The following interviews were done with teachers who have experience working with FNMI students. These are notes I took on what they believe their FNMI students need in order for them to be supported in the classroom.
Thompson, Ronald. Personal Communication.
This source is an email interview I conducted with a (now retired) Social Studies teacher of 29 years. Thompson says that “without an understanding of where these [FNMI] students are coming from, the teacher is unable to offer them the tools they need to succeed”. Thompson has also seen how “a lack of cultural awareness [leads to] teachers, and fellow students negatively judging the abilities of FNMI students”. Thompson shares how the attitudes of education on some reserves also need to change to bring success to these students. He saw that often the successful students within their own FNMI communities were judged for “ acting white”. This is because the trauma of residential schooling has created this negative outlook on education. For some Aboriginal people on reserves, this has lead to seeing education as “white” service. Thompson believes that if there were more Aboriginal cultural practices within our curriculum, this attitude could potentially change. Thompson shares that most schools do offer counselling services, and that he has seen this as a way to help Aboriginal students find the peace they need to succeed. However, “issues such as large class sizes, lack of accommodation for oral testing (to support students with language barriers), lack of oral assignments, and the lack of adaptation within the curriculum to meet the learning styles of an oral culture”, are all issues that he recognizes as being an educational disadvantage for FNMI students. Thompson believes that Aboriginal students “need services so they can be taught in their own culture and languages”, or to at least have a support person to help translate available in every classroom with Aboriginal students. Thompson believes that a teacher’s role in reconciliation includes “developing a relationship with [the] students, becoming aware of their backgrounds, challenges, and adjusting to their learning needs”.
C.J.H. Personal Communication.
This source is an interview I conducted via email with a teacher of 17 years, who has teaching experience both on and off reserves. She has been asked to remain anonymous, thus I will refer to her by her initials (as per requested), C.J.H. C.J.H has FNMI ancestry, as her maternal great-grandmother was born on a reserve near Seattle, as well she has a relative on her paternal side from the Oneida Nation, which is near New York. C.J.H was also traditionally adopted into a Cree family through ceremony 7 years ago. She is very involved on a nearby reserve where community members know her as “Auntie” or “Cousin”. This historical connection, and involvement within a local reserve does influence how she manages her classroom and her style of pedagogy. C.J.H notices that there is a cultural conflict where FNMI families often have to choose between sending their children to school or bringing them to a community cultural event. Regardless of the decision, children are either missing out on learning the fundamentals of the education curriculum, or partaking in cultural ceremony in which these people have already been deprived of so greatly in the past. As well, the spiritual practise of “smudging is often judged and misunderstood by peers and staff of schools off-reserve”. This inhibits children from feeling they can openly discuss their cultural practices and puts them at a spiritual disadvantage. C.J.H shares that she believes a teacher's role in reconciliation includes “treating people like family”, which means “an ongoing commitment to developing connections” with all students, including aboriginal students. C.J.H also believes that “a school’s culture should be based on the entire school embarking on a learning journey that involves the parents and communities”. She also believes that programs such as: “Empowering the Spirit of Education” (www.empoweringthespirit.ca), will contribute to positive changes in in education that will help achieve reconciliation. C.J.H also wants all schools, both on and off reserves, “to adopt the 94 Recommendations of the TRC”. This adoption of the TRC will help bring to light the importance of healing to FNMI reserves/communities, traditions, cultural practices, and families, within our educational practices.
T.M. Personal Communication.
This is an interview with a teacher of 25 years who has a large percentage of students that take the bus to school from a nearby reserve. This interviewee has asked to remain anonymous so I will refer to her as her initials “T.M.” T.M teaches at a public Catholic school, and does not have Aboriginal ancestry. Her connection to the Aboriginal community is through her students and their parents. T.M. shares that she “does not believe that all FNMI students come from the same socio-economic status”, and that many of them are put at an educational disadvantage because of where their families are socio-economically. T.M also sees how the stress of “cultural disconnect” contributes to disadvantages in learning for Aboriginal students. As a teacher of young children, T.M does not often see prejudice towards her Aboriginal students from other children. She finds her students to be “quite accepting of one another”. This statement inspires me to believe that acceptance and awareness is growing in schools, and that children are learning to support their Aboriginal peers. T.M. also believes that awareness is growing, as she sees that “there is great support for the FNMI students…and that [her school] is willing to adjust and accommodate” to meet the needs of their Aboriginal families. Her school offers Blackfoot class once a week, to let the Aboriginal students come together and work on their language skills and do cultural activities (such as beading). T.M. believes that programs like this need to be more available for Aboriginal students and that “ we (educators) need to support the children and families to understand the importance of attendance and involvement in their children’s education”. To do so, T.M. addresses that Aboriginal people need to “feel like they are a valuable part of the schools”, which is why cultural programming is so important. This interview shows how by having resources for Aboriginal students, the climate and culture of the schools becomes more progressive and understanding. By allowing students to take part in cultural and traditional programs at school, Aboriginal parents and children will feel more valued and contributes to increasing school attendance for FNMI students.
