Call to Action TRC Response – Kelsey Altwater's E-Portfolio

Improving education attainment levels and success rates of students:

Web Article:

Rimm-Kaufman, S., & Sandilos, L. (2015, April 14). Improving Students’ Relationships with Teachers to Provide Essential Supports for Learning: Positive relationships can also help a student develop socially. Retrieved February 26, 2020, from https://www.apa.org/education/k12/relationships

Response:

I chose this resource as a tool that could be incorporated into my future classroom because I think learning about relevant and meaningful material increases students’ interest and attainment levels. I say that this information is relevant and important because many students I have worked within both primary and intermediate classrooms are more hostile towards their teacher when there is no relationship connecting them to one another.

Developing culturally appropriate curricula

Journal Article

Bjartveit, C., & Kinzel, C. (2019). Navigating power and subjectivity: Cultural diversity and Transcultural curriculum in early childhood education. Journal of Childhood Studies, 44(1), 80-91.

Response:

This journal was a very useful tool that highlighting the pedagogical systems that Canadian culture often represents as our “values” and “structures”, and turning this knowledge of what we have and know into recognizing hereditary, neo-colonialistic view of power and privilege. One of the strongest take-away points of the literature discusses how teachers, role-models, and peers can recognize the full potential of children’s education, and how we can use these tools to support engagement for indigenous students and their communities.

Make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students.

Book:

Webstad, P. (2019). Phylliss Orange Shirt. Victoria, BC: Medicine Wheel Education

Incorporated.

Response:

As we come together on September 20th as a community to pay our respects to the social and emotional tragedies that came along with the Indian Residential School System, we can read this book with our class of all ages to promote awareness and understanding of what emotional, mental, physical, and cultural tragedies took place within Canadian history. Beginning as young as Kindergarten can be read this book, and have class discussions on how it makes them feel, while students in a high school could read the book and use it to springboard into a research project.

Reference List

Bjartveit, C., & Kinzel, C. (2019). Navigating power and subjectivity: Cultural diversity and Transcultural curriculum in early childhood education. Journal of Childhood Studies, 44(1), 80-91.

Webstad, P. (2019). Phylliss Orange Shirt. Victoria, BC: Medicine Wheel Education Incorporated.