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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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. I 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. When I was in elementary school, I was taught a lot about citizenship, even though it was not till around grade 7 or 8 that I finally realized what it meant. Most of the time I was taught how to be a Personally Responsible citizen. I attended catholic schools from Kindergarten-Grade 12 and their idea of a good citizen, was to be a personal responsible citizen. The two main course in which focused the most personal responsibility as a citizen was in religion, and sometimes health. It also became a part of the schools atmosphere and culture. Any chance they had to integrate personal responsibility and independence in the school they did. Otherwise in all of the classrooms it could be seen in the daily procedures and expectations of the students. The examples of the people who were considered good citizens were people who usually had high moral standing. Usually they were were people like saints, well-known humanitarians, high ranking religious figures, or just well known people who help out in their community.
Once I entered high school the direction changed from being a personally responsible citizen to being more of a participatory student. They had students ran events, councils, and clubs, such as SRC, SADD, Minga, and Best Buddies which involved working with and being friends with the school's special education students. All of these clubs and groups required the students to take on the initiative and responsibility. This approach allows for students to not only learn how to become good citizens, but also good leaders and community members and leaders. Overall, while being a personally responsible and participatory citizen were very visible in my education experiences, being a justice oriented citizen was not. Citizenship is something that schools will continue to teach students even though it is not really a part of the core curriculum that teachers are required to teach. Schools have an obligation to teach their students much more than just the core subjects. Providing 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. Through 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. I think that the educational curriculum for schools is developed by a team of people that are a part of or closely related to the education system. The people who are creating it can be either practicing or retired teachers, although it may also be people who never have taught in a classroom and might not even have a degree in Education.
After.School Curriculum is developed and implement by provincial governments, teachers, principals, senior administrators, and elected local authorities are also all involved in curriculum reviews and decisions. Since there are so many people involved in creating the curriculum it is easy to see why changing and creating new curriculum is a very lengthy process. This is due to the fact that each of these people would have their own personal thoughts and opinions about what needs to be taught in classrooms and there is probably quite a few disagreements about importance of certain topics. Not only is it a lot of work but there is always a lot of backlash about the curriculum. Many people quite easily share their dislikes and concerns about the curriculum. To me at some point the curriculum creators just have to decide and admit that no matter what they put in the curriculum someone will not like it. It is created with two broad but main objectives, or goals that should help support certain teaching and learning practices. This reading clearly illustrates how the curriculum has been and will always be political. Even when teachers or educators strive to pretend that the curriculum has not been heavily influenced by the government their actions are still political. To me while the government wants to make their province look good by challenging them in schools so that they can succeed in schools but at the same time ensuring that their schools get good results on tests and exams so that they can have the top scores in the country. In my opinion student thoughts and opinions should have more influence on the curriculum then members of government do. The common sense of society states that a “good” student is what all students should strive to be and the kind of student that all teachers dream about. A good student according to society is someone who is always sitting quietly at their desk, gets all of their work done in an appropriate and timely manner and to what the teacher expects to be their best ability, will keep busy and stay quiet once they are done their work, and a student that the teacher does not have to pay much attention to unless they are asking a question or need help.
It is impossible for every student to feel valued, special and that they belong when the common sense of society is telling students that there is such a thing as a good student. To me this is because when students hear the words good student they imagine at the most only 2-4 people being able to have that title. This creates a competition to see who can be considered the best student and in my opinion competitions should not be a thing in elementary schools especially one that is just for bragging rights. It is simply not possible for some students to ever be considered a good student. Many students with disabilities both cognitive or physical or a student with a behavioural disorder will just be unable to sit quietly in their desks for long periods of times without any form of movement or talking. There should be no such thing as good and bad students in classrooms in todays world. Teachers must ensure that they see all of their students as good, regardless of their behaviour, ability, or their work ethic. Every student is good at several different things many of which will not fit into what society deems to be good. The idea of good and bad students is something that society has unfortunately constructed with little to none background knowledge. However, to wrap things up teachers and students do not always need to do things the way that society thinks is best and the way society wants them to. "The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create men who are capable of doing new things" Jean Piaget.
Recently concerns that schools are killing the creativity in children have come light. This quote suggests that creativity should be encouraged as teachers should want their students to be imaginative and pursue their dream career or whatever they want to do with their life. Perhaps the biggest limitation to this is that teachers have to ensure they that they are doing their best to teach all of the outcomes and indicators which may not apply to the student if they do not feel it is relevant to what they want to do later in life. However this can become possible if the classroom teacher is willing to put in the effort to tailor the curriculum in a way that benefits the student and makes it more relevant for them. Especially in kindergarten classrooms where the learning is very open and free which means the students are able to explore and learn at their own pace by trying different things out. In my opinion students need to feel support from their educational leaders that they can do anything they want. it is okay that some students may tune out during some subjects but be completely engaged in others that they feel are more beneficial to what they think is required for their dream job. It also says a lot about the students having more say in what they are learning. This creates a more positive and equal learning environment where the students feel like they are equal to the teacher and that they can be involved more in what they are learning. A, In terms of my past experiences with the Tyler Rationale, my teachers provided many different educational experiences in order to help us understand the curriculum. For example my grade 7 and 8 teacher often used different types of technology and media in assignments and explanations of the topic. Also, for the most part the curriculum was organized in ways that not only built on previous knowledge but also were closely related to previous knowledge. This creates a strong a stable structure for learning and allowed me as the student to know what we would be learning next.
B, One of the biggest limitations in my opinion is that this theory very much emphasizes teaching to the test. Teaching to the test greatly effects and decreases creativity in students and requires them to sit in desks all day and listen to the teacher with little movement or activity. Schools have always placed a high priority on students Another limitation is that it requires creating a clear plan about what needs to be taught and a certain amount of time for each goal that needs to be taught. This can be limiting as it requires a schedule that needs to be followed to the minute in order for everything to be taught. Teaching is a job that often requires flexibility and changing schedules. Therefore, having a teaching plan that requires careful scheduling can be difficult when schedules might have to be changed at the last minute and things might take or run longer than expected. C, One of the benefits of the Tyler Rationale is that it creates a well organized and structured learning environment. This can be beneficial as it also creates a sense of order and control where the teacher is able to teach more because the students are respectfully sitting and listening. In Saskatchewan our learning outcomes and indicators are clearly labelled in organized in the curriculum. This makes implementing this theory easier as the process of creating learning outcomes and indicators has already been done in a clear and concise way. The fact that they are already laid out makes it easier to show and share with others like school administrators and parents of the students. |
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