A note to my readers >>>>> Analyze this article (Erin Adler, “Schools Lack Skills, Tools on Native Topics” [Star Tribune, 17 June 2022] for what is conveyed about the education establishment, predicting insofar as you are able what my own analysis will reveal >>>>>
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Erin Adler, “Schools Lack Skills, Tools on Native Topics”
(Star Tribune, 17 June 2022)
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux hope $5 M campaign will give
Minnesota Teachers resources to expand indigenous content.
A new report commissioned by the Shakopee
Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) found that most K-12 Minnesota teachers
don't have the confidence or tools needed to teach about Native Americans — and
that the resources available vary widely in quality.
"Nothing that we're doing is working particularly
well," said Odia Wood-Krueger , author of the report and a teacher in
Saskatchewan and Minneapolis for more than two decades. "We need to do
better."
The survey and report are part of the tribe's Understand
Native Minnesota philanthropic campaign, a $5 million effort to fund
educational resources and training for teachers and administrators on Native
American content that began in 2019.
On the positive side, educators want to improve, the
report said.
"I'm really excited about this report. It was a
long time coming," said Rebecca Crooks-Stratton, secretary-treasurer of
the SMSC, based in Prior Lake. The tribe owns and operates Mystic Lake Casino
Hotel.
Crooks-Stratton said she was happy to see that there's
an appetite among educators for quality, vetted curriculum. There are some good
resources out there, she said, but more are needed and they must be
age-appropriate and aligned to state standards.
Wood-Krueger's survey, which was given to educators,
curriculum leaders and educational organizations via e-mail in 2021, received
617 responses, 542 from educators.
"This is the first of its kind ever to be created
in Minnesota," Wood-Krueger said.
Two-thirds of the educators who completed the survey
don't feel confident teaching Native content and said the top challenge was a
lack of curricular resources.
Many educators — some 37% — had never attended
professional development related to teaching Native topics, the report said.
"We're asking teachers to do things that they're
not supported to do ... and then we're like, why aren't you teaching Native
content?" Wood-Krueger said.
The general public wants more Native American-related
subject matter taught in school. Data from a previous SMSC survey indicates
that 90% of Minnesotans support teaching additional Native American content in
K-12 classes.
Combating Native American erasure
One impetus for the report and evaluation of resources
is the erasure of Native Americans in American society generally and in school curriculum,
the report said.
"So many people don't realize that Native Americans
still exist," Wood-Krueger said.
That's despite the fact that a 2010 Minnesota law
requires that Dakota and Ojibwe languages and culture be taught across all
subjects in Minnesota public schools, said Ramona Kitto Stately , chair of the
Minnesota Indian Education Association and project director of We Are Still
Here Minnesota, a network of Native American leaders that breaks down negative
narratives about Native Americans.
"This survey is about spotlighting what teachers
really need," Stately said. "They're really afraid to do the wrong
thing."
The results weren't a surprise, Stately said, but data
was needed to move efforts forward.
The report also offers recommendations for improving
access to and training about Native American content. They include creating
professional development sessions and accessible curriculum that meets state
standards, expanding opportunities for Native American experts to visit
classrooms and for tribal involvement in creating new materials.
They also suggest creating an online repository for
teaching resources and an online "Indigenous Education for All"
program covering Minnesota-specific Native American subject matter for adults
and children.
"I can't think of a better time than now to be more
inclusive of the true history of our state," Stately said.
The Understand Native Minnesota campaign is moving into
the grantmaking phase, Crooks-Stratton said, during which a team will evaluate
curriculum and training proposals and decide which ones to fund.
"This report is going to be a big piece in deciding
what projects we fund in the granting phase, which ones are going to give us
the most bang for our buck," Crooks-Stratton said.
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