Summary of Learning

Below is a youtube link to my Summary of Learning Assignment.

Blog Post 6: Inuit Mathematics and Single Stories

The most evident challenge of Eurocentric purposes and learning methods appears in Louise Poirier’s article, Teaching Mathematics and the Inuit Community. The article makes clear that the Eurocentric view of mathematics is that it is a universal language that should be the same no matter the context. The article refutes the Eurocentric view by stating, “Different cultures have developed different mathematical tools according to their needs and their environment”. That is to say, a culture’s mathematics develops based on how it must be used, and thus there is a diversity of methods and understandings between cultures. On a similar but more broad note, Leroy Little Bear’s article, Jagged Worldviews Colliding focuses on Indigenous conceptions of knowledge as opposed to colonial conceptions of knowledge. He notes that while colonial conceptions of knowledge focus on objectivity and linearity, Indigenous conceptions of knowledge are that knowledge is dynamic and should emphasize narratives and group thinking. He posits that the latter is the better option because there exists no Truth, only consensus. Again in Poirier’s article, it is stated that “The teaching methods used by most teachers in the North are not based on the ‘natural’ ways of learning of Inuit children”. By this, it is implied that the Eurocentric tradition of writing equations for mathematics is not effective for use among Inuit children, and that they should rather learn by observing elders and listening to stories. This should help them learn in ways that can be carried into their everyday lives, unlike the methods for “Southern Mathematics”.
Many “Single Stories” were present in my own schooling. By nature of the school I attended for my most formative and memorable years (an International School Abroad), there was a very diverse staff and student body. Narratives were present from over 100 countries, and I was exposed to these narratives often. The most prominent narratives in the schooling were that of Alberta Ed and the local ruling authority. Alberta Ed held the most sway in many ways as they mandated the textbooks and material studied, although the local authorities made censorious ommissions and added classes that would not be available in Alberta. Biases that I may bring into the classroom are that of a Canadian who was raised a minority in foreign countries, and maintains cultural ties to Canada. I might work against these biases by asking important questions about the biases and lenses present in the materials used in class, and focusing on challenging ideas that promote and continue oppressive practices and systems.

Bear, L. L. (2000). Jagged worldviews colliding. In M. Batiste (Ed.), Reclaiming Indigenous voice and vision (pp. 77-85). UBC Press.

Poirier, L. (2007). Teaching mathematics and the Inuit community, Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 7(1), p. 53-67.

Blog Post 5: Educating Toward Democracy

The most prominent example of citizenship education I can remember from my schooling was student body government. Students were elected to positions of President, treasurer, secretary, etc. The context in which my schooling took place was, however, very different from Saskatchewan schools. Although Alberta Ed. came to our school for inspections, and the teaching was based on Alberta curriculum, the government had much sway over the content of the schooling. There were noticeable conflicts in the ideology prevalent in Alberta curriculum and the ideology of the state, and the students also greatly differed in many ways ideologically from both. In light of these circumstances, the approach to curriculum in regards to citizenship was inclusive to many ideologies in many interesting ways. Our student body was democratic within bounds of the rules set forth by the school administration and of the state. Many of the events students wanted to hold were not allowed due to gender segregation, censorship, or other rules. While students were educated about the government of Canada and its operation, students were socialized to be good citizens of the benevolent dictatorship in which they live. For these reasons, students were overall educated to be “responsible citizens”. This approach made possible the transition to democratic citizenship with some limitations if one’s choice was to do so, or the continuation of living within the state.

Citizenship instruction can tell us much about the place in which it is taught. Because public school education is funded by the state, it is ideologically influenced by the state. When the state is given the responsibility to raise children, it is the best interest of the state to produce children who will most benefit the state. The model that the state and its representatives find most useful for their purposes, will, with some exceptions, be the model promoted by their representatives in the making of curriculum. Where schooling is privatized, the citizen model will be that which the parents are most likely and willing to pay for.