This source is an email interview I conducted with a (now retired) Social Studies teacher of 29 years. Thompson says that “without an understanding of where these [FNMI] students are coming from, the teacher is unable to offer them the tools they need to succeed”. Thompson has also seen how “a lack of cultural awareness [leads to] teachers, and fellow students negatively judging the abilities of FNMI students”. Thompson shares how the attitudes of education on some reserves also need to change to bring success to these students. He saw that often the successful students within their own FNMI communities were judged for “ acting white”. This is because the trauma of residential schooling has created this negative outlook on education. For some Aboriginal people on reserves, this has lead to seeing education as “white” service. Thompson believes that if there were more Aboriginal cultural practices within our curriculum, this attitude could potentially change. Thompson shares that most schools do offer counselling services, and that he has seen this as a way to help Aboriginal students find the peace they need to succeed. However, “issues such as large class sizes, lack of accommodation for oral testing (to support students with language barriers), lack of oral assignments, and the lack of adaptation within the curriculum to meet the learning styles of an oral culture”, are all issues that he recognizes as being an educational disadvantage for FNMI students. Thompson believes that Aboriginal students “need services so they can be taught in their own culture and languages”, or to at least have a support person to help translate available in every classroom with Aboriginal students. Thompson believes that a teacher’s role in reconciliation includes “developing a relationship with [the] students, becoming aware of their backgrounds, challenges, and adjusting to their learning needs”.
C.J.H. Personal Communication.
This source is an interview I conducted via email with a teacher of 17 years, who has teaching experience both on and off reserves. She has been asked to remain anonymous, thus I will refer to her by her initials (as per requested), C.J.H. C.J.H has FNMI ancestry, as her maternal great-grandmother was born on a reserve near Seattle, as well she has a relative on her paternal side from the Oneida Nation, which is near New York. C.J.H was also traditionally adopted into a Cree family through ceremony 7 years ago. She is very involved on a nearby reserve where community members know her as “Auntie” or “Cousin”. This historical connection, and involvement within a local reserve does influence how she manages her classroom and her style of pedagogy. C.J.H notices that there is a cultural conflict where FNMI families often have to choose between sending their children to school or bringing them to a community cultural event. Regardless of the decision, children are either missing out on learning the fundamentals of the education curriculum, or partaking in cultural ceremony in which these people have already been deprived of so greatly in the past. As well, the spiritual practise of “smudging is often judged and misunderstood by peers and staff of schools off-reserve”. This inhibits children from feeling they can openly discuss their cultural practices and puts them at a spiritual disadvantage. C.J.H shares that she believes a teacher's role in reconciliation includes “treating people like family”, which means “an ongoing commitment to developing connections” with all students, including aboriginal students. C.J.H also believes that “a school’s culture should be based on the entire school embarking on a learning journey that involves the parents and communities”. She also believes that programs such as: “Empowering the Spirit of Education” (www.empoweringthespirit.ca), will contribute to positive changes in in education that will help achieve reconciliation. C.J.H also wants all schools, both on and off reserves, “to adopt the 94 Recommendations of the TRC”. This adoption of the TRC will help bring to light the importance of healing to FNMI reserves/communities, traditions, cultural practices, and families, within our educational practices.
T.M. Personal Communication.
This is an interview with a teacher of 25 years who has a large percentage of students that take the bus to school from a nearby reserve. This interviewee has asked to remain anonymous so I will refer to her as her initials “T.M.” T.M teaches at a public Catholic school, and does not have Aboriginal ancestry. Her connection to the Aboriginal community is through her students and their parents. T.M. shares that she “does not believe that all FNMI students come from the same socio-economic status”, and that many of them are put at an educational disadvantage because of where their families are socio-economically. T.M also sees how the stress of “cultural disconnect” contributes to disadvantages in learning for Aboriginal students. As a teacher of young children, T.M does not often see prejudice towards her Aboriginal students from other children. She finds her students to be “quite accepting of one another”. This statement inspires me to believe that acceptance and awareness is growing in schools, and that children are learning to support their Aboriginal peers. T.M. also believes that awareness is growing, as she sees that “there is great support for the FNMI students…and that [her school] is willing to adjust and accommodate” to meet the needs of their Aboriginal families. Her school offers Blackfoot class once a week, to let the Aboriginal students come together and work on their language skills and do cultural activities (such as beading). T.M. believes that programs like this need to be more available for Aboriginal students and that “ we (educators) need to support the children and families to understand the importance of attendance and involvement in their children’s education”. To do so, T.M. addresses that Aboriginal people need to “feel like they are a valuable part of the schools”, which is why cultural programming is so important. This interview shows how by having resources for Aboriginal students, the climate and culture of the schools becomes more progressive and understanding. By allowing students to take part in cultural and traditional programs at school, Aboriginal parents and children will feel more valued and contributes to increasing school attendance for FNMI students.