Tim Higginbotham

CRT

I was surprised by what I saw when we visited the kids in camp last Thursday. Typically, I associate summer camp with boredom and reluctant participation, but all of the students I spoke with seemed enthusiastic about the time they’ve spent there and smiled at every mention of an activity they had participated in. One girl told me that back home in Yakutat she hears a lot about her culture from her parents and grandparents, but rarely ever feels that she participates in it. She had never seen a deer or a seal gutted before, for instance, and she was excited to have shared that experience with the kids in camp.

Culturally responsive teaching plays off of the background knowledge that students bring with them to the classroom. It shares information in ways that can be understood by students of different cultures, rather than forcing them to learn information through a certain cultural filter. A lesson that stood out to me was the “math trail,” which struck me as a brilliant way to teach math in a way that can be approached by students from any background. Rather than prescribing a specific way to solve a problem, it allowed students to solve problems in whichever way they found most practical or logical (this would have been a huge help to me in high school). Not every student can speak the language of math that’s spoken in a textbook. Allowing students to use their own intuitive math skills in a problem-solving setting seems to me a beautiful example of culturally responsive teaching.

My focus being social studies, I have been thinking about ways to be culturally responsive with my future lesson plans. I think that it is almost always possible to introduce a historical, geographical, or international lesson through a local, relatable example or analogy. I’m not sure exactly what I mean by that, to be honest. But, for instance, I’m trying to make my iBook lesson as culturally responsive as possible by introducing global ideas through an Alaskan lens. I don’t know. I’ll keep working on this.

update:

Ernestine Hayes’ talk was important for us to hear. Several things she said have stuck with me and will be among my main takeaways from this course. She stressed the fact that we as teachers have to be incredibly careful when we choose our words: “everything you say will either combat colonialism or perpetuate it.” So many schools in our state have a history of harmful instruction, and we have to make sure to be on the right side of history. We cannot see ourselves as ‘saviors.’ “You aren’t going to save these kids,” she said, “you’re going to believe in them. They’ll save themselves.” This was powerful to hear, and I am so thankful that she took the time to speak to us.

Lesson Plan: Climate Refugees

This lesson is intended for high school Social Studies students (specifically, I think it would fit best in a Geography course). The plan is still just a rough draft, but it’s starting to take shape.

The goal of the lesson is to introduce students to the idea of climate refugees and to get them thinking about the imminent climate threats facing communities around the world. The teacher would introduce this lesson through the lens of Western Alaska, where communities like Kivalina, Newtok and Shishmaref are all struggling with the question of relocation due to rising sea levels and eroding shorelines. Discuss the problems these communities have run into, specifically when it comes to securing government funding and garnering community support for the big move.

Then, to broaden the perspective, students will study some more cases, including Isle de Jean Charles in Louisiana (which is set to be the first American community to be resettled due to climate change via a $48 million federal grant), Choiseul in Solomon Islands (which has bought land for relocation and is looking for international donors to fund the move) and possibly Greenland (where indigenous people are rapidly losing land and ways of life to the melting ice).

I want students to discuss in groups the challenges facing these communities, the governments responsible for them, and the world as a whole. They should imagine that they are in charge of deciding when and how to move a community similar to those in the above examples. Who is responsible for funding? What happens if there isn’t community-wide support for moving? How can they make sure to keep the community intact through a move? When happens to the people of the community if a move can’t be organized? Where would the refugees then go? Regroup as a class and share ideas.

I want to create a conversation about the moral challenges of climate change, threatened communities, and refugees. Students simply need to participate in their group discussions and remain engaged in the class discussion. I’m not sure about source material. I’ll probably add articles about the communities into the ibook for the students to read, like this one (though for brevity I might just provide summaries in the book). I will certainly embed imagery. If possible, I will include historical overlays to show how drastically shorelines have changed. I don’t know how long this lesson will take. It might be best suited for two separate class periods: one for intro, study and group discussions, another for a class-wide seminar. Any suggestions on things to add or cut would be appreciated.

Tim Higginbotham

Siberian-style pipe

These are Siberian-style pipes, which were made in Alaska but based on Asian designs. The description beneath the display suggests that the practice of smoking tobacco may have been introduced to Yupik communities by Siberian Natives, which interested me because we very rarely think of Siberian Natives when we hear about Russia’s influence on Alaska. Seeing this reminded me that prior to Russia’s conquest of Alaska, trade did sometimes occur between Siberian and Alaskan Natives across the Bering Strait.

Really enjoyed this museum visit. I was able to take my time reading and examining each display. I’m looking forward to visiting again.

images courtesy Alaska State Museum – Juneau

“Love your students”

I feel so fortunate to have listened to these three elders offer advice and share their experience. I felt going into this course that I had an understanding of what multi-cultural education is, but after just three days I realize how shallow my understanding was. Listening to Selina describe having her culture stripped from her as a child and seeing how deeply she feels that pain all these years later left a deep impression.

The advice Linda gave to a teacher in her story to “love your students” seems simple, but the context of her story made it much more profound: to love your students through respect and understanding of their diverse backgrounds and cultures, which will require a truly multicultural curriculum and classroom environment. Accomplishing this will take constant care and reflectiveness on the part of the teacher, but without it children – and, more broadly, entire cultures – can be acutely harmed.

Girdwood

The “flipped” structure of this assignment was new to me, but eye-opening. Using youtube and a course website to provide instruction without eating too much class time opens a number of possibilities for a teacher. Having that time instead for working on an assignment seems helpful for students, and it would free the teacher up to walk the room and help them individually with any problems they might be having.

My map walks you through my former home of Girdwood, Alaska, a small town near Anchorage (you probably know it for its mountain). I look forward to looking through your maps and haikus!