Who is at your side?

When I think back to who is at my side today my faith comes to mind; no matter what happens I will always have faith; and that means different things to different people. My wife is at my side today and will walk with me and if I ever get stuck she is there to help me move. My kids are at my side they help me and I help them, my pets are at my side when I walk them, or when they take a nap with me.



When I back up in my mind to my grade three class who was at my side was my tutor she helped me read as she sat at my side and helped, she sat at my side when I got sad or mad, she sat at my side when I got it right. The fun part was spelling with the alphabets cereal and when I spelled a word right I got to eat the word, I would have a whole bowl by now with all the word I have just wrote!

When I think of my grade eight tutor who drove an hour and a half to sit with me to help me with my math she sat at my side. Numbers were as hard to understand as words but she helped me to understand them better.



We have so many people at our side who have help or shaped our lives, have literacy at your side read to a friend, read to an elder, make someone simile, make someone happy, be at someone’s side today you may shape their life somehow just by being at there side.

Cultural literacy

Cultural literacy is the words that come from the Nation, not just saying the word but feeling word. All our words came from observations of the land, my name Čiisqʷał came from the land it means to “Rake in the wealth of the land”.

J'net Cavanagh view of cultural literacy, “my favorite part of being a tutor is telling students if they can say it they can write it. When our children have oral stories they have something to write about, without those stories there are nothing to inspire their writing”.


A long time ago we lived a life together, we gathered around a fire and told stories, and the stories were and are the silent teacher that give meaning to words, and when a child understands the meaning by a feeling then they are more likely to use the word and maybe write the word.


Read and tell stories to your children.

Literacy Mentors

My first year of college I met a retired gentlemen who became my mentor; he had been taking classes as they were free to anyone 65 and over. He loved them as it keeps his mind sharp, we met often then became close friends and I adapted him as my Grandfather he had many stories about his life and learning.

My adopted Grandfather loved words and meanings of words; one day he called me a bellewether which means any entity in a given arena that serves to create or influence trends or future happenings. The term is from old English bellewether and refers to the practice of placing a bell around the neck of a Ram (a wether) leading his flock of sheep, the movements of the flock could be noted by hearing the bell before the flock was in sight.

My mentor led me in the right directions and when I got off track he would bring me back to my path I will be always grateful for his stories and his inspiration to lifelong learning.

Who is Aboriginal literacy? I am Aboriginal literacy.

When I was a boy (I am the little one in this picture)in school I knew I was going to be a commercial fishermen like my father and his father before him, I came from a long line of fishermen it’s in my blood. Now schooling in my time it was easy to slip through the cracks; that is to say I had a hard time with reading; and reading aloud was most emotional painful experience for me.


Fast forward to my sixteenth birthday and I decided to leave school to become the fisherman, it was a hard life but a good living, the natural progress would be to take over the boat when I got older. That fateful day came when I was nineteen and my father said, “Get off the boat there are no more fish; you need to go back to school” I was shocked! He actually dropped me off in a place called Port Hardy and I took a long bus ride home.


I got back home to Port Alberni and got a job at tree seedling nursery, fishing taught me to work hard and follow orders, time passed and worked my way up the ladder and got as far as I could at the nursery. I got to pick my hours and I got the weekend shift which was good, I did my rounds taking care of the usually necessities of the daily operation of the nursery.




I got some self-help books the first was Leo Buscaglia, “The Way of the Bull” -year of publishing: 1973 I would go on my rounds checking each greenhouse and walking the grounds, and I read aloud to the trees, they were my fist listeners; summers passed and so did the books, all of sudden I could read! A whole new world opened up for me, and I keep reading.



One day my boss said, “Ok Mike you can say here at this wage the rest of your life or go to school”. So I went back as an adult learner, and one the proudest days in my life my GED came in the mail. I wish I could have walked up to the stage and shook the hand of the Principal, but instead I told a total stranger in the post office mail box room, “Hay I got my grade twelve”.


That GED opened up more doors I went to College, then University and I am still a learner to this day, not just in post secondary but other things; as my granny said to me, “Grandson you never stop learning till you breathe your last breath.

