Relevance should be teachers' goal

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Teaching can be characterized as a process, not a terminal activity. Therefore, it should address issues relevant to students.

Periodically, every progressive educator should question what is worthwhile for students to learn and what the students find intriguing. Consequently, I have been thinking critically about what students should be taught in senior secondary school.

The answer is not simple. Of course, there are official curriculum guidelines. However, this is not enough. Apart from math, science, social studies and English-for which Grade 12 students have to write an external examination-teachers have a lot of leeway in designing the contents of courses.

Teachers also can use supplementary materials when the official textbooks are inadequate, and they can teach things they consider essential to students' future careers, motivation, self-esteem, conflict, time management, self-discipline and responsibilities.

Given the leeway teachers have, what should they teach? The answers may vary, but my research informs me that students want to learn things that are relevant to their lives, their cultures and their communities.

For example, recently a Grade 8 student wrote, "There are many teachers in Native schools who don't take time to help the students in their classes to find out who they are as Native people and what their nations and clans are. All they want to do is teach their lessons and get their day over with."

In addition, a four-year research project published by the Ontario College Of Teachers in September 1999 revealed students are more engaged the more they work with concepts relevant to them. These examples are food for thought for progressive educators in Native education.

In Nunavut, where about 90 per cent of senior secondary students are Inuit, educators should think critically about the following:

oInuit history and cultural achievements. Also, the influence of the natural environment on development.

oInuit social history. Changes and challenges unfolding in their communities. Land claim agreements. Why land is essential to Inuit survival. The relationships between the territorial governments and provinces.

oMulticulturalism, bilingualism, difference, assimilation, acculturation. Preferential treatment and how Inuit are perceived by others inside and outside Nunavut. How Inuit perceive other Canadians. Differences and similarities between Inuit culture and other Canadians' cultures. The idea is students inevitably will interact with other Canadians. They will also learn to help create a racially harmonious country.

oAwareness, uses and limitations of modern technology. This is to help the students make decisions regarding appropriate technology for their culture. Empirical studies show that imposed technology sometimes causes disruption of existing social structures, confusion, mistrust, or ultimate rejection.

oGeography and the physical environment. Traditional and modern conservation methods.

oInuktitut should be promoted. For this reason, Grade 12 students should be required to write external examinations in Inuktitut. This, in my estimation, will give some academic legitimacy to the Inuktitut language.

oThe supremacy of the community in relation to the individual. The community as a potent force in character formation as compared to biological influences. Values and principles such as sharing, co-operation, altruism, communalism, nonviolence, nonconfrontation, consultation, consensus.

The above curriculum is not written in stone; it is just a suggestion for reflection. It is up to individual teachers to find out their students' needs.

Certainly, Inuit students must be taught mathematics, science and English. As a minority, English language skills will help them participate in the dominant culture, so they can understand current socieconomic discourse in Canada and how it affects them. It will help them enter professional or vocational training. Nonetheless, English language instuction should offer them a range of opportunities to articulate their lived experiences, ontological beliefs and world view. Accordingly, English as a second language (ESL) should be taught until Grade 10.

Furthermore, mathematics and science should be taught in such a way that he students can apply the skills and knowledge in their lives.

Problem-solving in mathematics and science should be focused on things in Inuit communities. As well, Inuit names should be used in applied mathematics questions. In this way, students can conceptualize the practical applications of mathematics and science because they can relate it personally and culturally. This does not suggest that abstractions are irrelevant; rather, it suggests that concrete representations should be the entry point in any field of knowledge or inquiry.

Without doubt, there are a number of educational issues to discuss, but these are just the beginning.

The time is now for progressive educators in Nunavut and the rest of the North to engage in critical, reflective discussions of how we can make the education enterprise serve the people better; in particular, to improve teaching and learning and make education a developmental tool.

Education should lead development. In fact, the task of development is not the responsibility of bureaucrats, but the people's responsibility, and they can execute it effectively with education.