Education News Spring 2022 | Page 14

Page 14 | Spring 2022
Photo credit : Shuana Niessen
to feel brave within themselves , empowered within themselves , that they can do whatever they please , no matter who they are . Who they are and what they look like should not even be a consideration . They should feel like they have the strength and support , everything they need to go out into the world and do it at their best capacity ."
How cultures are represented in school also matters to Kiah . For instance , she says , " With Indigenous learning , we focus so much on the trauma and I think it is really important history , but as much as we are focusing on that , we need to focus on the brilliance behind those cultures . We are learning about death and broken promises every semester in every other class , which is really important for history , but I think it needs to be paired with the beauty and all of the amazing things that come with the Indigenous culture . Every culture is so much more than what happened to them , it ’ s how they rose from it ." This is wisdom she acquired from her bi-racial uncle who is from Ocean Man First Nation .
Making a difference , changing the world , empowering others : these are the reasons behind Kiah ' s decision to become a teacher . " I realized my true ' why ' behind teaching is that teachers have the power to literally alter the beliefs of society , change the world , and that is simply done through love . When we are leading from a place of love in
" Teachers have the power to literally alter the beliefs of society , change the world , and that
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