What:
I learned that the BC curriculum is pushing the Reconciliation agenda, but as teachers we need to push it further. The education system in BC is inherently tied to the abuse of Indigenous peoples. As teachers we have to think about the content we are teaching and make sure it is relevant and approachable for all students, but especially young Indigenous learners. We must make certain that we are teaching a representative, multi-cultural history.
Why Does this Matter?:
This matters because in the past, schools have strongly represented a white history and have gaps where Indigenous history and culture ties in. We should be teaching a living history that represents the real story of this land. It matters because Indigenous culture is tied to this land, and if we teach from a European perspective, we are not touching our feet down on to this land. We need to decolonize the classroom and take our students literally onto the land, giving them access to medicinal plant knowledge, art that speaks with nature, and music that sings to the world outside the classroom window.
Now What?:
I aim to decolonize the classroom in my future practice and in all of my practicums. I tried to do this in my first practicum on Haida Gwaii and enjoyed the feeling of actively trying to decolonize dated mindsets of what teaching should look like. I used talking circles in many of my lessons, and found that this method really grounded the students and made them focused in the moment. We went outside often and did a long lesson about the meaning of the word “sacred”. These are steps I have taken to decolonize, but I have a long way to go, and am excited to move decolonization further in my teaching.
