As per course,
Read: What Matters in Indigenous Education: Implementing a Vision Committed to Holism, Diversity, and Engagement by Dr. Pam Toulouse for People for Education (2016)
Review: Khalifa’s Chapter 2 “If I Have to Have A Police in My School I Don’t Need to Be Here: The Need for Critical Self-Reflective School Leaders – Specifically the Critical Self-Reflection Questions on p. 77-78
Review TRC #63
Discussion post respond to the following three prompts:
Where is your school/board now in realizing TRC Call to Action #63?
Using the Critical Self Reflection questions as a guide consider the following: How can your school centre Indigenous epistemologies and community voice in your operations, policies, and instruction? How might you gather community voice and create an inclusive environment that welcomes Indigenous leaders, families, and students?
Using the TRC #63 as a guideline, create a TRC School Improvement Goal. The goal should reflect your current situation and how you see your school/board achieving the goal. Consider the staff learning and student learning experiences that you will plan to help you get there.
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As per discussion,
We are certainly moving forward in our realization of the TRC Call to Action #63. Being an ON school there are expectations we need to consider, however being a private school overseas, there is some understanding granted. Representing our Canadian identity and history is a directive (without any question), however as a part of that inclusive and welcoming (or multi-cultural) identity, we need to observe our curriculum delivery/content with a culturally responsive lens.
Currently our administrative team offers subsidized AQ/ABQ opportunities and strongly recommends teachers taking advantage of that to spruce up their understanding of curriculum (home board) developments (in regards to teacher expectations) while here overseas. At the same time, our Coordinator or Lead Teacher Team, offer support (me being one of them), in utilizing the ways of knowing and FNMI Worldviews to reach students here in a way that resonates with them (this is because a lot of Confucian ethics, morals, or principles often coincide with that of FNMI worldviews.
In some ways, I would imagine we are doing more than well, however getting caucasion teachers or teachers from urban southern populations within Ontario (in general) to specifically refer to FNMI groups in particular is a tough bit as many haven't had the boots on the ground experience with treaty people or reserve living/teaching experience. That is where texts from Dion, Toulouse, Lowan or Bell come in handy.
Now that COVID-19 is officially relaxed here in China, I am speaking with our administrative team with regards to building a partnership/fund with the https://www.councilfire.ca/ Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre (as they are related to the land that our base school is located in, Gunshot Treaty of 1788). THis I feel is a development we can make to have a bigger impact and commemeration of our Canadian/North American roots.
As mentioned previously, texts from Lowan, Dion, Bell and Toulouse develop a sense of ownership over the situation and breathing space for more courageous conversations to take place. As a leader in my school community, I recognize and hope that our department can support the recognition of the following goal as stated in the TRC's Call to Action #63. i. Developing and implementing Kindergarten to Grade Twelve curriculum and learning resources on Aboriginal peoples in Canadian history, and the history and legacy of residential schools. Contexts from myself being a white Catholic male are certainly an undermining point for those who feel there is a degree of need for indigenous representation to press on in a direction that might be seen as critical social justice. However I feel that given my position and power, I am in a unique position to not only raise awareness but gain support in this area that might benefit everyone in a grander picture of development. Being one of those people who have a natural mediation or networking ability, I feel there is a lot of potential for growth on all fronts. This being the fruit of a much longer term goal though.
In the current state of events and resources, my goal is to build our departments into culturally responsive and yet information driven educational hubs that build students' akcnowledgment of the land's (known in the modern day as Canada) rich and sometimes unfortunate historial background as well as bright future. This goal is reflective of (K-12 Effectiveness Framework) 4.3 which is related to Curriculum, Teaching, Learning. More specifically, the goal describes, Teaching and learning in the 21st Century is collaborative, innovative and creative within a global context (K-12 Effectiveness Framework, 2013). It is an aspect of the situation we find ourselves in being overseas, that we need to be aware of culturally responsive pedagogy while recgonizing our Call To Action as Ontario Educators.
First as a staff, we need to develop a sense of ownership over the conversation and not pride by any means, but willingness to hold a conversation that we may (at first) feel detached from. Having this conversation as a staff, being open to say "I don't know, but now that I do, I feel..." is a big step for some staff members. A meeting like this might be most beneficial with involvment of groups administrators based in Toronto at our base school who have been working on this aspect of their school's image.
In hopes, I would be able to arrange a meeting with someone of the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre to share insights and cultural norms of their particular land. It would be amazing to have a meeting in which someone from the cultural centre can say something that makes the department feel encouraged in this path, that they are doing the right things, saying the right things.
From there, the hope would be that the cooperation or experience (if short lived at first), might inspire a sense of interest to develop this cooperation further (but that is a part of a longer term goal, as mentioned earlier).
For our students here, the idea would be allowing them to have an opportunity to appreciate the idea or at the very least understand and recognize that they are in a way also visitors of this treaty land. I know for myself while I was studying at Lakehead, once I had experienced what it felt like to be welcomed into a community even without really (at first understanding) what I was welcomed into, it really gave me a greater appreciation for a lot of how I interpreted society, and daily interacitons with people around me (yes, even on a personal level-because as a Catholic, two very important words resonate and are not to be taken lightly, "Truth" and "Reconciliation").
In turn these developments that we want to see more of will determine our department's readiness to answer the call to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Committee.
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