Andre's 8 Rules of Education

Andre’s 8 Rules Of Native American Education

               These rules are my reflections after having worked for 25 years in Native American education at all levels (parent, teachers aid, bus driver, high school teacher, education specialist, consultant, head start teacher and director, college instructor, principal, and tribal education director).  They are written to an audience of supplemental Indian Education programs and teachers working with Native students.  I have modified these rules and added to them over the years as I continue to learn and find other successful methodologies, practices and programs. 

 American Indian students have lower academic success compared to other students.  http://www.swcompcenter.org/pdf/conf0406/Native_American_Overview.pdf

Additionally, they graduate at a significantly lower rate then their classmates. http://diverseeducation.com/article/13555/ As has been demonstrated, through time and research, the techniques that successfully meet the unique needs of American Indian students are also effective with ANY non-typical learner

1.     Do Not Waste Your Money On Tutoring:  The reason a school exists is to educate our students.  If we use limited resources to relieve them of this responsibility we are not able to work on broader issues that need to be addressed.  Researchers have found that American Indian students have the highest dropout rate of any group student. http://tinyurl.com/23d4w6 While tutoring may be a great tool to assist one, and only one, student; it does not change the core problems that cause the need for tutoring.  Use your underfunded program budgets to be an advocate for all of your students in getting better curriculum, training and staff to work with our students and families.  Tutoring can be made available by leveraging resources.  Tutors can be paid for by outside resources such as Title 1, NCLB low performing schools and community learning center grants, Americorps, Peer Tutors, After School Programs, Cross Age Tutors, TANF, Workforce Investment Act funds, Adopt-a- Grandparent, be creative to stretch budgets. www2.nau.edu/~jar/IndianLinks.html

2.     A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF NATIVE STUDENTS HAVE A VISUAL LEARNING STYLE: http://tinyurl.com/3gq2hbh Native students rely on visual input to guide them in the learning process.  This comes from traditional instructional techniques that rely on modeling.  When combined with the information in rule # 3 it becomes clear why there is a large achievement gap between American Indian students and their classmates.  Additionally, as part of an oral tradition, auditory learning is also important to integrate into your teaching methods. http://www.xmission.com/~amauta/visual%20learner.htm

3.     Many American Indian Students Will Have A Visual Learning Disorder: This means dyslexia, numeric dyslexia, amblyopia (lazy eye), focusing slowness, blurred and low vision (correctable with lenses) nutritional deficiencies, etc. http://www.allaboutvision.com/parents/learning.htm This has significant implications considering the large percentage of Native students that are visual learners (please see rule #2).  If student are undiagnosed with these problems they WILL be labeled as discipline problems, or with other, misdiagnosed, special education problems.  This will put them on a path that gets them further away from having their specific needs met.  You need to work in partnership with IHS clinics, local specialist and the district to identify this as a learning disability and have it included in an IEP. http://www.ldonline.org/article/6390

4.     Change The System To Meet The Needs Of Students & Families, Not The Other Way Around:  Western education models, by and large, are not the best option to teaching many Native learners.  Programs such as AVID can be utilized to assist Native students achieve academic success. http://www.avid.org/ American Indians typically learn best by visually reinforced teaching approaches, not lecture and copy.  Participatory project based thematic instruction works wonders for any child.  Unfortunately the focus is put on how teachers and schools systems feel “comfortable” in presenting instruction, which is the way they learned, predominately rote drills, written tests, lectures and homework.  The copier and laser printer have replaced the ditto machine and mimeographs that churns out endless streams of materials.  These handouts are not designed to actively engage students in the learning process but rather to keep them busy.  Teaching content has been lost to teaching so students do better on standardized tests.  www.evergreen.edu/k12outreach/docs/RdgNAlrner.doc 

 

5.     Many of the problems In The World Are CAUSED BY A Breakdown in communication:  Help your students learn to speak clearly and effectively.  This includes active listening, which when bundled with decision-making skills, leadership training and internal asset development will get them well on the road to being a student poised to succeed.  Helping students develop these skills will give them the abilities and tools to grow and will help motivate them in school.  Students who have fewer of these abilities will make poor choices that will negatively impact success in school.  Use strong communication skills yourself.  Do not leave things unsaid; seek common understanding of the issues at hand.  Communication between the family and the school system will help minimize conflict and confusion.  Work to achieve clarity and to promote long-term positive relationships based upon mutual respect and cooperation. http://www.hanksville.org/storytellers/pewe/writing/Fluff.html

