Early Childhood

Friction in Forest Pedagogies: common worlds in settler colonial spaces In terms of the environment, I do believe that individuals should participate voluntarily in actions that preserve the environment, to the best of their abilities. However, this should not impede the progress of the individual without diminishing the basic needs of the individual. However, I do agree that individuals, in this day and age, are much more wasteful and partake in impulsive consumption, which typically pollutes the environment. Tsing (2012) reiterates this claim by stating, “this is a time of global surprise about the losses the world has suffered in the name of human progress and widespread human disregard for our interdependence with other speicies.” If individuals can participate in an exercise that demonstrates how wasteful you (the individual) can be and presents an emotional connection at the same time, then I’m optimistic individuals will realize they can make a less waste...

Assessments             Previously in education, the way of assessments were completed was through a norm-referenced approach. Now, we as educators, have realized that was a wrong way to approach assessment. A criterion-referenced assessment sets up on expectation that the student must meet in order to receive a satisfactory grade. Fairness in an evaluation or assessment needs to be grounded in the belief that all students should be able to demonstrate their learning regardless of their gender, ethnicity, geographic needs, socio-economic status and/or other factors. “The Kindergarten program is a child-centred, developmentally appropriate, integrated program of learning for four- and five-year-old children. The purpose of the program is to establish a strong foundation for learning in the early years, and to do so in a safe and caring, play-based environment that promotes the physical, social, emotion...

Learning from the land: Indigenous land based pedagogy and decolonization To understand how learning from land has been impacted by colonialism we must first be explicit in our definition of colonization. “Colonization is fundamentally about dispossessing Indigenous peoples from their land. Decolonization must involve forms of education that reconnect indigenous peoples to land and the social relations, knowledges and languages that arise from the land” (Wildcat, McDnonald, Irlbacher-Fox, & Coulthard, 2014). Therefore, Indigenous people are intrinsically intertwined with the land they live on. The importance of learning history in general is very important, however learning our Canadian history has a sense of greater meaning to us as Canadians. As Canadians, we must not be ignorant or turn a blind eye towards the atrocities committed by previous individuals and government. It is our duty to be aware of our past history and determine what is the best course...