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• A Truthful Narrative

  June 9, 2014 7:29 PM Comments Off on A Truthful Narrative

  First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) peoples derive from nations that are rich in cultures, traditions, languages, values, ceremonies and unique worldviews. Each of the 500 Nations on Turtle Island (North America and the Mesoamericas) have also given an abundance of innovations and inventions to the world.[1] Many of these gifts have not been credited to the FNMI Nations from which they originate and have been appropriated through colonial laws. Prior to the 1950s, FNMI peoples in Canada were not allowed to have legal representation as a means of patenting original ideas and technologies.[2] This oppressive situation was mirrored in countries around the world where Indigenous Nations were marginalized, relocated and regulated by settler cultures. FNMI practices in architecture, engineering, dentistry, economics, aquaculture, medicine, metallurgy, pharmacology, transportation and many other areas need to be highlighted and shared. The self-esteem and success of FNMI students in our schools depends upon this curricular and pedagogical change,[3] and the fostering of stronger relations between non-FNMI and FNMI peoples requires that this part of a greater truthful narrative be told.[4]

  FNMI contributions to the world

  At the time of contact (1492) there were 500 distinct Indigenous Nations living on Turtle Island. Each of these Nations thrived in their environment and learned to work with nature to lead balanced lives. Five hundred Nations were co-existing and creating technologies (seen and unseen) that housed, fed, entertained, organized, enlightened and enriched them all.[5] Each person and being was defined by a sacred role and purpose. This way of life provided a sense of belonging that was critical to the greater community and world.[6] Keoke and Porterfield, in the Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World, provide a rich geographical lens for readers to experience FNMI peoples. FNMI Nations are identified through the 12 specific geographical areas they lived in: Arctic, California, Circum-Caribbean, Great Basin, Great Plains, Mesoamerican, Northeast, Northwest Coast, Plateau, Southeast, Southwest and Subarctic. Each of these areas represents a particular topography and physical region that highlight FNMI peoples’ innovative ability to live within that landscape.

  Curriculum considerations Kindergarten to Grade 12

  FNMI students’ self-esteem is grounded in classrooms where they recognize themselves in the curriculum through the inclusion of various resources, teachings, strategies, histories and knowledge exchanges.[7] The presence of FNMI contributions also facilitates an enhanced understanding between all students and challenges preconceived stereotypes and myths.[8] So, how do we initiate and implement curricular change that provides a balanced narrative of FNMI peoples? Where do we begin and who is to be involved?

  Across Canada, FNMI and non-FNMI organizations, ministries and boards are working to mobilize policies and programs in schools to develop more culturally competent, relevant classrooms for Indigenous learners.[9] Nearly every province and territory has a policy framework and department dedicated to this very task. The impacts of these plans vary from region to region; however, the content focus requires reflective balance (i.e. need to tell the colonial story, but also strongly highlight the contributions and beauty of FNMI Nations).

  As classroom teachers, we have great impact and influence on our students. The building of community, the creation of learning opportunities and the knowledge shared in our classes can be facilitated by our ongoing commitment to equity and diversity.[10] The tables that follow offer potential content for educators to consider as part of their regular curriculum plans. These tables are not meant to be all-inclusive, but represent starting points for further development with the FNMI peoples of the area. Helpful contacts for starting this process may be the FNMI Lead with your school board, the FNMI Education Counsellor assigned to your region, the local FNMI Friendship Centre, or the FNMI communities themselves.

  FNMI inclusion benefits all

  Educators committed to equity, diversity and human rights understand the value to all learners of including FNMI (and other marginalized voices) content across the curriculum. Providing authentic and balanced knowledge exchanges builds relationships of understanding and compassion and fosters citizens who are aware and conscious of the impacts they have on each other and this world.[11] Building on the foundation of a truthful narrative, we can empower each other in a place of truth and action.

  Curriculum tables (Download PDF)

  The following tables highlight potential curriculum inclusions at each grade level for teachers to consider.

  Table 1. Early Learning / Kindergarten: Holistic Engagement with FNMI Nations

  From the age of four to five years, children’s emotional and moral development is rapidly growing and greatly impressionable. At this stage they are forming images of self, beginning to express ideas, asking questions and learning to engage in discussion.[12] This is a time for growth, compassion and understanding FNMI peoples through a holistic perspective.

  Table 2. Primary Division (Grades 1 to 3): Building Community with FNMI Peoples

  Children aged six to eight have a social and moral development phase where they begin to form strong group identities and have resilient ideas about fairness. This creates opportunities to learn about what makes FNMI peoples unique and what the students may have in common with FNMI Nations.

  Table 3. Junior Division (Grades 4 to 6): FNMI Contributions in Our Lives

  From nine to 11, children develop the ability to understand abstract ideas and to identify/label their feelings. This provides teachers with spaces to investigate FNMI contributions and the effects that these gifts have on the lives of the students today.

  Table 4. Intermediate Division (Grades 7 and 8): Investigating FNMI Nations

  Youth aged 12 to 13 are forming their own personal morality codes and are capable of introspection (i.e. visions of what is and what can be). This is a time in their educational career when they can respectfully confront FNMI stereotypes and make connections to authenticity.

  Table 5. Secondary Division (Grades 9 and 10): FNMI Resources

  From 13 to 15, our youth (FNMI and non-FNMI) experience challenging emotional and social development. They often feel misunderstood and rely heavily on peers for acceptance and meaning. This is a critical time for educators to provide our youth with FNMI role models and mentorship opportunities.

  Table 6. Secondary Division (Grades 11 and 12): FNMI Present Realities

  Young adults aged 15 to 18 are confronted with many decisions and experience intellectual and moral development benchmarks. They have reasoning abilities that require evidence and believe/understand that behaviours are influenced by authorities (and can challenge these powers). This time represents an opportunity to provide lessons on FNMI current issues, successes and innovations.

  Photo: courtesy Saskatchewan School Boards Association

  First published in Education Canada, June 2014

  
  

  EN BREF – Cet article présente aux éducateurs des stratégies d’intégration des apports des Premières Nations, des Métis et des Inuits (PNMI) aux classes de la maternelle à la 12^e année. L’estime de soi des élèves PNMI et la promotion des relations avec des groupes autres que PNMI bénéficient de cette approche inclusive. L’article indique comment bâtir l’esprit communautaire des élèves en remettant en question les stéréotypes et en favorisant un regard culturellement richemettant en valeur les 500 nations. Du primaire au secondaire, chaque niveau d’enseignement est décrit brièvement en utilisant les termes, les apports et les possibilités pédagogiques PNMI appropriés dans tout le curriculum. Les niveaux développementaux des élèves constituent également un facteur critique de la présentation, du positionnement et de l’acquisition d’un récit élargi et plus vrai au sujet des nations PNMI.

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  [1] Emory Dean Keoke and Kay Marie Porterfield, Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World: 15,000 years of inventions and innovations (New York, NY: Facts on File Inc., 2002).

  [2] Pamela Toulouse, Achieving Aboriginal Student Success: A guide for K to 8 classrooms (Winnipeg: Portage and Main Press, 2011).

  [3] Mary Hampton and Joan Roy, “Strategies for Facilitating Success of First Nations Students,” The Canadian Journal of Higher Education 32, No. 3 (2002): 1-28.

  [4] Sabrina Redwing-Saunders and Susan Hill, “Native Education and In-Classroom Coalition-Building: Factors and models in delivering an equitous authentic education,” Canadian Journal of Education 30, No. 4 (2007): 1015-1045.

  [5] Keoke and Porterfield, Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World, xiii.

  [6] Best Start Resource Centre, Founded in Culture: Strategies to promote early learning in First Nations children in Ontario (Toronto: Health Nexus, 2010).

  [7] David Bell, K. Anderson, T. Fortin, J. Ottman, S. Ros, L. Simard and K. Spencer, Sharing Our Success: Ten case studies in Aboriginal schooling (Kelowna: Society for the Advancement of Excellence in Education, 2004).

  [8] Judith Maxwell, “First Nations’ Quiet Revolution will begin in the classroom,” The Globe and Mail (December 23, 2010). www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/first-nations-quiet-revolution-will-begin-in-the-classroom/article4084190/

  [9] Verna St. Denis, “Aboriginal Education and Anti-Racist Education: Building alliances across cultural and racial identity,” Canadian Journal of Education 30, No. 4 (2007): 1068-1092.

  [10] Anne McKeough, S. Bird, E. Tourigny, A. Romaine, S. Graham, J. Ottman and J. Jeary, “Storytelling as a Foundation to Literacy Development for Aboriginal Children: Culturally and developmentally appropriate practices,” Canadian Psychology 49, No. 2 (2008): 148-154.

  [11] St. Denis, “Aboriginal Education,” 1085.

  [12] This and all child development information in tables from: Calgary and Area Child and Family Services, “Developmental Stages for Children/Youth.” www.calgaryandareacfsa.gov.ab.ca/home/index.cfm

• Is B.C. Getting it Right?

  6:49 PM Comments Off on Is B.C. Getting it Right?

  Important changes to Aboriginal[1] education across Canada began to happen in the 1970s with the federal government’s recognition of the 1972 national policy, Indian Control of Indian Education (ICIE), which emphasized the principles of local control; parental responsibility; Indian culture, values and language; Indian teachers; and culturally sensitive non-Indian teachers and counselors. The National Indian Brotherhood (now Assembly of First Nations) led the development of this milestone policy with input from many provincial and territorial First Nations organizations. Forty-two years later, Aboriginal education remains a pressing concern across Canada. The 2004 Auditor General’s report cautioned that it will take up to 28 years for First Nation on-reserve students to reach high school completion parity with non-Aboriginal students.[2] Despite these dismal statistics, some areas of Canada are moving toward success in Aboriginal education.

