When I took mathematics in elementary and high school I never considered the lessons to be oppressive or discriminatory. I never questioned if we needed to be learning FNMI methods of tackling mathematics because it was not my job to be teaching the course and looking into that. The Saskatchewan 20 and 30 level mathematics curriculum does not state that students need to learn FNMI methods of tackling mathematics. I personally feel that teachers spend most of their time teaching mathematics in high school as quickly as they can to cover all the topics because provincial examinations are unpredictable. I wrote 30 level provincial departmental examinations in mathematics. My class rushed through course content because my teacher was in his second year of teaching and was not certified to be creating his own exams. I do not think that any teachings were meant to be oppressive, but my mathematics class had only five students (four students being White and one student being Asian). I never questioned if other cultures or groups of people did math differently. I was under the assumption that there was just one way to do it. I found it very interesting when Gale brought up in lecture that Inuit people use base 20 when doing mathematics. I never realized there was a world outside of base 10 until university.
Three ways in which Inuit mathematics challenges Eurocentric ideas about the purpose of mathematics are:
1 Comment
In my own schooling, the “single stories” that were present were the ones that came from the White students who believed in Eurocentric based knowledge and western ideology. My own school had not become culturally diverse until recent years and that caused students to never see the need to argue the norm.
My upbringing and schooling has shaped how I read the world because I grew up in a Catholic home and came from a town settled by Europeans. I have always viewed the world in a specific way. I was taught to have faith and believe in it and I was taught school subjects from a European perspective. I did not necessarily view other cultures or religions as wrong, but I lacked education on them because they did not pertain to me. The biases that I bring into the classroom are ones that come from my specific faith and the culture I was immersed in as a child. I was uneducated on multiculturalism at both school and at home. I do not necessarily think that Caucasian people are better than all other people; I am simply stating that I never looked into educating myself on multiculturalism. While being in teacher education, I have been taught terms that do not necessarily coincide with my Catholicism, but I have to accept that. I grew up in a household that went to church almost every single Sunday (and still does) and my siblings and I were taught certain concepts through our faith (such as homosexuality being disgraceful). When I become a teacher I need to set aside these biases that I bring in with me because all students deserve an equal education free from judgment from their teacher. My family is not as traditional anymore and we are accepting of all people, but other people such as my grandparents still very much frown upon the LGTBQ community; part of that comes with the years they were raised in though. My grandparents were teenagers in 1946. I am working against these biases everyday by coming to class and being a pre-service teacher. I am moved out of my childhood home and truly able to form my own opinions as an adult. My grandparents and parents still influence me, but I also think for myself. What examples of citizenship education do you remember from your K-12 schooling? Explore what this curriculum made (im)possible in regards to citizenship.
In my K-12 experience there were more personally responsible and participatory citizens in the school rather than justice-oriented citizens. My school would ask for non-perishable food items to be brought as a donation for entry to school dances, but that was maybe twice or three times a year. All the students would go out and pick up litter around the entire community in the afternoon on Earth Day, but this is once a year. The students continue to work with the organization ME to WE and participate in activities such as “We Create Change” and “We Scare Hunger.” Some students from my high school travelled to Kenya last year to help build a school in an area that desperately needed one so that girls could receive an education. Most of these experiences were outside of curriculum, however, the Earth Day afternoon could be linked with environmental education. Not having lots of experience with citizenship education in schools makes me personally question what type of citizen I am and what type of citizenship I should be acting on. Not having experience with citizenship education in a K-12 school limits the students from thinking critically and being the justice oriented citizens. The justice-oriented citizens are the ones that want to learn more and discover root causes. The justice-oriented citizens are the ones that want to create the largest impact (in my opinion). Students should be learning in a way that prepares them to be asking these bigger questions. I think that in too many instances students volunteer in schools once or twice a year or they volunteer only for their credit hours and then they do not care about what they did at all afterwards; they get nothing meaningful out of the situations. It is YOUR job to teach it!
This is a possible response to a pre-service teacher who does not have staff support on the topic of treaty education or First Nations ways of knowing. The students feel that the topic is something they can take lightly and joke about. There are no FNMI (First Nations, Metis, Inuit) students present in the classroom. Response: It is very disappointing to know that students and professionals in certain areas do not treat FNMI ways of knowing as valuable knowledge. One of the main concepts that students should be learning in order to understand the importance of First Nations perspectives is treaty education. Treaty educations brings forth the opportunity to discuss stereotypes and the possibilities for why racist remarks against First Nations people exist in the first place. The students should be trying to reflect on their own personal views (racist or not) and decide who or what is influencing these opinions they have. I think that it would be beneficial to provide an article or video from an online resource to provide visual support to what is being discussed regarding standard of living. Treaty education has its place in curriculum. On the Saskatchewan curriculum webpage, the treaty education outcomes and indicators can be found in the bottom bar of the webpage. Students need to be taught treaty education regardless of the diversity or lack of diversity found in the classroom. There may not be First Nations students in the classroom, but treaties still affect these students. First Nations people have a significant importance in the history of Canada as a nation. Recognition is what they deserve. The school staff needs to be working together when teaching treaty education and First Nations ways of knowing. Approaching the staff on the importance of the topic would be a beneficial start before approaching the students. Students are able to sense whether or not their teacher is truly invested in a lesson. The main resource I would recommend is the specific curriculum document with treaty education outcomes and indicators. I would then suggest looking into Aboriginal speakers or elders that would be willing to enter the classroom. Having students see current events in regards to standard of living may open their eyes to harsher realities than society leads us to believe. I would also recommend the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada document being introduced to both the staff and students. |