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?

From your community's perspective, what are the primary inside and outside of school influences or forces on your educational practise?

I have always stressed the importance of parental involvement in education, but Dillon has been a trying community for me to validate that opinion, when I have yet to meet so many of my student's families.

What influences must one resist and what influences must one accept in choosing the content of an educational curriculum?

Influences that one must resist in choosing content in curriculum are: personal biases, personal preferences, ...

Influences that one must accept in choosing content in curriculum are: school boards, administrative views, ...

Discuss: The public school curriculum should primarily teach useful skills relevant to the needs and interests of students.

I would agree that the public school should teach only useful skills to our students. Those needs would have to be relevant to their geographical location as well as their individual interests. There is so much controversy now as to what skills are important to learn in our schools, even in Buffalo River. If techology is important, shouldn't our students have access to better facilities where computers are readily available? or if Cultural studies is important shouldn't our students be given an opportunity to practise their traditional practises during school hours? Schools can teach, but how much learning takes place?

How might one evaluate an educational curriculum?

I believe that one should always be evaluating curriculum. I don't think it would be fair to the students if a teacher always used the same readings and the same assignments for every class he or she teaches in any given year or discipline. Evaluation would be based on student needs, student location, student ability, and student capability. I don't think it would take rocket science to see that one part of the curriculum is not working for a particular group of students or school. Teachers should be held accountable for evaluating the curriculum that they are teaching. I have a friend who taught in northern Alberta where a teacher's ability is based on how many students pass the classes that they teach. What if our salaries were based on how much a student learned that week or month or year??