1.Bandwagon – Let Them Eat Cake!

Question: History

In the past, libraries and books were at the heart of the educational enterprise, but with the ascendance of new technologies and media, they are now vanishing from schools at an alarming rate. Is there still a role for libraries and if so, what is it? Explain your response.

Libraries are something that students have enjoyed for many years, they’ve helped them learn new knowledge, but also gave them a chance to get lost in different worlds. Nevertheless, I believe that libraries are going to be something of the past, schools don’t have the capacity to hold as much information as the internet and technology does. It’s also a much easier process using technology opposed to books, just finding the book is a process but finding the information in a book takes a lot more steps than technology would. These are just some examples of technology and media being the front runner in the race with what is needed and what will disappear with time. Relating it to the case study, I don’t think we should get rid of the librarians in exchange for information technologists; I believe the librarians need to keep up with the times, just as every teacher must, and be able to navigate through new technologies and the internet. We have to help the students understand what peer reviewed is and what fake information looks like, and by doing this, we are setting them up to have the chance to explore the internet but be able to determine what is the truth and what is false. This day and age in society we can’t compete with technology and how fast we can retrieve information through the internet. We must be able to move with the times and have our students ready for life outside of school.

This is just another thought, but instead of a library, lets Indigenize our school even more. Have this space be the Indigenous rooms that are always so small and tucked away in the schools. By doing this, you create a much larger space that generates the opportunity for the Indigenous students to feel as if they are a priority but also helping move the Indigenous space into a common area where every student will explore. It seems that non-Indigenous students think they are not welcomed in these spaces, and I believe that’s a result of being so small and away from the main area. This will help with building relationships, understanding each other and allow the students a safe, inclusive space for all nationalities and backgrounds. A place where a tipi could be set up, the big map of all the First Nations, dialects, and timelines, a drumming area, etc. This is a side note but always thinking bigger picture.

Question: Implications for Practice

Given the tenuous future of school libraries, how will you ensure that your students develop the research skills they need?

Relating it to the case study, I think that research skills are a beneficial resource for the transition from high school into university. The high school grades need to learn how to research and be able to find peer reviewed information while understanding what false information is. It must be longer than our usual one- or two-day information session with the librarians or the instructors; that’s a lot of information to get across in a few classes. With the changes throughout the years and the different editions, it makes it tough to keep up and do it the right way. If we can possibly make this into some sort of a course or class, like metal work or cooking, that is the way to go. It will be so beneficial throughout university to have the knowledge of research skills and how to do it in the fastest possibly way.

2. Moral Panics – A Stitch in Time

Question History

How might separate ethnic schools balance their own historical perspectives with those mandated by the provincial curriculum?

I believe that schools haven’t gone far enough when it comes to the school environment and making it safe for all students, cultures and backgrounds. Yes, the anti-bullying laws have raised some awareness, but I still think it’s not enough. Students are more aware of how they’re behaving towards the other students in the schools for Pink Shirt Day, but I think it loses its lust after that day. We need to have biweekly or monthly conversations where the students and staff bring forth and recognize anti-bullying and what the laws or meaning behind it is, so we can create that safe place for all students. Weekly acknowledgement would be tough, but monthly or biweekly would be great and help students be more aware and understanding of anti-bullying and what it is, in all forms. 

When we think of a safe space, are the schools in the districts and how they operate safe for all backgrounds, cultures, and ways of knowing and being?  When we look at Merriam-Webster dictionary (n.d.), they define bullying as, “abuse and mistreatment of someone vulnerable by someone stronger, more powerful, etc.” When I look through an Indigenous perspective, it seems the BC curriculum and the schools within the districts are the bullies. It’s all too familiar that the dominant science and understanding is that of a Western lens, this is a result of the ‘mistreatment’ of the vulnerable, due to colonialism, from a society seen as the ‘more powerful’ race in a white man’s world. So, I think that we must start with the schools and the material that has and still is taught in most of our systems. This would lead to a more inclusive and open space that is respectful and acknowledges Indigenous ways of knowing and being. I also think that we must recognize all ways of knowing and being in our schools. Canada is a culturally diverse place that has students from all over the world with different backgrounds. If we allow our spaces in the schools to be culturally diversified, this will lead to a safe place for all students. Bullying is a learned behaviour and in a bigger picture, we need to understand that the bullying inside our schools is a result of our society painting the Western lifestyle to be the ideal and the ‘something else’s’ lifestyle is less powerful. 

Question: Implications for Practice

What do you think your role should be as a school club adviser?

