Spirit and Intent of Treaties

In other university classes, I have learned a small portion of what “we are all treaty people” meant. As I have taken this class, I have come to understand that “we are all treaty people” is more than just me living on treaty four land right now. It extends to the fact that I am a settler and my family are settlers and that I have travelled and settled in Canada. I learned in high school that First Nations people lived on Canadian land before it became Canada. During last weeks class, the stuff I learned in high school (and how sad is it that I learned this in high school only) started to really make sense when talking about Treaties and living on treaty four land.

I think that to live the spirit and intent to treaties is to be aware. I need to be aware of my background as a white settler who came to Canada. I need to be aware that some people lived in Canada before it was even called Canada. I also need to be aware of the importance of treaties and why they were created. I think that being aware of these ideas is very important, but there is things that I can do to live the spirit and intent of treaties as well. I think it is so very important to be appropriate in terms of talking about treaties and naming. Like Chelsea Vowel says, names are important and they are part of our world. We need to be aware as to not label people or make a single story out of things. I was watching a video for another class about the single story. Feel free to click on the link to understand more of what I mean by “the single story.” Anyways, it talked about in this video how people see only the single story of what they know about certain things such as culture. One part of the video made me think about how when we talk about the European Colonization we automatically go to the European side first. Why not talk about and discuss the First Nations side first? I strongly believe that we need to be aware of what we do as it does have an impact on things in todays world.

To live the spirit and intent of treaties, I think is to teach the spirit and intent of treaties as well. We all know that teaching treaty education should not just be one unit or one lesson. I think teaching the intent of treaties means teaching the harsh or scary information that we may not like to talk about. Obviously there is a correct age to teach this content to, but I think that the younger the students learn these things, the better. Students should grow up with this knowledge and not just learn it in high school like I did. It should be something that they know and can understand from a young age. Keeping it age appropriate of course. Bottom line, I want to teach the spirit and intent to students so they can understand how important and essential they are.

Feedly is fun….. or is it?

When I first created an account for Feedly, I found it really difficult to navigate. When I first typed in words so that I could follow blogs, not a ton of things were coming up. I started with #education, #teaching, #classroom. These gave me some of the blogs that I follow but I didn’t feel like it was enough. I wanted to find more resources! I then typed in more specific things such as #grade 2,3,4, #classroom management, #inclusive, #technology and so on. I found that these helped me in finding some more of the blogs that I liked.

I created a feed just labelled #Education. I decided that I would just put everything that has to do with education under this feed as Im not sure about what kinds of blogs there would be. Its like Pinterest, I had probably two Pinterest pages at first but now that I know all the things I pin, I have separated them into multiple categories! I knew that when I was searching for Feedly blogs, I wanted education ones that I can look back on and gather resources from. I tried to look at the followers and if the blog was legitimate and so on.

I also tried to find blogs that were about my learning project (learning ASL). I actually had a really tough time doing that. I typed in #ASL, #Signlanguage, #AmericanSignLanguage, #Deafculture and nothing came up that had to with sign language. So I will have to do some more digging and see what I can come up with. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to comment and let me know!

So here is my Feedly blogs that I follow for now!

ps. Not sure if you can screenshot a picture on your computer so I just took one from my phone! If anyone knows how, let me know!

One of the blogs that I was really intrigued by was called #4th grade frolics. The very first post that I seen on the page had to do with students adopting an endangered animal. I thought this was such a unique idea to take into my classroom and use it for my future.

 

Watch me struggle to remember the alphabet……

Hi guys, so this week, I focused on learning the alphabet in sign language. I was on my way home from Regina to my hometown for the weekend with my mom. I have the “sign school” app that shows me the letter and it’s sign. My mom and I went through each letter individually and tried to really just figure out each sign. Once we got a few signs down, we would try and go back and do the sign without looking at the picture. This is basically how I learnt the alphabet in sign language. I found doing this actually quite easy and really fun. It took me about a day of practicing and learning to finally get it.

I created a video and posted it to youtube to show that I can sign the alphabet and numbers from 1-10.

