The Edmonton Sun n Thursday, June 21, 2012

ABORIGINAL ALBERTA

81

pride through print

WhAT yOuLL fINd AT hEAd-smAshEd-IN BuffALO jump
Cafeteria (60 seats) hot and cold food and beverages (open May to October, catering available for prebooked groups) Theatre (80 seats) featuring a re-enactment of a buffalo hunt. The movie, Piskun (The Buffalo Jump), is a dramatic depiction of just how the buffalo were lured to the edge of the cliff, and then stampeded over. Gift Shop Native arts and crafts, bookstore and souvenir items Certified Visitor Information Centre Shuttle bus service available during peak season and for special events Guided tours and interpretive programs Parking for motor coaches, RVs and overlength vehicles The Grande Yellowhead Public School Division plans to have Aboriginal culture take on a larger presence in school curricula next fall. The change comes in the form of a collection of 50 books about First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples that will be sent to each of the divisions schools. Each literature box also contains a guide to help teachers incorporate the material into classroom instruction. The collection of fiction and non-fiction books is the result of studies conducted by the Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium in partnership with Albertas school divisions, and the literature boxes follow the provincial governments new emphasis on incorporating the perspectives of native cultures into public education. Often what youve seen in the past is a very western perspective around teaching a topic, said Sharon Styles, supervisor of learning services, curriculum and instruction for Grande Yellowhead. First Nations perspectives are very different; they believe that the world is much more holistic, that what we do here permeates through many areas. A teacher in the school division is currently being trained in the Aboriginal material to help guide other educators through the lesson plans. Shell provide ongoing support throughout the year, explained Styles. If theres a social studies topic around the Inuit, there might be a book that is specifically around that. Then they would develop lesson plans that would walk you through how you would use this in your lesson. The new material will also be introduced to language arts, math and science classes. Styles foresees the books having a significant effect on science lessons by bringing concepts to students with a broader ecological perspective. Often we think about things in isolation, whereas a First Nations perspective would ask us to look at the big broad picture, that ... all living creatures on this earth have a significant role to play. Alberta Education hopes that introducing such material into school curricula will translate into better educational results for Aboriginal students. Grande Yellowheads 2011 educational results show that only 51% of Aboriginal students graduated from high school within the standard three-year time period, compared to the 75% divisional average. On Provincial Achievement Tests 64% of Aboriginal students scored acceptable marks 15% lower than the divisional average result on the standardized tests. We do know that students do need to see themselves in the school; they need to be represented in texts that are brought to the classroom, Styles said. Just walk down a school hallway and look at the posters and the artwork. FNMI [First Nations, Metis and Inuit] culture should be reflected there so that students can take pride in who they are and can see that their cultures are important as well.

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