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.
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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. In the article, I saw reinhabitation and decolonization through the actions taken by incorporating the outdoors and the community. The ten-day trip allowed various age groups to interact and combine both nature and community to explore the relationships that intertwine between them. The river was chosen because it has both historical and cultural importance (pg.74). The elders were able to transfer their knowledge into the minds of the children. Elders are wise and have the life experience to share regarding their stories and things they learned throughput the places and environments they grew up and lived in. The authors state, “the group documented sites of significance to the community, experienced routes that hold great historical significance, and brought people together in the sharing of knowledge” (pg.75).
I would incorporate multiple languages in my classroom. The article focuses on First Nations languages, but it is extremely likely that I will have a vast variety of other languages in my classroom too. Visual aids are always helpful to have as well. I think that having the students learn about the histories of their community and surrounding areas is beneficial. Local trips to expand their knowledge would be wonderful. Learning alongside nature is helpful when looking at First Nations culture, but it can also be incorporated with environmental education (to connect to other areas of curriculum). Restoule, J., Gruner, S., & Metatawabin, E. (2013). Learning from Place: A Return to Traditional Mushkegowuk Ways of Knowing. Canadian Journal of Education , 36(2), 68-86. Before Reading:
I have had an understanding for quite a while that the curriculum has been solely government mandated and that all control and authority to make curriculum changes lie in the hands of the government. The teachers, school boards, communities, and especially the students, from my understanding, had and have no true influence in the curriculum. After Reading: I think that how the curriculum is created depends a lot on the area being looked upon. Levin discusses, “curriculum [is] developed by governments or other sanctioned authorities for standard use in schools across a state, province, or country” (pg.7). Sometimes including multiple perspectives into deciding how curriculum is created can cause problems. Levin raises a good point when he states, “people will disagree over what should be included in each subject and what should be included at various age levels for students. Should spelling be taught explicitly? If so, when? How much of their own country’s history and geography should students learn as opposed to that of other countries? Should all students learn algebra? Should all students- or any- be required to study Shakespeare?” (pg.14). I agree that if too many individuals are included in deciding curriculum, there can be too many opinions in the mix. What is both surprising and concerning to me is the number of responsibilities that the people who create and implement the curriculum have to account for. Levin elaborates, “schools are seen as the place where children will be inoculated against all social ills or taught all the virtues from street proofing to AIDS, anti-smoking, drinking, and drug abuse education. Schools are expected to prevent bullying, obesity, and anorexia while also eliminating racism and promoting equity in all its forms” (pg.14). I think that the amount of pressure to address so many needs, issues, topics, and various subjects provides a lot of pressure on both the people literally creating the curriculum and the teachers that have to work with it. I think it is concerning that teachers have no say in certain cases about anything that gets put into the curriculum. The teachers are the individuals that are directly assessing the needs that students have and learning about the things that interest them. To conclude, Levin states, “depending on national governance arrangements, schools or districts have varying degrees of control- from almost none to quite substantial- over the formal curriculum” (pg.16). I think that curriculum could use more input from teachers and those directly working with the students. Involving the students has its positives and negatives depending on the group. I think it would be better to provide students with options or the opportunity to express what they would like to see in curriculum and then have that input be considered when creating the document. Levin, B. (2008). Curriculum policy and the politics of what should be learned in schools. In F. Connelly, M. He & J. Phillion (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of curriculum and instruction (pp. 7 – 24). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.Available on-line from: http://www.corwin.com/upm-data/16905_Chapter_1.pdf Some students find it very easy to sit in desks and work, while others can become distracted and fidgety. Sometimes the content and compliable students have moments when even they themselves find reasons to be inattentive. This does not mean that the student is now acting out and being ‘unlike himself or herself,’ it means that something external is influencing this behavior. It is important that as teachers we do not label students right away. Being a “good” student means following given instructions and completing assigned tasks. Teachers want students to think critically and out of the box. Simply asking for answers is frowned upon.
