Decolonizing Public Education 3: Consequences

The third principle of the First Peoples Principles of Learning is “learning involves recognizing the consequences of one’s actions.” Understanding the impact our deeds have is important, but it must be done in a healthy way in order to align with the values of the

First Peoples Principles.

Not long ago, a former colleague of mine griped that “kids these days”  have no respect for teachers. After musing on it, I had to disagree. It was that colleague’s generation that taught my generation, and I still remember my time as a student. What we and older generations like my colleague had was not respect. It was fear.

While fear might look like respect on the surface, and may appear to make teaching more effective, I do not believe this is true. The residential school system is a prime example. When fear is used instead of earning respect, it can be damaging even without punishment, and is most impactful within educational institutions.

If fear, then, is so damaging, how do we teach that some actions have consequences without fear–without creating an atmosphere in the classroom that hinders learning? One solution is to teach about consequences using storytelling, a traditional way to share teachings for many First Peoples. 

As part of my own education - as an educator who works with Indigenous youth - I have found this website about Indigenous pedagogy to be invaluable. It explains, in depth, how and why storytelling works to pass down and impart knowledge and wisdom. What I have found key to this is that these stories, particularly in how they are told, help build empathy, then rely on that empathy to teach ethics and morality. Students are meant to feel the story as much as hear it, and through that emotional experience, understand better why some things are important and must be done, or the consequences of actions that should not be done.

While Canada’s public education system currently does not consider storytelling in this manner as standard, it has made great strides in moving away from using fear as a tool. Most notably, many districts, especially those with Indigenous students, employ Indigenous Education Workers (IEWs) who often use stories to teach lessons and morals. Western pedagogy - that is the science of teaching and learning - has also made improvements, with a focus on teaching natural consequences (first-hand experiences as a lesson) instead of logical consequences (fear and intimidation as preventative).

---

Author: Lexa, ITMP Blog Coordinator

Image credits: Wix Media