"Let us put our minds together and see what we can make for our children." ~ Sitting Bull
CULTURALLY RELEVANT TEACHING
American Indian Education/indigenous education is still faltering today and is not producing significant differences in results where school practices follow those for the dominant culture. Inroads have been made in some classrooms/schools where Culturally Responsive/Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) is practiced. However, the drop-out rates for American Indian/indigenous populations are still extremely high in comparison to other ethnically diverse groups of students.
RIDING ON THE SUN
The tangled world of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and their effects on those who suffer them is not readily understood by those in a person's sphere of influence on the 'outside, ' family, friends and others. This book chronicles the author's personal journey of over 23 years during which she had to learn not only how to survive but to thrive following a TBI. The author was a professor in education at a large university when she was involved in a traffic accident.
STANDING TOGETHER
The majority of American Indian students attend public schools in the United States. However, education mandated for American Indian students since the 1800s has been primarily education for assimilation, with the goal of eliminating American Indian cultures and languages. Indeed, extreme measures were taken to ensure Native students would “act white” as a result of their involvement with Western education. Today’s educational mandates continue a hegemonic “one-size-fits-all” approach to education. This is in spite of evidence that these approaches have rarely worked for Native students and have been extremely detrimental to Native communities.
WIDENING THE CIRCLE
Recognizing the need for a pedagogy that better serves American Indian students, Beverly J. Klug and Patricia T. Whitfield construct a pedagogical model that blends native and non-native worldviews and methods. Among the building blocks of this new, culturally relevant education are language-based approaches to literacy development, the use of oral histories to supplement traditional texts, and a re-evaluation of the knowledge base these students need for success in tribal enterprises.