Aboriginal Students - in our classrooms and in our hearts

Last week's lesson was very informative, in many ways.  I shamefully admit that I know a very limited amount about Aboriginal communities, especially the ones surrounding Kingston.  However, after the surprising statistic that over 70% of Aboriginal students don't live on reserves, I truly believe that it is becoming more and more important for teachers AND students to be educated about this fascinating cultural group. 

The extent of my knowledge in terms of Aboriginal communities is limited to 1) what I've picked up during my few short visits to the Tyendinaga Reserve and 2) the musical celebrations of the Aboriginal communities (thanks to one of my first year music classes!). I actually had the opportunity to attend a Powwow last summer on a reserve close to my cottage in a community north of Kingston, and it was really neat to see such culture alive in our area.  I was luckily able to understand some of what was going on from what I learned in my Music in Societies class, which was really neat.  But what was even cooler about the powwow was that I saw a girl there I knew from my high school, who was participating in the event! Samantha was a friend of a friend. We had talked a few times, but I just had never made the connection that she was Aboriginal. She was dressed in a traditional costume, with feathers in her hair and bells on her heels, and it was so beautiful! That just goes to show that Aboriginal people are more common in our schools than we might originally think. Because Samantha didn't necessarily 'look' Aboriginal, it brings up the point that we can't always judge others by their appearance. It's important to be socially, culturally, and religiously aware of all denominations, not just the ones that we see (or are likely to see) in our communities.

Long story short, I am looking forward to learning more about Aboriginal communities in the future.  Hopefully by being aware of what helps these students to learn more easily, I will be able to incorporate new teaching methods into my classroom, whether or not I have Aboriginal students there. 

The movie we watched in class today,  For Angela, was very powerful. I couldn't fathom how Angela and her mother must have felt. I was so shocked that they were treated so badly, and it made me feel so guilty for being oblivious that these things could have been happening during my time in elementary or high school.  I felt a knot in the pit of my stomach when her mother found Angela's chopped off hair in the bathroom -- the fact that bullying and racism can lead a person to doubt who they are and to be ashamed of their family, their culture, their religion, gender or any other identifying factor...it just tears me apart. That scene gave me shivers down my spine, and especially knowing that it was based on a true story, my heart went out to both of them -- to Angela for ever having to feel ashamed to be native, and to her mother, for having to see her daughter struggle with her identity. If nothing else, I will be sure to educate my students about the importance of acceptance and tolerance.  In my opinion, it is the single most important life lesson, and should definitely be addressed in all schools. Furthermore, if racial tolerance is not a lesson that is being taught at home, I believe that it is an even greater issue and therefore of greater importance to learn in the classroom.

I also think it was interesting how we talked about using familiar means to teach students concepts. Keeping in mind that many Aboriginal students learn best by relating class concepts to the medicine wheel, we should be aware that any student in our classrooms might need different tools to learn some concepts easier. I believe it is very important to be aware of the cultural and social groups in our classroom to attend to these needs and provide the best possible learning environment for our students.  

In addition, by incorporating practices that Aboriginal students prefer in the classroom, we might be helping non-Aboriginal students, too! For example, by having more hands-on and student-lead learning in our classrooms, (both of these being learning strategies that work well for Aboriginal students), other non-Aboriginal kinesthetic learners may excel as well, and all students can experiment with learning more independently.   

Technology and becoming a SERT

This week's class was different right from the start, in a good way. Like I've mentioned before, I am a firm believer in changing up the teaching style often, so that students who learn better with different teaching methods will all have the opportunity to excel. Before this week's class, we received an email titled "cell phones in class". I assumed that it was a scolding email for all the text messages sent in class, but when the email explained that they were needed for this week's class, I was intrigued. 

I, for one, think it's really cool that we're taking into consideration the technological advancements of our generation -- not only is the use of cellphones in today's class a way of breaking down the boundaries of traditional teaching methods, but it also brings the two, often separated, worlds of learning and socializing together. In a way, being open to the "in" things for students bridges the gap between teacher and student without breaking the rule of 'teacher as an authority figure, not a friend'. I didn't feel that our prof was trying too hard to be "cool", nor that she trying to be our friend. It just showed that she was open-minded enough to involve something in the lesson that we're all familiar with, and I think it's great that we were able to make learning fun through means of technology. 