Blog Post 4: Treaty Ed

Good day,

You may find that Treaty Ed and First Nations, Metis and Inuit Content and Perspectives are an important part of education in Canada. Our collective history, after all, made possible our being here. Although European Canadian students are not aware of the implications treaties and other aspects of Indigenous and European historical and current relations have on their lives, they are affected by such things each day in many ways. Certain narratives may be ingrained in their practices and personal traditions, which we refer to as “commonsense”, that they would be well served to acknowledge and ultimately challenge. It is important for students to understand their history and cultural context, so that they may take an active role in shaping the future in terms of the past. Without such knowledge, mistakes as previously made are bound to repeatedly occur. If student understand how they an others are racialized and culturalized, they can choose to be more understanding and inclusive. As is often said, “We are all treaty people”. Treaties shape our way of life in Canada, as they are living documents that represent and conduce to ongoing agreement and discussion between European Canadians and Indigenous peoples. To maintain a forward trajectory in the path to truth and reconciliation, students need to be aware of not only the contents of the documents, but their historical and cultural context, the contemporary implications of such facts, and made aware of options for their moving forward in light of these things.

Best Regards.

Chambers C. (2012) “We are all treaty people”: The Contemporary Countenance of Canadian Curriculum Studies. In: Ng-A-Fook N., Rottmann J. (eds) Reconsidering Canadian Curriculum Studies. Curriculum Studies Worldwide. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137008978_2

Blog Post 3: Politics in Curriculum

According to the Levin article, school curricula are developed through the political process. This process involves experts in the fields of study, experts in education, officials in education ministries in government, political lay persons, and lay persons. Curriculum is implemented by the teachers, but methods are influenced by government policy. I was surprised to read the extent to which non-experts in government influence what happens in schools, an aspect of curriculum development that might be disturbing to some. I was also surprised by how little research and information is used in making decisions based around curriculum development.

Because I did not primarily go to school in Canada, I have little knowledge of the implementation of treaty education in Saskatchewan. What little knowledge I have is gathered from my one year of school in Saskatchewan, and my field placement in ECS 100. I have very little recollection of treaty education in my year of school in Canada, Likely because of both the placement of the school in a rural area, and my lack of interest in the subject being little invested in Canada at the time. During my field placement, much emphasis was placed on treaty education, and it was evident in many of the lessons as the lens through which to view the material being taught. Most of the decorations on the classroom walls were indigenous focused, including a medicine wheel, quotes from elders, and diagrams of Cree words and characters. A metis flag was also flying in the library. Tensions I might imagine were involved in the development of treaty education would be fear of accusations of White Saviourism among political lay persons and non-indigenous legislators, and considerations for making the material digestible for non-Indigenous parents and students.

Blog Post 2: The “Good Student”

According to “Common Sense”, a student would be organized, punctual, attentive, quiet, cooperative, agreeable, enthusiastic, and studious.

The students that might be privileged by this definition of a good student are those who fit the description above. These might include students who always have enough to eat, come from intact families, and live among a supportive community.

Historical factors helped shape the idea of the “Good student” in many ways. Before modern and post-modern educational theory, the understanding of what was important for students to learn and the methods through which they are to be taught was not developed to its fullest extent. Despite advances in fields such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, and biology that challenge the educational status quo many traditions and habits continue to be practiced without critical examination. These practices include corporal punishment, rigorous lectures, and standardized examinations.

Blog Post 1: “Common Sense” and Curriculum Theory and Practice

In his introduction, Kumashiro both defines and implies definitions or his term, “Common Sense”. In the third paragraph, Kumashiro writes, “”common sense” or what everyone should know”. On pages XXXI and XXXII, Kumashiro examines his experience teaching practices in Nepal in comparison to his teaching practices which he had learned through his education in the United States. He notes that the teaching practices of those that practice teaching are seen as normal from an inside perspective, but as alien and inferior to outsiders. From this it may be inferred that “Common Sense” from Kumashiro’s perspective is traditional knowledge, passed unquestioned and unquestionable along cultural lines.
It is important to pay attention to “Common Sense” because unquestioned beliefs can be harmful. According to Kumashiro, “Common Sense” carries on oppression and the use of oppressive practices inside schools.
The curriculum theory and practice Kumashiro encountered in Nepal is best described, according to the criteria laid forth in Mark K. Smith’s article, “Curriculum Theory and Practice”, as “Curriculum as product”.
In my experience, the dominant curriculum model in Canada is also the “Curriculum as product” curriculum theory and practice. Closer to the end of my high school career in Alberta Ed, “Curriculum as praxis” became evident in many of the new teachers, however the prevalence of standardized testing (Diploma Exams) and other practices neccessitate an answer of “Curriculum as product” as the dominant curriculum model. I have little recent experience with the education systems of other provinces, and will withhold comment about Canada to avoid preconception and generalization.
The strengths of my experience of this model through the perspective of Smith’s article are that it is a product of systematic study; it analyzes skills required for various careers, and sets objectives to train the skills. It is systematic, organized, and standardized, and works well for efficiently organising production.  The weaknesses of this model through the perspective of the same article are that objectives are set outside of the learning environment, result are difficult to measure objectively, results can be different than expected, focus is often on parts rather than a unified whole, and is suited best for industrial applications.

