When I first began the program, I had never heard of the First Peoples Principles of Learning. I was already an advocate for Indigenous education and working towards Truth and Reconciliation, but I did not yet know how to implement my advocacy as an educator. As I have progressed throughout my own education these past 14 months, I have slowly been able to develop my own sense of what the First Peoples Principles of Learning mean, what they look like, and the difference they can make.
My largest and most recent revelation is that the First Peoples Principles of Learning is not something explicitly taught or seen. Instead, much like how Dr. Fraser teaches, it is interwoven in my very own words and actions that I choose to use when teaching a lesson. The impact of a Principle is lost when I say “For this lesson, we are going to practice such and such an FPPL. Now, moving on…”. Instead, by weaving the Principle into how I teach and how they learn, it is learned and practiced subconsciously. I believe that when a secondary level of learning is taking place without direct instruction, it becomes routine. I also teach the First Peoples Principles of Learning through an interwoven method because the content itself is not tangible, at least not in my opinion. The content within the FPPLs is spiritual, something we all feel and a way to think or comprehend life around us. It’s like breathing, if we don’t think about it it just comes naturally, but once you put too much thought towards it, the process becomes effort and uncomfortable.
Here are ways and examples of how I weave each Principle into my practice:
Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self,
the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and
the ancestors.
This Principle is often practiced when we learn about emotions, meditation, or any other form of self-love and care. I always make sure to tell my students that if they are able to recognize their own emotions, they can begin to learn how their own self can influence the environment and people around them. The well-being of the self radiates outwards through energy and interactions, and it’s vital for my students to understand the impact that they can have on others, both positively and negatively. I practice this Principle by teaching my students how to fully engage with guided meditations, yoga, or whatever other exercise resonates with them and act as an outlet or self-centering action. We practice how to recognize if what we have said or done impacts others around us when there are emotional reactions in the classroom. By honouring our own spirit and energy, and by nurturing our own well-being, we can create an environment for ourselves where learning strengthens our bonds and connections with others.
Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential,
and relational (focused on connectedness, on
reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place).
I weave this Principle into my practice through how I teach, and therefore the students practice it through learning. This Principle itself is so vital and prominent in every subject, and in every lesson, no matter what the content because holistic learning connects with lifelong learning, and relational content makes their learning incredibly more relevant than independent and disconnected lessons. This Principle is interwoven with my practice by always making an effort to connect content from as many subjects as I can, like reading about kaleidoscopes in our novel study and then making our own for ADST, or learning about biomes in Science and then drawing elements of our biome in our Land Acknowledgement posters for Social Studies. It is important for the students to learn in such a way that they can see the connections within their learning, because that way they will begin to see school as something more than tasks to complete in a day, and instead will hopefully engage in a deeper and more well-rounded learning.
Learning involves recognizing the consequences
of one’s actions.
Consequences are a hot topic in the Fourth Grade. Consequences for emotional interactions, activity and motion in the gym or classroom, actions between classmates, and even playing outside during recess or lunch need to be taught. While consequences are taught explicitly, they are also interwoven into everything we do. The goal, ultimately, is to have the students (one day) recognize that there are potential consequences for nearly everything we do in our lives, no matter what age we are or what we are doing. And while they can certainly learn about consequences through explicit instruction, I also weave this Principle into my practice through upholding my own expectations of the class. My expectations are not a secret, the students are well-aware of where I stand on most situations. And yes, sometimes I need to set a reminder. But at the end of it all, this Principle is almost entirely my own to uphold and not go soft on. My expectations for production, behaviour, kindness, respect, etc. are high, but also grade and age appropriate for the students. I hold them to a standard that I know they can achieve, and I do not waver. Through some practice and experience in the classroom, we are all on the same page, and I have begun to see the students holding themselves to a similar standard. We are getting to the point where instead of them not understanding that their reaction or action was not appropriate for school, and instead they are often able to reflect on how they can do better in the future. Consequences should not be seen as punishment for a mistake, but instead as an opportunity to learn and grow the next time a similar scenario occurs.
Learning involves generational roles and
responsibilities.
I feel like the person who has benefitted most from this First Peoples Principle of Learning is myself. The amount of learning that I have experienced through watching, listening, and mimicking of other educators at my school, or faculty with the university, is insurmountable. It is incredible to compare myself and my goals to what I witness around me on a daily basis while in practicum. People around me who have been teaching for 10, 20, even 30 or more years within my very reach to learn from and observe as a way to inform my own practice. I feel incredibly lucky to be practicing this Principle in my own daily experience. For my students, however, it may be less obvious or impactful, but it still exists. It exists when we take them to work with their Grade One buddies so that they can help them with reading or crafts. They know that because they are the “Big Buddies” they are leading by example and imparting knowledge to those younger than them. This practice is also woven into our classroom through the firm and obvious boundary between teacher and student. While we can joke, play, and talk with one another, my Coaching Teacher and I have always made it clear to the students that we are of different generations, roles, and that we carry different responsibilities. They understand that while our relationship can be friendly, I am still there for a different purpose than they are and therefore I offer different elements of school than their peers do. I offer safety, knowledge, experience, and protection every single day that we are in the classroom, and the purpose of this Principle is for the students to know that.
