“No one should teach who is not in love with teaching” (Margaret E. Sangster. n.d.)

Margaret’s quote about teaching connects with my teaching philosophy, “Teaching; it is not about you; it is about them” (Helmer, 2019).

Teaching is not a job; it is not merely a career; it is a passion. My chosen quote, as well as my philosophy, stemmed from my second teaching assignment, a full-time grade seven class. A grade seven class is my “dream position,” and I loved every minute of that school year. I feel that a teacher who does not love to teach should not be teaching. I know that I made a connection with my students; I cared about them, and they respected me. They were my motivation and strength. I valued getting to know each one of my students. I love to teach, and I feel that this is the foundation on which a teacher candidate should base their decision on before entering an Education Program. Children can tell whether or not a teacher’s attitude is genuine.

I am fortunate to have already been able to apply my teaching philosophy in a classroom, and an example of it is not from class time, but from basketball lunchtime activities. A particular group of boys would often hide in the school to avoid going outside at lunchtime. One day they asked me if I would watch them in the gym so they could shoot hoops. I often ate lunch in my classroom to chat with my students, so supervising the boys was not a burden to me. I didn’t allow the boys in the gym every day, but they were grateful for the days they were able to be in the gym. Even though this group was a little rebellious in class, they thanked me every single time I supervised them in the gym.

Perhaps the most exemplary demonstration of putting my philosophy into practice was the year-end class field trip to Gavin Lake. I like the outdoors, but camping is NOT my forte. The Gavin Lake trip had become a grade seven tradition at Mile 108 Elementary, and for the past several years, teachers had rejected the idea of taking students on this trip. With generous volunteer help, I took my class to Gavin Lake in June. Students who had professed to hate the outdoors spent hours swimming in the lake and had the time of their lives. A few students stated this as their favourite memory of grade seven in the year-end slide show. I was the one who learned the most from watching those kids make memories, an accurate representation of how it wasn’t about me, and how loving to teach beautifully affects students.

Part 2 – Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action

My chosen video, “Canada: The Truth in the Classroom” (ICTJ, 2015), would be an inspiring lesson hook for discussing residential schools with an intermediate level class. This video is an engaging source for students because it features students expressing their reasoning as to the necessity of learning about residential schools. It includes a diverse group of students, some of whom are First Nations. Collectively, the students demonstrate a mature level of critical thinking as to why the history of residential schools should exist in the school curriculum, and I feel it would be valuable for students to hear this viewpoint from other youth. One girl, in particular, was extremely wise in saying that “it’s a dark part of Canadian history, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be affronted…I think it should be exposed” (ICTJ, 2015). This statement alone would start an excellent class discussion about how nations do not always like to reveal the negative pieces of their histories. Yet, they are indeed part of a nations’ past and played a role in shaping that country’s story.

The written story resource that I discovered is a book entitled As Long as the Rivers Flow by Larry Loyie. It tells the story of Larry’s last summer with his family before attending residential school. He does not understand why he must go because he learns so much on his land and from his family. It is a longer story, forty-eight pages, but I would still use it to launch a lesson for grade five to seven levels. Depending on the class dynamics, I would probably spread the reading over two or more lessons. Following each reading session, I would have a class discussion. On the first day, I would ask the students to share in small groups or to the class about how they would feel if someone tried to erase their family culture and traditions.

 

Subsequent post-reading activities would be to write or draw in a journal and continue with small group discussions.

The First Nations Education Steering Committee website provides a myriad of information for teachers to implement appropriate Indigenous perspectives in the classroom.
The link to Mathematical principles, although directed to grades eight and nine, is most informative. The word problems and activities relate directly to First Nations concepts, such as circle dwellings (FNESC, 2020. 98). I could easily simplify this activity for a grade five to seven class. The students could do an inquiry search to ask questions about various circle dwellings among the local First Nations groups, such as the kiglee circle-shaped pit house from the Esketemc people of Williams Lake. The many different names for the pit houses would be a fascinating collaboration project covering areas such as Math, Language Arts, Visual Arts, Science, and Social Studies. More advanced grades could investigate the mathematical dimensions of these dwellings in a sketched or sculpted activity.

References

First Nations Education Steering Committee. (2020). Teaching Mathematics in a First Peoples Context. Vancouver, British Columbia. Retrieved from: http://www.fnesc.ca/wp/wp- content/uploads/2015/08/PUB-LFP-Math-First-Peoples-8-9-for-Web.pdf

Holloway, Laura Carter (1889). The Woman’s Story: As Told by Twenty American Women., pages 371-372. Hurst.

ICTJ Video. (2015). Canada: The Truth in the Classroom. International Centre for Transitional Justice. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/HU8cBFrB94A

Loyie, Larry., Brissenden, Constance. (2005). As Long as the Rivers Flow. Toronto, Ontario: Groundwood Books.

Sangster, Margaret E. (n.d.). “No one should teach who is not in love with teaching.” Retrieved from: https://www.allgreatquotes.com/quote-327248/