Author Archives: njs306

Even though I completed all three readings and watched Dr. Russell’s lecture, I still found it challenging to identify ways in which the teaching and learning of mathematics have been oppressive or discriminatory in my experience. I grew up in Swift Current, which had a predominantly white population, so the emphasis placed on Eurocentric ideasContinue reading “Oppression in Mathematics?”

I think the aspects of my schooling that had the biggest impact on how I read the world were found in the hidden curriculum. One key example that is apparent to me is the significance placed on respect in all of the classrooms I have ever been in. I distinctly remember sitting on the carpetContinue reading “The Importance of Eurocentric Ways of Showing Respect in a Classroom”

I was sitting at my desk trying to think of examples of citizenship education from my schooling experience, and genuinely had a difficult time trying to think of any. I am not sure if my teachers did not plan any memorable activities that promoted citizenship education or if they simply did not try very hardContinue reading “Personally Responsible Citizenship Education Experiences”

First of all, as Claire clearly stated, treaty education is a mandatory component of the curricula of each grade. Many teachers view treaty education as optional and unimportant, but that is not correct. Every student can benefit from treaty education, regardless of whether or not they are First Nations, Metis, or Inuit. I think manyContinue reading “Going Beyond Content”

There are two discussions involved in the politics of curriculum: the overall shape of school curricula and the content of individual subjects (Levin, 2008, p. 14). Currently, curriculum development and implementation are decided by an expert-dominated approach (Levin, 2008, p. 17). Curriculum development processes include teachers of the subject, post-secondary subject experts, and “are oftenContinue reading “An Expert-Dominated Approach to Curriculum Development”

The central reasoning for the project was “to communicate the messages to the wider community about the experiences and perspectives of youth, adults and elders, about the river” (p. 74). I believe this is an example of reinhabitation because communicating these messages about the river is a way of recovering the meaning of that spaceContinue reading ““Oh the Places You’ll Go”: Bringing Local Places into Curriculum”

Kumashiro (2010) argues, “we often find comfort in commonsensical ideas that make sense of the status quo, just as we often feel uncomfortable with ideas that disrupt norms” (p. 27). This idea can be applied to how we react, as teachers, when a student behaves in a way that has been deemed “bad”. Often, teachersContinue reading “Are School Standards Inclusive of Every Student or Only the “Good Students”?”