During our skype chat with Lisa, I found myself second guessing myself, for the umpteenth time in the past 2 years, about what I really want to do after teacher's college. Coming into university and being admitted to the con. ed program, I saw myself standing in front of a class in 5 years, teaching music or french (or both!) in a mid-sized, Eastern Ontarian high school. But over the past 2-3 years, that ideal has changed. I've become more and more interested in special education and today's conversation with Lisa really has me seriously considering becoming a SERT. I love to learn, and I think that it would be a great way to further my learning in an area that interests me. Last year, while studying abroad in Scotland, I had the opportunity to travel to Ireland with a close friend and live with her aunt's family. There is where I met Niall, a boy with Down's Syndrome. I watched the interactions between him and his mom, Niamh, and I even got the opportunity to help him with some of his homework. It was challenging, especially because I have no formal training as to what methods work best, but it was very rewarding in the end. I can really see myself as a SERT or an EA, and after today's lesson, I know even more about it.

Speaking of teaching strategies, there were a good strategies brought up in class today regarding teaching students with learning disabilities that I found very interesting. One of the ones I really liked was this: When doing reading exercises in class, it can be very effective for the student to be given the sentence they will read out loud to the class ahead of time. That way, the student can memorize the sentence and read it successfully when they're called on in class. Not only will this include them in the class, but more importantly, it will give them some self-confidence, something that seems to be lacking in a lot of students with learning disabilities. 

Racism in the Classroom

I came to class this week exhausted from a long week and, to be honest, dreading any kind of 2-hour lecture.  Given this fact, it's saying quite a lot when I write that this was one of the best lectures I've ever experienced. I read once that an apple and a glass of water can wake you up faster than a coffee. Now, I don't know how reliable that information is,  but shortly after having one of the generously-supplied apples at the beginning of class, my drowsiness was gone, I was participating, and just very emotionally attached to the material being presented.

I am of mixed descent myself, as my mother was born in India and my father is a third generation Canadian. I have experienced little racial discrimination over the years, and any that I have experienced never escalated into anything serious. I don't know if my views of racism are due to my family upbringing, past teachers, personal experience, (or likely, a combination of the 3), but I have an incredibly hard time understanding how some people can be so close-minded and heartless. I suppose it makes sense to grow up believing in what your parents believe in, be it politics, religion, or taste in films and music.  But for parents to teach their children that an African is less worthy of love or praise or mercy than a Caucasian (or vice versa) is just wrong. In the past, when apartheid was a common and accepted system, this kind of thinking was much more common. However, in today's society, there has been vast improvements in the treatment of people of other races. No one should discriminate, ever, based on race - I just find it especially surprising and appalling that racism is still very much alive today. 

The movie we watched in class today, A Girl Like Me, gave me shivers up my spine: The hurt in the girls' eyes as they talked about how they felt like other people saw them; the hurt in the little girls' eyes at the end of the clip when she associated herself with the doll she had just deemed "bad" based on the dark colour of its skin. It never occurred to me that this is still such a serious issue. I grew up in a mostly-white school system, in a highschool with no more than 5 black students and less than a quarter of the population being Asian.  I never saw these students as inferior, and never saw them being badly treated. But the truth is, they too often ARE seen as inferior - academically, athletically, intellectually, socially, the list goes on. The truth is that they ARE being persecuted for their race, whether or not I witnessed it happening. As teachers, we must be aware that this is happening. Even though we might not see our students being persecuted, we need to look for signs that it could be happening. And even before that, we need to take steps to avoid it from happening at all.

It broke my heart the other day when I overheard a classmate of mine talking about his little 3-year-old sister talking about the dark-skinned princess in Disney's latest princess film, the Frog Princess. The 3-year-old said that the princess "wasn't a real princess, because she was black".  How are we supposed to be advocating equality in our classrooms when children as young as 3 already have it in their heads that the colour of a person's skin determines their aptitude? The education system doesn't just need a change in our teaching methods, the entire world needs a cleansing of its living methods.

