What background information would have
been helpful prior to your student teaching experience?
It would have
been helpful to know more about the economic and family backgrounds of the
students. (SA)
I would have like to know more about the Puyallup tribe
itself. (KY)
I wish I had more information about the many tribes
represented (especially the Puyallup tribe). (ME)
Prior to my student teaching, I read as much literature on
the Navajo culture as I could and everything that I learned was helpful. The
students asked me about things such as "The Long Walk." They like to
know how much I know about their history and culture; they like to know my
feelings about their past treatment by our government. (KW)
Were there any behaviors, specific to the culture, that are different from
your own (i.e. eye contact, gestures, etc.)?
To me, the
Seminole children had a great deal more responsibility for themselves (getting
to school, eating, transportation, etc.). (BP)
The attention span of many of the students were short. It
seemed that their culture does not focus heavily on education. (SA)
A Native American student is not being disrespectful when
he/she doesn’t make eye contact. (KY)
Boys wore their hair longer. (ME)
There were a few students who came from very traditional
families that had behaviors different from my own culture. Examples include:
refraining from telling certain stories during certain seasons of the year, not
making eye contact, and not discussing people who are deceased or death itself.
(KW)
Many of the students at my site avoided eye contact and
answering questions. They used a lot of slang; they would say "A"
after everything. They also pointed with their heads. (MG)
Did you find things that could be considered culturally inappropriate?
It is a good idea
to not ask a lot of prying questions at first. You will probably find that
someone will "take you in as their friend" and you can ask questions -
but carefully. (BP)
No one is allowed to enter the Sacred Circle at the center
of the school. (KY)
Lumping all tribes into one culture was not
"politically correct." (ME)
A few things that I came across are avoiding certain
stories and games during certain times of the year, not speaking about death or
deceased people, and not staying out in the dark late at night. (KW)
Don’t ask - they will tell you. And, the Native American
people consider it an insult if you don’t try their food.(MG)
Do you think that student teaching at a Native American site helped prepare
you for future teaching assignments? If so, how?
I DEFINITELY think
that student teaching on a reservation was beneficial to me and helped to
prepare me for my current teaching job. The main skill I polished while I was on
the reservation was my flexibility in activities and plans. A great deal of the
students needed their basic needs met before they could learn anything each day.
Time was spent tending to those needs before i could teach. Many of my students
on the reservation were "hard luck" kids and when I was finished
student teaching, I had gained the confidence that I could teach just about
anybody. (BP)
This experience exposed me to an option that I didn’t
know about before. (SA)
I think so. I feel more prepared to teach students that
are different from me. (KY)
What is missing? Please include any other information that might assist a
person preparing to teach at a Native American site.
In my opinion,
student teaching doesn’t get more challenging or rewarding than it does at a
Native American site!(BP)
Ask former student teachers from the site lots of
questions. (KW)
At Chief Leschi, many students are from Tacoma, and most
do not know the Native language. This experience was very similar to teaching in
a "big city." (ME)
Student teachers need to know that they will essentially
be on their own; there is little university contact. (SA)
Be open, flexible,
energetic, and willing to try new things. The average class size was 20-25
students. The special education programs were very different. I was responsible
for introducing the idea of integration. The special education students were
often left out of field trips and other special occasions. (MG)