Learning recognizes the role of indigenous
knowledge.
For this Principle, I have to give all of the credit to our in-house Aboriginal Education Worker. She is so incredible, knowledgeable, and resourceful, and without her I would not have been able to get nearly as in-depth with my lessons on local Indigenous history as I have. As somebody who is not a descendent of the First Peoples of Canada, there is only so much knowledge I can find, hold, and teach to those around me. So much information is held sacred, and without her help in finding Elders to come talk to the class, organizing field trips to the pit house (which will hopefully happen soon), and showing us authentic and respectful ways to hold a talking circle, my own instruction would have seemed incredibly superficial. And I understand that no matter how hard I try to find the information and to teach it to the students, it is, and never will be, my place to fill in the blanks that the textbook leaves. The role of Indigenous knowledge connects the content to the spirit, and the past to the present. My way of weaving this First Peoples Principle of Learning is by physically weaving in the people who can speak to it best.
Learning is embedded in memory, history,
and story.
This Principle is interwoven with my instruction in three parts, one focused on memory, another on history, and the last within story. For memory, I will often try to prompt my students to remember their past learning when introducing new learning so that they can reflect on how what they have already mastered applies to the new information. I believe that this helps them learn because it gives them something to work off of while instilling confidence because they already know a part of the new content. Memory is powerful in learning because it can remind us of what we already know, but also (and more importantly), how that situation made us feel, ultimately giving us courage and strength going forward into the unknown. Even something as small as a character in a book having the same name as the character in a book they had previously read and enjoyed can give them the motivation to get into a new experience with a positive mindset. So, by prompting these memories of even the smallest connections of past experiences, I can help them be brave when learning something new. I weave history into my teaching practice by always trying to connect what we are learning to something tangible that has happened in the past. For example, our novel that we are doing for our novel study in class was written in 1961, so, while we read it together I will often pause to discuss how the times were different for the kids in the book versus kids nowadays. This discussion helps the students to understand that times are always changing and that learning and experiences need to be flexible. And finally, for story, this weaving is my absolute favourite. Story goes along with everything, whether it be making a connection to a personal experience and telling the whole class the story in the middle of learning (and encouraging them to do the same), or practicing skills that we are learning through story-writing. There is so much learning to be done through story-telling. Writing is so much more fun when you can write about a spooky skeleton, reading is enjoyable when the story provides depth and excitement, and learning is deepened when we can make personal connections to it. Stories are always welcome in my learning environment.
Learning involves patience and time.
This one, I have always felt, is a no-brainer. But while being a no-brainer, we can often forget its’ importance. In my daily practice, I always try to be mindful of how learning cannot be rushed. Assessment cannot take place before the learning is mastered, and new content cannot be practiced if it does not make sense. I weave patience and time into my practice by not worrying about how long it takes for us to get through a lesson, or if the students need a break and to get back into it later. There is always another day, or another time, for us to resume our learning. They key is to be flexible and to foster an adaptable environment in the classroom.
Learning requires exploration of one’s identity.
One of my favourite parts of teaching is that each and every one of us is unique. Each student has their own personality, sense of humour, background knowledge, and thoughts or opinions of the content we are learning. I don’t believe that education should act as a machine to churn people out into society to get boring jobs or to work for the economy. I think education should mean finding our purpose, strengths, stretches, and passions. By weaving these pedagogical beliefs into my practice and classroom, I can help my students understand themselves better which will better help them understand and find their own paths in the future that coincide best with their unique identities. I weave this Principle in by allowing for personalization of work, always being open to feedback or different options for projects, and giving them the freedom to learn in the way that works best for them. I am aware of how each of my students learn best, and I try to honour that in my teaching. Yes, it would be easy to teach a singular way, but if my students are not exploring while they are learning, they are not learning anything about themselves in the process.
Learning involves recognizing that some
knowledge is sacred and only shared with
permission and/or in certain situations.
Something that I have learned during this practicum, and that I find quite funny, is that students this age are nosey. They always want to know what people are doing, saying, working on, etc.. But it’s important to recognize that this nosiness is just a result of curiosity, which is an extremely beneficial behaviour. However, as much as I love curiosity and see that it has many benefits to learning, it is important for the students to recognize that some information, especially regarding sacred knowledge, is not there’s to take. I weave the idea of private or sacred knowledge into my practice by always ensuring that the information being shared in the class is appropriate to do so, and if it isn’t, I find the person who can share it. Or I ask to see if it is okay. For example, I had started my Social Studies unit off with local Indigenous history, but ultimately could not find any information about the Lheidli T’enneh. I asked our Aboriginal Education Worker if she had any tips for teaching the content, and she told me that while there is a rich history, it is sacred. We ended up finding a compromise where she worked with an Elder that she brought in and we did a talking circle with our class and another Grade 4/5 class in the school and the students were able to ask any question they liked, and the Elder was there to share whatever information he wanted to. Some information was not his to share, and he told us so as we went along. A part of our students learning this Principle is also having them understand that they can also hold sacred knowledge, and that is is totally fine to to keep something to themselves as long as no one is in danger or getting hurt. Sacred knowledge is for the person who holds it.