Week 9 Curriculum as NumeracyI cannot think of a time that when I was learning mathematics where I personally felt oppressed or discriminated against. Mathematics always came easily to me when I was in elementary and high school even though my math grades might not always reflect it but that was because of effort. All of the math concepts just seemed to click with me in my head either instantly or after a quick bit of extra teaching. However, I remember a time when I was in elementary school probably in grade 8 or so, some of the class would learn math with the regular classroom teacher, while a few members of the class would learn math with the learning resource teacher or a teaching assistant. I was mad that those students were able to learn the simpler math while I had to learn more difficult math. Thinking back on this situation now, I can see how this really could have made those students that were being taken to learn the other math feel singled out for ‘not being good at math or for not being able to do hard math’. Many of these students that were pulled out to do the more basic math were not the highest achieving students and would have felt out of place, but I think not pushing the students to learn or even attempt to learn the same mathematics as the rest of the grade and with the rest of the grade, and instead getting the simplified computational mathematics, was a disservice to them.
The question of how Inuit math differs from our Western or Eurocentric views on mathematics was asked. Inuit math uses base 20 and not base 10 which Eurocentric math uses because they use their ten fingers and 10 toes which make sense to me but at the same time is confusing . Secondly, the calendar days both groups have 12 months in a year but the days are more different on how they look at it, Eurocentric math says it is solar not lunar. Inuit is neither in fact, it is natural, independent recurring yearly events and base on the how long it takes that natural event to happen that is how long the month will be. Finally in Eurocentric mathematics, a ‘line’ is automatically thought of as a straight line, while in Inuit mathematics a ‘line’ is not automatically thought of as straight. I think this is important as it encourages creativity and imagination when talking about lines and shapes which are a big part of all mathematics classes. Week 7 Teaching Treaty EdProviding a response to this email requires addressing a number of points. I think that first off the student needs to not only understand why all students regardless of their race, need to be taught the Treaty Education curriculum. We cannot talk about Canadian History and not talk about our Indigenous People. Understanding treaties is part of our journey in learning more about our nation’s rich and deep history. The student who sent the initial email also needs to be confident in explaining this to the co-operating teacher with emphasis on why Treaty Education is necessary. I think the purpose of teaching Treaty Ed is recognize that there were people living on the land that is now Canada before White Settlers arrived and to learn more about how we came to live the life we have now and what sacrifices the Indigenous people were forced to make. And more importantly to learn about the group that was here before us, and there culture, their history, their stories, and their lifestyle both past and present Students should also be able to recognize how the environment and place we live in influences their identity. Treaties and agreements that have been made or are being made with the original inhabitants are living and real documents. As Canadians, we have an obligation to these treaties this includes making a promise to dutifully observe the laws of Canada, including treaties with Indigenous peoples. The phrase we are all treaty people, to me means that everyone in Canada whether they were born here or not are in some way affected by treaties either positively or negatively. As a future educator it is very important that I incorporate Treaty Education into my classroom on a daily basis so that my students will go on to become people who respect everyone for who they are and not what they are and who they represent. Also, so that they will understand all aspects of Canada’s history with its Indigenous people both positive and negative aspects. Week 10 Curriculum as Literacy When I was a student in elementary school in grade eight the student demographics were about 70% White and 30% non-White. However those numbers were constantly changing as from about grade 6-8 there seemed to be new students starting at my school every week. At the same time, I did not see any sort of conflict or disagreement between students about racial issues or not knowing English. One of the goals for anti bias education is that children will feel positive but not superior about their racial identity and I think this goal was achieved at my elementary school. While my high school was also very culturally and racially diverse, unlike elementary school we read novels about people with varying cultural and racial backgrounds. This allowed us to gain better understandings of our classmates while also allowing us to find and build connections between each other's past. Since I would like to become an elementary school teacher, I have spent a good amount of time volunteering at my two local elementary schools Deshaye Catholic and St Kateri the last two years. I got the chance to work with students from many different countries each with their own unique culture and traditions. Going to, and working at schools that was very culturally and racially diverse has really helped me to start seeing people for who they are and not what they look like. I would say that the majority of my school was from a single story perspective until teachers encouraged us by challenging us to start using our ability to think critically. These teachers began to encourage us to read what was being implied by what was written compared to what was being left out and the words that were on the page A person might not know that they are being taught “single stories” because they are hard to identify unless a person identifies and points them out. Week 6Learning From PlaceThrough colonization, indigenous cultures have lost and greatly diminished as a result of assimilation conducted by European settlers and even the Canadian government/people. By reintegrating indigenous ways of knowing, such as that of the Mushkegowuk Cree peoples, those with a background that they cannot fully identify with are given an opportunity to do so and learn about their past. It is so different from the way that western ideology has expressed how and what to value in life. They have been able to show forms of rehabilitation by involving the youth and all generations in different activities and community excursions as a way to develop awareness and understanding. This also helps in terms of cultural development and understanding. By incorporating indigenous ways of knowing and talking about how such resources are consumed allows for a shift in their minds from dominant ideas to ideas that are individual and are based on what one deems moral and culturally appropriate rather than what society does. Preserving and redeveloping a culture will give a group of people their identity back that was previously taken from them As teachers in Canada we need to realize that we will most likely have a multicultural classroom and therefore we have to create lesson plans that will help everyone understand what is being taught. As immigration rises in many developed countries around the world these immigrants will need to feel like they belong in their new home and feel like they are being treated equally. To me, a school is the last place where a person should be judged because of their race. Race will only continue to be an issue if kids grow up thinking that some races are better than others. This starts with the parents at home that should be teaching their kids to respect everyone, and it continues in the classrooms at school where no student should feel left out because they are different from the rest of their class. In my opinion the students should always be actively involved in the learning process no matter what subject is being taught. Since they are the ones learning the more they are involved the more they can learn and take from the lesson. As a future teacher I want my students to be able to teach their classmates about what they have learned both in the school and at home/extra-curricular activities. This can be very beneficial as it gives the other students a different perspective or idea about how to do something.
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