Click this link to watch my video

What topic should I learn next?

a) Household

b) Clothing

c) food

 

 

 

Pipe Ceremony with Alma

To experience the pipe ceremony with Alma was something that was quite special to me. I felt empowered as I was smoking the pipe and as Alma was talking to us about her culture. I never really understood the importance of pipe ceremonies to the Aboriginal culture. I think that by doing this it opened up my eyes to how important pipe ceremonies are. It is a sacred and spiritual act that allows us to connect ourselves to our earth. I really enjoy that I am able to participate in things like this because I think it allows me as a settler to become united with the Aboriginal culture. I also think that by learning and understanding these concepts is important because I can then take these ideas and pass them onto my students.

I also found the talk with Alma after the pipe ceremony particularly interesting as well. She explained to us the concept of moon time. I think I found this so interesting because in the culture that I grew up in, talking about a women time of month was frowned upon. It was something that wasn’t shared or talked about in my family because it has these negative connotations associated with it. I find it so interesting and enlightening that in some cultures, it is actually a sacred and important thing for women to be on their moon time. I like that Alma explained that when a women is on her moon time she is powerful. In my westernized culture, like mentioned before, a women menstruation is seen to be a privatized thing. I really enjoy that in the Aboriginal culture, it is something that you should not be ashamed of and is highly respected.

When doing the pipe ceremony, I think it did help me understand a bit more about my own miskasowin. It helped me be more aware of other cultures than my own. As a teacher, I constantly need to be embracing other cultures so that I can pass that information and culture onto my students. I like to take all the information that I learn and embrace it. I also think that learning this new information that Alma presented to me gave me a better sense of my own body and mind. I know that my culture is different than other cultures and thats okay. What is important is that I respect other cultures than my own and try to acknowledge that students are all different and have different beliefs.

 

Let’s Get To Learning…..

Okay so I definitely think my learning project is neat. What I am going to be doing for my learning project is learn a little bit of ASL (American Sign Language). This has actually interested me for quite some time and I thought this would be a good opportunity to try it. I have worked at a daycare in my hometown for about four years now. When I first got to the daycare in my senior year of high school, I seen that some of the young babies and toddlers used sign language to communicate to us as workers what they wanted. I thought this was so incredible cool that they were able to do this. Not to confuse you but these children didn’t have hearing impairments, they just used sign language as a way to communicate since they couldn’t speak yet. The basic words that the children said were thank you, please, drink, milk and more. It really made me inspired to start teaching other children at the daycare to do this as a form of communication. When my cousins were born (mentioned in the EDTC page) I actually did teach them a bit of sign language which was really cool.

So besides the fact that I think babies using sign language is incredibly cute, I also wanted to dive into learning sign language for two other reasons. 1) I think learning this may be useful in my next years of teaching and 2) ASL is a special form of communication for a wide range of people around the world.

1. I feel that learning a bit of ASL can hopefully enhance my learning as a teacher. I never want a student to come into my classroom and feel that they cant learn in a meaningful way. I want to be prepared and use all the knowledge that I can to help my students. I feel that when it comes to teaching students with hearing loss or impairments, I would have no idea what to do. I remember growing up that a student a year younger than me in school was deaf. He had cochlear implants which helped him talk and hear. I found myself wondering lots if this student felt different or if his teacher knew how to make the classroom an inviting place for him.
2. I learned in an ELNG class that deaf or hard of hearing people have a community. I recognize that there are many people in this world with this exceptionality and I want to learn more about it.

So I think that I am going to take myself back to Kindergarten and start with the basics….. The A,B,C’s.

So here is my outline of how I feel I can learn a tiny bit (of a huge ideal) of ASL in the next weeks to come:

• Start with the basics- Learn the signs for the A,B,C’s.
• Move onto Numbers
• Basic Words used in everyday life/topics. Ex. home, school, friends, family etc.
• At this point, I think I will then try and use the words that I have learned, and turn them into sentences.