Reading Response 4: Disability

For me to engage in the same kind of troubling norms, I would have to be a creative philosopher.  I would also need a strong will to overthrow tradition. It would mean that I am a revolutionary, dissatisfied with the current explanation of how the world works and why humans do things the way we do.  In order to for me to trouble norms, I would have to engage in historical revisionism. I could also subscribe to the teachings of previous historical revisionists. I would also need to have a proficient understanding of etymology and the history of language, religion, culture, psychology, and biology.  If I fit this description, I could then deconstruct language, culture, biology, and psychology to identify what I disagree with and propose solutions based on my knowledge.

 

When I view the term “disability” from this perspective, not a lot of my thinking changes that I notice.  Our brothers and sisters with mental disabilities (as opposed to physical, as those are of the type we are discussing) are in the minority, thus they lack the same ability to do certain tasks that the majority of people have.  The majority of people lack a mental disability, which is likely why being “abled” is the societal norm. For that reason, I believe that it is justified that society at large regards disability as being less capable, and disabling as taking away some capabilities.  This is not a challenge to the humanity of those with disabilities, but an analysis of their ability to do certain tasks. I don’t believe that society at large views those with disabilities as less than human. I do believe that society at large recognizes that that certain disabilities negate one’s ability to perform certain tasks.  If there is a problem with society at large, it would more likely be that the focus is more on the disability than the ability of those with disabilities. I would argue that it would be better if we simply focused on the abilities of those with disabilities rather than the capabilities that they lack. I would also argue that normalizing disability and denying that disabilities are a disadvantage will stunt scientific growth in the medical field that may help those with disabilities achieve their goals.  For example, if ADHD was seen as normal, medication would not have been discovered or created as there would be no demand for it, and those that struggle with ADHD would not be as successful as they can be with medication. We have invented choclear implants, retinal prosthesis, nerve regeneration techniques, and now use stem cells to regenerate tissue of any kind. One could argue that we created and discovered these technologies based on the demand created by thinking of blindness, deafness, cancer, etc. as a relative disadvantage.  I do not believe that these medical advances are inherently bad, rather that they benefit society as a whole. Those with disabilities will still have the choice to not use the medical tools if it is part of their identity. This, though, is simply my opinion, and should be taken as such. I would say definitively that viewing the term “disability” in this way has not changed my thinking.

 

I might use Stolen Bodies, Reclaimed Bodies (Clare) to push for human rights for those that are unborn, as the article closes with a quote from the poet Mary Oliver,

 

“. . . each life [is] a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,
and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,
and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.”  

 

Merriam-Webster’s definition of life is as follows:

 

“a : the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body
b : a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings
c : an organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism (see METABOLISM sense 1), growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction”

 

The unborn fit all of these definitions.  If each life is something precious to the earth, these children deserve the basic human right to life.  

Writing the Self Analysis: Looking for Normative Narratives

i)  A normative narrative that I have noticed through reading others’ blog posts and simple observation, is that men should be masculine and virile at all times. This may be known as “hegemonic masculinity”, or toxic masculinity in colloquial terms, but I will be using the term “manly” throughout this work to encompass those ideas.  In my self-story, I realized that my habits are extremely stereotypically male. I wrote about a particular night, which was not necessarily an outlier, aside from it being my birthday. It was a rather ordinary evening in my first year of university. In my story, I partake in many activities that are generally seen as male-dominated, such as tobacco use, whiskey drinking, rap music, and the game of billiards.  These are all activities that, looking back, not exclusively, but primarily men do. I may have gained these habits in my adolescence as a subconscious effort to seem more “manly” due to effects such as advertising. “Men who order cosmopolitans or other fruity drinks risk ridicule (because fruit is gendered female). This is an illustration of how powerful gender roles, unequal power, and marketing are shaping our everyday choices.” (Sensoy, DiAngelo, 2017)