Although, I must agree, that advocating equality in the schools is a good place to start. One of the reasons I've wanted to become a teacher is to have a positive influence on my students, and to change at least one student's life for the better. A fuller understanding and appreciation of the world starts with acceptance, and teaching anti-racism in the classroom is the first step in that direction. If a student is wearing a racist shirt, as clever or as funny as it might seem at first glance, it is our responsibility to deal with it and to make students realize that it's not okay to judge others in this way.  We need to know when it's necessary to have 'teachable moments', and be able to throw away the lesson plan of the day to teach about a much bigger lesson than math or English or biology. We need to teach the lesson of equality.

I'll close today's entry by stating that today's lesson was definitely the most engaging class so far. I laughed and I cried, and I've been talking about it ever since, even to friends who aren't in education. Racism is a serious issue today, and the more people know about it, the more we can work together to stop it.

Aboriginal Ideas - There's Many Ways to Learn!

We received an email this past week that really caught my interest. It was about the value of a degree for Aboriginal students. Unfortunately, the statistics surrounding Aboriginal university graduation are not favourable. In 2006, only 8% of Aboriginal students graduated university, putting them at a grand disadvantage in terms of employment, income, and health.  This low number was surprising for me, because I always viewed the Aboriginal people as being very intelligent. 

Why, then, are so few of them graduating university? The article states : "Aboriginal Canadians ...often lack sufficient preparation in math and science, and face these challenges without the support of family and community nearby." Reading this reasoning, I thought back to an article we read earlier in the year (and discussed in class) about how students learn better when the material is linked to familiar concepts.   We talked about the medicine wheel being used in Aboriginal classrooms for teaching math.  Aboriginal students are more likely to be able to make connections with math concepts when they have a familiar tool to refer to.  Lyle Mueller, director of Aboriginal Programs and Services, says,  “Math is math—we’re just changing the way we look at math.” What a brilliant idea! There's no rule about how students must go about learning the math - what's important is that students fully understand the concepts and are able to apply them effectively. So, then, the teachers were able to design a learning plan using the medicine wheel, very popular in Aboriginal communities, as a tool for teaching math.

My question is, why can't we apply this concept to ALL student groups? Instead of being ultra aware of what needs to be taught, and sticking to a teacher-at-the-front-of-the-room, or to a lecture or seminar teaching style, concepts would be much more exciting if we could find ways to explain them which relate to subjects that the students are more familiar with. 

In my opinion, an 'exeptionality' doesn't have to be something that hinders understanding or makes a student stick out from the rest. An exceptionality could also include a cultural difference between the teacher and students, as in the Aboriginal student scenario described above. An exceptionality is something that requires additional tools to best understand the course material. In this way, the Aboriginal students are exceptional, because their peak of learning occurs with the help of an additional learning tool, in this case, the medicine wheel. 

I find it very interesting that sometimes it just takes a different means, to the same end, to garner that understanding in students. I love the fact that everyone is different and everyone's brain works in different ways. That "Aha!" moment is one of my favourite feelings in the world. The formation of that connection in my brain, when a new concept just clicks. And from the minimal teaching experience I have, I get almost as excited when I can help another person get to that "Aha!" moment. The best example I can think of was a little girl I used to teach piano to. She was very intuitive with the instrument, and rarely had any problems counting. But one day, she was frustrated with a section that was giving her trouble.  I ended up having to explain the piece to her like a story, and we put words to the part of the piece that was giving her trouble, that she could say in her head while she played. After weeks of labouring over the piece, she finally understood. The relief and satisfaction and pride on her face is something I hope to see much more of in my students in the future, in any subject!

This is exactly the kind of thing that we need to be doing in our classrooms and lesson plans -- although I must admit that I'm a bit intimidated. In a real classroom situation,  not only will I be making accommodations or modifications for my one piano-playing student, but an entire class of differing genders, races, religions, and learning-styles.  Here's hoping my creativity and open-mindedness will be enough to give each student an equal learning opportunity!

Behavioural Exceptionalities

Today's class started off with an assessment strategy - the Readiness Assessment Test.  I, for one, think it's really beneficial that we have the opportunity to actually take part in these assessments as opposed to just "learning" about them via an overhead or discussion.  I'll even admit that I was actually getting nervous at the beginning of class, trying to remember the details of the reading and frantically asking classmates around me if they had actually studied, or just read over the material like me. The RAT is a very effective way to encourage students to stay on top of readings, because instead of providing a negative personal consequence to not doing the readings, the RAT influences the whole group. 