I have a variety of Apps that I have downloaded for this assignment:

“Sign School”

“ASL”

“Sign Language”

“ASL Learning”

I also plan on using websites and youtube videos etc to learn this information.

Photo Credit: jawsnap.photo Flickr via Compfight cc

 

Hi My Name is Hailie and I like Technology…..

Hi everyone, as my title for this post describes…. my name is Hailie and I do actually enjoy technology. Well I mostly do. Growing up, I think I had a fairly good experience with technology. I was able to use computers in school and we had smart boards etc as well. I think since I grew up using technology and was associated with it, then I have grown to understand how it works. I mean I am not a master thats for sure…. but my grandma does ask me a lot of techy questions so……. Any who, in my internship experience, I was incredibly fortunate enough to use a great amount of technology. Each student had their own chrome book, the classrooms all had their own smart boards and projectors and we even had a computer lab to go along with that. The first few weeks of using the chrome books were slightly tough for me as I have never used them before. Basically the kids taught me about how to use them which was hilarious. I really enjoyed using technology to get my students interacting in lessons. I would play videos and show them pictures, play games and we would go on interactive websites. My kids really enjoyed it.

I have read quite a bit of articles on the impact of screen time for children. I think in my early years of university, I thought that young children playing on their parents phones or watching television all the time was terrible. I have 2 and 3 year old cousins and I didn’t know how watching all that tv would affect them. As the years passed, I realized that their is a difference between screen time and educational technology. I used to think that they were the same thing and that children shouldn’t be using technology AT ALL. I have come to terms with the fact that 1) technology is all around us and we use it whether we like it or not, and 2) that children can still watch tv and play games but I personally think its the type of shows and games that we give to our children that matter. Im sure people look at me like I am a crazy woman when I give my three year old cousin my phone, but what people don’t know is that I have downloaded about ten educational apps for her to play and learn. Do I give her my phone all the time and all day? Of course not. Technology (in my opinion) is something that should be embraced, especially in classrooms. As an educator, I feel I can use technology to help student interaction.

As far as blogs are concerned…. I have no problem blogging. My problem and frustration comes a little from wordpress. I find it difficult to maneuver sometimes. I do actually think that blogging in schools is an incredible way for students to learn. I haven’t had the chance to do this yet, but I would really love to try it in my future classroom.

Photo Credit: Kristina B Flickr via Compfight cc

Here is a picture of my adorable 2 and 3 year old cousins incase you were wondering……

PS. Check out my twitter

 

Post #2: Miskasowin and Tapwewin

In my previous post, I discussed the notion that my name is primarily linked to my identity. I came up with the thought that my name describes who I am and my beliefs. I still do believe this, but as we discussed in class, identity is more than just my name. Identity is linked to my background, my ancestry, my name, who I am today and how I identify. Identities are complex and have multiple different notions to them. Before reading Indigenous Writes, I thought of my identity as strictly my name and where I came from. After reading what Chelsea Vowel has to say about identity it is much more than the simplicity of just a name. don’t get me wrong, names are immensely important, but it is not only the factor that completes the meaning behind identity.

One thing that stood out to me while reading, was how Chelsea states that “We all need terms to use, or we cannot have a discussion. Terms are what I’m looking for, not offensive labels,” (pg. 15). I think that people get off track when talking about terms for people. I myself, (like many others) fear that I will say the wrong thing and offend others. I think we need to get on the right track about thinking of names as terms instead of Labels for people. For example, I am going to use terms to describe myself. I would consider myself as heterosexual, cisgender, woman, and settler. I am not meaning to label myself, these are just simply the terms I would use to describe myself. Chelsea Vowel writes that “the term settler has been used to refer to people who continue to move to Canada and settle here,” (pg. 17). I chose to use this as a term to describe me because it is related to who I am. I am a settler and I cannot deny that.

