Two Feathers

 

    These two feathers will travel across America with me on their way to Harvard in Boston. They were beaded by Don E Likens, right down to the colors and the wording and letter "H." Each feather will cary a strip of leather with the words of a Native American educator and or elder as the prayer and request for accommodations and respect for our youth. They will be presented at the end of the Closing the Achievement Gap Institute to the Chair of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and another professor.

Drop out rates across ethnicities

Here is a quick look some of the most recent data available for drop out rates for many ethnicities

                         White     Black           Hispanic    Asian Pacific Islander    Native American

2008

4.8

9.9

18.3

4.4

14.6

Fast Facts. (n.d.). National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a part of the U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved June 13, 2011, from http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98 

Grandmother Cedar Tree

Cedar for baskets, clothing, and other items was always traditionally collected in June. Here are some children who are singing the song Pauline Hillaire (Lummi) wrote as a child and her father Joseph Hillaire put to song. You can find more information about Pauline Hillaire at
http://www.turtleislandstorytellers.net/tis_washington/transcript_p_hillaire.htm

The children are using the small drums previously highlighted in this blog. The words are:

Oh Cedar tree
Clap your hands and dance with me
Way hay hay way hay hay
Way hay hay hay hay (phonetically written)

The song repeats itself three more times with the interjection of the words
 "Sing," "Talk" and "Pray" where the word "dance" is placed.

Thanks also to Lorraine Bayes of Tickle Toon Typhoon who first taught this song to me. You can find more information about Lorraine and tickle Toon Typhoon at: http://www.turtleislandstorytellers.net/tis_washington/transcript_p_hillaire.htm

References

Tickle Tune Typhoon - Concert Information. (n.d.). Tickle Tune Typhoon. Retrieved June 29, 2011, from http://tickletunetyphoon.com/concert.htm 

Turtle Island Storyteller Pauline Hillaire. (n.d.). Turtle Island Storytellers Network. Retrieved June 29, 2011, from http://www.turtleislandstorytellers.net/tis_washington/transcript_p_hillaire.htm

Multi Cultural programs "under the microscope" in Arizona?

 Native American student focused on creating a

cultural legend presentation

    Arizona, is the hotbed for more than snow birds seeking winter warmth. It now is the focus for ending programs that focus on solidarity of one ethnic group. Arizona's head of schools has warned millions of dollars in funding will disapear unless a Tuscon program focusing on Mexican American students is not eliminated. However, based on a controversial law passed recently in Arizona, ALL curriculum is banned that:
 "promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, promote resentment toward a race or class of people, are designed primarily for pupils of one ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity," according to The Arizona Republic's Emily Gersema."
     Most of the law is appropriate, however will the words, "are designed primarily for pupils of one ethnic group," Strike a blow to genuine multicultural education? I am not talking here about the "we are all a beautiful salad," type of multicultural education. I am referring to genuine curriculum and points of view that originate from members of a racial or ethnic minority in an attempt to raise the achievement and retention of their students.

     Then again for decades, and still to some degree today, much curriculum IS designed from mainstream Western European philosopies of education and learning. So, is this action a backlash or ground swell to question, eliminate, and place under the microscope programs that seek to raise the identity and achievement of minority students?

     I vote yes, it is an attempt to over reach. The program mentioned white people as "oppressors" and did not promote assimilation. Hmmm this sounds like a retake of the foundation for Indian boarding schools: "just assimilate, white people are not oppressors, they are here to help you mainstream and assimilate."

     I am part white so it is easier (perhaps) for me to cast aspersions on the possibilities this Arizona law and current action portend for ethnic solidarity and genuine multicultural education.

     Like Paulo Frerire indicated: an oppressed people often turn against each other, because they are so downtrodden and used to holding a low position. Only they can change their situation by forming solidarity and not being against each other but FOR change. Students in the Tuscon program expressed just that: a feeling of racial solidarity. Yes, that can be dangerous, but it IS often the catalyst for genuine change and we surely need that in education of minority students whose drop out rates, college admittance, test scores always anchor the bottom of the charts.

