Female Pipe Ceremony

For this reflection I have decided to write about the female pipe ceremony and how that made me feel. The pipe ceremony started with a smudge which is always my favourite part because it just gives you a refreshed and safe feeling. The whole experience was interesting and I enjoyed watching the elder singing and praying. It seemed that every word would draw me in and I wanted to hear more. Even though I did not smoke the pipe because of allergies, I did hold it and even that made me feel clean.

I learned that females are very important as they are close to the creator. This was a relief because normally it is the male that is treated better than women. Examples this is in history with women not having many rights. I also thought it was interesting that a pipe is earned. The elder discussed how a person could earn a pipe if they were to help with the ceremonies. This could take years and was necessary because to earn a pipe you must understand the ceremony first.

I would like to know more about the songs that the elder sung and the meanings. I would also like to know more about the female role in the culture.

Overall, the female pipe ceremony was my favourite part of the camp because it felt more personal. Even though I was not happy about getting up at 6am it was the perfect way to start the day. It was a very refreshing way to wake up and start the day.

Who Am I?

Who am I? This is a question I feel I get asked often in this faculty. “Tell us one thing about yourself”, “what would you do with a million dollars?”, “Why are you here?”. My name is Emma Knight and I am here because I want to help shape the next generation. Some of my favourite things are food (specifically pizza), my family and friends, cheerleading, and being apart of this crazy journey to be coming a teacher.

I have many goals I would love to accomplish and work on this semester. My first goal is to become more confident in my abilities. I am both excited and nervous to start pre-interning as I am not sure what to expect. My second goal is to get to know more people as at first I am kind of shy (Feel free to say hi to me!). My third and final goal is to learn more about the different views on education. I think my last goal is one of the most important as there is a possibility of having a very diverse classroom and all students should feel accepted when it comes to learning.

Who am I? I started this blog off with a question so it seemed fitting to end with it. I am a future teacher that is nervous, overwhelmed, but excited to see how this semester plays out.

(This is me and my family)

Treaty Education to Me

This week we are meant to blog about something we have been thinking about that relates to the class. Treaty education is a big one to me because the thought of offending someone is a scary. I personally do not think I know enough to be able to successfully teach it to the next generation and this is because the generation before me failed to teach me. It was often that these teachers would briefly talk about the culture and then move on. Probably because they also believed they did not know enough. To change this, I think it is important for teachers and education students to attend the many events the university offers and then use what they learned in their own classrooms.

Treaty Education

This weeks question was based on an email from an intern expressing concern about treaty education in a school. The teachers of this school did not feel it necessary to teach the students treaty education as there were barely any/no first nations students at the school.

My response to this email would include the point that whether or not the teachers think it is important, First nations history is a big part of this countries history. This history still effects us all today, even the teachers. Learning about the First nations culture also improves the society as it educates students instead of them learning through stereotypes. Treaty education gives teachers the opportunity to help students explore all of Canada and not just the European parts of Canada.

Going through school, I personally learned little to nothing about First Nations history and culture. Going through university I am learning a lot more and it is changing my personal views. I also feel deprived because of all the years I could have had this knowledge. ECS 210 has changed my views on why treaty education is important and the benefits of teaching it to students.

Front and Centre

I grew up as a privileged white child in a middle class white family. I have parents that are supportive and push me to be my best but also know when to let me be independent. During my first twelve years of school, my parents were active in my learning and would go out of their way to make me successful. I was a very lucky child with endless opportunities. I need to remember that this isn’t the case for every student I will teach. If anything, my childhood will negatively impact my teaching and understanding because I was so lucky. I will never experience growing up in a bad neighbourhood with neglectful parents. As a future teacher, I need to learn how to connect with every student through the curriculum. I need to be able to show all view points and not just my own. Lastly, I need to be understanding of certain situations and learn how to help students in need.

A Teacher’s Control

After listening to the lecture and reading the chapter, it has come clear that teachers really do not have much say to what is included in the curriculum. The biggest influence is field experts, and the government. As a future teacher, this worries me. These experts have high standards and expect teachers to be able to teach certain subjects. This is a problem for teachers.

Luckily for teachers, the curriculum is broken down into outcomes and indicators. The goal is for students to be able to complete the indicators successfully. The teachers do not get say in the subjects but they do have full control over how the outcomes are introduced into the class. This gives them full creativity over lesson plans.

 

Was I a “good” student?

In society, I believe a “good” student is one that sits quietly, does what is expected without questioning, wants to learn, and is able to fit in with the other students. A “good” student is what society tells them to be which is to say and know the right things. This means a “bad” student questions why we are learning a certain subject or why we are learning a subject a certain way. This confuses me because are we not meant to be encouraging independent learning? isn’t  students wanting to explore themselves and question why a good thing?

I believe students that fit into this “good” student category most likely came from a middle class family with authoritative parents. It is no secret that the curriculum and resources are focused on middle class children. It is also no secret that societies values are from middle class ideologies. It would make sense that the middle class child is considered “good” because of how they are raised.

The issue with this common sense idea is that other students are immediately labelled as a bad child. This student can be told that they are wrong when actually they have their own creative ideas. I think teachers need to remember that students are not just learning from us but we are also learning from them.

Future Goals

Quote: “The greatest sign of a success for a teacher…is to be able to say, “The children are now working as if I did not exist.””

• Maria Montessori

This quote is the reason I decided to become a teacher and is what helps me get through each paper, reading assignment, and final. As teachers, I believe it is our job to shape future generations and motivate our students. This quote is saying that a teacher has motivated and interested their students enough that the students want to learn.

From personal experience I have had teachers that made class so interesting that I would still go to class if I could. I have also had teachers that turned me off of a subject. The successful teacher incorporated our interests, made classes interactive, and gave us chance to voice our opinions. On the other side is the teacher that made us sit silently in rows while she talked at us. If a student had a question she would make us feel dumb for asking.

As a future teacher, it is my goal to create a fun educational environment for my students and I think this quote perfectly describes our job.

Tyler Rationale: Standardized Testing in Classrooms

Ralph Tyler is considered the father of assessment and standardize testing in classrooms. Throughout my what seems like never-ending years in school, I have completed many standardized tests in the class to prove what I have learned. These tests where completed so the teacher could understand what we had learned and what areas we have struggled in as a class. The problem with this method is if the majority of the class was succeeding in an area we would move on.

Some of the disadvantages of a standardize test is that some students have trouble with this kind of test. Personally, I struggle because of anxiety. Another issue is that questions maybe worded different than a student has learned or the student may need to talk about the question out loud to understand. These problems can cause confusion to the student causing them a disadvantage.

Standardize testing also has many potential benefits. Results of these tests can give the teacher information about where the students are at with certain subjects. This means that the teacher then knows what needs to be improved and what was successful in the classroom. Tests can save a teacher a lot of time as they can be easy to mark and gives a future direction. Lastly, standardize testing shows the progress of a student and what strategies work best with certain students.