It has come to my attention that this article which appeared in the Canadian Journal for Teacher Research: “A call to personal research: Indigenizing your curriculum” (2017, v.5.28) is no longer online. So I’m reposting it here at the request of a university librarian from Queens who informed me it is used in their graduate courses…
Today, with my friend and colleague, the District Principal for Aboriginal Education in Delta, I had the opportunity to work with a group of thirty teachers who teach in a Christian Independent school in British Columbia. In addition to teaching about the timeline of history through an experiential ‘beaded timeline’ and working with Indigenous ways..
Jean Vanier died May 7, 2019. He is a hero to me since he modelled true inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities. I hope we have another Jean Vanier, no, many more in our lifetime. Canadian philosopher and humanitarian Jean Vanier (1928-) was the founder of 149 L’Arche homes in 38 countries around the world…
Gardner (2006) has identified several factors that aid in mind changing. One of these factors relates to the affective component of the idea to be learned and alludes to the way that something is taught and may be strategically leveraged in the educator-student and parent-child relationship. Teacher educators and caregivers need to be intentional..
I recently asked my graduate students to compare Canada’s education system with that of another country using data from the latest OECD report. Erica Fisher, an elementary teacher from the Toronto District School Board decided to compare education in the UK with that in Canada. The results may surprise you. I reprint her synthesis and..
How we teach matters I attended an educational conference session recently which really resonated with me. Dr. David Smith from Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan gave me language to explain the ‘why’ behind what I do what I do. I found his session both informative and motivating and will attempt to synthesize my ‘take..
“In Canada, half of all First Nations children live in poverty, the life expectancy of First Nations people is five to seven years less than that of other Canadians, and the practice of placing Indigenous children in foster care remains a significant issue. Secondary school graduation rates for First Nations youth living on reserve are..
Gandhi was born Oct. 2 1869 and died (he was shot) Jan. 30 1948 at the age of 79. May 1893 Mohandas Gandhi was thrown off a South African train, motivating him to fight for Indian rights in the British colony. He is often described as the spiritual and political leader of India. His list..
Critical pedagogy is pivotal when addressing Indigenization of the curriculum; for, at the core of the process is the art of challenging assumptions. As Maori professor Linda Tuhiwae Smith demonstrates (2008), there is a Western-centric dominance of research theory and praxis. If this is the education system experienced by..
The Indigenization of the British Columbia curriculum requires new constructs for leadership, Indigenous pedagogical practices, perspectives and content, and a vision for changing paradigms. A process such as Halbert and Kaser’s (2013) spirals of inquiry can help educators realize that learning is not linear but recursive. With respect to Indigenization, they suggest consideration of..