 

6.     6 Schools must create, use & SUPPORT culturally appropriate curriculum: http://tinyurl.com/3do7gl8 An integrated culturally responsive course of study uses materials and resources that link traditional knowledge and culture into the curriculum. http://lionsden.tec.selu.edu/~mhoff/eng_615/ResourceCD/ericDigest/edorc02-03.htm The use of tribal art, history, language, geography, literature, and science can infuse the educational experience in relevance that will serve the needs of the Native student. http://www.ericdigests.org/2005-1/teaching.htm Utilizing community resources such as artists, ceremonial leaders, elders and language teacher to supplement and support the curriculum will provide greater significance to the learning process and promote mastery of the information being taught.  www.as.wvu.edu/~equity/native.html

7.     7 THE POWER OF COLLABORATIONS CANNOT BE UNDER ESTIMATED:  Much like student study teams cooperative relationships between Indian Education Programs (Title VII, JOM and American Indian Education Centers) School District personnel, Parents Tribes and community agencies will promote the growth and potential success of our students.  Together you can create an effective and holistic learning environment.  As part of a community based upon the role of the individual, within the context of a village or tribe, cooperative lifestyles have been a core of American Indian values.  As a result many Native students learn best in a collaborative learning environment.  Use small group learning projects with students that have a variety of skills and strengths (oral presentations, artistic, reading, social etc) to support interactive learning. http://www.fourcornerslearning.org/edresources/NA/nalearning.htm

8.     8  Everyone Should Adopt These Rules:  Ok I am joking here but at least consider them in working with American Indian students.  Moreover, the information found in these rules can be applied to any classroom to make the learning environment accessible to a broader range of students. http://www2.nau.edu/~jar/TCarticle.html The more we can make the education system accessible to all students the more we will be able to direct our limited funds to providing students with additional, tools, resources and programs that will better prepare them for their post-secondary vocational or academic careers. http://www.literacynet.org/lp/namericans/strategies.html

 

If education systems do not operate with these rules Indian students will ultimately be pushed out of school. http://www2.nau.edu/~jar/AIE/Dropouts.html  Many Native American students drop out or are shunted to “Alternative Education Programs” such as home study, continuation schools, etc.  By allowing this to occur we are relieving the system of their primary duty of educating our students.  Work to break down the artificial barriers that impede learning and alienate students and families from the system.  If diligently working with the school system does not result in changes that benefit your students then perhaps a charter school is something to consider, but that is a whole other article to discuss the possibilities for Native students.  My best advice is to listen to your students and families and temper that with your own experience to change the overall system to best serve the needs of your community. http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/studies/2010463.pdf 

 

©André Cramblit. andre.p.cramblit.86@alum.dartmouth.org

 


Western Learning Styles & Native Learning Styles


 

Western (Standard) Learning Styles

Native (Traditional) Learning Styles

Well defined, organized

Informal, noisy atmosphere

Auditory learners, excels with verbal instructions and feedback

Visual learner, prefers demonstrations and illustrative assistance

Listens to teacher then learns by trial and error, uses Teacher as a consultant

Careful observer, attempts to repeat when secure in completing task, Teacher as model

Direct instructions, attempts new things

Likes to be shown, learning through stories, and physical hands on activities

Breaks items into parts, specific facts and works towards the completed whole

Looks for overall view, general principals, holistic approach

Succeeds with, reason, logic and facts

Relies on intuition, coincidence, feelings, emotions and hunches

Competitive attitude for recognition

Leans towards cooperation and group assistance

Task Oriented

Socially Oriented

Formal, impersonal, institutional

Spontaneous, informal, personalized

Likes discovery approach

Prefers guided learning

Uses language skills for thinking and learning

Uses images for memory and thinking

Likes talking and writing

Likes drawing and manipulation

 

http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9220/indian.htm and http://tinyurl.com/3l8m3q9 and http://tinyurl.com/3eha4rh

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áama/salmon
·André Cramblit, Operations Director
707.445.8451
Northern California Indian Development Council (NCIDC) (http://www.ncidc.org) 
To subscribe to a blog of interest to Natives send go to:  http://andrekaruk.posterous.com/

