Our guest speakers over the past few weeks really tied our course together for me. I am an outlier among my peers in our classroom, and by that I mean that I do not, and never have led a traditional classroom. I have spent most of my career in instructional design, and now find myself in a corporate training setting with adult learners. Similar to other courses in this program, most of my colleagues are either active or past k-12 educators, while my work exists in compliance heavy outcome driven spaces. This has sometimes made it difficult for me to relate to my classmates in practice. 

James Pratt immediately piqued my interest as he described his career consisting of adult education, in a training role. Bonus for me, also in a very regulated industry, policing! One of the strongest themes throughout James’ presentation was the importance of relationships in learning. He emphasized that learning is not transactional, it is built through trust, respect, and connection. This complemented what elder helper Roland Kay told us the week before, that respect goes a long way when it comes to learning. I reflect upon this as a corporate trainer, where learning can sometimes be viewed as a checklist to complete the materials, pass the assessment, and move on. James and Roland’s messages reinforced that learning can be so much more, but without forming that respect and meaningful relationships, learning will be shallow and disengaging, regardless of the age of the learner!

Roland also taught an important lesson, challenging people’s assumptions about elders. While elders carry deep wisdom, they do not “know everything,” and not every elder is the right guide for every situation. Learning, he emphasized, requires finding the right person for the right purpose. This message was important for me to hear. For example, James knew how to talk about adult learning experiences and gave tips in that realm, while others we heard from this semester were more rooted in the k-12 world. It’s important for me to remember that not everything will be directly applicable, and that elders or knowledge keeps will not always have the answers. When I seek out information from them, I’ll need to be deeply aware of if what I am asking is appropriate based on their knowledge and experience. 

Jim left us with a metaphor that stuck with me, the teepee pin. Without the pin, the teepee cannot stand. Upon reflection after this class, I see Indigenous pedagogies as that pin within education for many of our learners. Without Indigenous ways of knowing, education may still function on the surface, but it is structurally unsound and does not speak to all learners. As demonstrated by the oppression experienced by Indigenous learners in Canada for so long, exclusion of Indigenous pedagogies has prevented many from succeeding. It is up to us to put that pin back into place to enable the success of others into the future, “stabilizing” our education system through inclusion and support.