Connect 12, Embedding Indigenous Knowledge into Learning
I had the pleasure of visiting W.J. Mouat Secondary school to spend time with students in Connect 12. Connect 12 is an integrated Indigenous course that blends Indigenous ways of knowing with social justice. In a talking circle, I shared my experience growing up in Abbotsford as an Indigenous person and my experience as an Indigenous person working in the Abbotsford School District. I then asked the students what we as educators could do to make schools better. I was impressed by the deep discussion that students had as they provided me with their perspective on what makes learning engaging, meaningful, and purposeful.
Throughout the talking circle, I heard students talk about the power of relationships. Nearly every student shared the importance of feeling like their teachers knew who they were, cared about them, and were invested in them. Secondly, students in the class discussed how they wished for an increased agency in what they learned, how they learned it, and how they communicated their learning. Students expressed a wish to have a say in what it is that they learned. To have the opportunity to choose the content that interested them was voiced by several students. Also, students wished for more opportunities for their work to allow for diverse perspectives. Many students felt that they did not have the freedom to communicate diverse perspectives when sharing in class or communicate their learning in assessments. Finally, students shared their desire to have multiple modalities for demonstrating their learning. One Indigenous student shared their understanding that not everything can be communicated in writing. This perspective resonated with many students in the circle and cemented the sentiment that students wished for choice in how they shared their understanding.
I am very thankful for the opportunity to share my knowledge and experience with this class. I am more thankful to have had the opportunity to learn from them about agency's power through student voice and choice. I committed to the class to come back and see them again and I am looking forward to that opportunity.