For the past five years, I have lived and worked on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in Dulce, NM. My first four years were spent as a first grade teacher and this year I have moved up to the 'big kids hallway' and am teaching third grade. I am originally from Pittsburgh, PA and come from a family of Irish immigrants. Though I have lived in the community for a number of years, I will always be a cultural outsider.
Part of my overreaching goals as a teacher is to try and include as much culturally relevant and appropriate materials into my reading instruction. This has proved to be a difficult task to undertake. As the author of my text Bruce A. Goebel states in the introduction, "...crossing cultures is not always easy" (xi). It is difficult but I feel that it is necessary.
I chose this text in the hopes of gaining insight and understanding about how Native American literature can be viewed from an instructional standpoint not only for myself, but for y students own cultural understanding.
As the reading teacher for three third grade classes, I have been struggling with meaning making this first 9 week period because we utilize what I consider to be inconsiderate texts (citation to follow). Before I can even begin to introduce the Common Core skill of the instructional period, I must first activate background knowledge that doesn't always exist.
It is my hope that at the end of this book I will have a better understanding of how to utilize Native texts in my instruction as well as developing some tips and tricks as to introducing m students to the aesthetic side of reading.
I think it's great that you have an interest in learning how to adapt your teaching to fit within a Native American community. I think it is so important to be culturally aware, but I don't think you should feel like an outsider mostly because I think that we should be teaching students how to be accepting of all cultures. I don't really appreciate instruction that becomes monocultural because it teaches students that one way is the only way. I'm also in a Native American school/classroom, and we're covering books from Native American, Hispanic, and White authors, and maybe this is more significant because my students are older, but I think you'll be fine. I have found that the most important thing to remember is how important community is.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you face a unique set of challenges in your current situation. However, it is exciting to see how much you value the community you live in and try to practice cultural sensitivity, while balancing the requirements of your profession.
ReplyDelete