Interesting read about how flute music calmed students....

http://library2.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-04252007-220909/unrestricted/dube_r.pdf
"Chesmu spoke of how the introduction of the Northern Spirit Flute
helped two grade eight students with a violent history connect to the school in such a
positive way that they became trusted student helpers within the same year."

I thought this article really made me believe that there are better, more educated ways to teach students than pushing pencil and paper. Have we reached the age where students are not learning in the more conventional methods than before? What is important to them? What is important to their parents?

Traditional Dene Drum Dances

Tlicho Drumdance

This is an 8 minute video on the different types of Drum dances practised by Dene people in Northern Canada. It is slowly making its' way into our Dene villages again. Maci cho.

Stick Gambling

21st Annual Yukon Stick Gambling Competition

This is what hand games look like in the Yukon and I was so amazed at the amount of young people who participate in these games along side the Elders. We talk about traditional knowledge as being importan for our younger generation today. Hand games is alive and well in most northern communities and I have witnessed it on several occasions. Is there a chance that we can we link traditional knowledge like hand games to modern curriculum in our classrooms?

Dene Hand Games

Hand Games

More on the unique learning style of Aboriginal students....

This principle requires action by fostering and supporting the Aboriginal student in their learning environment. It requires a change and commitment to the pedagogical transformation of the classroom. The learning styles of the Aboriginal student are unique and their school success is dependent upon educators teaching differently. Hilberg and Tharp (2002) have identified that Aboriginal students lean towards a) a holistic style of education (learning from whole to part), b) the use of a variety of visual organizers (multitude of hands on manipulatives – agenda maps), c) a reflective mode of learning (have adequate time to complete tasks & answer questions) and d) a preference for collaborative tasks (group and pair work in safe classroom environments that ‘honour who they are’). These unique aspects of the Aboriginal student and their preferences for learning need to be present in their day to day activities. This is ‘how’ Aboriginal student success can be achieved. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/research/toulouse.pdf
My question is, does the curriculum allow for this type of adaptions in all the disciplines when teachers have to teach to the objectives from the curriculum guides? When and how will they learn to read if teachers' hands are tied with time contraints and unit objectives that does not allow for any type of modifications to suit students' needs? I teach in an Aboriginal setting, where the majority of the students are First Nations. I am experiencing difficulties getting my English 20 students to read a novel from front cover to back cover. Did these same students pass grade 10 English without having finished a complete novel? When did the "motivation" to read end for these students? In what grade?

Another newer curriculum.....

http://www.nationtalk.ca/modules/news/article.php?storyid=13933

WHITEHORSE - The Department of Education is pleased to announce the release of new curriculum materials, Yukon First Nations 5 , which covers four themes: Yukon First Nations Languages, Clans, Citizenship and Governance, and will be used in all Yukon Grade 5 Social Studies classes this year.
"Developing Yukon First Nations 5 is part of our commitment to develop locally and culturally relevant courses of study for all Yukon students to enjoy," Minister of Education Patrick Rouble said. "It also reflects the positive things we can accomplish when we work in partnership with First Nations."

As Iread this article, I was thinking, I wonder how knowledgeable the teachers are, the ones who will be teaching these four themes. I am aware of the fact that the provincial government in the Yukon does not have many First Nations teachers in their schools in Whitehorse. Will that have an impact on the deliver of this new curriculum?
The Yukon First Nations people have so much culture. They still practise Potlatch ceremony, Naming ceremony, Stick gambling (Hand Games), Smoking Ceremony, some that a lot of people may not even know. Will the teachers have to experience these ceremonies so that they have a better understanding of how to teach it to their students in the classroom?

About time!

http://www.nationtalk.ca/modules/news/article.php?storyid=13933
"Much of the curriculum materials currently available to teachers are lacking in 'real life' information in the area of Aboriginal culture and traditions. This new resource, which addresses that gap, will be particularly useful in local elementary classrooms."By presenting the history of local First Nations Clans, this new resource can help non-Native students understand and appreciate the history, culture and traditions of their aboriginal classmates while instilling a sense of pride in Aboriginal students."

I would like to say, about time, but it is a little too late as far as I am concerned....students here in Dillon do not appreciate their culture, because they have been told since t hey were in Kindergarten that their language is not the language that teaches you about the outside world, that their traditional practises are only for the older generation, that their way of thinking is wrong and that they have to think this way now.......no wonder we are experiencing so many suicides on these small isolated communites that are rich in culture and people......Who will fix it now? Newer curriculum like the one that is proposed by the Six Nations First Nations people???