 

Goodwin, L. (n.d.). Mexican-American studies program nixed by Ariz. education chief - Yahoo! News. The top news headlines on current events from Yahoo! News. Retrieved June 17, 2011, from http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110616/us_yblog_thelookout/mexican-american-studies-program-nixed-by-ariz-education-chief

Tucson ethnic-studies program violates law, schools chief says. (n.d.). Arizona Local News - Phoenix Arizona News - Phoenix Breaking News - azcentral.com. Retrieved June 17, 2011, from http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/06/15/20110615arizona-ethnic-studies-violates-law-chief-says.html

Freire, P., Horton, M., Bell, B., Gaventa, J., & Peters, J. M. (1990). We make the road by walking . Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Raven

 

This is my raven puppet sitting on my new car, wondering where the pow wow is. He better start working so he can help make those car payments. His opening act will hopefully be in the fall at the Blackfeet Reservation, and will feature curriculum developed for young children from the Native Wellness Institute of which he is a member. He wants a cedar hat. 

http://www.nativewellness.com/

The Shield

The shield is finished!  It will travel with me to Harvard, and back to Canoe Journey. It will carry with it the prayers of many Native American elders, educators, parents, community members for help for our children in ending the achievement gap.  It will make a journey of prayer and hope for one year in the Pacific North West.

    

    However, just what is the achievement gap when perceived through the eyes of a child? Does a child feel it when they are kept in from recess because their homework was not completed, or they are in the "special" classroom,  they are bored, told they are failing? When does the child begin to interpret there is an achievement gap and they have fallen into it? Is it when the test results are returned and once again they are not at"grade level?" 

     I remember when I taught in Spanish Harlem as P S 101. There children who came inconsistently to school, never completed a math assignment were capable of running a business to support themselves on the street.

I remember Tyrone who had become an expert in five finger discount with eggs and cheese. Why? So he could stand on a box and cook himself and his toddler brother a meal. All in a days work. Somewhere out there, outside of the classroom, Tyrone would probably also learn how to turn street opportunities into a livelihood. At least until eventually he got caught, sent to jail, and someone gathering data in a national data bank added his name to the list of the incarcerated without a high school diploma or GED.  

     This page will have no formal references, the references exist in the prayers of the many who care for those who fall into the achievement gap and begin the downward spiral.  If I don't sound all that positive, it's because I am cynical about ever really ending the achievement gap for real. That is the main reason I am going to Harvard: to see if perhaps there is something positive that can be done. In the meantime my fall back position is prayer. As my friend Dr. Troeh, Tsinook said, "That has been the fallback position for our ancestors and our people forever. Its where we start."

Chipmunk goes to Harvard

This is a picture of a drum recently finished by the folks at Flat Creek Trading Post, Kitty and Jim Sutton. This drum is child size. It will accompany me to Harvard, where I will tell the story gifted to me by Joseph Bruchac: How Chipmunk Got His Stripes (Joseph Bruchac Home Page. n.d.)  It is also being developed for Head Start and early Childhood programs and linked to the curriculum from Native  Wellness Institute (Native Wellness Institute - 2011). I am hoping to take time to meet with Mr. Bruchac and receive his approval for this new program that will integrate the children into the story. The program deals with the effects of bullying and teasing and making fun of those that children perceive as different from themselves.


Research strongly indicates that Native American students learn best when their culture, particularly storytelling in included (Demmert, W. 2005).

References

• Demmert, W. (2005). The Influences of Culture on Learning and Assessment Among Native American Students . Learning Dissabilities Research and Practice, 20(1), 16-23. Retrieved March 10, 2005, from http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118480748/home                 
• Native Wellness Institute - Your Path to a Healthier Mind, Body and Spirit. (n.d.). Native Wellness Institute - Your Path to a Healthier Mind, Body and Spirit. Retrieved May 16, 2011, from http://www.nativewellness.com/                 
• Joseph Bruchac Home Page: Author biography, published works, performance schedule, multimedia videos, music and poetry.. (n.d.). Joseph Bruchac Home Page: Author biography, published works, performance schedule, multimedia videos, music and poetry.. Retrieved June 13, 2011, from http://www.josephbruchac.com/
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