When I read Nathan’s story, I noticed that he also noticed the thought that men should be “manly”.  He writes, “I remember that of my biggest childhood crushes was in my class and that I had act very manly.”.  He knew that in order to save face in front of his classmates, especially those he had special interests in, he had to act manly and not scared in the face of the fear driven into his heart by the haunted house.  He also states, “I thought that if I was tough that girls would think I was mature and that they would like me more.”. This is an example of pressure placed on men and boys to be brave and tough. “Corporate culture represents masculinity as dominance, disconnection from feelings, disconnection and immunity from emotional attachment,” (Sensoy, DiAngelo, 2017) This proves that corporations are pressuring boys to feel this way, and that explains why Nathan would have felt that it is unmanly to be scared at the haunted house, and to brag to the girls that he wasn’t scared. Upon reading Jory’s story, I noticed a similar narrative being perpetuated.  In his story, he states, “She told me that usually girls have jobs like being waitresses and working in restraints or nurses and things like that, and that boys usually have labour jobs at my age.”. This is proof that the narrative of men needing to do physically demanding jobs, and that women need to do nurturing and serving jobs is perpetuated throughout generations, not only by the establishment, but by people as dear to us as family members.

The origins of this narrative may come from gender differences due to differing secondary sex characteristics (hormones, etc.) between the sexes, and the woman’s traditional nurturing roles due to pregnancy and the delicacy and preservation thereof of the primary sex characteristics such as the ovaries.  The patriarchy may also be a cause. This may lead to inequity because jobs that are more likely to cause death or permanent harm pay more, and it is usually men who take these positions.

 

ii)  When I read Jordan’s story, I realized that he noticed an exception.  He states, “There was this boy in my split class and he was in grade eight, he wore a fairy costume, he looked very similar to Peter Pan but instead of a green shirt and a brown hat, he wore a white shirt and wings with magic wand, no one really batted an eye at his costume in our class we thought he was being very funny, because he was the class clown.”. Even though this boy was defying his school principal by doing so, he dressed as a girl, as he does not see anything wrong with it.

 This creates a conflict for the normative narrative, because nobody except the principal reprimanded him in any way for doing so. It was natural for this boy to do this and feel this way, and he faced no problems when coming out as bisexual a few years later. It is not “cool” for the students to bully another student based on something as benign as sexuality or dress.

 

Reference:

Ozlem Sensoy, Robin Diangelo (2017). Is everyone really equal? second edition. 106, 110.

Self Story #4: Realization of Socioeconomic Class

I was a young man, at the height of adolescence, sitting through one of my social studies classes.  I was taking notes attentively off of the slideshow on the smart board. I was eating snus, and drinking instant coffee.  My desk was light brown wood grain, and I had my favourite kind of loose leaf, extra thick with four punch holes. This class was about Karl Marx, his theories and literature, and the role he played in our overall course content that year.  Upon learning of his ideas, I instantly drifted into thought, lacking the self control to tame my mind into not analyzing the role these ideas and the role they would play in my life. I mentally checked out of the class for a few minutes, letting my mind wander and enjoying my snus.  

 

This idea that society was divided by classes, and that I was in one of those, was very new to me.  My mind was very conflicted by these new ideas. I had always believed that what you get out of life was related to what you put into it.  I was told that if I worked hard enough, learned how to invest my assets to always get a greater long term reward, I would prosper in life.  The idea that everything I had was a product of my parents’ and my own earning made too much sense to me. I had always thought that I was where I was in life because they had graduated with college degrees, stayed married, had good habits, and kept good jobs.  The idea that we really only had what we had because we are exploiting the labour of the lower classes as a shock to my system.

 

I was trying to work out this conflict within my mind.  It made sense that everyone should receive a living wage regardless of output.  It didn’t make sense that C.E.O.s made so much money for having good ideas that people would want to consume and managing businesses based around these ideas.  It would make more sense if the people in the production lines made and equal amount, regardless of work value. “Everyone deserves to be able to eat, and disparity must be due to exploitation”, I thought.  “It is really difficult to create and/or manage a consumable product, idea, or service, and even those that do cannot do it successfully without exploiting those that produce the goods for the mass market and those that consume”.  It was making sense that It was making sense, but too much to process at that time. But what about the profit motive that we had learned about? J.S Mill’s invisible hand? Economic mobility and the fact that intergenerational wealth only lasts three to five generations?  

 

As I was trying to weigh both viewpoints in my mind I heard the lights turn on, and snapped out of my daydreaming.  Half of my page was blank, but I didn’t mind, because bigger issues were on my mind. I had a lot to think about for the next little while.  This was a new conflict in my mind that I would have to solve in the near future, but I brushed it off for the time being and went to my next class.