An interesting read....

http://www.usask.ca/education/people/aikenhead/iost1996.htm

My brief characterization of Aboriginal knowledge of nature hints at the intellectual challenges faced by First Nations students who attempt to cross the cultural borders between their everyday world and the world of science. These intellectual challenges are exacerbated by a critical dilemma posed by the subculture of school science.

I thought this article was key to some teachers who may still say that First Nations students are no different than other students in their classrooms......

Reflect on your sub-area of education (e.g. administration, teaching, consulting, supervision) and how you facilitate the process of curriculum develo

If I didn't think that teaching was an awesome job, I would have been somewhere else. But I do love my job, be it in a First Nations school, or a small rural community. I haven't always thought of curriculum like I do now since I started this master's program. Teaching from the curriculum has always been my biggest asset as a teacher. I even stressed the importance of following the curriculum guide to new teachers who always seem so overwhelmed in their first jobs. As I recall, in one of my first posting, I said that curriculum was a guide, a tool. Now that I have read so many articles on how curriculum is developed, I am not sure if some things in the curriculum are gospel truth or not. Again, I am coming from a First Nations perspective and how as Aboriginal people we learn differently from other societies. I myself struggled as a student in high school, as well as in University. I am still struggling now taking these classes. I have watched many of my students going through the same struggles. What is to blame? the curriculum? should we be re-visiting curriculum everytime someone says we should? My classroom has seen many changes. I do not teach from the same lessons even if I am teaching in the same school the following year. My students are different every year, so therefore so should my teaching strategies and my lessons. That is how I facilitate the process of curriculum development and implementation.

How do we link curiculum knowledge to the biography and personal meanings of your students?

I have always thought of curriculum as a tool and a guide for teaching, but after several encounters with Aboriginal students who are just not learning anything from some of the classes that they are taking, I am not sure if the Sask. Curriculum is a tool or guide anymore. I am beginning to think of it as a hindrance, a blockade, a stumbling block.....a tool of distruction! What else is there? Is our tree of knowledge slowing deterioating to resemble a stump? Where is the new new curriculum now? What should we be teaching our students if they are not "getting" it anymore? Do we put our hands up in the air and say, "I give up".
An Elder once told a group of graduates, "We graduate some many people today who fail life." Is that what our curriculum is doing to our young Aboriginal students??

What knowledge is most worth knowing? What justification or rationale do you give for its usefulness or worth?

This is one question that I have been thinking of every since I heard a few parents applauding a teacher who said, "We are not teaching our students anything by allowing them to be late for school. We are not preparing them for the future. We should be locking the doors at 9:00am sharp everyday. If they are interested in their education, they should be come to school on time." This teacher teaches at a First Nations school where the drop out rate is at 50%. As a high school teacher, if I see one of my students walking to school, at 9:05am, I let them in with a short lecture on their tardiness as they apologize for their lateness. I do not want to lose another student, I want to see them succeed. I want them to see that there are some people out there who understand them.What did I teach that student by letting them in? I taught them that; education is important to me as their teacher, they are important to me as my students, and that life is not always fair, especially if they are not given second chances and they are always labelled as failures. Is that knowledge worth passing down from teacher to student? I met a young man in my many travels, who told me that he still blames his principal for his failure at LIFE. He was told by his principal that he would never amount to anything in his life and that he would always be a failure. He was thrown out of high school for his lateness and absences. From that day on, he always felt worthless, he said. He could not bring himself to apply for any courses because he thought he was a failure. I wish someone had taken the time to encourage him instead. Some one could have been a positive role model for this young man, but, alas he still wonders to this day, if he is a worthy human being or not. Is that knowledge worth knowing?

How do educators respond to the megatrends and changing global dynamics and forces?

Again, I'd like to say, how can educators change their teaching practises when some schools do not have the funds for "megatrends" and "changing global dynamics"? Our school in Dillon, and I'd like to include other First Nations schools I have taught at, does not receive nearly enough money to upgrade their computers and other equipment necessary to keep up with the times. Our geographical locations also does not allow for any advance in the everchangine global dynamics. I admire classrooms where teachers have access to computers and interactive whiteboards, when all we have are good old green chalkboards and computers that have seen many years. The internet service providers do not even know that there are people who live in these remote communites, yet. We do not have cellelar coverage in our areas too. Am I responding to the megatrends as an educator?