An amazing day! I had the opportunity to observe Jim's Science teaching methods class which is part of the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP) and speak to his students about their backgrounds. ITEP and SUNTEP were developed following the release of the paper Indian Control of Indian Education which identified that Aboriginal educators were needed to improve the education of Aboriginal students. Currently ALL students are required to gain an average of 70% in their school units to access courses at the University of Saskatchewan. There are approximately 100 students apply for positions in the SUNTEP and 25 are accepted each year. Students are to complete a written application form and are interviewed as part of the application process. Northern Teacher Education Program (NORTEP) is also offered to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. If students are a certain distance north than they can actually complete their studies away from the university and be provided with lectures in the northern part of Saskatchewan. I would describe these intensive schools as being like the residential schools that they have in Australia, except that the university goes to the students to encourage students to remain as teachers in their area, a fantastic idea. Students must have lived within their region for a minimum of 15 years to apply to complete the NORTEP.
I had the opportunity to observe Jim's Science methods class. In these sessions he shows students possible ways of delivering scientific content by modelling various teaching and learning activities. Each activity that he introduces also has an Aboriginal perspective. As part of the teaching process he also asks his students to suggest how they might bring an Aboriginal perspective to the task. For example he had students play a name the animal version of "Celebrity Heads" where students had the name of an animal typed onto cardboard and hooked to the back of their shirt using pipecleaner. Students can only ask each member of the class one question at a time to try and work out what the name of the native Canadian mammal or bird is. At the conclusion of the activity Jim asked students what else could they add to this activity and how could they bring an Aboriginal perspective to the task. Some suggested having students research Cree names of the animals, others suggested having students research what the animals were traditionally used for by Metis and others suggested having students look at spiritual connections and traditional stories connected to the animals. It was a wonderful way to encourage students to think outside of the square and consider how they might sequence and scaffold their own lessons to include an Aboriginal perspective.
Another example of an activity that I able to observe was "Bone and Toggle" a game introduced to the class by a student from Blackwater Lake in the Far North of Saskatchewan.
This student is Dene and speaks almost fluent Dene due to her background. Her grandfather made the Bone and Toggle so that she could show the class how the traditional game looks. Her husband killed the Caribou used to make it and her Grandfather constructed it by shaping each of the Caribou bones to size and using the Caribou hide to make the leather section at the base of the Bone and Toggle. The game works in a similar fashion to the ball and cup game, where children toss the ball that is attached to string and try to land it in the cup. In this game children or adults must toss the Caribou toe bones, metal disc and Caribou hide which is all threaded onto a piece of twine and catch it with a metal skewer. Each Caribou bone they skewer is worth 5 points, the disc is worth 50 points and the hide is worth 15 points. Simone' explained to us that you are required to gain 150 points within 10 tosses to win. It is very difficult!
This game is a traditional game and brings with it authentic, rich Aboriginal culture and history and would be valuable as a game in Mathematics lessons with addition and multiplication. Jim also asked the class how they might use this activity in a Science lesson, many stated that they would talk about Caribou, talk about the classification of the animal (both traditional and western), it's habitat and how it was used traditionally.
Students also looked at Hammer Stones, used in battle. This part of the lesson began with students standing in a circle, a rock (igneous) was passed around and each student had to begin by saying "No, thats my rock...." and giving a 20 second story of how, when and/or where they found the rock. It did not necessarily have to be scientific or traditional, it was just to get students to relax and be a little bit creative. Following this task Jim suggested that students could use the task to introduce cultural knowledge on geology. I think that it would be a great task to summarise what students have learnt about an object, where they provide a one sentence fact.
The Hammer Stones were shaped using other rocks and Jim suggested that he would link this traditional use to the rock cycle. I think that this would be very valuable task in Australia also where rocks and their traditional uses could then be mapped to the rock cycle based on the properties of the rock given their use. This would help students to better understand the rock cycle as it provides a context and relevance. They would be relating the way the rock looks and how it is made TO it's properties and what it was used for.
I had the opportunity to speak to Orest Murawsky the director of ITEP (Indian Teacher Education Program). He provided me with a model that the ITEP Team developed to explain the differences in the learning structure for traditional knowledge. The model explains that at university lecturers begin with knowledge, this is the base level. Students are able to provide instant recall of terms and concepts. When traditional knowledge is taught it begins with the Community Elders and through stories, ceremony, practice and application the traditional and cultural knowledge is developed.
I also spoke to Murray Hamilton Director of SUNTEP, he talked to me about the paper released in 1969 called Indian Control of Indian Education. The paper talked about the education of Aboriginal people in Canada and one of the outcomes of this paper was the development of teacher education courses for Aboriginal students, such that there would be Aboriginal teachers to provide education to Aboriginal students. Another significant topic brought out by this paper and still very relevant today is the need for Aboriginal students to have who they are affirmed in their education, with identity issues being a significant problem.
SUNTEP and ITEP courses have educated over 2000 Aboriginal teachers, many of these individuals are classroom teachers, consultants in schools or working in government education sectors.
There are Aboriginal schools, called community schools, but Murray explained that these schools have a stigma attached to them and many parents don't want to send their children and children do not want to go. However he stated that he does see a need for Aboriginal children to have the opportunity to be with other Aboriginal children and to learn their culture from Aboriginal teachers. He does not condone segregation and does support integration to an extent. I do not support segregation either and I do think that Aboriginal culture must be taught to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students in Australia (and other countries) as a means of changing the culture in schools and ultimately in our communities. Education can be used as a means to reduce racism and prejudice, but it must be done appropriately.
I think all students need be empowered and that all should have their self-confidence and self-esteem lifted at school. I think that perhaps Aboriginal students could have spiritual learning and leadership with traditional Elders, beyond the classroom. Maybe this is what Murray was suggesting. I found it a challenging conversation, I do think that we need to have more Aboriginal teachers in Australian schools and that our students would definitely benefit from more courses like ITEP and SUNTEP, but where will these students be coming from? I think that currently communities and schools are not working well enough together to get their young people through to Year 12. Not everyone wants to be a teacher, but I think that more Aboriginal people in our country need to have greater opportunities. Courses like NORTEP would be very valuable in Australia in helping to keep these people within their isolated communities, this way their understanding of the region is better and they are more likely to remain in the area and provide consistency for their students.
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