October 15th, 2018

In the readings this week there were many new things that I learned, but I would like to touch of the three that influenced me the most. The first being that children suffer the most from the statistics telling them its not okay to be who they are. I believe this is a struggle for every child, not only Indigenous children, as the media can play a huge impact on a child. These statistics also result in more emotional and psychological issues. This is alarming as a becoming teacher, as our country is always becoming more diverse with many other cultures moving in. Although this article is talking about aboriginal people, I believe it can be related to other cultures as well. This brings me to my second learning, that children are now taught Not to trust aboriginal knowledge, but rather rely on science and technology. Aboriginal knowledge is not just a way of learning, but rather a way of life for many and it blows my mind that children and young adults are being told that their ways of living is incorrect. The third thing I learned is that childhood educators are now beginning to challenge European American ways and are increasingly involved in power and privilege.
The first connection I had is when the reading mentioned having a hunger and thirst for learning. I can easily relate to this statement and I believe that I have always had a hunger for learning as well, and I have always been interested in learning new things and continuing to grow. Another connection that I had to these readings was when Marie Battiste began talking about learning spirits, as I have previously learned about this in highschool. I love the idea behind learning spirits as it encourages students to fulfil their purpose in life and express themselves through their learning.
The one question that came to mind while doing these reading was that it is mentioned that aboriginal people are often compared to others whose skills, experiences, histories, and cultures are different – is this not the same for other cultures?