One of my biggest areas of growth thoughout my journey as an educator has been my knowledge and application of the First People’s Principles of Learning. When I was first introduced to the principles, they seemed easy enough to grasp theoretically, however, my biggest realization was that the principles are applied much differently than other components of the curriculum.
During my first practicum, I had a good grasp on the theory of the First People’s Principles of Learning, and felt as though I was ready to apply my learning. I quickly learned that I wasn’t able to “check off the boxes” for each principle I wanted to teach; I needed to take a more holistic approach in order to effictively teach the principles to my students. My learners needed to UNDERSTAND the world and perspective through the lens of the First Peoples rather than just check off a principle to soon be forgotten in a couple of weeks.
I quickly learned that emobodying the First People’s Principles of Learning is the best way to immerse your classroom community in the principles. I naturally gravitated towards the principle, “learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational,” seeing as I place a great value on reciprocal relationships. Instead of explicity teaching this First People’s Principle, I focused on embodying my relationship building skills throughout my lessons. We did an activity in Language Arts where we anonymously shared what we liked about one another, which made our classroom community and relationships flourish. I give credit to my students for allowing me to be reflective in my teaching practices of the First Peoples Principles of Learning. I now create lessons with the First People’s Principles at the centre of my learning, rather than creating my lessons around the prinicples.
I have also been fortunate enough to have many indigenous peers in my university cohort who I learn from every day. My indigenous peers embody the First People’s Principles of Learning and graciously share their gifts with us every day. They have immersed our class in powerful learning experiences such as drumming, scraping moose hides, meeting with elders, and sharing their heritage which have allowed me to experience authentic First Peoples’ perspective. My peers have supported me and helped me grow throughout my ongoing journey with the First Peoples Principles of Learning, which I will be eternally grateful for.