Focus Question 1: Teachers, Knowledge, Building Relationships: Invitation and Hospitality
In my experiences, most of my learnings were very efficient and effective. Most teachers would use the method of writing on the board, and we take notes in return. This was a common method used by many of the teachers I had. Using this method, the material did not comprehend to me as well as other methods, due to the long amounts of writing. Another effective teaching was the use of video or photographs to demonstrate the topics. Most of my teachers would use this method when they were unfamiliar with the ideas, or lacked the experience to be teaching this specific material. For example, when being taught about different cultures or past events this form of teaching was very commonly used. As a student, this method of teaching was easily formed into my brain. To honor many different cultures and demonstrate teachings using pictures, there were many posters up around the classrooms. If some of my teachers felt strongly about a specific topic you would see more of those posters. Also, almost all of my teachers had pictures from their lives outside of the classroom. This made me get a better understanding of my teacher’s personalities and made me feel more comfortable around them. To build this comfort and relationships with students I believe teachers should show the students a glimpse into their personal life to help the student relate to them as well as form connections. I also believe the use of warm and colourful decorations helps brighten the classroom which allows for younger students to feel happiness and joy while learning. This is why I chose to teach grades k-5. The bright colours and the simplicity in these young children’s pieces of work bring me a sense of comfort and joy as I felt as a child. I am someone who loves to stay young and the thought of growing up scares me. This is another reason why I chose this profession, to stay in an atmosphere I’m familiar with and bring the joy and experiences I felt as a child into the lives of future generations.
Focus Question 2: Students & Learning Environment: Focus on places, spaces, and boundaries.
Throughout my educational experiences, I have encountered a variety of different learning environments that indicated a sense of power. When I was younger most of my classrooms had desks in groups with the teacher’s desk at the front. With the teacher at the front, it demonstrated his or her sense of power to the students. In these classrooms, there was also usually a carpet or a round table that multiple students could gather around. During these years we did not get to pick where we sat which allowed for students to not feel left out by their peers and create friendships with new classmates. In my middle years, these classroom environments changed. The teacher’s desk was still placed at the front of the classroom to show that sense of power but the arrangement of the student’s desks had changed. This seating was still in groups mainly but we were granted the opportunity to choose our own seating. Some students would be left out but the teacher always made that student feel welcome and allowed them to pick a group to join. This created the students’ sense of power over other students. As a student, I was described by others as a leader, which made me feel special and in control of my choices. I was not one to follow in others’ footsteps. Once high school came along many of these environments changed drastically. Many of the teacher’s desks were at the back of the classroom and the student’s desks were spaced apart. In high school, many of the teachers were allowing us to grow and prepare us for the future. The teacher was not as powerful and felt more like a friend to the students. The students also still created those friendships and the hierarchy of the students was created. Our graduating class was fairly close; we never made anyone intimidated or left out. You are becoming an adult throughout high school and the teachers allowed us to deal with our own situations as adults. Which included due dates, social problems, and balancing sports and school. Dealing with these situations alone the teachers prepared us for situations like these in the future.
Focus Question #3: Truth & Reconciliation Core Questions
Throughout my K-12 education, I had learned something new each year and as I grew older the more in-depth this topic became. In my elementary years, we learned about the basic survival ways the indigenous lived. For example, we learned about the importance of hunting, the multiple uses of buffalo skin, and the buildings of tipis. I remember in grade one we took the afternoon to make bannock and taste how yummy it was! In my middle years, we learned more in-depth about why they had to hunt and live off the land to survive. We also started to learn about residential schools and the tragic ways the indigenous were treated. The biggest takeaway from my middle years learning about the indigenous was the opportunity we had to explore the treaty four signing in Fort Qu’appelle. With this opportunity, we did multiple exercises and activities which expanded our knowledge of the culture. The activities included a blanket exercise, storytelling, and bannock making. This was truly a memorable experience with lots of ways of teaching. Throughout high school, we learned the most about the topic. In grade twelve I took an Indigenous-specific class which taught me many things I did not know about the history of indigenous culture including Louis Riel and Sir John A Macdonald. During this class, we also watched many terrifying videos on residential schools showing the abuse that was taking place. After looking and seeing in-depth about the residential schools I felt more sympathetic for the lives ruined by this event. Each time I am taught about this topic it demonstrates how greatly important reconciliation is. Throughout reading the booklet I did not learn anything that I had not already learned about before in previous years, but I do believe there are always new stories from survivors to be taught. Although, what stood out to me was the reactions from the students that wrote on the topic. It was very encouraging to see how well these young students already know about the topic of indigenous culture and reconciliation towards residential schools. The amount of sympathy these students have for the survivors of residential schools exemplifies the future generation will continue to show compassion for the indigenous culture.