  British Columbia’s 2012-2013 six-year Aboriginal student high school graduation rate is 60 percent, a marked increase compared to 2008-2009 when it was 40 percent.[3] In the last three years, the increase has been three percent per year. So what is B.C. doing to achieve some success for Aboriginal learners? This article highlights multi-dimensional, interconnected, and long-term approaches that have contributed to Aboriginal education improvements, which include Indigenous teacher education, K-12 public and First Nation schools, and First Nations community and organizational leadership.

  Each author shares her area of experience in a sole-authored section. 

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  Creating change through Indigenous teacher education

  by Jo-Ann Archibald

  In October 2014, NITEP,[4] the Faculty of Education’s Indigenous teacher education program at the University of British Columbia (UBC), will celebrate its 40th anniversary. When NITEP began in 1974, there were approximately 26 Indigenous teachers in the province out of a teacher population of 23,000 (0.11 percent). NITEP has since graduated 366 Indigenous people who have Bachelor of Education degrees and who have completed a substantial concentration of Indigenous education courses and educational placements.

  I am from the Sto:lo and Xaxli’p First Nations. My experience with NITEP spans 32 years. I have developed and taught NITEP’s Indigenous education courses, was a field centre coordinator and advisor to students, and have served as its director.

  NITEP helps Indigenous people from Canada fulfill their dream of becoming a teacher, prepares them to become effective educators, and contributes to the improvement of Aboriginal education. NITEP also provides advocacy and support when needed, as well as helping its students develop Indigenous Knowledge pedagogical approaches and understandings about the intergenerational impact of colonization on Aboriginal people and Canadian society.

  NITEP students demonstrate resilience and commitment to their studies despite issues such as limited finances, leaving their home community for part of the program, and experiences of racism. They begin their studies in regional field centres, where they complete most of the program from a local college or university, and Indigenous education courses from NITEP/UBC. A field centre coordinator teaches, advises, supervises educational placements, administers the centre, recruits new students, and maintains community linkages. The students move to UBC’s Vancouver campus for their final 12 months of the program. The family/cohort structure provides peer support and a “community-of-learners” approach throughout the program.

  NITEP alumni are role models and mentors for their families, many of whom are inspired to become teachers because they have seen their parents, aunties, and uncles complete the program and then teach. NITEP graduates are teaching in public and First Nation schools, colleges and universities. They take on leadership roles in schools, school districts, professional organizations, and Ministry of Education positions. They are advocates for systemic change, they engage in new curriculum development, and they maintain community relationships – as demonstrated in the next section. 

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  Making a difference in public schools

  by DeDe DeRose

  I am a member of the Secwepempc-Esketemc First Nations. In 1976 I became a student at the NITEP Field Centre in my home territory, graduating in 1981. NITEP provided me with a safe place to inquire, imagine and be inspired to pursue a career as an educator. In my career, I have been a classroom teacher, school-based principal, chair of the First Nations Education Advisory at UBC and province-wide educator. In 2012, I was honoured to become the first Superintendent of Aboriginal Achievement in the B.C. Ministry of Education – the first position of its kind in Canada. NITEP has opened many career doors and windows that I wouldn’t have dreamt were possible.

  In my role, I meet with provincial school district senior administrators to discuss student success, and specifically Aboriginal student success. I use student data that the province has collected over time as a guide to inform and assist school districts and their Aboriginal communities in making local decisions in the best interests of students.

  I have noticed that school district teams with certain practices are more likely to be successful. I see Aboriginal student success increase when school districts:

  • work together with Aboriginal communities;
  • track students and use local and provincial data to drive decisions;
  • have an Aboriginal Enhancement Agreement (EA) with Aboriginal communities that includes measureable, attainable goals;
  • embed local Aboriginal knowledge throughout their curriculum;
  • offer provincially developed courses such as the English First Peoples 10, 11, & 12 and First Nations Studies 12;
  • seek to employ Aboriginal educators and support staff; and
  • offer ongoing professional development for all educators.

  B.C. is the only province that collects and reports annually on student achievement and student satisfaction data.

  District staff must also commit to providing educators with strategies to address barriers where students do not feel safe at school and do not have a sense of belonging,[5] with a belief that until students feel safe and welcome in schools, they will not achieve to their fullest potential. My observation, therefore, is that schools are successful where students, their families and communities, teachers, principals and senior administration take responsibility, understand their roles, are engaged, and work cooperatively and respectfully together.

  I have also chaired the provincial K-12 Education Partners’ table. A Memorandum of Understanding signed in 1999 guides our work. It states: “We, the undersigned, acknowledge that Aboriginal learners are not experiencing school success in British Columbia. We state our intention to work together within the mandates of our respective organizations to improve school success for Aboriginal learners in British Columbia.”

  First Nations community organizations leading change

  B.C. has the benefit of having a key member, the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC), leading and guiding its provincial partners in bringing about positive change. The FNESC[6] is an independent society led by a strong and diverse board of about 100 First Nations community representatives from B.C. FNESC is committed to improving education for all First Nations students in B.C., whether they live on or off reserve. Since its establishment in 1992, FNESC has worked to support First Nations communities in working together to advance education issues and to communicate their priorities to the federal and provincial governments. Communications, research, partnership building and advocacy are all central to FNESC’s activities. Some of FNESC’s important accomplishments include:

  • winning legal recognition to be decision-makers in the education of Aboriginal children, which became protected in federal legislation in 2006 and provincial legislation in 2007;
  • creating innovative curriculum, including English First Peoples 10-12, which is used in public and First Nation school classrooms across B.C.;
  • co-founding the B.C. Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education and Training Partners’ Group in 2005, uniting stakeholders to improve participation and success of Aboriginal learners in post-secondary education and training; and
  • co-founding the Education Partners’ Group in 1999, bringing together K-12 education stakeholders, including Métis people, to improve the success of Aboriginal students in B.C.

  FNESC also created an association to work specifically with First Nations schools in B.C. The First Nations Schools Association (FNSA) is an independent organization directed by representatives of the approximately 130 First Nations schools in B.C. It is committed to supporting the development of high-quality, culturally appropriate education for First Nations students and to promoting First Nations control of First Nations education. Since its establishment in 1996, the FNSA has developed assessment instruments for gathering student data to inform planning and improvements in schools, and has built a strong system of mentorship, professional development and coaching to support school leadership and promote effective instruction.

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  Looking ahead

  These programs, approaches, and organizations have made significant contributions to improving Aboriginal student success and Aboriginal education in B.C. NITEP, an Indigenous teacher education program, will continue to prepare its graduates to not only teach, but to make a difference in education. The UBC Faculty of Education continues to demonstrate its long-term commitment to Aboriginal education by hiring Indigenous faculty, offering innovative Indigenous graduate programs, and most recently, requiring that all teacher candidates take a course in Aboriginal education. The Ministry of Education made a bold move in creating the position of Superintendent of Aboriginal Achievement, which adds to its other strategies for making school districts more accountable for increasing Aboriginal student success in K-12. B.C. is the only province that collects and reports annually on student achievement and student satisfaction data. Provincial organizations, run by First Nations communities, are making some key systemic and legislative changes with provincial and federal governments.

  But we must ask ourselves if we are satisfied with our success to date? It has taken at least 40 years since the introduction of the Indian Control of Indian Education Policy to reach the current level of B.C. educational success. To reach parity with non-Aboriginal student high school completion rates in B.C., currently at 86 percent, could take at least another nine years of sustained effort. Aboriginal students are still over-represented in special education, and the graduation rates of Aboriginal children in care are abysmal at 34 percent.[7] Moreover, while high school graduation is an important education milestone and marker of success, it is not the only relevant indicator. Appreciation and knowledge of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit history, culture and language are others, which still need to become integral and vibrant components of education. At the same time, we value the long-term commitment, sustained hard work, and wealth of knowledge and skills of the many Aboriginal people, allies, and organizations that have moved B.C. Aboriginal education forward. These continuing collective efforts will make it even better.

  Photo: Don Erhardt

  First published in Education Canada, June 2014

  
  

  EN BREF – Les efforts collectifs de personnes travaillant dans des collectivités autochtones, des organismes, des écoles, des universités et le gouvernement provincial donnent enfin des signes d’une augmentation des taux d’achèvement des études secondaires des élèves autochtones fréquentant les écoles publiques en Colombie-Britannique. Cet article met l’accent sur le rôle et l’impact du personnel enseignant autochtone et de la formation d’enseignants autochtones sur la responsabilisation des écoles publiques et l’engagement autochtone, de même que sur le leadership communautaire exercé par les Premières Nations en vue de faire progresser l’éducation autochtone. Cependant, de nombreux aspects doivent encore être réglés afin d’améliorer la qualité de l’éducation pour les apprenants autochtones et de s’assurer que les savoirs autochtones sont intégrés de façon respectueuse et significative aux systèmes d’éducation. Les efforts collectifs soutenus des parties prenantes en éducation de la Colombie-Britannique peuvent régler ces questions afin d’accroître la réussite scolaire des Autochtones.

