Educators respect and value the history of First Nations, Inuit and Metis in Canada and the impact of the past on present and the future. Educators contribute towards truth, reconciliation and healing. Educators foster a deeper understanding of ways of knowing and being, histories, and cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Metis.
EDUC 491 Practicum Reflection — Incorporating FPPL and Indigenous worldviews into the curriculum.
I continue to following the FPPL in my design of lesson activities and when guiding discussions to allow students to become reflective practitioners in their learning. Discussions in kindergartner are not deep, but students make fascinating and creative connections. I found many students needed prompting for a guided discussion. ome students were anxious about speaking in class and those students who excelled at story telling would sometimes take over a discussion topic by going off on a tangent unrelated question or topic. Some students would raise their hand only to forget what they wanted to say when it was their turn to speak. Learning orally through story, song and group discussion is the at the heart of ELA studies for kindergarten so it very much braids with the FPPL.
My cross-curricular ELA Lesson Unit did include Indigenous worldviews with the First Nations children’s story, “Trudy’s Healing Stone.” Students found their own healing stone and painted it during their art block.
In addition, the class did an ELA/Art lesson for Nisga’a Hobiyee.
EDUC 490 Practicum Reflection — Incorporating FPPL and Indigenous worldviews into the curriculum.
Following the FPPL, I try to design my lessons to be inclusive and support diverse students who have academic abilities. For Math, this means giving time for students to practice, and encouraging students who think they are not good at it by supporting them through explicit instruction. In my latest practicum, one student did not believe she could do long division, so after showing a few examples we worked together and solved a problem. I lead her through the steps until finally she could find the solution. Praise, support and patience is needed — and not just by the teacher but from the class as well. I encouraged students to have a growth mindset and to be empathetic and supportive of each other in their studies.
During the EDUC 490 Practicum, I interwove Indigenous ways of being and history into my various subjects. One of the monthly cross-curricular themes was colors and promoting a growth mindset. In Careers, we studied the psychology and symbolism of colors and differences between having a fixed versus growth mindset. It was interesting to see how many of the grade 7 students were motivated by what reward they received rather than the learning experience itself. This reminded me of the naïvety and youthfulness of my students. I suspect that fostering a growth mindset will be an going challenge.
In our Careers class, we discussed how various cultures interpret colors differently in our lesson unit called the Psychology of Colors. This naturally led to discussing orange shirt day. One of my Indigenous students wears the same Every Child Matters orange hoodie to school everyday, so I asked him what that shirt meant to him. Unfortunately, the students in my class do no yet have a deeper understanding of Residential schools and its significance. I am left wondering is it something they will take to heart as time goes by (as learning takes and patience), or is this topic something we need to discuss and learn about at the earlier grades. I worry as it is dark history for Canada and even darker one for its victims. 
For Remembrance day, I taught a Grade art lesson which connected with the solemn holiday by making red origami poppies. Prior to the art activity, we discussed the poem and the symbolism of the poppy, In Flanders Fields, and its connection to war veterans. We also discussed how when Indigenous war vets fought for our country overseas they were treated as equals. However, when they returned home after the war, they remained second class citizens in Canada. They did not get the same respect or veteran benefits as other non-Indigenous war vets. Indigenous war vets could not even participate during the Remembrance Day Legion ceremonies until 1995. Because of this, they have their own solemn day called National Indigenous Veterans Day on November 8th. To support Standard 9, I must also teach Indigenous history and the importance of Truth and Reconciliation, but I find it a little frustrating on how teaching resources are limited and how our social studies content does not explicitly set the content to support teaching this. Instead, teachers must be creative and include it in English language arts, or other subjects that have more open ended content requirements.
In my final Careers class, after learning about colors and the importance of having a growth mindset, I decided to teach my class about the Indigenous Medicine Wheel, or Sacred Hoop (CLICK FOR CANVA PRESENTATION) . Close to half of the class did not recognize the Medicine Wheel. Surprisingly, one Indigenous girl complained, “Do I have to do this? I already know this.” She was already having a bad day prior to this lesson, so she did not see in the mood to discuss it. I gave her space and continued on with the lesson for the benefit of the rest of the class. It was hard to tell if she was annoyed at covering this topic in class, or if some external issue was making her upset. Her peers who come from various cultural backgrounds including the local Indigenous population seemed interested in covering the medicine wheel concept. When I asked about what the colors meant in the Medicine Wheel, one student joked that its colors represented the different races of people. This student often jokes when he is anxious or bored, but everyone was shocked to learn that he was right! After which, he boasted and was quite proud of his happy accident. I pointed out that each quadrant in the circle was equal, and this symbolizes the equality between races is needed for balance. We don’t want one group dominating over another group. We also explored how each the wheel’s four quadrants symbolize the seasons, four winds, elements, stages of life and our aspects of well-being. Finally, after learning of the various representations, I had the class write down on their own medicine wheel what they do to support their mental, emotional, physical and spiritual well-being. For many boys, this was playing video games. I cannot blame them as I am a kindred spirit in that regards. For some of the girls it was drawing, or reading. Some of the Indigenous students liked physical activities best such as basketball or martial arts. It was a fun and inclusive way to share and learn together in our own circle of respect as be built on strengthening our reciprocal relationships. My only regret is that it was my farewell lesson. I wish them the best.
There was one more interesting note to make. No where did I observe any land acknowledgement in class. I am not even sure we did it during the Remembrance Day assembly. I make it a custom to do so before presenting any lesson relating to Indigenous knowledge, worldviews or history. When I read out the following acknowledgement I was asked about the word unceded:
We would like to humbly acknowledge that we have the privilege to be living and learning on the unceded lands belonging to the Gitxsan, and Tsimshian people.We are grateful for the opportunity to reside in these territories and are committed to learning and teaching the culture and history of this land.
I explained that the land was never legally ceded, or given up to the Canadian government (technically the Crown), through a treaty or other agreement. The land was taken from them. Even today, no treaty exists for many of the First Nations in B.C., and I for one am grateful to have the chance to live here. I took a Pro‑D seminar on land acknowledgement, but they said to do it only for special occasions as if it would diminish the message. I am still learning about how to effectively teach about land acknowledge and better support the BCTC Standard Nine. Through experience and patience, I believe I will eventually find a my balance.
The following is one symbolic interpretation of the Medicine Wheel for well-being:
Tribal-Trade-Medicine-Wheel-Poster-PDF‑1