Commonsense can exclude the kids that do not fit societal norms and it can have oppressive tendencies as well. The students that become privileged in schools are the ones with no problems at home or problems at school with their teachers. The students that work differently from their peers are the ones that become excluded from the ‘good student’ label. What is made impossible to see in schools are the societal concepts that we have embedded in the building and the system. The ideas that there are more female teachers in this profession, the idea that boys receive the better fitness praise and resources, the idea that we should not all share a neutral bathroom because girls need to be separated from boys, etc. It is this commonsense that blinds us. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” – Nelson Mandela1/24/2017 This quote means that education creates an impact. Teachers are the individuals that are consistently filling the minds of future generations with valuable knowledge and skills. These future generations of children will grow up to be adults that enter the work force. These students have the potential to greatly impact society and they will ultimately make a change and a difference in the world. Education is a weapon because it is a force to be reckoned with. Being knowledgeable is an asset and a valuable one. Success is what all individuals strive for. Teachers strive for successful students and they hope that they all prosper into magnificent human beings. Doctors that save lives everyday once sat in a classroom at school and put time and effort into learning. Political leaders were all once students as well. Some areas of the world see education as a privilege. Not all children are entitled to education or able to learn and sit in the classrooms that some children take for granted. We, as a group of future educators, have teachers from elementary and high school to thank for helping us get to where we stand today. Knowledge is power; that is a fact. Everybody has a chance to make a change in the world. Whether we choose to act on that opportunity is up to us. Education is truly amazing. It evolves and changes as time goes by. Curriculum is constantly being analyzed and altered so that students have the best chance at success and gaining specific knowledge and skills. I believe that Nelson Mandela referred to education as a weapon because weapons are associated with protection. When a person is educated, they have a strong foundation of knowledge and that 'protects' them by helping them reach their goals. Education can guide people to what they were destined for.
When I was in elementary and high school, the teachers would tell us countless times, “we have to cover this because it is in curriculum and you need to know it.” My classmates and myself were aware that the point of curriculum was to provide specific objectives that we were to understand by the end of the year. I found that if I did not completely grasp the topic, I would forget methods or information by the end of the year. The Tyler rationale focuses on creating and formulating specific objectives because objectives guide how the curriculum is carried out. In my opinion, the Tyler rationale does not provide much room for alteration and it is a concept with one goal. Objectives/outcomes are created on this one document so that schools across provinces such as Saskatchewan are learning the same concepts. I understand that this is necessary and important. The Tyler Rationale also outlines that the best learning occurs when the learner interacts with the environment around them; this experience helps with connecting the learner with what needs to be learned. In high school specifically, I felt that we spent more time just learning new concepts rather than relating them to things outside of school. In English classes, students from my hometown have read the same novels for years from grade 9 through grade 12. I remember helping a grade 12 boy with his Hamlet homework when I was in grade 10. Helping him was beneficial to me because two years later I read the play all over again in my own class. Right now I am able to help my brother with his To Kill A Mockingbird homework because I read that novel in high school too. I personally feel that the world is filled with great literature and that more than one novel can provide the same purpose or message of importance. There are ways to diversify the school system while maintaining specific outcomes. The main point that I understand about the Tyler Rationale is that curriculum is made for efficiency because it provides organization and order. Schiro states, “effective organization of learning experiences allows curriculum objectives to be efficiently accomplished by stimulating learning to take place in the most efficient manner possible” (pp.59).
Schiro, Michael (2013). Curriculum theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring Concerns, (2nd Ed). SAGE. Kumashiro defines “commonsense” as an aspect of life that individuals take for granted. Common sense involves the daily routines that people perform without realizing that they are not necessarily normal in other areas of the world. Newcomers to locations do not pick up on the common sense activities and systems until they are introduced to them. Kumashiro explains that in Nepali schools, classes commence at the beginning of February, but instruction and teaching begins at the end of February when enrolment numbers are sufficient. Kumashiro also discusses that girls preferred to sit with girls and boys preferred to sit with boys because they were forced to squeeze onto small benches in groups of around five or six. In the United States, the students sit in classrooms with thirty to forty people and classes run from morning to mid-afternoon. The common sense school routine of Nepal is not the same or similar to the common sense routines performed in the United States. Kumashiro explains that the lecture-practice-exam method is included so strongly in Nepali schools that any other approach to teaching is completely foreign to the students.
It is important to pay attention to common sense because things become overly routine and people do not question why they are routine; they just simply follow the status quo. Kumashiro explains that theories and perspectives that challenge common sense are dismissed before approval because they would be viewed as “inappropriate” or “irrelevant.” People tend to have trouble determining what common sense is because they do not question why they do or do not do certain things. Kumashiro discusses that sometimes commoncan provide comfort as well. It is important that educators challenge common sense routines if it would be beneficial to the students’ learning. Kumashiro. (2009). Against Common Sense: Teaching and Learning Toward Social Justice, pp. XXIX – XLI). |