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  [1] The terms Aboriginal and Indigenous will be used interchangeably. “Indian” is used when referencing a time period when the term was commonly used.

  [2] Office of the Auditor General of Canada, Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the House of Commons, Chapter 5 (2004), 1.

  [3] B.C. Ministry of Education, Aboriginal Report 2008/9 – 2012/13: How are we doing? (Nov. 2013). www.bced.gov.bc.ca/abed/perf2013.pdf

  [4] The Native Indian Teacher Education Program (NITEP) began in 1974. The leadership of the British Columbia Native Indian Teachers’ Association worked with the UBC Faculty of Education to establish this teacher education option for people of Aboriginal (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) ancestry. NITEP has become a name, instead of an acronym, associated with this teacher education program. Its name has not changed because of the loyalty that its graduates have toward it. For more information about NITEP, see www.nitep.educ.ubc.ca

  [5] B.C. Ministry of Education, Aboriginal Report: How are we doing?

  [6] The information taken from the FNESC and FNSA web site is used with permission from FNESC. www.fnesc.ca/

  [7] B.C. Ministry of Education, Aboriginal Report: How Are We Doing?

• Teaching by the Medicine Wheel

  5:46 PM Comments Off on Teaching by the Medicine Wheel

  This article explores the teachings of Medicine Wheels from an Anishinaabe cultural perspective. A focus on its applications to education is addressed through pedagogy and the transmission of Medicine Wheel teachings. These concepts are then illustrated with an example of Medicine Wheel pedagogy in practice through the Anishinaabe Bimaadiziwin Cultural Healing and Learning Program, an Anishinaabe culture-based school.

  A key question that needs to be addressed in the creation of an Indigenous, culturally relevant educational process is how to create a schooling environment that reflects Indigenous culture and instils traditional values while providing the students with the skills they need to “survive” in the modern world. Indigenous knowledge thus becomes important to understand. This knowledge is crucial to creating a culturally relevant space, pedagogy, and environment for teaching Indigenous children.

  In many Indigenous cultures, the Medicine Wheel¹ metaphor contains all of the traditional teachings and can therefore be used as a guide on any journey, including the educational process. While there is some variation in its teachings and representations, the underlying web of meaning to Medicine Wheels remains the same: the importance of appreciating and respecting the ongoing interconnectedness and interrelatedness of all things. Therefore, there is no “right” or “wrong” way of representing or using Medicine Wheels: all forms hold particular meaning to the various Indigenous nations while all transmit a common understanding of the interconnectedness and interrelatedness of all things.

  The wheel drawing simply begins by making a circle. Superimposed on this circle are four equidistant points. These points symbolically identify the power/medicine of the four directions (east, south, west, north) using four different colours. The final drawing resembles a compass for human understanding. Around the spirit world of the four directions is the Creator above and Mother Earth below, whereby “a three dimensional sphere is created which mysteriously contains, reflects, and possesses within itself the perimeters and powers of the entire universe, indeed of reality itself.”²

  There are many different ways that Elders and traditional teachers have expressed the four directions: the four teachings, the four winds, the four cardinal directions, and many other relationships that can be expressed in sets of four. “Just like a mirror can be used to see things not normally visible (e.g. behind us or around a corner), Medicine Wheels can be used to help us see or understand things we can’t quite see or understand because they are ideas and not physical objects.”³ Calliou reminds us that “Medicine Wheels can be pedagogical tools for teaching, learning, contemplating, and understanding our human journeys at individual, band/community, nation, global, and even cosmic levels.”⁴

  Within Medicine Wheels there are many, many “rings” of teachings that exist. A ring of teaching is created by considering a part of the teaching from each of the four directions. These rings of teachings have significant meaning independently but are all the more powerful when understood as a collective of interdependent knowledge teachings and practices. Some of these rings include: seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter), times of day (morning, afternoon, evening, night), stages of life (infant, youth, adult, elder), and life givers (earth, sun, water, air).

  Using Medicine Wheel pedagogy

  The following Medicine Wheel diagram (Figure 1) reviews the gifts of each of the directions as informed by Cree Elder Michael Thrasher. In the east the gift of vision is found, where one is able to “see.” In the south one spends time in which to relate to the vision. In the west, one uses the gift of reason to figure it out. In the north, one uses the gift of movement to do or actualize the vision. According to Absolon,⁵ in following the path of Medicine Wheels “the fourth direction involves creating a healing movement towards change – this is possible only when the other components have been acknowledged.”⁶

  
  

  Moving into the “doing” phase of the north requires taking the knowledge gained from all the directions and enacting that knowledge. This form of praxis makes the balance achievable. Using Medicine Wheels as a tool for analysis in healing and learning demands the continuous and ongoing reflection of oneself in relation to others – thus balance must be maintained while embracing change. “The teaching and healing process is evolutionary and cyclical in nature, as is the continuum of medicine wheels. It begins with a desire to understand and identify with the balance, wholeness and interconnectedness expressed in the medicine wheel.”⁷

  In order to create the movement required by the northern direction, one must re-visit the other directions to achieve a 360-degree vision.⁸ By going to the east where one visions to transform that which is, one can actively create a better life for oneself and others. Indigenous people can envision how they can be active in the “creation of oppositional analytical and cultural space.”⁹ Visioning allows them to engage in the hopeful utopian thinking necessary for radical transformation.¹⁰ Once a guiding vision is received or created, strategies can then be planned to help actualize it. Each person then has the responsibility to do the work required to fulfill the vision.¹¹

  Indigenous people are fighting to actualize their visions for change in the education of their children. A revolutionized world will not “come into existence in a linear way, as the result of a single-minded drive, but in a cyclic, circular way, working in all dimensions of a culture, moving from one position to another, not in reaction but in interaction with other forces.”¹² Moving from linear models to the interconnectedness of the circle can guide the development of pedagogy and vision for the future.¹³

  The transmission of Medicine Wheel teachings

  Understanding Indigenous knowledge and worldview begins with Medicine Wheel teachings previously discussed: the gifts of the directions (vision, time, reason, movement), the actions of those gifts (see it, relate to it, figure it out, do it), and the learning process (awareness, understanding, knowledge, wisdom). Building from these understandings, Indigenous knowledge embraced by Medicine Wheels can be defined as wholeness, interrelationships, interconnections, and balance/respect. Wholeness requires that we look in entireties; that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, yet the parts cannot be fully seen until the shape of the whole can be seen. Interrelationship requires that we establish a personal relationship with the “whole” – with all that surrounds us. In addition, we must establish a relationship with our whole being; this includes our spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional aspects. Interconnections create an environment which is mutually sustaining; where there is a transcending of logic and linear thought to reveal synthesis and dynamic interdependence. Balance and respect provide an order and structure to the whole and all its relationships and interconnections, while providing an appreciation for the “awe” of it all. (Figure 2)

  

  It is necessary to consider Indigenous knowledge as a collection of knowledges from different Indigenous nations. Indigenous knowledge is therefore culture specific, contained within the local knowledge and worldview of the nation. It therefore also has to be ecological, where the knowledge is contained within the land of the geographic location of the nation. Knowledge is also contained within the people of the nation. Indigenous knowledge then becomes personal and generational, as there is a process of generational transmission. Indigenous knowledge is epistemological, in that each nation culturally determines for itself how it knows what it knows.

  While Indigenous worldview articulates that Indigenous people need to develop themselves, including their children, in a holistic way that addresses their spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental capacities, they need to address how to transmit learning through all of those personal aspects. The spiritual can be touched through ceremony, teachings, and stories. The physical can be transmitted through the land, while the emotional aspect can be developed through a balanced connection between the heart and the head. Mental capacities can be developed through ancestral languages and integrative learning.

  Moving from linear models to the interconnectedness of the circle can guide the development of pedagogy and vision for the future.

  Wisdom becomes the goal of any educational process including living – to say that we are truly knowledgeable as a person is to say that we not only “know” what is valued by a nation, but that we have lived our life in such a way that we have experienced what we know and can therefore be considered wise. Indigenous knowledge and worldview is attained by choosing to do what is necessary to obtain multiple perspectives from which to view the world. This in-depth searching for knowledge is what leads to wisdom. Wisdom is achieved by first becoming aware of the learning through all the senses, requiring the learning to be introduced to the students in multiple modalities. Understanding is achieved by providing students with enough time to solidify the learning so that they are able replicate the learning. A deeper understanding is achieved by students relating to the learning at a deeper level to become knowledgeable to the point that they are able to apply the learning in any situation. To say that the students have achieved wisdom requires that they are able to create some action with the learning and teach it to others.

  Medicine Wheel pedagogy in practice

  The Anishinaabe Bimaadiziwin Cultural Healing and Learning Program (operational from 2002-2006) was created to fulfill the cultural and academic needs of Anishinaabe children in the Burleigh Falls (Ont.) area. The program involved a synthesis of Anishinaabe worldview, spirituality and traditional education philosophy, incorporating these components into an Anishinaabe culture-based school program for Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. The school was registered as a private school with the Ontario Ministry of Education and the curriculum was organized on a Medicine Wheel framework, where cultural teachings and traditional practices were addressed in the corresponding season on the Medicine Wheel.