NICWA Conference (event)

April 7-10, 2013 • The 31st Annual “Protecting Our Children” National American Indian Conference. http://www.nicwa.org/conference/ The National Indian Child Welfare Association believes that in order to serve American Indian and Alaska Native families, we must stand together as dedicated tribal, state, and federal leaders; court and law enforcement representatives; substance abuse treatment and mental health professionals; community leaders; and child welfare advocates who are dedicated to this work. LOCATION: Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa, 777 West Cherokee St., Catoosa, Oklahoma, 74015 CONTACT: (503) 222-4044, or Laurie Evans at laurie@nicwa.org

The Sight of Death (musings/profile)

The Sight of Death

By Shana Cozad

October 5, 2012

I recently had one of the worst possible scares. Ok, perhaps not THE WORST, but it felt like it at the time. My Virus came back, also known as having a detectable viral load. This meant that either one or more of my medications failed and was no longer working. The fear behind that is "what if they all failed and I'm resistant to everything?! What then? What are my options if there are none left?"

This leads to the big "D" word, not so fondly spoken of, Death.

I don't want to die. I still don't. I never did. Even amid my bluster and rage during my formative teen years I never really MEANT to say that I wish to be dead, and then my thinking was death is the so-called easy way out. Yet, with this HIV disease, death has a way of showing up as a friendly or non-friendly reminder but most importantly when you are not ready. You see, facing one's imminent demise is ONE thing when you are feeling great, healthy, sitting on a beach, sipping a Margarita. It's a WHOLE other ball of last year's chocolate when you're in the hospital and your team of Doctors thinks you're not going to make it. They shake their heads, furrow deep scowls on their faces as they examine the notes in the chart. They walk out of the room yet not out of earshot and say things such as "I don't know if she's going to pull through this one. I'd be really surprised if she did." Thanks for the encouragement, gentlemen.

So Death has a way of getting in your face. Like, "Hi!" in your face. It's awkward, to say the least. And seriously, I can't say this enough, it never comes at a time when you are fully ready. So ready or not, one must face the daunting issue.

I view death like a peopley- type-person. Not like the Grim Reaper or anything, that's just kind of whack. I view it just as a person. I imagine it like a tired and uninspired middle-aged woman who works for the IRS and deals with the "complaint-line" all day long. Death, rather "she," has a job to do and she just wants to DO IT ALREADY. That's all there is to it. She is going to come for you one day. She's even going to wear really bad ugly shoes! So that day will happen for all of us. Sure, we don't know the specifics of the how and when, but we are absolutely guaranteed it will happen. Yep, guaranteed. I have never met a person that escaped her grasp, have you? Alright then.

So I told Miss Death I was missing some forms to file first and could not go with her. She looked down her nose at me like she had heard it a thousand trillion times already. I said I was SURE my files (also known as "my bucket list") were still outstanding and that I wasn't due to "go" until those items were completed. I quickly mentioned it would also take me decades. I shut my eyes and ignored her stare. I wrangled up images in my mind of the things I still wanted to do: love my family first and foremost; learn how to cook Kobe beef; see all of Asia; learn Spanish, Japanese; swim with dolphins somewhere; fall asleep in 1,000 different beautiful places around the world; read the encyclopedia; see/meet my biological grandchildren; teach at a College; learn to weave; and learn how to stop being afraid and angry. I could add more. But I truly believe that my fears and anger really trip me up and keep me down when I could be striving to be a better me. It isn't that I want to waste my own time. I don't. I just got very used to being angry and being afraid early in life. I didn't realize there were other options till I was in my 40's. Those people who said "happiness is a choice," never made sense to me.

When I opened my eyes she was gone.

I felt overcome by sadness. I was relieved and happy at the same time. What does one miss when they are forced to give up this body of theirs? They miss love. I thought about my son. My love for him filled my chest. The tears welled in my eyes and quietly ran down my cheeks. He was the first person I loved as DEEPLY and PERMANENTLY as I ever loved. I had loved my parents, sort of, loved boyfriends, sort of, pledged my undying love to various people, sort of … but a love for MY child was/is forever unmatched. I thought about how he looked into my eyes. I thought about how I loved his hugs. I thought about the way at age 4, when he said "I love you mommy," with no hidden agendas, no secrets, no ulterior motive, he just did. He loved me. I was never sure with other people. But I was sure with him.