There are many reasons why a student might want to learn in any class - to improve his/her knowledge, to earn a high mark, to make their parents proud, to excel in comparison to their classmates. One strategy that I don't think is explored enough getting students to realize that they can work together with their classmates to achieve a better outcome.  The RAT takes this idea and introduces students to the idea that their actions have an effect on the rest of the class - for better or for worse. If everyone in the class works on the assigned work, then everyone will be learning and moving forward. But, when some students decide not to do their work, it holds the rest of the class back. A teacher might have to spend more time reviewing concepts previously taught in class simply because students haven't tried on their own to understand it. The RAT really shows students that their personal actions affect the group because if they haven't done the assigned readings, they won't have anything to contribute to the group, and in turn, the entire group could suffer. It's not fair for the other members of the group to carry the weight of someone who hasn't completed the readings. If nothing else, the RAT should evoke guilt from students who did not contribute positively to the group, and hopefully encourage them to contribute more next time by doing the assigned work.

The class continued with 2 very important questions: What is Equity? What is Exceptionality?

I think the problem with understanding equity is that it doesn't mean "equal" treatment. It seems to be something that most people in class understood, however, for some reason it was very hard to put it into words.  Equity means inclusion in the classroom, and fair treatment for everybody - not necessarily equal treatment. Often it is very important to treat students equally, across gender, race, age or religion, like in this video I found (link below). If we only provide some students with the opportunity to succeed in a specific area, the students are being limited by the teacher's decisions.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uqLnMdmzy8&feature=related

But often, when the differences between children is attributed to an exceptionality, it's important to realise this and provide each student with the tools they need to succeed-- even if the type of learning tools differs between students.  In our readings, we're been learning that exceptionalities aren't as rare as some people might think. Exceptionalities aren't just mental or physical disabilities - the term also includes things on the other end of the spectrum, such as giftedness. In the dictionary, "exceptional" is described as 'unusual; atypical'. I think that we need to relate this seemingly simple definition to the way we think about students in our classes: "Exceptionalities", therefore, are any factor that makes a students different than others, such that they may require additional tools to succeed in class. It is then our job as teachers to realize these exceptionalities, whether or not they have been previously identified, and to cater to the needs of the student. It's not an easy task, and it's not something you can learn to adjust to right away. But I'm hoping that with a bit of practice (and a growing understanding), I'll be able to provide the best learning environment possible in my classroom for ALL of my students. Exceptionalities shouldn't be seen as a chore on top of everything else for the teacher to work around; instead, they should be seen as something that comes with the students. It is who they are, and to ignore their exceptionalities is a condemnation for failure.

"Not Here, Not Now, Not Ever"

Have you ever heard of someone having an out-of-body experience? Or maybe, even had one yourself? I've never had one, but I always imagined that it would be a very profitable experience. Being able to view a situation from another perspective beyond your own would be a useful tool for realizing things that might have been neglected or avoided in your mind before, and for realizing your own biases.

Well, this week we had an out-of-classroom experience.

Or, rather, the majority of my class had an out-of-classroom experience; I begrudgingly admit that I had to miss it for another commitment.  But regardless of my regretful absence, today I'll speak about my views on the topic, and my reactions to the feedback I heard about the presentation given.

Barbara Coloroso, well-respected author of The Bullied and the Bystander, came to Queen's and gave a presentation on bullying, an issue I believe is crucial to address in every classroom.

I refer to the learning experience this week as an "out of classroom" experience because the class was able to have a learning experience outside of our usual "body", or classroom, environment. I think it's important to have classes like this, to alter the learning environment and give the students another perspective on a topic specific. I'm not suggesting that the usual prof class design isn't effective or that the usual teaching style isn't profitable for the students, but I do believe in the benefits of providing students with varying teaching methods. By listening to a specialist on the subject of bullying, I think that students were able to really grasp some concepts surrounding the issue more fully. This presentation, in particular, had a fantastic speaker, and every classmate I've talked to who attended the presentation said that they were extremely engaged. I think it's necessary for teachers to advocate understanding of these crucial topics by presenting opportunities to attend specialized talks by professionals who are able to open the minds of students.  Bullying is, unfortunately, something that I believe is under-studied and badly understood in many classrooms. Bringing it to light this week got me thinking about how much I really know about the subject, and has re-lit my interest.