  A holistic educational experience was provided through a balanced emphasis on all personal aspects of the student. The spirit of the student was celebrated through daily ceremony such as a morning circle (similar to a sunrise ceremony), and the learning of traditional teachings and stories. The physical aspect of the student was actualized by interacting with the land through traditional practices such as maple syrup making, wild rice picking and fasting (a traditional ceremony of personal physical sacrifice to gain spiritual enlightenment). The emotional aspect of the student was addressed by an emphasis on healing and connecting the heart with the head through weekly healing circles, individual counselling, and following the seven sacred teachings (core values often referred to as the seven grandfather teachings). The mental aspect of the student was developed through the teaching and learning of the Anishinaabe language and integrative learning that blended Euro-Canadian and Anishinaabe knowledge, such as the study of earth and space systems in science and the Anishinaabe traditional worldview of all creation along with its teachings, stories, and songs.

  The Anishinaabe learning process of awareness, understanding, knowledge, and wisdom as presented on the Medicine Wheel were actualized on an ongoing basis to ensure complete and deep learning occurred. An example of this included providing the students with the awareness of their culture by allowing them to experience it with all their senses (seeing it, tasting it, feeling/touching it, smelling it, hearing it) and then expecting them to show that they understood it by replicating it, such as being able to sing a traditional song. Knowledge of the learning was illustrated by the students in the school when they applied the learning in any situation, such as when a child made a connection between the concept of greed and a traditional Nanaboozhoo story. The ability to teach their culture to others and thus prove wisdom was achieved by becoming the teacher and sharing their culture with other children through workshops with Brownies or Cub Scouts groups.

  While the above examples are specific to an Anishinaabe culture-based educational setting, the teachings of Medicine Wheels provide an educational framework that can be applied to any educational setting. The fundamental concepts of wholeness, inter-relationship, inter-connectedness and balance/respect are valuable for all.

   

  Photo: courtesy Saskatchewan School Boards Association

  First published in Education Canada, June 2014

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  EN BREF – Cet article explore les enseignements des roues de médecine selon la perspective culturelle anishinabe. L’accent est mis sur ses applications en éducation par le biais de la pédagogie et de la transmission des enseignements des roues de médecine. Ces concepts sont illustrés par un exemple pédagogique pratique de l’emploi de la roue de médicine dans le cadre du programme culturel de guérison et d’apprentissage des « Anishinabe-Bimaadiziwin », offert dans une école basée sur la culture anishinabe.

   

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  [1] The term “Medicine Wheel” was established when stone constructions in the shape of wheels were found on Medicine Mountain.

  [2] J. Sanderson, The Cree Way: Traditional paths to learning (masters’ thesis, University of Saskatchewan, 1991), 51.

  [3] J. Bopp, M. Bopp, L. Brown, and P. Lane, The Sacred Tree (Four Worlds Development Project, 1984), 9.

  [4] S. Calliou, “Peacekeeping Actions At Home: A Medicine Wheel model for a peacekeeping pedagogy,” in First Nations Education in Canada (UBC Press, 1995), 51.

  [5] K. Absolon, Building Health From the Medicine Wheel: Aboriginal program development. Paper presented at the meeting of the Native Physician’s Association (Winnipeg, Manitoba, March 1994).

  [6] Absolon, Building Health From the Medicine Wheel, 18.

  [7] F. J. Graveline, Circle Works: Transforming Eurocentric consciousness (Halifax, NS: Fernwood Publishing, 1998), 182.

  [8] Dumont in S. Stigelbauer, The Individual is the Community; The Community is the World; Native Elders Talk About What Young People Need to Know. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Francisco, CA, 1992).

  [9] C. T. Mohanty, “On Race and Voice: Challenges for liberal education in the 1990’s,” in Between Borders: Pedagogy and the politics of cultural studies, eds. H. Giroux and P. McLaren (New York, NY: Routledge, 1994), 148.

  [10] S. Benhabib, Situating the Self: Gender, community, and post-modernism in contemporary ethics (New York, NY: Routledge, 1992).

  [11] G. Cajete, Look To The Mountain: An ecology of Indigenous education (Asheville, NC: Kivaki Press, 1994).

  [12] French in K. Gould, “Feminist Principles and Minority Concerns: Contributions, problems, and solutions,” Affilia 2, no 3 (1987): 18.

  [13] Graveline, Circle Works, 288.

• What needs to change?

  5:14 PM Comments Off on What needs to change?

  The announcement in February 2014 of the First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act seemed to signal a shift in direction towards positive change for Aboriginal students in Canada. Former National Chief Shawn Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) commented at the time, “This is our opportunity to fully realize what First Nations control of First Nations education means to us, to get the Minister and government out of our schools and to support success for our children and students – our way.”[1] However, it wasn’t long until dissenting voices were heard; and in May 2014, in the wake of widespread criticism and Chief Atleo’s resignation from AFN, the Conservative government withdrew the bill.

  Challenging and essential though it is, the education system itself – from funding to governance to curriculum – is only part of what is required to achieve meaningful educational success for Aboriginal students. After all, the very structures through which reform is negotiated and implemented are grounded in the historical relationship between First Nations and the settler population. The ability of Aboriginal students to make the most of their educational opportunities depends in part on the health and well-being of their families and communities. And so we asked three distinguished leaders in Aboriginal education to briefly share their vision of “What needs to change in order to make real progress in Aboriginal education?” We asked them to focus on one aspect that is prominent in their thoughts right now, rather than attempting a comprehensive answer. Their responses together convey a glimpse of the “bigger picture” surrounding Aboriginal education. 

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  Indigenizing Education

  By Marlene Brant Castellano

  No simple answer is adequate to respond to a complex question. However, in my view, a major barrier to Aboriginal students’ success is their resistance, either overt or intuitive, to being absorbed in a world of knowledge and a society that appear to have no place for them or their people. The change I would propose is to Indigenize education in Canada. Indigenizing education means that every subject at every level is examined to consider how and to what extent current content and pedagogy reflect the presence of Indigenous/Aboriginal peoples and the valid contribution of Indigenous knowledge. Such an examination would shift the focus from remediating deficits in Aboriginal students to addressing bias and omissions in the educational system.

  The beginning of change does not have to wait for regulations or funding from on high, although curricular standards and appropriate resources will be essential to systemic change. An obvious place to begin is in the teaching of Canadian history. Recent research confirms that students graduating from high school are ignorant that the peaceable character that we like to claim as a nation is fundamentally a legacy of treaties negotiated by First Nations in good faith, shamefully ignored for a century, and now the basis of legitimate claims for reparations.

  Public approaches to health and justice are beginning to recognize the insightfulness of Aboriginal understandings of whole health, encompassing body, mind, emotions and spirit, and the effectiveness of restorative justice. Indigenous writers, filmmakers and artists are now represented in national galleries and on the podium for prestigious awards. Yet, despite the evidence that Aboriginal people are participants and contributors to the vitality of community in Canada, the prevailing public perception is that we are problems resistant to solution and impediments to economic development. Content about Indigenous societies, coloured by the perspectives of Indigenous knowledge and woven through the curriculum, could diffuse or dispel the residue of colonialist arrogance that maintains stereotypes and prejudice.

  I am heartened by the gains that have been made over the 40 years that I have been involved as a parent, teacher and advocate for Aboriginal education. I am also deeply moved at “the power of one” to rally support for a dream. I watch the annual parade of students on my home territory of Tyendinaga wearing T-shirts and carrying banners proclaiming “Our Dreams Matter Too.” With those words, Shannen Koostachin, a Cree 13-year-old from Attawapiskat, challenged the Minister of Indian Affairs to provide “safe and comfy schools and culturally appropriate education for First Nations children and youth.” She died at the age of 15, but Shannen’s Dream has continued to inspire students, teachers and their federations, and school boards across Canada. The announcement of more equitable funding for education on-reserves, made in the 2014 federal budget, is evidence that students and educators joining their voices with Aboriginal advocates can exercise influence well beyond the walls of their schools. 

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  Bringing Spiritual Teachings into Education

  By Blair Stonechild

  Having been involved in Aboriginal Education for most of my life, from attending Indian residential school to working on the development of First Nation-controlled post-secondary institutions, I would like to focus on an issue that is not often mentioned: the importance of spirituality in education.

  First Nation elders assert that spirituality was a special gift given to Indigenous peoples as a way to maintain strong and healthy nations. In pre-contact societies ceremonies, which were mechanisms for maintaining relations with the spirit world, dominated daily and seasonal life and marked progression though the principle stages of personal development.

  Spiritual teachings were derived through vision, ceremony and meditation, and stressed the need for establishing good relations as they pertained to personal and community behaviour. These teachings reflected traditional values including bravery, love, respect, honesty, generosity, humility and wisdom.

  Education theorists write about the importance of having a positive self-concept in order to learn most effectively. I believe that a key to restoring what has been referred to as the “learning spirit” is the rejuvenation of Aboriginal spiritual beliefs. Elders and many educators talk about the need for holistic education – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

  It should be noted that Aboriginal spirituality is not about religious dogma, but rather is about establishing healthy relationships with all things, including one’s relatives, one’s nation, and the natural environment. The elders confirm that all things have spirit and that humans are really spirit beings on a physical journey. As we navigate through life, we are here to learn how to have proper relations with all things. The elders also say that learning, including school learning, is a fundamental part of the purpose for living. It is a sacred mission in life.

  Unfortunately many Aboriginal youth today have lost touch with their spiritual heritage, and elders believe this is the reason why so many turn to substance abuse, crime and involvement in gangs. We as Aboriginal people need to heal ourselves by focusing on the spiritual mission of education, which often gets lost in the clamour for more funding and the politicization of schooling. The elders tell me that it is now time to research, write about and teach the principles of Aboriginal spirituality, something which I and other academics at the First Nations University are attempting to do.

