The Outdoor Classroom:
Enabling our Indigenous Students
Upon my years at Brock University, it has been brought to my attention multiple times that Indigenous students have seemed to receive the "short end of the stick" when it comes to their education. According to Chambers and Radbourne (2015) Indigenous students experience significant gaps in achievement in comparison with their non-Indigenous classmates, as teachers today are still using a "fragmented and Euro-centric approach" to teach these students (p. 5). This simply cannot continue to happen, in order to ensure this, some real change needs to happen in our classrooms today.
With this being said, I propose that incorporating the outdoors into the classroom is an excellent idea to ensure that all students (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) are getting everything they possibly can out of their education. By using the ecosocial theory, and environment as text proposed by Chambers and Radbourne (2015), students will be able to develop respect and care for the environment in which they live as well as for each other. Taking the classroom outside doesn't mean that science will be the only topic covered. The outdoor classroom can incorporate a cross-cuticular approach, teaching students critical literacy, mathematics and science. The math and science will come in obvious ways from the environment, but critical literacy takes a bit more planning. Students will be able to read their world and answer critical questions that the environment begs us to answer (Chambers and Radbourne, 2015). How does the environment shape us as humans and how do we shape the environment? As human beings its quite clear that we aren't separate from the environment, both have an equal impact on one another and teaching students this importance will allow them to critically analyze what they do and how they do it and why it effects the environment.
Chambers and Radbourne (2015) suggest that Indigenous Elders and artists have an active role in this outdoor classroom by both planning and instruction. With Indigenous community members as part of the learning process, Indigenous students will begin to develop self-esteem and the belief that their traditional identity and culture matter and make a difference to the environment. Indigenous Elders can teach all students about the reliance that their people have on the land and water, and about their own cultural beliefs on what land and water can offer them. These individuals can help everyone learn about the lands ability to produce and support life.
By teaching everyone in the classroom about the multiple cultures that make up our world, we are creating a safe place where every student can feel confident in sharing and appreciating the culture in which they came from. We are teaching a culturally responsive pedagogy, and teaching our students to confront the norm and to accept that it isn't the only way of being. That is critical literacy.
Many teachers being raised in the traditional (or what we see as traditional) Euro-centric hegemonic ways of Western society, may find this idea of a cultural responsive pedagogy difficult to teach, incorporating individuals from the communities we want to learn about is a great way to become more open-minded.
I can see an outdoor classroom being beneficial to every student, specifically the Indigenous students who, for so long, have dealt with being second best. Hands-on, kinaesthetic, and land-based lessons and units can help positively impact students academic achievement, in more than just one subject. I believe it can create a well rounded, culturally responsive student who is appreciative of every culture, not just their own.
With this being said, I propose that incorporating the outdoors into the classroom is an excellent idea to ensure that all students (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) are getting everything they possibly can out of their education. By using the ecosocial theory, and environment as text proposed by Chambers and Radbourne (2015), students will be able to develop respect and care for the environment in which they live as well as for each other. Taking the classroom outside doesn't mean that science will be the only topic covered. The outdoor classroom can incorporate a cross-cuticular approach, teaching students critical literacy, mathematics and science. The math and science will come in obvious ways from the environment, but critical literacy takes a bit more planning. Students will be able to read their world and answer critical questions that the environment begs us to answer (Chambers and Radbourne, 2015). How does the environment shape us as humans and how do we shape the environment? As human beings its quite clear that we aren't separate from the environment, both have an equal impact on one another and teaching students this importance will allow them to critically analyze what they do and how they do it and why it effects the environment.
Chambers and Radbourne (2015) suggest that Indigenous Elders and artists have an active role in this outdoor classroom by both planning and instruction. With Indigenous community members as part of the learning process, Indigenous students will begin to develop self-esteem and the belief that their traditional identity and culture matter and make a difference to the environment. Indigenous Elders can teach all students about the reliance that their people have on the land and water, and about their own cultural beliefs on what land and water can offer them. These individuals can help everyone learn about the lands ability to produce and support life.
By teaching everyone in the classroom about the multiple cultures that make up our world, we are creating a safe place where every student can feel confident in sharing and appreciating the culture in which they came from. We are teaching a culturally responsive pedagogy, and teaching our students to confront the norm and to accept that it isn't the only way of being. That is critical literacy.
Many teachers being raised in the traditional (or what we see as traditional) Euro-centric hegemonic ways of Western society, may find this idea of a cultural responsive pedagogy difficult to teach, incorporating individuals from the communities we want to learn about is a great way to become more open-minded.
I can see an outdoor classroom being beneficial to every student, specifically the Indigenous students who, for so long, have dealt with being second best. Hands-on, kinaesthetic, and land-based lessons and units can help positively impact students academic achievement, in more than just one subject. I believe it can create a well rounded, culturally responsive student who is appreciative of every culture, not just their own.
Reference
Chambers, J. M., & Radbourne, C. L. (2015). Developing critical literacy skills through using the environment as text. Language and Literacy, 17(1), 1-20.
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