It is sadness that makes death feel urgently scary. I can be honest; I only wanted more of my son's love. I wasn't done loving him. I don't need a huge house, a fancy car, and I didn't even really need anything on my bucket list EXCEPT FOR the part about loving my family. I could live in a void in a dark corner of the universe somewhere and as long as I had my son I would be OK. I knew this was true as I knew the sun rises every day. It was truth. It was the essence of my being. Love made death go away.

I fought the infections. They were like mini-wars I waged in my body; complete with the sounds of clanking swords, arrows whizzing through the air, women and children running and screaming. War is as war. And one must out-think, out-strategize, out-maneuver their enemy at all costs. I took pills by the handfuls, I was doused with IV antibiotics, I was in and out of Hospitals, I ate organic clean foods, I added supplements, I added Chinese medicine, I saw Reiki workers, energy healers, Chiropractors; you name it, I added another front line attack to get my body back.

The real medicine came unexpectedly then. It can't be defined as just Native American medicine only, it's fairly Universal. I discovered there was medicine in silence. In the silence I envisioned myself as healthy, beaming with energy and smiling from ear to ear. I could leap, run, skip and do cartwheels. I envisioned my son older each time. The silence became part of my daily practice. The images eventually had sounds; I could hear my own laughter. I could hear my son's voice. It felt real. It looked real. So I decided it needed to be real. I believed in the image of Health. I believed in the image of wellness and happiness.

Slowly and surely, with each near-death infection I got through it and got better. I got to say hello to death. And then I bid her adieu.

So back to my recent scare with the return of my virus. I found myself flooded with old powerful, body-halting fears. I found myself stuck in a corner crying. I found myself watching in the rear view mirror for the image of Miss Death sitting in the back seat. I worked myself up into a tizzy. My throat became sore and my lymph nodes became massive. I had forgotten. I had forgotten what my commitment was. I had forgotten what really mattered. Somewhere in the getting better and getting busy with life, I had gotten married, had two more kids and made a career out of HIV Prevention education. Yet somehow I was not listening to my own story of survival. I had lost myself somewhere along the way.

Revisiting "square one" is annoying. In fact, it's infuriating. I was angry at myself for even feeling "powerless." I could not understand where my power went! I drove myself in circles. I over-thought. I over-felt. I over-worried and obsessed. Then, in a counseling session right on my edge of cracking, my therapist reminded me of who I used to be and who I no longer was. I had forgotten all about silence. I had forgotten about my images of a healthy me. I had forgotten about holding onto Love first and foremost. I was worrying about silly things like: how will my husband tend to the laundry if I'm gone, what will they eat because his cooking skills are limited at best, who will do homework with my girls, and who will let the dogs out to pee during the day???

My, my, my, I had turned into a domestic goddess yet lost my whole purpose. I was stunned. So I uttered the words again, "I am not ready to die." I cried and cried. I felt my heart flood again. This time I have a grown son, gorgeous and a shining star in my eyes, always. I have two beautiful healthy daughters, 11 and 9. I have a loving husband who stands beside me and loves giving me hugs. I adopted my 14-year-old pregnant niece and now have the love of her and her baby girl in my world. I have dear and loving friends all around me. I have a loving relationship with my long lost biological brother. I have tons of love!! I was overwhelmed the more I asked myself "who could possibly love me?" I even have Facebook love!! And oh, the people I love back. I LOVE my family! I love my friends! I love my HIV community! I love my Doctor. I love so much, so many; my heart is full and overflowing. Love in silence was my answer.

I can see the images again now. This time I get to be much older, gray beautiful long hair, smile wrinkles from years of laughter. I won't do cartwheels in my 60's, but I will clap and bounce for joy as I watch my grandchildren do them. Getting older is an option that refers to time spent on this planet and in your body; I intend to do it and get BETTER. So for now, I have my new meds to take. I re-test next month. I am optimistic they are doing just fine because the pain in my throat has gone, my lymph nodes are no longer swollen and I have returned to being determinedly in-love with my life.

If Miss Death had any intentions of paying me a visit today or tomorrow she would have to deal with a defiant, unruly, and vigilant "me."