This was a great question; it allowed me to take a deeper dive into how I would want my classroom to be and how can I make that happen.  I want my space to be safe, inclusive, and somewhere students and families can come to enjoy, build relationships, and bring forth any concerns they may have. I would really like to have an open-door policy; I enjoy having conversation with the students and their families. Seeing how I can meet each of their wants and needs, so I can be that support and create that safe space for the families I have that school year.

Something else that I want to foster into my classroom is learning each of my families’ hellos or good days in their native language, it gives them that little sense of belonging and shows them the effort I put into building relationships with them. I think it would be great to understand all the nationalities and languages that are at your school, learning these will be tough but it expands your word vocabulary and helps you connect with your students and parents. With that said, language is a sense of identity, I want to be able to do the bare minimum when it comes to my student’s traditional language. Learning the hellos, goodbyes, thank yous, you get the gist, this just allows for that sense of belonging and creates that safe inclusive space I want in my classroom. So the parents know they can come to me with any safety concerns they may have.

References 

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Bullying. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bullying

3.  Bandwagon – The Future Is Now

Question: Philosophy

Do you think that critical thinking, social responsibility, and interpersonal skills are necessarily compromised when as educational system, embraces technology? Justify your position.

Technology has definitely changed the outcome of who we are as people, how we think and what we believe in. The evolution of technology in the world has been very beneficial, but at the same time, it has compromised our critical thinking, social responsibility, and interpersonal skills. Just about everything we do nowadays has to do with technology is some sort of way and this has taken away a lot of good opportunities for people to build relationships.  We don’t have the chance to go through firsthand perspectives, processes, discussions and being able to work together with our peers.  We now just look to the internet because it’s so much faster and more convenient. This also makes it tougher to build community and have the understanding of each individual’s role within that community. Technology has taken away a lot of jobs and opportunity for certain folks. In addition, you also see children staying indoors more and communicating through games or over the internet. They’re losing their social skills, and as a result, many kids cannot cope with being in group settings, like schools.

Technology has painted a picture of what is ‘normal’ in society, and how people should act. As a result, most people want to follow the ideal of what is normal or in at the moment. People become scared or afraid to think critically about who they are, where they come from, and how they can communicate with other people from different backgrounds. Technology is something of the future, but we must be able to have the chance to live and learn from our lived experiences.

Question: implications for Practice

In adopting new technologies, how will you ensure that you keep both students learning and student safety at the forefront?

When we are adopting new technology in our classroom, we must try it out ourselves first and make sure that the children are capable of doing what we ask and in a safe manner. Having a good awareness yourself will help your students have a better understanding and learning process so they can be successful. If you’re confident your students will be. You must also establish what is school appropriate and set your guidelines and have them followed. A great tool for this is google classroom, where you can see what the children are doing and able to monitor them. For each piece of technology in the school you must have guidelines and determine what the students can use and what’s only for adults. Lastly, I believe helping your students understand what is fake and what is real on the internet is very beneficial and needs to be taught early.

4. Myth – This Suit’s for Wearing

Question: Philosophy

What do you think is means to be a “quality educator?”

A “quality educator” assists the needs of their students and is someone that helps their students succeed to the best of their ability. Understanding that all their students are unique in their own way, and they are all different learners, one thing may work for one specific student but be entirely different for the next. Having the capacity to identify what each of your students’ needs are to be able to thrive is a beneficial piece that will help them move forward in a good way. We must be able to build that positive mindset in each one of our students and have a healthy relationship built on trust, hope and connection. As me move forward, we must acknowledge that as an educator we have to be open to change. We can’t get stuck in our ways and there is always room for growth. The world is always advancing in technology, the curricula, best practices for certain disabilities, impairments, and so on. We can’t be afraid to learn new things, and this comes with understanding our students’ backgrounds and where they come from. We must be considerate and open to allow all students so they can express who they are and be comfortable doing it. Lastly, relating the content to the student will help them have a better understanding. These are just a few points that I believe makes a “quality educator” in my books.

Question: Implications for Practice

Whether we like to admit it or not, the myth of the normal child affects our perceptions of our students. How will you challenge this myth in your own practice?

What is a normal child? This is such an old myth that I think we are past what is normal and what is not normal for children. We as educators know that all students are normal in their own way but also different in their own way, and we must meet their needs individually. It’s really tough for me to picture what a normal child is, a privileged white child?  Is that considered normal? I know that each student has their own needs and ways they learn best and as an educator we have to be able to identify what we need to do so that all children are approached and considered normal.