After the blanket exercise, some fellow classmates discussed why this content is so important to them. Not only did this exercise help me understand the content visually, but it helped me understand a fraction of what the Aboriginal people went through. Something that really stuck with me and always does is the discussion of residential schools. I think that learning such heavy content has made me become more conscious and empathetic. It has helped towards developing my miskasowin as it made me more aware of the impact on the First Nations people. It has helped my tapwewin because it shows that I need to share the truth with my students in the classroom. Students of all backgrounds need to understand the impact that these events had on First Nations people. Find my miskasowin is important and I plan to teach it to my students in the future.

 

Assessment Philosophy

Assessment is a very large and important component of teaching students. Assessment is used to gather information about students learning. This is something that needs to be implemented in classrooms everyday.

Assessment not only helps the student learn what they are doing, but it also helps them become motivated to learn. When teachers use fun and engaging assessment, students will want to learn. A teacher should also link assessment to the students learning needs. It is the teachers job to associate assessment and practices to students learning needs and styles.

Since students learn in different ways, it is essential to have a variety of assessment practices in the classroom that give students diverse learning experiences. I believe that this will give them the guidance and tools they may need for the future. Some different forms of assessment that I have used are projects like posters, pamphlets, and art work, as well as  thumps, up, down, sideways, and writing prompts. I found these had a strong student engagement with all age ranges. They also allow for differentiation and have strong student involvement.

I really enjoy and encourage when students are involved in their classroom assessment. I find that students are more engaged when they are given choice in assignments and marking. By creating these engaging assessments, I think it encourages assessment for learning. Giving positive feedback as well as having the students collect, organize and present their evidence is an effective way to link daily practices with assessment. I think students should be accountable for their own learning.

An article that really spoke to me was written by Thomas Guskey. He explains in this article that to use assessments to improve instruction and student learning, teachers need to change their approach to assessments in three different ways. The first way is to make assessment useful for the students and the teacher. The article explains that this can be done by teachers using clear assessments that the students know. It is the teachers job to give them assessments that will make the students successful. The second way is to follow assessments with corrective instruction. If the students are grasping the concepts of instruction, the teacher then needs to find other methods to engage the students. The third way is to give students second changes to demonstrate their success. A strong belief of mine is that assessments should not be a one time experience. Students should have multiple chances to demonstrate their level of understanding.

In conclusion, assessment is an essential part of teaching and learning. Having variation in assessment strategies that meet the needs of the students is a vastly important concept. There are many options of assessment for teachers to use. My belief is that when you use assessments geared towards students needs, you will have student motivation and engagement.

Post #1: Miskasowin

What do I know about my ancestors? If I am really being honest, up until thirty minutes ago when I called my grandma to get the scoop, I really had no clue about my ancestry except that they originated from Ireland. Long story short, she sent me about seven screenshots of images and family trees. So here is what I found out…..

My family name Logan, originated from a little place called Tyladen in county Monaghan, Ireland. My great, great, great grandfather William, came to Canada in 1845 and settled in King Township, York County. Then in 1860 William and his wife Margaret bought a farm. Sometime after that, Robert (Williams brother) then came to Canada as well. Robert stayed with his brother for a short time then moved to a farm not far from Rich Hill where some of his family was buried. Williams first marriage to Margaret resulted in despair as she died in childbirth after giving birth to her 21st child. Eventually William married again and had three other children with his second wife Sadie. Now I am not familiar with my moms ancestry, but I think I will save that for another day.

As I was reading  the first couple chapters of Chelsea Vowels text, something particular stood out to me. “Names are linked to identity, and notions of identity are fluid,” (Vowel, pg. 8). I believe that more of my identity stems from my name. Thats not to say that I don’t believe my identity stems from my where I live, because I believe that is true also. I guess what I am trying to say, is that my identity is based on who I am and where I am. For example, when I see other people with the same name as me, I don’t associate them as being the exact same as me. They are entirely different people even though they have the same name as myself. When parents name their children, I often wonder if they want to pick names that they have never heard before. Is this because they don’t want their child to have the same name as someone they know? Or maybe it’s someone they don’t like? There are clearly many different reasonings behind this. My point being that, should we care to give children the same name as someone else when we all have different identities (even if our names are the same)?