Goulet & Goulet (2014) utilized chapter five of their book Teaching Each Other: Nehinuw Concepts & Indigenous Pedagogies to share the importance of respectful student-teacher relationships. From this chapter and our guest speaker of the week, I will reflect on five key ideas: believing in students, celebrating growth, genuine care, humour, and fostering a sense of belonging. To end this blog post, I will share some of my next steps in my learning journey.

Believing In Students & Celebrating Growth

Today, believing in students and their abilities is one of the crucial tasks for teachers, so authentic learning can happen in the classroom. This task becomes more crucial when we think about Indigenous students in Canadian classrooms. To support Indigenous students in attending and graduating from school, classroom teacher Calvin Racette stated that administration needs teachers who will put students and their needs first (p. 102). From my teaching experience, I often close my classroom door and teach in a way that puts students and their needs first, even when some colleagues may disagree with my methods. I have found power in believing that my students can accomplish anything they set their minds to with the right amount of time and support. This mentality has developed creative solutions to ensure that students are successful in the classroom.

An example of this creative thought was recalled when reading about Goulet & Goulet’s recount of Val’s interaction with a student who struggled to read and required encouragement and support (p. 110). In a previous school year, I worked with a grade five student who struggled to read and write at a grade two level. I wanted to provide them with a duotang of decoding tools and a spelling dictionary to support their independent learning. However, grade five students tend to be more aware of what their classmates are doing and often want to look similar to their peers. I decided that this tool could help all the students in my classroom. I created a class set of duotangs called helper books. As the year progressed, whenever we would learn about a new strategy, tool, or trick in guided reading or math, we would record it in our helper books. From the outside, each student had the same duotang. On the inside, each had a set of tools to help their specific learning needs.

My helper book example connects back to the idea that teachers must believe that anything is possible for their students. The creative thinking that comes from this blind optimism is how public educators can do so much with so few resources and funding. From this, I worry less about whether students will be able to accomplish a goal, and I spend more time dreaming and planning for ways to help them get there. As a joy-driven person, this perspective has reduced my feelings of burnout.

In my classroom, joy has become a cornerstone of everyday. I strive to find ways to light up students’ faces and foster enthusiasm about classroom learning. Reflecting on my experience as a learner, every teacher I consider to have made a major impact in my life did or said something that recognized how I had grown or changed. I strive to be that educator for other students. I believe frequent recognition of everyday accomplishments can make a difference in a student’s life. As you get to know your students, it becomes easier to find moments of celebration. Reviewing where a student started and celebrating their growth helps to promote positive self-esteem. Public education in Saskatchewan is mandated to teach the provincial curriculum; however, I find the greatest growth in students each year often revolves around aspects outside of academics. I appreciate that Goulet & Goulet mention the impact that teachers have on students as they spend more time with children than their families do during the school year (p. 106). Having this large quantity of time with students each year means that educators must consciously build positive relationships with students and celebrate their growth.

Genuine Care & Humour

Educators must authentically believe in students and celebrate their successes. While reading chapter five, I giggled in agreement at Goulet & Goulet’s quote from a teacher, Yvonne, who stated, “Kids aren’t stupid. They know when people expect them to fail” (p. 106). I think the same sentiment is true that students know when educators are being fake towards them. I have found that viewing students as my own family helps me show genuine care for each of them.

I connected with the idea that humour is essential in the classroom (p. 107). I enjoy using humour to help students see a part of my soul and personality. I appreciate that Goulet & Goulet also mentioned the importance of teachers opening their personal lives to help humanize the teacher (p. 108). I recognize that this idea blurs the line between professional and personal. As chapter five mentions, an educator strives for a balance between a friend and an authority figure (p. 111). In this situation, the teacher must open up enough to help students see their teacher’s human side while ensuring they do not transfer any of their burdens onto the child. I view this like a healthy parent might interact with their child. I think the best student-teacher relationships develop when both parties recognize the humanity in each other.

Stepping outside of the classroom, students need to have relationships with the administration at their school. Administrators must be present and available to support students and teachers to help develop strong relationships with both parties. Chapter five mentioned how some teachers benefitted from using nicknames and teasing in their classroom (p. 107). I can see how strong relationships with students by teachers or administrators may allow these two strategies. The power dynamics between the teacher, administrator, and the student may cause tension that does not allow for humour to flow the same way. Establishing mutual respect with students, especially Indigenous students (p. 104), helps to humanize educators and administrators, so humour can deepen their relationships and not become a misstep.

Fostering A Sense of Belonging

From our class presentation by Vice Principal Jodi Letendre, my overall takeaway was that the journey to build relationships with students is critical because it supports their sense of belonging. In the model of effective teaching for Indigenous students, a sense of belonging is essential for students to develop relationships with others (Goulet & Goulet, p. 87). The work that Jodi mentioned around the Circle of Courage (Brokenleg, 2003) is something that I am very familiar with. In the last 4 school years, our school has utilized our character education assemblies to teach about the Circle of Courage. Due to my experience working with the Circle of Courage, I appreciated the emphasis that Jodi placed on the power of the Circle of Courage. Both models represent a holistic journey of learning and personal development. Goulet & Goulet’s model represents the journey that connects students to themselves, their classmates, teachers, the way learning occurs, and the content they are learning about (p. 87). The Circle of Courage connects students to their sense of self through establishing their feelings of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity (Brokenleg, 2003, p. 23). Specifically for Indigenous students, utilizing these two circle models in the classroom exemplifies cultural beliefs around holistic connections. Respecting and encouraging Indigenous culture and worldview in the classroom is one way to support Indigenous students’ educational pursuits (Goulet & Goulet, p. 109).

Going Forward

This chapter of Goulet & Goulet’s books has reminded me that students need teachers to be cheerleaders every day. It is a task that requires large amounts of work, but I believe it is the most important work that we do as educators. I resonated with the connection to humanness in chapter five and the idea that teachers are just another member of a child’s village (p. 108) who helps to guide and foster growth throughout their childhood.

As a next step, I would like to spend more time in my future classroom setting goals, monitoring the goals, and celebrating growth of any kind. To further explore the impacts of humour in a classroom, I have found an article titled In a Good Way: Reflecting on Humour in Indigenous Education (Leddy, 2018). I plan to read and write another blog post with my connections and new thoughts. Lastly, as I work on my action plan project, I intend to utilize both Goulet & Goulet’s model of effective teaching as well as Brokenleg’s Circle of Courage.

References

Brokenleg, M., & Van Bockern, S. (2003). The Science of Raising Courageous Kids. In martinbrokenleg.com. https://martinbrokenleg.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/12_1_Brokenleg_Van_Bockern.pdf

Goulet, L. M., & Goulet, K. N. (2014). Teaching Each Other. UBC Press.

Leddy, S. (2018). In a Good Way: Reflecting on Humour in Indigenous Education. Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, 16(2), 10–20. https://doi.org/10.25071/1916-4467.40348