I want to implement both the Circle of Courage and the Seven Grandfather Teachings into my classroom as a way to incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing and being. The Circle of Courage and the Seven Grandfather Teachings honour Indigenous voices and allow for representation for Indigenous students.
Both of these frameworks are important in the classroom as they hold positive environments for students and allow for healthy relationships among classmates and create a successful sense of place.
I also want to use the First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model into the classroom as a way to show student’s that learning and knowledge comes from many different places and is a lifelong process.
Circle of Courage
I want to implement the Circle of Courage into my classroom to allow for students to feel generosity, belonging, mastery, and independence. I would bring this into my classroom by showcasing an everyday inclusion. Students should have activities to participate in like: doing group work (belonging/mastery), participating in sharing circles (belonging/generosity), having classroom jobs (independence/generosity), doing inquiry projects (mastery), and having personal reflections (mastery).
The Circle of Courage can allow for students to feel loved, feel successful, have power in their decisions, and feel a purpose for their lives both inside and outside of the classroom.
Seven Grandfather Teaching
The Seven Grandfather Teachings represents many qualities that I want to hold in my classroom. I want my students to be able to have humility, honesty, truth, respect, wisdom, love, and courage and share those qualities with their peers. I want the Grandfather Teachings to be recognized by the students and understood by how they can be used and shared in their everyday activities.
The Seven Grandfather Teachings also shares the knowledge of Indigenous communities and ways of living. The centre hearth fire is a gathering place for communities which can be connected to the relationships in the classroom. The lines represent the strength of young girls. The four colours connect to the different stages of life and the medicine wheel is used as a guide to help balance our health. All of these things are important to be incorporated into the classroom.
First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model
The First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model is a great way to showcase to students that learning comes from many different places and that all knowledge is valuable. This model also shows that the act of learning is always continuing throughout life and it gives the opportunity for students to share their learning to their classmates.
I would like to set this model up into my classroom and allow for students to write what they know and what they have learned amongst the leaves, the branches, the rain drops, and the roots of the tree. By doing this, students can see the learning in action from their peers and they can share with the class the knowledge that they have.