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  An Opportunity to Redefine

  By Darren McKee

  Change. It is a word used so freely in relation to education that it has perhaps become a cliché. However, to Indigenous persons living in Canada and many other countries, that word carries with it a variety of important meanings.

  Above all, change is hope: a hope that the historical and ongoing experiences and contributions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people to what people today call Canada will be recognized and understood.

  Education is a powerful tool that can lift a person to realize great opportunities and fulfilment; it can also be used as a powerful weapon to remove the identity and spirit of entire cultures. As Justice Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, stated, “Education is the cause for much of the challenges faced by Aboriginal people today. However, it is also the solution in moving forward.”

  Recognizing the irony, I would use the questioning teaching method of Socrates to challenge each person who has an interest in this area. I would ask: “What do you truly know about First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples? Whose truth is it? Whose interests does this truth serve?”

  In this country, individuals hold differing and sometimes intransigent opinions on Indigenous people based upon their knowledge. Again, I would ask: “Knowledge gained where? And from whom?”

  I realize that it is rather provocative of me to challenge folks about their personal values and experiences, but I do so with the intent of asking us to reflect on what has historically been a negative educational context for First Nations, Métis and Inuit people. This experience colours our opportunity for an appreciative relationship – for example when I say the term “Indian,” what comes to your mind? Is it appreciative or deficit thinking?

  In the education world we are quite comfortable with the term evaluation. I would encourage people to evaluate and reflect on their current paradigms in Aboriginal Education, to take an honest look and reframe those views in a place that starts from mutual respect. There is a requirement to rebuild trust, which can only happen if we are willing to work together to create shared understandings that support each other. It cannot be an either/or pathway any longer if we wish to achieve success.

  Simultaneously, I would ask that we seize the opportunity that is before us to use the education system as the means to ensure everyone enjoys all the hope and prosperity this country has to offer – and I am defining prosperity beyond the simple economics to include positive social interactions, self-worth and positive community engagement.

  The manifestations of change provide us with our greatest opportunity to see every child succeed. Education is the societal agency of change that we ourselves control and that we can indeed ensure is the “solution in moving forward.”

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  Photo: courtesy Saskatchewan School Boards Association

  First published in Education Canada, June 2014

   

  EN BREF – La réforme du système même de l’éducation – du financement à la gouvernance en passant par le curriculum – ne constitue qu’une partie de ce qu’il faut pour réaliser la réussite éducative significative des élèves autochtones. Les structures de politiques et de gouvernance par lesquelles la réforme est négociée et instaurée reposent, après tout, sur la relation historique entre les Premières Nations et la population colonisatrice. La capacité des élèves autochtones de tirer le maximum de leurs possibilités éducatives dépend notamment de la santé et du bien-être de leurs familles et collectivités. Nous avons donc demandé à trois chefs de file réputés en éducation autochtone de partager leur vision de ce qui doit changer afin de réaliser des progrès réels en éducation autochtone. Nous les avons priés d’axer leur réponse sur un aspect prépondérant dans leurs réflexions actuelles, plutôt que de tenter de donner une réponse détaillée. Ensemble, leurs réponses brossent un aperçu du « grand tableau » en éducation autochtone.

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  [1] Assembly of First Nations, “Communiqué from National Chief Shawn Atleo,” Feb. 2014. www.afn.ca/uploads/files/14-02-14_nc_bulletin_fn_education_announcement_and_budget_2014_fe.pdf

• Physical Activity in Kindergarten

  June 4, 2014 3:20 PM Comments Off on Physical Activity in Kindergarten

  “In the past, it was assumed that children were naturally active on their own, but sadly, this is no longer the case.”  – Myriam Benoit, BPHE.

  Members of the Laurentian University Nutrition, physical activity, and Community Health (LUNCH) Research Group regularly engage in discussions related to the peripheral impacts that administrative change has on children’s health. Specifically, during educational reform, a key component to consider is the need for meaningful physical and health education; and not just in the gymnasium. One important example is school schedules. Schools have moved away from traditional schedules, which incorporated two recesses separated by a single lunch period. Today, many schools have adopted alternative schedules, the most prevalent of which is the “Balanced School Day,” which has two 40-minute nutrition/activity breaks, separated by three 100-minute teaching blocks. While modern schedules have their benefits, assessment prior to implementation seldom considers how the changes will impact children’s physical activity levels. 

  Most recently, implementation of the Early Learning Kindergarten (ELK) program has begun across Ontario. In this article, we discuss the impact of the ELK program on physical activity in Kindergarten-aged children and recommend ways to safeguard this important aspect of health and well-being.  

  The new ELK program has been developed on the premise that Kindergarten lays the foundation for future school experiences. According to former Ontario Minister of Education, Leona Dombrowsky, 

  “Full-day learning is part of our overall plan to help more children get a strong start in school, so they can go on to have successful, rewarding lives. By giving them more opportunities at a young age, we’re giving our children a brighter future.”[1]

  Research has consistently shown that early success predicts long-term success and adjustment outcomes. We would like to extend this argument to include healthy lifestyles. Children who enjoy and participate in activities in kindergarten are likely to build upon this success in later years. We would also like to highlight that suitable physical activity can lay the foundation for academic success. Engagement in physical activity throughout the school day has been shown to improve student achievement and readiness to learn in addition to bettering classroom behaviour.

  The ELK program will be fully implemented across Ontario in the 2014-15 school year. Several key changes have occurred with the implementation of this program, which have potentially positive and negative consequences with respect to student physical activity.

  First, while Kindergarten class size will increase to a maximum of 30 students, they will be team-taught with both an Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT) and an Early Childhood Educator (ECE). We see this as being highly beneficial to maximizing individual needs, including health behaviour instruction. Second, children as young as three are now enrolled in school for the full day, and for the entire school week. This is a noteworthy change from previous generations that should facilitate children’s accommodation to the school setting and provide significant opportunity for developing healthy behaviours in the early years. Schools now have the opportunity to engage a large audience in active play and education from a very young age. Third, the curriculum has moved to an inquiry- and play-based approach. Students are given a leading role in their own learning, in an environment that is supportive of their self-regulation and development. We strongly support this type of learning and speculate that it will involve less desk-time and therefore enhance physical activity levels in the classroom.

  In addition, some schools are also implementing a 60-minute Outdoor Exploration (OE) block, to use the outdoors as an extension of the classroom as the Ontario Curriculum suggests. We see this as an amazing opportunity for students to learn in a different environment, and also see potential for this time to be used as an opportunity for students to achieve an increased level of physical activity during the day.

  However, we also note an important negative consequence of this schedule-change – specifically, the coinciding change in recess times. Before implementation of the 60-minute OE block, Kindergarten children went outdoors for free play during recess, which occurred twice a day in schools using the Balanced School Day schedule. However, with the implementation of the OE block, Kindergarten students remain in the school during these two blocks of time, extending their nutrition breaks. This gives the children more time to eat their lunches, addressing a concern that many parents have (i.e. that their children do not have enough time to eat).  Research in our centre, however, has shown that this causes an overall decrease in the total amount of physical activity that the children engage in. From a time perspective, this seems surprising since 60 minutes outside is more time than the combined time for two recesses (40 minutes). However, there are two reasons why this does not result in increased activity. First, the instructional nature of this time may alter the degree of physical activity that the children engage in. Second, we know that during free time, children are most active in the first ten minutes. Therefore, frequent shorter breaks achieve more physical activity among students than fewer, longer breaks, as seen with this modified schedule. 

  Another significant factor is that individual school boards, rather than the Ministry of Education, decide how much time is allocated to Health and Physical Education instruction. Currently, Kindergarten children are excluded from the Daily Physical Activity Program mandated for other grades in Ontario. Therefore, the allocated time varies from school to school.

  So how can schools adopt the ELK program while still creating a school environment that supports physical activity for our youngest learners?

   We first need to consider the recommendations from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology for children’s physical activity.[2] In this document, young children between the ages of one and four are suggested to achieve a minimum of 180 minutes of physical activity at any level throughout the day, while children aged five to 11 should achieve at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Kindergarten students range from 3-5 years of age and therefore cross over into both of these categories. In this scenario, the benchmark more commonly used is that for the older children, i.e., 60 minutes of moderate-to–vigorous physical activity each day. Additional physical activity above these recommendations produces even greater health benefits for children.

  Given that Active Healthy Kids Canada has rated Canadian children with a failing grade for physical activity levels for the last nine years, and less than half of all school-aged children are achieving daily activity recommendations, it’s important for schools to build physical activity into the curriculum right from the beginning.[3] When evaluating physical activity in the classroom, there are three target areas.

  • First, recess time is important for children to have unstructured play. Play allows children to explore and interact socially with other students and learn from these experiences. As such, we recommend that all school children should enjoy two scheduled recess breaks.

  • Second, we strongly support the adoption of the 60-minute OE block; however, we would urge instructors to ensure that physical activity is included as a component of this time. We note that resources, such as the Ontario Physical & Health Education Association, are readily available for schools to use and provide step-by-step instructions for a variety of games and activities for this age group.

