Laura-Beth Drake

CRT

A culturally responsive teacher takes the time to really get to know her students, creates a sense of belonging in the classroom, engages students by building on what they already know, and cherishes and celebrates students’ cultural strengths. When I asked the students at camp which area of the camp they would like to see incorporated at school they said they would like to learn more about nature. One student said she thought talking about hunting at school would be awesome because that is something she only really talks about at home. By recognizing our students’ cultural strengths and building on them in the classroom, the material we are presenting is made relevant and interesting. The material becomes more than just something they have to memorize, it becomes something worth doing and worth working toward.

I think taking a literature class to an elementary school to have them read to the younger students would be an opportunity for improvements in self esteem, appreciation of literature, and community engagement. I think taking students to the senior home to have them share some of their written work with their elders could also be a rewarding experience for them too.

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Scott’s presentation was an exceptional example of a place based lesson plan that allows for collaborative work among staff, students, and community. I especially liked that the students were working up to publishing their work, which gave them an added incentive to prepare their best work.

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I really appreciated Alberta coming in to offer her guidance on inviting elders and culture bearers into our classrooms. I would like to invite elders into the classroom as much as possible; hence, learning some etiquette for asking elders to share their knowledge was extremely helpful for me. Since I’m guessing our classes will not be able to go outside very much during the school year in Barrow to do activities, inviting elders and culture bearers into the classroom will allow for students to build upon their cultural strengths and build our community as well.

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I found Ernestine’s visit to be extremely influential. Some of the words she spoke that resonated with me are:

“We spend so much time with these children, but we don’t realize how deep their tapestries are woven.”

“You have to take a stand against colonialism and institutionalism and make a change. You are either fighting it or perpetuating it.”

“You are not going to save them. You are going to believe in them and they are going to save themselves.”

BH&H

I will incorporate “the final word” protocol in my classroom. I feel like it is age appropriate for high students. Also, many times students do not complete the assigned reading at home. Therefore, giving students class time to read the material will be effective for classroom discussion. I also liked how the activity is scaffolded from individual reflection to small group reflection working up to a small presentation to the entire class. This method will allow students to build upon their ideas with one another on both small and large group scales.

Some of the main points I heard reiterated throughout the classroom discussion regarding the content from BH&H were transformation, inclusion, self reflection, and advocation. I think we all agree that multicultural education is paramount when working toward inclusion. In order to become fulling transformative, we must first reflect on our own biases and become aware of how we relate to others and vice versa. By doing so, we are beginning to break down barriers that divide us by becoming in touch with our likenesses instead of our differences, but also appreciating everyone’s differences and personal stories. Advocating for both our students as well as ourselves as educators working within the laws that govern education as a whole will continue our pursuits in transforming our society through effective multicultural education.

Idea

Appreciate the importance of language in culture. How does language keep culture alive?

Region: Arctic Class time: 2 class periods

>Language is the essence of culture. People’s ways of living, their histories, and their philosophies are all understood and communicated through language. Although most American Indian people today speak English, they still consider their traditional languages to be extremely important for cultural identity

Photo for puzzle: Eskimo hunter or photo representation of Inupiat culture

Activity: Have one puzzle, divide it up into fourths. Divide students into four groups. No talking. Put the puzzle together within group.

After the activity engage students by asking what it felt like to put the pieces together without being able to talk to one another. If students were able to talk to each other, would it have been easier to figure out which pieces they were missing, who had the missing pieces, and how to work together to put the puzzle (culture) back together? How can we build community if we are forbidden to speak to each other in a relatable fashion?

Introduce lesson about Native American boarding schools. Then discuss as a class. Explain how the puzzle was a metaphor for culture. Thus, by separating the pieces and students and forbidding the ability to speak native language, the boarding schools were trying to assimilate Native Americans into American culture.

Sample questions:

How is your school alike or different from the American Indian boarding schools?
What do you think life was like for American Indian children at the early boarding schools?
How would it feel to be separated from your family for four or more years without seeing them?
Why do you think the government and boarding schools wanted to eliminate American Indian languages and cultures?
Why do you think they ultimately failed in that effort?

Lesson: When language is taken away it is harder to relate to others and to oneself in a familiar, heartfelt way.

Language is central to cultural identity. It is the code containing the subtleties and secrets of cultural life. In many ways, language determines thought. —W. Richard West, Jr., Southern Cheyenne

Assignment: Write an editorial article and make poster incorporating editorial content. If students feel comfortable, interview an elder in the community. If not, provide resources of documented accounts from those who attended boarding schools.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/4/14/1200994/-Native-schools-and-stolen-generations-U-S-and-Canada

http://iser.uaa.alaska.edu/Publications/boardingschoolfinal.pdf

Artifact

Baleen Basket Courtesy of Alaska State Museum in Juneau, AK http://museums.alaska.gov/asm/asmhome.html

I was originally attracted to this artifact by the cute walrus handle. Beyond the cuteness factor, I was taken back by the craftsmanship of the basket. I wondered how many hours went into weaving such a beautiful and intricate piece of art. When I learned the basket was woven out of baleen, I thought, “How cool is that?” Having spent some time in Barrow and seeing how talk of whaling brightens everyone’s spirit, I think about many aspects of how this particular whale brought people together. Just as the baleen is woven together here to create a cohesive object, whaling brings everyone in the community together wherein rich bonds are formed from preparation for the hunt, the hunt itself, harvesting, serving, and artwork.

Reflection of Elder Visit

I am very humbled to have been given the opportunity to listen to the wisdom Selina, David, and Linda so graciously imparted to us today. I’m struggling to find words that truly encompass the value in the amount of meaningful advice we received today. In spite of all the pain and intense heartache my people have caused, I have been showered with blessings in the most powerful form available, their native language. Their blessings to teach the most precious thing anyone has to offer the world–their children, their future. How humbled I am. How I hope I can inspire our youth to believe in themselves, to appreciate the beauty that lives within us all, to put their hearts into everything they do.

Where I’m From: Good Ole Rocky Top

Where I’m From: Tennessee – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;

I’m from rolling hills and misty mountains where bluegrass floats upon the breeze in the lands of Davy Crocket where I climbed barefoot in pine trees

I’m from hunts for fireflies and frogs on warm, summer nights where the smell of sour mash cooking could take you to new heights

I’m from porch sittin’ with PaDan where “He who steals my purse steals trash…”

I’m from Good Ole Rocky top reaching for the Summitt, spending countless hours in the gym swishing shots

I’m from fried chicken and turnip greens where the BBQ is so good yull wanna slap yo mammy

I’m from “bless your heart” and “glory, glory hallelujah” to “shit fire and save matches” and “I’ll be John Brown”

I’m from my Sunday school dresses Mimi stitched on a quilt for me

I’m from what would the Bible say and what will people think to memorizing verses every other week

I’m from campfires with friends slappin’ mosquitos and sippin’ whisky

Though the distance divides me from my life in Tennessee, I’ll never be too far from home with all these fond memories

Since I’ve lived in the same place my entire life, I have experienced a fair amount of difficulty realizing my own cultural identity. I’ve never evaluated why I do things the way I do or what makes me unique from others who didn’t grow up in the same region. This activity helped me significantly. I like the fact that it enabled me to write and to utilize a new form of technology. I feel like HaikuDeck could be used in a variety of ways in an English class. Doing an activity similar to this one where we use a writing sample from class as a prompt to elicit a creative response and to make the content personal could not only be a powerful self reflection for the students, but it could also create a connection and some personal significance with the writing sample.