Books to Memories

The memories and emotions stirred within me today were not from the exact facts of stories; it was the emotions and warm feelings that sharing a book creates.  Yes, today I had the opportunity to attend a family reading circle....wow! A beautiful young lady chose “Purple, Green and Yellow” a delightful story, by Robert Munsch, chronicling a young girl’s adventures with a multitude of markers.  We laughed; we smiled and predicted what would happen on the next page. 

Her next choice was “Mmm,Cookies”....our joy filled time continued as we explored the silliness of making cookies from play dough and tricking people into eating them while vocalizing the numerous onomatopoeia sound effects. 

 

This evening I connected with my daughters about their favourite books.  We read for hours when they were younger.  I am sure the family library generated a large portion of Chapters sales over the years, and many of those stories continue to grace their bookshelves. As we talked they laughed and remember the numerous stories.  Then I reflected on the very first book I remember being able to read by myself and the sense of accomplishment I felt sharing “A Fly Went By” with my parents. 

There are so many wonderful books that can be purchased at used book stores, borrowed from libraries, or downloaded from websites that will fill the world of a child with joy, knowledge and experiences.  Take sometime today and share a book with a young person in your life. You will undoubtedly transform books into memories. 

The following are just a few of the books that created wonderful memories in my home:

Self Empowerment, Writing and Technology

This blog post explores self empowerment, writing and technology  - check out the video at the end.

Song Language and Culture

Songs, language and culture are part of the everyday activities at the School I come to call my home two days a week. All First Nations are born with the gift of language; it’s the tool we already carry! We have to remember of all the people on this good earth we have the ability to change our dreams into words and images on paper; we are all storytellers and story catchers and singers.

At our school before the day starts the drums come out and all the students, teachers, staff and Principal sing together our song to set the day in a good way, it sets the tune that all the learners will hold on to during a day of study.
The songs are the one way to express the joy of life it is also the way we keep traditions alive and well.

Today:
• Sit with one of your relatives and ask questions
• Learn your roots of tradition
• Write down what you here and memorize what you wrote
• Once you have it in your memory tell others

Then it will happen one day on its own you become the singer, keeper of knowledge, or storyteller and story catcher. Keep learning and as you learn your oral literacy will start to transfer into your literacy.

The essential skill of working with others always begins with you

This video reminds me of the opportunity we had last year to work with some strong, Indigenous male youth at the Victoria youth detention center.

Although the youth had experienced much trauma, they were especially receptive to the workshops that focused on self, meditation, song, and creativity.

Working with others is possibly the most difficult of the essential skills to genuinely explore because it  begins with the examination of ourselves.

This video is about monks teaching meditation to youth who are incarcerated:
http://www.plumvillage.org/news/327-monks-teach-meditation.html

What did you learn today?

What did you learn today?  That is a question I ask my daughters frequently.  They often reply with "nothing" or "I don't know".  However, as our discussions continue we discover so many things that they and I have both learned that day.  Yesterday's discussions revealed that a VISA isn't just a credit card and that an iPhone's SIM card isn't under the battery like a Blackberry.  We learn so much that we don't even consider to be learning.   During Canadian Adult Learner's Week I will be taking a personal inventory of all the things I learn , and it won't be just book learning.  I invite you to do the same.

Play and Dream

The most basic form of thinking is play or wishful day dreams that make the dream seem in your hands. At any age young or old it’s good to play, as people age they forget how important it is to put themselves into playful modes or play time, to play helps the mind and body keep fit.

Do you remember a time as a child your teacher read to the class a book; it was like a day dream and I could see the book come to life in front of my eyes, and when the teacher started to close the book everyone wanted the teacher to keep reading.


Imagination is one way to see things; when I was a child I would go on great adventures in my back yard, an old rubber boat became a space ship, a tree became a hiding place or fort, and a wagon became my car. Today I still use my imagination; my truck becomes a fancy spots car, my motorcycle becomes a fancy bike with all the bells and whistles, and my yard is my secret garden.



Our imagination solves problems and makes our day better and makes others happy too; today be playful and use your imagination, be creative, read a book to your kids, and if you don’t have kids read a book to your pets.