  Third, Physical Education (gym) classes are another important component of the elementary school curriculum, and we stress the importance of a structured program, delivered daily, for Kindergarten children. While the Ministry of Education has mandated 20 minutes of Daily Physical Activity (DPA) for grades 1 to 8 during classroom time, no recommendations have been made regarding DPA for Kindergarten classes, and the number of Physical Education classes expected per week is not explicitly stated.   

  We strongly recommend that these important elements be added to the Ministry of Education’s agenda. Likewise, teachers must ensure that a structured approach to physical activity is taken to maximize the benefits for children during this scheduled time. Schools need to have adequate infrastructure to support daily physical education and every school should have at least one Physical Education Specialist. To date, the many capabilities of these specialists are largely under-utilized and overlooked and we would urge all schools to examine their capacity in this area.

  We are very excited about the direction the Ontario Ministry of Education has taken in developing this forward-thinking curriculum for the Kindergarten cohort. However, currently lacking are specific development plans to address best practice for physical activity during the school day. We believe the recommendations put forward in this article will promote future success.

  Photo: McIninch (iStock)

  First published in Education Canada, June 2014

   

  EN BREF – L’activité physique est une importante partie d’une vie saine. L’intégration d’un mode de vie actif à un jeune âge jette les bases de la pratique d’activités plus tard dans la vie. Dans cet article, nous suggérons aux gestionnaires et éducateurs d’écoles primaires des « pratiques exemplaires » à mettre en œuvre pour que soient respectées les lignes directrices recommandées en matière d’activité physique. Nous proposons également l’élaboration de politiques en fonction de ces lignes directrices pour les élèves du nouveau programme d’apprentissage de la maternelle et du jardin d’enfants en Ontario.

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  [1] Leona Dombrowsky, Ontario Minister of Education, in The Full-day Early Learning Kindergarten Program (2010-11), 5. www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/kindergarten_english_june3.pdf

  [2] Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP), Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines.  www.csep.ca/english/view.asp?x=804#

  [3] Active Healthy Kids Canada, Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth (2013). www.activehealthykids.ca/ReportCard/ReportCardOverview.aspx

• Once Upon a Time: What’s Standing in the Way of Change in Education?

  May 26, 2014 6:18 PM Comments Off on Once Upon a Time: What’s Standing in the Way of Change in Education?

  This content has been re-posted from https://storify.com/

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  For more information and to get involved in CEA’s ongoing What’s standing in the way of change in education? national conversation, please visit http://standingintheway.ca and follow @cea_ace and #CanEdChange on Twitter.
  

• The “This Too Shall Pass”…Stall in Education Reform

  May 22, 2014 6:20 PM Comments Off on The “This Too Shall Pass”…Stall in Education Reform

  This content has been re-posted from Johnny Bevacqua’s blog at: http://figuringitouted.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-this-too-shall-passstall-in.html

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  I recently attended  a Canadian Education Association regional workshop (facilitated by Stephen Hurley and Ron Canuel) at the University of British Columbia.  It was a gathering of passionate and talented people tasked with answering one question:

  What’s standing in the way of change in education?

  This was one of a series of events, held across Canada, to study and explore answers to the aforementioned question (for more information on this exciting research click here).

  The day began by exploring some of the barriers to change in education.  Participants shared many insights and ideas – identifying barriers such as:  funding models, policy decisions (school, organizational and government) , institutional memory (by all stakeholders), societal expectations, assessment models (and many more).

  As we shared the many barriers to change I couldn’t help but think about the long history of (failed?) education reform in Canada and British Columbia.

  On a personal level, I can think of the many conversations I’ve had regarding BC’s latest education transformation initiative (The BC Education Plan, Curriculum Transformation) and the inevitable “conversation stopping” sentiment:

  This too shall pass.

  The proverbial “we tried that back in..(insert year)” can be a little demoralizing when in comes to school improvement and change in education.

  And yet these sentiments do cause me to pause and think about some “recent” failed reform initiatives here in BC.  For example:

  • In 1987 the government of BC commissioned Barry Sullivan to review the BC education system and make recommendations for improvement.  The Commission came down with sweeping recommendations for BC’s education system including such things as: cross curricular integration of content, a shift in focus from content to “learning to learn”, child centered instruction, multi-age grouping of students, emphasis on school within community, more authentic performance based assessment of students and anecdotal reporting of student learning.  I came across this pdf version of the report here: It is both a fascinating and sobering read. 
  • Open Classrooms.  Talk to a teacher who was around in the late 1970’s early 1980’s. They will tell you this was a good idea gone bad. The walls went up shortly after they were taken down.
  • School Portfolio’s. In 2005 the government initiated a mandatory graduation portfolio for every student in British Columbia.  By 2007 the program was scrapped. More fodder for the “been there done that” camp.

  These examples can teach us a tremendous amount about reform and change in education. Bottom line – it is not easy.

  And yet I am hopeful that we can we learn from the past.  This is why I am excited to hear about the work that the CEA is undertaking in understanding the barriers in education reform and change.

  Despite any “mistakes” made in the education reform past,  I will suggest that there may be different forces at play today that are providing a different type of momentum to the school reform movement:
  
  Mobile, Web-Based, Social Technology

  The proliferation of mobile, web based, social technology is giving us access to an abundance of diverse information and people. Accessing the information is not solely dependent on “school” or the educators that work in them.

  Neuroscience
  There is a growing amount of brain research that is dispelling myths about how the human brain learns best. This article does a nice job summarizing some of the recent research: Neuroscience: Brain Based Learning Myth Busting

  Shrinking, Shifting, Connected World
  Many have written about how world has changed -economically, strategically and socially.  In a compelling and informative TED talk, Paddy Ashdown talks about the Global Power Shift. One of his more compelling arguments is that:

  In the modern age where everything is connected to everything, the most important thing you can do….is what you can do with others.  

  Ashdown emphatically states that the paradigm structure of our time is the network.  If we buy Ashdown’s argument, then as educators we need to ask ourselves how equipped our students are to navigate this shifting world.

  Some enduring constants….
  Yet, despite these momentum generating forces, I would argue that there are some enduring constants in education and school that will continue to positively serve our students.

  Namely that teachers, working in relationships (with students and colleagues) matter immensely and that learning is personal (individual) and social and it needs to be shared and made visible.

  So moving forward I have a few questions for reflection:

  • What will be the compelling reason for school as a place, moving forward?
  • Will, what many see as “extra” in schools, actually become the compelling “core” of what will make school relevant?
  • Will we look back twenty years from now and see this time as yet another failed attempt at change in education?

  I am still figuring it out.  Your thoughts and comments are welcome……

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  For more information and to get involved in CEA’s ongoing What’s standing in the way of change in education? national conversation, please visit http://standingintheway.ca and follow @cea_ace and #CanEdChange on Twitter.

• What’s Standing in the Way of Change? It Better not be Culture.

  May 21, 2014 9:59 PM Comments Off on What’s Standing in the Way of Change? It Better not be Culture.

  This content has been reposted from Scott Slater’s personal blog at http://scottslater.org/2014/05/17/culture-of-change/ and does not necessarily represent the opinions of his employer.

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  The CEA’s What’s Standing in the Way of Change in Education workshop series across Canada brings together a variety of stakeholders and innovators including students, parents, university deans, teachers, trustees, K-12 and university administrators, superintendents, and Ministry of Education administrators, and tasks them with determining what is standing in the way of change in education, and how to work around or eliminate the barriers.

  In the Vancouver session, which I had the privilege of attending on Wednesday May 14th, it seemed most participants agreed on three challenges in particular.  Below, I share what I took from these discussions.

  1. Mindset

  Those who are in positions that can implement change may not have the mindset to do so.  They may be married to what they currently do, either to maintain tradition, to please parents who might resist change, out of fear of the unknown of might lay ahead, or fear that adopting new practice will make “old” practice and the practitioner look bad.  The idea of “best practice” is not helpful.  It suggests that there is one best way of doing things and switching the term “best practice” to “effective practice,” is perhaps a small but important step in inviting change.  Bruce Beairsto noted this Mindset is not so much a barrier or roadblock in the present or future, but an anchor dug into the past that slows or halts change.

   

  2. Process

  The BC Education Plan articulates many important goals for education:  personalized learning, flexibility and choice, learning supported by digital access, etc.  Even if the goals of change were understood to mean the same thing and agreed upon by all 40 000 teachers in BC, as well as administrators, School Board Office staff and Trustees, there is no clear process to implement change, and the process might look different depending on what form of change it is.  One of the strengths of education in BC is that teachers, schools, and districts, have a high degree of autonomy to personalize and contextualize learning experiences to best meet the needs of unique students and communities; needs that might be different elsewhere.  Interestingly, this strength is a weakness in implementing change rapidly.  This decentralized system is thus designed to satisfy context-specific needs, but also makes implementing systematic change difficult.

  Further, innovators have relatively small spheres of influence.  An innovative teacher in a classroom has a huge impact on the many students they teach, and a district with a culture of innovation has a major impact both on students and educators, but classrooms, schools, school districts, and even universities, are relatively small spheres compared with the system as a whole.  For systemic change, who is to bridge these spheres?  The Ministry of Education’s Education Plan makes no connections, that I am aware of at least, between K-12 education and university, and coordination, particularly with respect to changing assessment practices, must occur between grades 11 and 12 and university entrance requirements. There is a separate ministry, the Ministry of Advanced Education, responsible for Universities.  Who is responsible for bridging the gap between K-12 and University?

