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Inspiring Education
Submitted by Shuana Niessen
Photo credit : Shuana Niessen
Dr . Rick Seaman , Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Education , has a unique opportunity to use his Math Education expertise to assist two teachers , Vee Whitehorse and Kelly Polaski , in the work they are doing with youth at Leading Thunderbird Lodge , located in Fort San in the Qu ’ Appelle valley . Vee and Kelly teach Saskatchewan curriculum to male youth who have come to the Lodge to heal from difficulties related to drug , alcohol , and solvent abuse . Alongside their healing process , the youth work on their education . Though the youth have First Nations or Métis background , Vee says , “ The boys who come here have great diversity among them . They come from all across Canada , from reservation and urban locations , and from a variety of cultural backgrounds .” Their education is also diverse with some who have never attended school to those who have with different levels achieved . This makes teaching a challenge .
Through their ongoing conversations with Dr . Seaman , they are realizing a new vision for the curriculum they teach . Rather than trying to teach subjects separately , they have envisioned a horizontal curriculum that cuts across subjects , something suggested to them through their meetings with Dr . Seaman . This horizontal curriculum allows
Vee Whitehorse and Kelly Polaski presenting sweet grass and tobacco to Dr . Rick Seaman them to look at what they are already doing with students and recognize curriculum objectives , common essential learnings , and subject strands within the activities in which the students engage . “ We try to connect everything to the curriculum , to make it relevant so that the material we produce can be used by any school in Saskatchewan ,” Kelly explains .
For instance , one of the activities they do with their students is to make a drum . The youth learn the process from the sweat before the hunt , the killing and the offering , to the preparation of the hide and the cutting , measuring , and constructing involved in the final product , the drum . The preparation of the hide requires that the student measure out the proper amounts of deer or elk brain , the oil from the feet , water , and soap . Through scraping the hide , applying the mixture , stretching and jumping on the hide , the fibres are separated and this softens the skin for use . Smoking the hide is also important for keeping the fibres apart . Throughout the projcontinued on page 15