywhere to practice, because this is their home. The fact that this was their home and still is their home, and how to change the colonial ways of society today to work towards a more Indigenous home.

I think this ties into citizenship because we as citizens have been ‘groomed’ through government, society, curriculum, and beliefs to think and act a particular way. If all these things changed and we included more of an Indigenous approach and belief, creating ethical citizenship like Cappello mentioned, investing in the revitalization of indigenous ways (of being, language, governance, etc.) the idea of citizenship and what the goal or belief of citizenship would change.

Questions:

• According to the Levin article, how are school curricula developed and implemented? What new information/perspectives does this reading provide about the development and implementation of school curriculum? Is there anything that surprises you or maybe that concerns you? 
• After reading pages 1-4 of the Treaty Education document, what connections can you make between the article and the implementation of Treaty Education in Saskatchewan? What tensions might you imagine were part of the development of the Treaty Education curriculum?

According to the Levin’s (2007) article school curriculum is developed and implemented differently than what or how I thought it was. I understood how the curriculum is controlled by the state or government, and I believe there is some hidden agenda as to what is included in the curricula development depending on who is in charge of said curricula. But as I am beginning to learn, not only in education but in life how politics plays such a large role in everyday life and society. Levin (2007) comments on how school curricula is developed by governments and other sanctioned authorities for standard use in schools across an area, saying education politics determine education policies through the political agenda.

A quote I found rather interesting while reading from Levin (2007) is, “Politicians are no more self-serving or indifferent to evidence than educators or civil servants”. This quote was followed by an example where not every voice of the public will be heard, but how people wanted more out of every subject in terms of material and knowledge, but no one wanted a longer day. Now as someone trying to implement a policy, how do you take that information and make changes, couldn’t be easy.

Implementing the curricula is difficult according to Levin (2007), and it is also difficult to see the results after something has been implemented. The issue that arises is that there is policy after policy coming into fruition, once one policy has been implemented, a new one is on the verge of being implemented (Levin, 2007).

After reading the first 4 pages of the Treaty Education document I wasn’t sure about the connections between the Levin article and this document other than how, again, the ministry of education, the same way curricula are developed and implemented is the same here. There is no change to the process. It seems like again, a dragged-out process with so many working parts and policies, and politics that go into developing a curriculum. This could bring tensions as Treaty peoples and the history of Indigenous peoples have a different way of doing things, a different system. Looking over some of the slides for this week, how everyone has a say and how everything is up for debate. The government is pushing for one thing, the curriculum is saying another, and the public’s beliefs and voice are in another direction.

Public Pedagogy

Before researching any particular topic, I browsed over the topics while flagging categories that I thought would be interesting based on what I would think each topic would entail. I narrowed it down and randomly selected ‘public pedagogy’. I then thought to myself, ‘What do I think public pedagogy means?’ Quickly using my minute knowledge of public pedagogy, I thought “The place where something is taught and the idea of where someone can be taught”.

After briefly reading Biesta’s (2012) work on public pedagogy and the idea of a permanent breakfast, I believe I know even less about what public pedagogy means than I did before. I pulled a few quotes and points of information to try and grasp what public pedagogy is, one quote spoke about how much “work on public pedagogy focused on the analysis of how media, culture, and society function as education forces…” (Biesta, 2012). Another quote found shortly later in the chapter mentioned “…the idea of public pedagogy can also be understood in a more political way, which is as in an educational intervention enacted in the interest of the public quality of spaces and places and the public quality of human togetherness more generally” (Biesta, 2012). Thinking about these two quotes, I took away public pedagogy and the connectedness to society, modern culture, and the powerful influence of media. Additionally, how politics play a role in public pedagogy, and the idea of trying to improve connectedness as a step to improve education.

Now is this what public pedagogy is about? I am not too sure. But I am interested in learning through different articles, book chapters, and other readings and potentially other suggested topics from Assignment 1 description to hopefully dial in my understanding and importance of public pedagogy. As well as, figure out how public pedagogy relates to education, curriculum, and pedagogy as cultural and social practices, which is part of the course description of ECS 203.

Curriculum development from a traditionalist perspective is widely used across schools in Canada and other countries. Think about: (a) The ways in which you may have experienced the Tyler rationale in your own schooling; (b) What are the major limitations of the Tyler rationale/what does it make impossible; and (c) What are some potential benefits/what is made possible. Be sure to refer to the assigned article in your post; you may also include information from lecture if you wish.

The Tyler rationale consists of performance of specific activities, and these specific activities consist of those used in everyday life. The curriculum develops abilities, attitudes, habits, appreciations and forms of knowledge required to be able to obtain experiences to develop and collect the objectives in life.

Tyler’s Theory based on 4 questions:

1. What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
2. What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes?
3. How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?
4. How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?

The teacher is to bring changes in the students’ pattern of behaviour, everything that occurs in the classroom affects the students’ pattern of behaviour.

1. One major way I have experienced the Tyler rationale in my schooling if I understand the rationale correctly would be ‘the bell’ or the daily agenda of a classroom. ‘8:00am is O’Canada followed by morning announcements. 9:15am is class change, 10:00am is recess, and so on. The education experience was effectively organized into time slots throughout the day, ran by a clock, a bell and the teacher. This affected my behaviour, but also did society. Tying back into last week’s blog discussion on how ‘common sense’ is connected to social norms.
2. A major limitation, and again if I understand Tyler’s rationale correctly would be free will or having the students’ comments or input on situations. I say this because of what is discussed in the article: “The teacher is to bring changes in the students’ pattern of behaviour, everything that occurs in the classroom affects the students’ pattern of behaviour.”
3. The ability to alter and tweak what the teacher wants to in terms of behaviour of their classroom and students. If the teacher is to change the behaviour of their students, a teacher then can ultimately change the ways of their classroom and students’ behaviour to better fit their pedagogy or class core.

How does Kumashiro define ‘commonsense?’ Why is it so important to pay attention to the ‘commonsense’? What commonsense understandings of curriculum and pedagogy do you bring with you into this course?

Common sense or ‘what everyone should know’.

Cultural norms = common sense

Teaching norms were different, expectations were different

Assumptions, expectations, and values = common sense

We raise questions about the norms, about what we are doing and how we are doing it, to search for a better and never settle, always more forward.

Kumashiro defines common sense as ‘what everyone should know’. Or more to the point of the story of his teaching experience in Nepal, cultural norms. Kumashiro talks about how his experience as a student in the education system and how much different it was as he was in school to become a teacher. And then the jump from looking from a teacher’s perspective in America or western culture to Nepali culture, where his assumption, expectations, and values were all challenged and questioned.

I believe it is important to pay attention to common sense and the role it plays in the school system because I believe life experience, social factors, and maturity (along with other factors but those came to mind) play roles in what common sense really is. Common sense to person A can be senseless to person B.

When relating this information to pedagogy and curriculum, like Kumashiro mentions ‘We raise questions about the norms, about what we are doing and how we are doing it, to search for a better way to do things. Never settle, and always moving forward.’ Once an idea or way of doing something becomes second nature where autopilot comes into play, maybe it is time to question oneself if it could be changed, adapted, or altered for the better. Can the way we teach a classroom change from year 7 to year 8 as a teacher? Is there another way of interpreting outcomes and indicators to better serve students to achieve success?