  While there are great benefits to a decentralized, diffusion model of change (described by Chris Kennedy here), it does not promote the quick implementation of systematic change.  In my opinion, it is better to do things well than do things quickly, so if speed is the cost for well-implemented, personalized and contextual change, perhaps it is worth it.

  Peter Drucker noted that “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” and Jordan Tinney has written on this topic in relation to the hit television show Downton Abbey, explaining culture’s inescapable role causing change. The show shares the change of the place of the aristocracy in the UK, including how an aristocratic family interacts with each other and with servants and other “commoners.”  There are some major events like World War One that accelerate change, but for the most part, change happens in small decisions:  a daughter’s decision to wear certain clothing or disagree with her father, a butler’s tolerance of certain behaviour, a decision to marry a commoner, and for the family to slowly accept that commoner into their circles.  Occasionally, important laws such as female suffrage cause major changes, but it is for the most part, small decisions happening among relatively small actors that slowly shift and are then shifted by culture.  In a decentralized system, culture, more than process, shapes change.

   

  3. Support

  A third inhibitor of change is that many believe there is not sufficient support for educators to develop their skillsets, perhaps in inquiry, assessment, and self-regulation.  This support might include time for professional learning, support from collaborators or mentors/coaches, or learning resources such as books or technology tools that support professional learning or student learning.  Further, if class composition is becoming more challenging, even if an educator hones their skillset, there is, or might be the perception, that educators cannot make full use of their skillsets because they simply do not have enough time to offer their skills to such diverse learning needs.  If educators do not feel supported, financially and with sufficient human resources to meet the needs of learners, this third inhibitor of change – Support – can lead to the development of a mindset resistant to change.

   

  Culture

  It seems clear to me that if mindsets, process and support are identified as challenges to change, it is absolutely vital that classrooms, schools, districts and the Ministry of Education in general, must support a culture of innovation, written about by Chris Kennedyhere.  Culture shapes mindsets, it permeates all spheres of influence, and it inspires educators to overcome limitations of support.  In a Downton Abbey model of change, which we seem to have, all innovators with influence must develop their convictions and take action if they wish to be leaders. And as this work cannot be done alone; educators must work together to develop shared convictions and take shared action to implement change.

  ---

  For more information and to get involved in CEA’s ongoing What’s standing in the way of change in education? national conversation, please visit http://standingintheway.ca and follow @cea_ace and #CanEdChange on Twitter.

• A change mindset requires curiosity

  May 9, 2014 6:08 PM Comments Off on A change mindset requires curiosity

  This content has been re-posted from Barry Dyck’s blog at: http://blogs.hsd.ca/barrydyck/2014/05/06/a-change-mindset-requires-curiosity/

  ---

  This past week I attended a CEA workshop entitled, “What’s standing in the way of change in education?” We shared our experiences of schools at their best, what we see as barriers to change, how we’ve moved around some of those barriers, and then designed some ways to tackle those barriers to achieve the kinds of school that we envision. (More here.)

  Participants included students, teachers, administrators, superintendents, parents, trustees, MTS staff, MSIP (Manitoba Schools for Improvement) staff, and curriculum support teachers. I enjoyed the conversations and multiple perspectives. Clearly, at the end of the day, there wasn’t going to be some great here’s-how-to-do-it plan to make change happen. What is clear though, is that we have to involve many different voices. And that’s where it gets interesting.

  We all come at “school” with different notions of what learning is. We have different perspectives on what we value as important. The cliques and clubs and communities and tribes and religions and denominations and political affiliations and…that we belong to, show that we tend to group ourselves together with people who think like we do. We end up in the echo chambers of confirmation bias as Grant Wiggins recently wrote.

  I belong to many different groups, virtual and in person, with people who share some of my views. It roots me. But I also know that roots connect and share with other roots, giving and taking nutrients for mutual survival. The groups I belong to are nodes in the network. I must connect with others, be willing to listen, to consider others’ ideas, to understand and yes, to change my previously held views.

  One way to bring about change is to be curious. Ask others not only what they think, but why. This can be threatening, but only if one expects to have a conversation and not be changed by it.

  If exchanging ideas with others doesn’t alter or evolve you or have you at least reconsider your position, then perhaps you were engaged in monologuing rather than dialoguing.

  Change requires risk and uncertainty and a view of failure as growth.

  To disentangle the good and the bad parts of failure, we have to recognize both the reality of the pain and the benefit of the resulting growth. Ed Catmull

  I furthered my discussions of education last Thursday when I attended my first EdCamp. An edcamp is a user-generated unconference, where participants decide both the content of what they would like to share and what they would like to learn more about. The morning starts with a sharing of potential topics, which are then grouped into sessions. One is free to leave a session and move to another one or to join with one or more others to explore another topic. There are some natural organizing principles at work here.

  As this was an education leaders edcamp, the space was populated with individuals whose roles were to assist teachers with their practice. While there were good exchanges of valuable ideas for how to work with teachers and principals in planning and organizing professional development, there was much echoing.

  The best part of the day was the after-lunch “things that suck” session. One of the organizers, Darren Kuropatwa, posted topics such as grades, textbooks, BYOD, report cards while participants moved to the “it sucks” or “it’s awesome” side of the room and then stated why they supported their view as a 5 minute timer ticked down. Interestingly, many stayed in the middle. Context matters. Repeatedly after sharing positions, the conclusion was that it was “the user” that made something suck or be awesome. One brave soul, Rennie, often took on the role of the single opposing voice to the crowd, which was a valuable role.

  So at the end of the week, it looks like it’s both the what and the who that’s standing in the way of change. The who, is me, and I can’t use the barriers as an excuse not to do what I can to create change.

  ---

  For more information and to get involved in CEA’s ongoing What’s standing in the way of change in education? national conversation, please visit http://standingintheway.ca and follow @cea_ace and #CanEdChange on Twitter.

• Architecture and Education – What’s standing in the way of change in education?

  May 5, 2014 10:07 PM Comments Off on Architecture and Education – What’s standing in the way of change in education?

  What’s standing in the way of change in education? It might be the physical space of schooling.

  https://vimeo.com/94069247

• Challenging the Status Quo for Youth Mental Health

  April 15, 2014 4:36 PM Comments Off on Challenging the Status Quo for Youth Mental Health

  The headlines have been filled recently with the tragic news of young Canadians taking their own lives, serving to highlight a pressing issue that must be addressed: the need to provide youth with the help they need in order to prevent dire consequences like suicide.

  (more…)

• OPEN: How we’ll work, live and learn in the future By David Price

  April 2, 2014 3:07 PM Comments Off on OPEN: How we’ll work, live and learn in the future By David Price

  A review of OPEN: How we’ll work, live and learn in the future by David Price, Crux Publishing, 2013. ISBN: B00FLYFS98

  In OPEN, David Price champions a revolution in education, intertwining social, economic, and environmental global events with the disruptive emerging technologies of the Internet and mobile devices, which are influencing, and being influenced by, a transformation in learning. With his conversational narrative style, replete with illustrations and examples, Price draws the reader in and makes complex ideas noteworthy and accessible. OPEN is the kind of book one can settle down with, in anticipation of an afternoon of interesting reading.

  In discussing emerging trends, the first chapters of this book are disruptive and create a sense of an urgent need to radically reshape how we learn in our education and work institutions. Price optimistically urges readers to embrace the unavoidable change and be open to uncertain and emerging trends in learning. The concept of “open” is described as a set of actions and values that include sharing, trust, openness and freedom in democratized spaces that lead us to 21^st century learning. In the final part of the book, Price challenges the reader to become engaged, to learn about learning, and to consider how the future of learning might differ from our current, more traditional, formal approaches to learning. He calls for a paradigm shift to make learning more innovative, effective, engaging and impactful. The book concludes with practical advice to the reader on how to move toward embracing and becoming open.

  Price’s passionate conversational presentation of his analysis, while engaging and compelling, presents as somewhat conclusory despite the scant use of research on learning and technology. The rich use of examples and statements of fact would be more even compelling with additional references to help the reader research and reach the same conclusions. A deeper reflection of the complexity of the potential problems created by disruptive technologies would also add to his argument. Without these, the reader is challenged to assess the validity of the important arguments presented. Price acknowledges that we are in the uncharted territory of change; therefore taking action should also involve thoughtful direction for research to better understand and map the influential forces of disruptive technologies and discover additional contributing factors that will impact contemporary and future learning.

  Photo: Dave Donald

  First published in Education Canada, March 2014

• Let’s Continue to ‘Rock the Boat’

  March 26, 2014 9:59 PM Comments Off on Let’s Continue to ‘Rock the Boat’

  As you can see by the barriers to change identified at our Calgary workshop, they’re not new, and they certainly weren’t that hard to identify, so how is it that we still struggle to find ways to overcome them? 

  (more…)

• CBE Students Identify Barriers to Change in Education

  March 3, 2014 7:48 PM Comments Off on CBE Students Identify Barriers to Change in Education

  CBE Students Identify Barriers to Change in Education, from CEA’s Calgary Workshop, October 21-22, 2013.

  https://vimeo.com/88086425

• The Art of Change

  February 25, 2014 6:11 PM Comments Off on The Art of Change

  One of the important functions of art in a modern society is to inspire citizens to new dimensions of hope and possibility. More than policy directives, more than summaries of best practice and even more than research initiatives—as valuable as all of these are—the vision and voice of the artist can draw us towards the future with powerful metaphorical images that allow us to frame our futures in ways that are uniquely compelling!

