Community Champion

During a recent Elders lunch at a school where I work two days a week as a counselor I witnessed and observed greatness in culture and education. My kids were saying, "This is my third bowl of fish soup!" and eating G-wok-miss (herring eggs) and saying, “This reminds me of my grandpa!" This is a true belonging and creating a learning path and finding place in a school, imagine a traditional food lunch program that feeds the body, mind, and spirit.

The benefit of reflecting cultural desirers in the school has long-term outcomes for the future of First Nation education as it helps to shore up the academics of classroom. This creates generosity, independence and mastery of oneself; “A knowing and a landscape of belonging”. A best practice of indigenizing academics creates a wise approach to curriculum development this blend helps the learner or child to be an integral part of the learning environment, they not only belong but have a deep feeling of significance and acceptance to others and strong bond or affection to his or hers classmates.

In this best practice approach towards integration of culture in to learning and creating an individual education pathway I have observed true virtues with verbiages such as; “Wahoo! Come-on lets go sing!” or a child in grade one say, “I like to read my books, see how many I have read already!”

A true community champions is not just one person or a group of people, I believe and have observed a true community champion is culture which creates lifelong learning.