Running Head: Final Assignment

Final Assignment

Cole Anderson
32916026
ETEC 521 - 66A
Submitted to: Dr Heather McGregor
University of British Columbia
August 9, 2017

Abstract:

This paper has been written with the target audience of any educators who are currently
teaching social studies in the province of British Columbia in 2017. The themes of indignity,
education, cyberspace, tribalism will be explored in combination with the importance of the First
Peoples Principles of Learning, the National Film Board of Canada, The Truth and
Reconciliation Committee calls to action and the Nwe Jinan Artists for the classroom.

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In this academic research paper I will explain how an early 21st century social

studies educator can incorporate the themes of indignity and education into their

classroom. Its my desire to explain how social studies educators in the province of

British Columbia can demonstrate an understanding of respect towards the First

Peoples of Canada in a hyper connected globalized society classroom. To facilitate this

understanding examples with education supported by technology as a personal device

thats connected globally, but within the context of social studies, will be explored.

Throughout the paper there will be course specific literature themed authors such as

Grixti and Howe will be explored in further detail. The specific themes which will be

explored in the paper will be the First Peoples Way of Learning, Cyberspace, Tribalism

and Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Within each theme there will be a

juxtaposition demonstration of how certain digital education products such as the

National Film Board of Canada App and the Nwe Jinan Artists Surrey School Board

specialized song can be used towards achieving indignity and education in social

studies.

A social studies educator in British Columbia (BC) can incorporate the BC Ministry

of Education First People People Principles of Learning requirements through the use of

the First Peoples Way of Learning document of 2015 (FNESC, 2015). Within the

document it outlines what is the First Peoples Way of Learning. As a secondary social

studies educator it is important that the main concepts of this philosophy is fully

understood before the implementation. Even though there are nine guidelines to this

principle there are three paraphrased themes which are directly associated with social

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studies. In secondary social studies both educators and students should understand

that according to the First Peoples learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential

and relational. Additionally learning is embedded in our memories, our histories, and the

stories that are shared publicly. The end result is learning requires exploration of ones

identity and understanding how they fit into the overall hyper connected globalized

world (FNESC, 2015).

For secondary social studies educators in BC the above theory can be used in a

natural combination towards the implementation of the BC social studies new curriculum

and the three Core Competencies. The BC curriculum Core Competencies focuses on

the following three competencies for student self-development which are

communication, thinking and personal - social. All three can be connected to the themes

of indignity and education at the secondary level (Government of British Columbia). The

most straightforward way to achieve this goal is for the educator to create a series of

secondary social studies focuses projects, such as a residential school in BC or the

impact that the Indian Act had on the Coast Salish potlatch, in which each project

focuses on each of the core competency goals while implanting one of the three

highlighted First Peoples Principles of Learning perspectives simultaneously.

Additionally at the end of the course there could be a final project where the students

would be tasked to demonstrate their understanding of both pedagogical theories while

relating to the specific course subject matter. In the final project students could be asked

to demonstrate how learning is holistic, reflective and it takes time to share their story

while achieving all three of the core competencies.

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It should not be forgotten that the focus of a BC social studies educator should not

be exclusively on teaching new content as the educator. Their focus should also be on

finding new and creative ways to incorporate educational supported internet based

technology for an early 21st century classroom. A free app, the National Film Board of

Canada (NFB), could quite easily be the focus of any case study examples for students

to understand Canadas various First Peoples. The use of visual media and cyberspace

of today can demonstrate how films can be used to show students how social studies

education has evolved and changed in the early 21st century so it will now include the

First Peoples. The variety of films that are on the NFB database can be used as a

historical time capsule lens to early colonial history and a glimpse into what life was like

for the First People before the residential schools were implemented.

BC social studies educators can use of the NFB app, in combination with an

overview on what the BCTF Historical Timeline of the Aboriginal Peoples in British

Columbia, to make connections to early European colonial history in BC. The BCTF

timeline provides a very succinct overview to the known recorded history for the First

People in BC after the Europeans arrival such as as when Captain George Vancouver

first contact with the Nisgaa in 1793 (British Columbia Teachers Federation, 2015). In

combination with the NFB app a BC social studies educator can use many old films

which do provide an accurate visual recorded history of former Canadian colonial racial

attitudes towards the First People. Some of the selected films titles that will be

mentioned are: People of the Skeena, Vistas: Button Blanket, Salmon People and The

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People at Dipper. This app can also be connected to the article by Grixti, Indigenous

Media Values: cultural and Ethical Implications. In combination with the NFB app, the

BCTF Historical Timeline, and the Grixti article, BC social studies educators can use

these resources while being facilitators on how the BC social studies curriculum can

approach the subject of indignity and education respectively.

Through the use of any technology a BC social studies educator must understand

that the purpose of social studies is to help students comprehend various Canadian

society issues. The topics that are explored in a social studies class will be provocative

and disagreeable to some of the students. However, what matters the most is for the

classroom to a safe place for difficult topics to be discussed in an open and honest

class discussion. In the article written by Paul Orlowski,That Would Certainly be

Spoiling them the author conducted a two question study. There was one particular

question that was most compelling which was, Do you think that the Social Studies

curriculum adequately represents the contributions and experiences of aboriginal

peoples? (If not) Do you do anything to compensate for this? (Orlowski, p. 112). This

was a study on how an educator can analyze the current status of indigenous students

but from a dominant Caucasian male perspective.