I, personally, was never the victim of any kind of violent bullying, but I have friends who have been victims (emotionally and physically), and I have become aware of a few cases that have occurred in schools I have attended, and let me tell you, I consider myself very lucky to have pretty much avoided it. 

Bullying tends to be one of those things that is poorly explained to children, in my opinion. Growing up, I can remember thinking that "bullying" meant one big, mean-looking kid pushing a smaller kid on the playground. As teachers, we need to draw attention to the fact that bullying is not always physical, and that often the emotional bullying hurts even more.  Bullying can occur in many more ways than on the schoolyard - it can happen in the classroom, at home, on the way to/home from school, in the halls, after school....the list goes on. Not only that but what also scares me is learning about all the new mediums for bullying. With the internet, particularly social networking sites like twitter and facebook, being readily available to youth, cyberbullying is on the rise as well. I thought of the Internet mainly because there was a specific case at my high school, in which a cyberbullying attack from students on a teacher escalated to the point of professional intervention. I'll never forget sitting in that gymnasium and truly learning what bullying is and the effects it can have on people.   It was also an eye-opening case because it was not the usual big-kid-beats-up-the-little-kid scenario. It was a bullying attack from a younger generation onto an older generation; a challenge to authority. The case proved that bullying defies age, race, gender, sexual orientation, and religion. No one is safe and everyone needs to be aware of the signs. It's just a shame that I had to have that realization so late. 

I must admit, though, that although I'm disappointed in the way that I was taught about bullying as a young child, I'm glad to see the improving quality of information regarding bullying that is being implemented in schools.  I haven't done much recent research in the field, admittedly, but it seems as though professionals are taking a stand and teachers are understanding the consequences of avoiding or ignoring this subject. I only hope that when I'm a teacher, I'll be able to help my students become aware of the negative consequences of bullying and to take steps to resolve any conflicts in a healthy way.                             

Introduction to PROF311, and RE-introduciton to frosh nerves

Being in one of the smallest departments in the university, I am familiar with about 95% of the students in my program -- and of those, 100% of the students in my year. Barring the inevitable nerves on the first day of classes as a frosh, the beginning of classes each year since then has been a welcoming, non-intimidating experience. Even in my weekly prof classes in 1st and 2nd year, I knew most of my classmates from Con. Ed frosh week, and always felt pretty comfortable walking into those classrooms. 

But this year was different. This year I was nervous. 

There are a few things that make me different from most of the other students in my PROF311 class this year, the relevant one in this entry being that I'm in fourth year. Like a handful of other 4th-year concurrent education students, I went on exchange last year to study abroad, and although it was the best life experience I've had so far, in doing so I had to miss out on the opportunity to take PROF311 in the usual year, with the usual people. So this year, I walked into a prof class not knowing anyone (or so I thought), wondering if anyone would sit beside me and hoping that I would be able to avoid stares from students around me thinking "who on earth is she?". 

I should have known it all along, but within about 2 minutes, my worries were settled and I felt ashamed for even thinking that I wouldn't feel welcome in a class of teachers-to-be (and one teacher-already).

I sat beside a girl named Rachel, who willingly chatted with me before the class started, and we soon found out that we had lots in common! As class started, we got an introduction to equity and exceptionality, we made our nametags, and and soon I remembered why I want to be a teacher. I want to be aware of these issues and help students to get the most out of their education. I want to make nametags and know my students on a personal basis, and do everything I can to have a positive influence on their lives.

 

The most interesting and exciting part of class for me was at the very end, when we each were asked a question by our teacher. It was such a cool experience, especially for me, a "stranger" in this class, to learn that maybe I'm not such a stranger at all! I learned that Morgan likes her toilet paper to come off the roll the same way I do. I learned that I share my favourite book (The Hobbit) with a classmate. I learned so many little, seemingly insignificant things, that made me feel like I really do belong with these students. We're all in the same boat, and we all want to learn the same things.

Needless to say, if the rest of the year goes as positively as that class, I'll be in great shape for my future in teaching!

Until Next Time,

Becky