  (more…)

• A Teacher’s P.O.V. on Inquiry-based Learning / Exploring Big Questions

  February 12, 2014 9:54 PM Comments Off on A Teacher’s P.O.V. on Inquiry-based Learning / Exploring Big Questions

  In 2013, Saint Anne School (Saskatoon, SK) was recognized with a CEA Ken Spencer Award.

  https://vimeo.com/86548067

• The Corporate Mentality: Why the CCCE Will Probably Never Understand Why I Teach.

  February 2, 2014 10:57 PM Comments Off on The Corporate Mentality: Why the CCCE Will Probably Never Understand Why I Teach.

  On January 23rd, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE), spurred into action by recent PISA results, released a report on how teachers should be paid. The author,  Sachin Maharaj, held to a fairly basic premise. Students do well when taught by effective teachers, but all teachers receive pay raises in the same manner.
  (more…)

• A Teacher’s P.O.V. on Starting Inquiry-based Learning in the Classroom

  January 30, 2014 9:04 PM Comments Off on A Teacher’s P.O.V. on Starting Inquiry-based Learning in the Classroom

  In 2013, Saint Anne School (Saskatoon, SK) was recognized with a CEA Ken Spencer Award.

  https://vimeo.com/85470752

• Outside the Box

  January 28, 2014 5:35 PM Comments Off on Outside the Box

  Can you remember what it felt like to be a kid exploring the natural world? What if that feeling could be brought to school? If children had an opportunity to learn in a natural setting, what could that mean for their academic performance?

  A recent Ipsos Reid poll shows that 97 percent of adult Canadians agree that nature is important to their family’s well-being, and 87 percent felt that given the choice, they would prefer to spend family time outdoors in nature, as opposed to indoors. Overall, most of these adults agreed that the more connected they feel to nature, the happier they are. If Canadians – young and old – are indeed happier while in nature, an outdoor classroom initiative could be exactly what’s needed for a generation that often struggles to find a connection to, or even opportunities to explore, nature.

  Today, work life and hectic schedules often take precedence over making time for outdoor unstructured play. Moreover, what was once considered safe for youngsters (like heading out on your bike with a buddy for the day) is often now seen as requiring adult supervision. Modern urban life has drastically diminished children’s opportunities to explore nature on their own or with the family, at a time when children need it more than ever.

  Author Richard Louv writes of his concern for children, drawing links between lack of exposure to nature and adolescent hardships like obesity, attention disorders and depression. Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving our children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, advocates early contact with nature and says that it’s our job to pass an appreciation of nature on to our children. He writes, “These are the moments when the world is made whole. In my children’s memories, the adventures we’ve had together in nature will always exist.”[1]

  Louv also explores the idea of a nature-based education and what trading classroom walls for shrubbery and sunshine could do for a child’s ability or desire to learn. “An environment-based education movement – at all levels of education – will help students realize that school isn’t supposed to be a polite form of incarceration, but a portal to the wider world,” he notes in his book.[2]

  The benefits of spending more time in nature go beyond enjoyment. Major physical and mental health benefits can be attributed to time spent outdoors. Jules Pretty and her colleagues, authors of Nature, Childhood, Health and Life Pathways, found that time in nature can lead to reduced amounts of anxiety and stress and improved self-esteem. Their report looks at three stages of childhood and explores the implications of nature-based experiences within them. The authors found that enhanced experiences in nature can lead to positive behavioural changes, a better connection with the natural world, and an improved ability to learn.[3]

  Bringing nature to school

  Educators across Canada are taking note of these findings and are taking advantage of local parks and conservation areas to give their students a direct learning experience with nature.

  Melissa Anema, from Lord Strathcona Elementary School in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, took part in nature-based programming for her Grade 4/5 class. She says her students have few opportunities to experience these natural connections because of their own concerns at home.

  “For my students – most of whom struggle with basic issues like having a safe home to go to, having caregivers who are solid and dependable, having enough to eat throughout the day, etc. – learning about and connecting with nature is often very far from their inner-city reality,” Anema says.

  Last fall, Anema and her class visited the North Vancouver Outdoor School through the HSBC Bank Canada Nature Days program outside of Squamish, B.C. She and her students waded among salmon in a nearby stream and learned about the species’ life cycle and the integral role it plays in Canadian ecosystems and businesses. “It was so incredible to see students who are so often withdrawn or just opting out of learning jump into learning like never before,” says Anema. “They were really left to think about human impacts on the fish, and why our interventions with the hatchery were necessary. It inspired a lot of thinking and discussion both during and afterwards.”

  Time in nature can lead to reduced amounts of anxiety and stress and improved self-esteem.

  In Toronto, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) offers a “beyond the classroom” learning experience through an innovative outdoor enterprise known as Toronto Outdoor Education Schools (TOES). Offered for 11 different school subjects, TOES is available in day and overnight school program centres across the Greater Toronto Area. Both daytime and overnight offerings aim to connect children to the natural world, through a variety of outdoor, curriculum-based activities. One of these TDSB programs, Hillside Outdoor Education School, is located in Rouge Park, Canada’s largest urban park and an ideal setting for this kind of program.

  But not all schools or school boards have the on-site resources or capacity to facilitate this kind of program. Some education- and nature-centred organizations have developed programming to help with this. Nature Days, an education initiative created by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and Earth Rangers, provides adventures in conservation for school children at sites across the country. This youth-focused program brings Canadian students into nature to work among conservation biologists and learn first-hand how to care for some of the country’s most vulnerable natural areas.

  Erica Thompson, Conservation Engagement Coordinator for NCC, highlights the important role that direct observation plays in learning, and notes that actually seeing, smelling and feeling the subjects under study allows children to learn on a whole different level. “Bringing children to nature reserves brings the classroom into the natural world. So learning about forests within a forest habitat, learning about wetlands by standing on the edge of one, and seeing a salamander under a log for the first time – these are the kinds of experiences that we hope inspire lifelong learning and curiosity about the natural world.”

  Raymond Martynowski, a teacher at Chine Drive Public School in Scarborough, Ontario, recently attended a Nature Days event with his Grade 3 class and noticed a refreshing thirst for knowledge among his students.

  “Our kids are going to be the stewards for our environment, for the future. And if they don’t have a personal connection to it – if they haven’t been out in nature – they don’t really know what they’re preserving and what they’re saving, or why it’s so important,” he says. “It really is amazing to see how excited the kids are just to see a spider in the grass, to touch a millipede, to pick up a leaf and look at the kinds of edges it has – you’d be surprised, you wouldn’t think they would be that excited, but when we’re here, out of the city, walking together, it’s just a different side of the student. It’s really nice to be able to see that.”

  Engagement, participation, innovation, inspiration – these “extra-curricular” expectations could arguably be tackled by bringing more nature-based activities and programs to education. We have the tools; we just need to use them… outside. 

  ---

  Find a nature education program near you

  Nature and outdoor education programs are offered by a variety of organizations. Here are a few national programs available across the country; you can also check for local programs which may be offered by camps, ecology groups, and conservation areas.

  Outward Bound Canada

  At OBC the wilderness is the classroom. OBC offers specialized school programs focusing on leadership, technical skills, teamwork and personal development. Each course is designed to teach students about their potential and instil a can-do approach to everything they do.

  To learn more, visit outwardbound.ca

  The Nature Conservancy of Canada

  The NCC, in partnership with Earth Rangers and HSBC Bank Canada, brings classrooms to natural areas to learn about species and habitat conservation work. Led by conservation professionals, children are able to see, firsthand, what it means to preserve natural habitat. The program is available in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal and is generally offered to Grade 4 and 5 classes.

  To learn more visit natureconservancy.ca 

  Forest School Canada

  FSC works to connect youth with nature in an academic setting. FSC emphasizes outdoor learning at early, primary and secondary levels of education, and provides a natural setting for engaging, youth-focused learning activities. FSC is currently developing a full-fledged Canadian Forest School, and in the meantime is providing schools across Canada with the outdoor resources and curriculum materials needed to carry its lessons out independently.

  To learn more visit forestschoolcanada.ca

  ---

  Photo: iStock

  First published in Education Canada, January 2014

   

  EN BREF – Il existe d’abondantes indications selon lesquelles les enfants d’aujourd’hui sont privés de contact avec la nature et que le temps passé dans un milieu naturel procure une foule d’avantages émotionnels et cognitifs. Bien que l’enseignement en plein air soit souvent éclipsé par la multitude des autres exigences du curriculum, les enseignants qui réussissent à sortir leurs élèves du confinement de leur salle de classe soulignent avec enthousiasme la valeur de l’apprentissage de première main de la nature et de la conservation. À l’aide d’exemples donnés par l’auteur et amateur de nature Richard Louv et d’autres éducateurs canadiens, les auteurs incitent les éducateurs à profiter des ressources et de la programmation liées à la nature qu’offre leur collectivité et à aider leurs élèves à découvrir le milieu naturel.

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  [1] Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving our children from Nature Deficit Disorder (New York: Algonquin Books, 2005), 316.

  [2] Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods, 226.

  [3] J. Pretty, C. Angus, M. Bain, et al., Nature, Childhood, Health and Life Pathways (United Kingdom: University of Essex, 2009).

• Teaching to Kinetic Diversity

  January 27, 2014 10:30 PM Comments Off on Teaching to Kinetic Diversity

  When I’m in Canada, I feel this is what the world should be like.

  – Jane Fonda

  (more…)

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