A social studies educator should expose their students to realities that Canadian

multiculturalism since the 1960s does promote a feeling of universal cultural acceptance

but it does try to erase past struggles or conflicts from the past between the races who

live in Canada. (Orlowski p. 114). As an example since 1941 there had been eight

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official different versions of the province wide social studies curriculum. However, it

wasnt until 2005 that the BC Ministry of Education finally gave the right to BC social

studies educators to officially guide their students make connections to the First

Peoples stories and values in Social Studies 11 (Orlowski, p. 116). There are many

ongoing issues and philosophical disagreements on the content of social studies even

after the implementation of the core competencies in 2016 (Government of British

Columbia. 2017). These professional disagreements continue even as each educator

has a far greater level of independence to customize their course to better match the

ethnographic profiles of their classes. Every BC social studies educator should be

understand that even though the curriculum does explore the legacy of the Indian

Residential Schools the curriculum still mainly focuses on teaching the importance of

caucasian imperial culture and caucasian global supremacy. There is not a single stand

alone topic that is First People exclusively as their topics have been added as an

extension or supplemental activity to the pre-existing and well established caucasian

dominated history.

It should not be forgotten nor misunderstood that any educator, no matter what

their subject is, has to understand the ramifications of cyberspace on each indigenous

tribes. Cyberspace can be either social media and or any digital technology device that

is connected to the internet. This is absolutely critical because cyberspace is

challenging the authority and traditional role of the knowledge that was once held

collectively and exclusively by the tribe. Once the educator understands the role of

cyberspace they can make connections to their course content while incorporating the

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calls to action recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of

Canada.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is important for a BC social studies

educator to incorporate into their classroom because of one main key recommendation

from the report. The call to action #62 out of 94 calls to action that is directly related to

social studies is, We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial and aboriginal

governments in consultation and collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal peoples and

educators to, 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 (TRC, 7). That one

call to action can be directly connected back to the course themes of indignity and

education for a social studies educator reinforces in a globalized society our First

Peoples tribal communities are still important and they are not a doomed people as the

story of Canada is far from over.

In BC the social studies educators can visual media, and in particular music

videos, to spread the message of equity beyond the walls of their classroom. The

indigenous peoples of Canada have special status and they continue to seek a

reaffirmation of their special status as being the First People who made civilizations

here through fair negotiated treaties. This is an incredibly powerful message that can

delivered and explored in a social studies classroom. Through the media of music

videos students should experience an enrichment to their education as music is a

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powerful trigger for secondary students. This could be a potential trigger for their inquiry

learning as the class learns about the harms but also the healing process for the

Canadian First Peoples as the result of the Residential Schools. There is music group

which is the embodiment of every major theme that was explored in this paper while

showcasing the true powers of what our youth can do when they are given the power to

be empowered. The Nwe Jinan Artists is a group that uses the power of music videos

to reach the hearts and minds of every student no matter what their ancestry is but their

message is strictly educational. It is a message that embraces the power on self-

advocacy.

In the song, Show us the Way from the album The Silent War, Vol. 5. This song

was filmed in my home district - Surrey School District (#36) and I watched the world

premiere of this song at our annual educators summit called, Engaging the Digital

Learner Dinner Series. This song, and the group, is connected to indignity and

education in Social Studies with the new BC Curriculum. It is connected because in the

chorus the lyrics say, Show us the way, save those who doom to die Show us the

way, let us be sanctified (Sizzla Lyrics). In the Hare article Learning from Indigenous

knowledge in education, the author explains the power of students taking ownership.

No culture is ever doomed to die as long as the youth have hope. In social studies this

powerful morale should never be missed or understated.

Throughout the paper I have explained and demonstrated how an early 21st

century Social Studies educator can include the various explored themes into the digital

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and globalized classroom. It was my desire to write and share this research paper

because of the great benefit potential for my fellow social studies colleagues in the

province of British Columbia.

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References and Literature List

Acorn Media. (2002). The British Empire in Colour [TV Mini-Series] United Kingdom.

British Columbia Teachers Federation. (2015). Timeline History of Aboriginal People in

British Columbia. Accessed from http://www.bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/POH/timelineENG.pdf

FNESC (2015). The First Peoples Principles of Learning. Retrieved from

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/abed/principles_of_learning.pdf

Government of British Columbia. (2017). Building Students Success BCs New

Curriculum Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca

Hare, J. (2011). Learning from Indigenous knowledge in education. In D. Long & O. P.

Dickenson (Eds.), Visions of the heart: Canadian Aboriginal Issues. 3rd Edition

(pp. 91-112). Oxford University Press.

Howe, C. (1998). Cyberspace is No Place for Tribalism. Wicazo Sa Review, 13(2),

19-28.

National Film Board of Canada. (2015). NFB Films (2.9.1.) [iOS 10.3.2]. Accessed from

https://appsto.re/ca/3ZdLw.i

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Nwe Jinan. (2017). About Nwe Jinan. Accessed from http://nwejinan.com/about/

Nwe Jinan. (2017). Show Us the Way (Recorded by Nwe Jinan Artists). On The Silent

War, Vol. 5 [MP3 file]. Surrey, BC: Nwe Jinan.

Orlowski, P. (2008). That would certainly be spoiling them: Liberal discourses of social

studies teachers and concerns about aboriginal students. Canadian Journal of Native

Education, 31(2), 110-129.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Truth and Reconciliation

Commission of Canada: Calls to Action. Accessed from

http://nctr.ca/assets/reports/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf

Sizzla Lyrics. (2017). Show Us the Way. Nwe Jinan. Accessed from

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sizzla/showustheway.html

#SD36 Learn Dinner Series 2.0 [#36]. (2017, April 5). Sparking Today's Learner!
[PDF file] Unlisted.

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