Shana Cozad

Shana Cozad

Shana Cozad is a full-blooded Native American enrolled with The Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma. She is also of Caddo, Delaware and a smidgen of French decent. Shana has been a noted, recognized public speaker, HIV/AIDS prevention educator and CTR counselor since 1994. Shana has spoken at numerous schools, universities, AIDS memorials, AIDS Walks and World AIDS Day events. Highlights includePOZ Magazine, Keynoting for the 3rd Annual Circle of Harmony Conference and (Keynote for) the Mississippi State Department of Health HIV/STD Service DIS Conference and Update. Shana's story is also among the women's voices in River Huston's book A Positive Life. Shana is currently married to a wonderful lawyer and together they are raising three children in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Why Celebrate

It’s Columbus Day – What are we celebrating for?

“We shall take you and your wives, and your children, and shall make slaves of them, … and we shall take away your goods, and shall do you all the mischief and damage that we can, … and we protest that the deaths and losses which shall accrue from this are your fault …” -     Christopher Columbus

Each October children in classrooms around the nation will dutifully recite their Columbus Day “facts”: the ships (“the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria…”), the year (“In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue...”), and even the fruit that the explorer thought best resembled the Earth (that would be the orange ). Our national leaders take time out of their busy schedules – raising money and covering up scandals – to commemorate the man who “found” America.

Of course by now many of us know that Columbus was not the first European to sail to North America – a Viking did that nearly 500 years earlier – and that the arrival of the Spanish empire wasn’t exactly a blessing to the hemisphere. What many of us don’t know, and what many more of us willfully ignore, is what Columbus really was the first to do on our side of the pond.

Christopher Columbus, you see, was a slave trader, a gold digger, a missionary, and even a war profiteer in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella. The arrival of Columbus’s small fleet on what is now San Salvador (that’s Spanish for “Holy Savior”) was greeted by the “decorous and praiseworthy” Taino Indians (Columbus’s words) and was followed almost immediately by mass enslavement, amputation for sport, and a genocide that claimed over four million people in four years. That’s quite a saving.

His arrival also marked the beginning of 500 years of imperialism, enslavement, disease, genocide, and a legacy of impoverishment and discrimination that our nation is only beginning to come to terms with. Today American Indians lack adequate healthcare and housing, receive pitiful education, face daunting barriers to economic opportunity, and see their lands (that would be the whole of the continent) overrun with pollution and big business.

Columbus Day has been celebrated as a federal holiday since 1971, making it the first of only two federal holidays to honor a person by name. The other celebrates the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It isn’t Christopher Columbus and the conquistadors, though, that resemble the selflessness of the Rev. King and the best traditions of the American ideal. From the hospitality of the Taino Indians toward Columbus’s crew, on which he remarked at length in his diaries, to the generosity of the Wampanoag in sharing their traditional feast with the Pilgrims, the history and tradition of Indian cultures have characterized the values of a plural and welcoming community. Even today American Indians proudly serve a country that has given them so little and taken so much.

A disproportionate number of young men and women fight and die for our country and for the constitution (based on the Iroquois Confederacy) that did so little to protect their own freedoms. Lori Piestewa, a Hopi soldier, became the first Indian woman to die in combat for the US military, when her convoy – famous for her friend Jessica Lynch – was ambushed outside Nasiriyah, Iraq. Her memory, like the sacrifices of so many of our Indians, is too often forgotten or obscured by the mass media and the general public.

So today we honor their sacrifices. We honor the dedication of American Indians to the best aspirations of people everywhere, the commitment to democracy, to the constitution, and to the right to vote. And we honor the generosity and selflessness of our best Americans, especially those tribes that greeted our nation’s first immigrants with curiosity and open arms.

While many people, including the entire federal workforce, take Monday off for Columbus Day, INDN’s List will be hard at work protecting the rights of Indians everywhere. We believe in this democracy everyone ought to have a right to vote, a right to run for office and a voice to be heard. Please continue supporting our work and our candidates, and lodge your protest of Columbus Day by contributing to INDN's List on “his” day. Paid for by INDN's List - 406 S Boulder, Mezzanine Ste 200, Tulsa, OK 74103 

SURVIVING COLUMBUS!
Submitted by the Western Shoshone Defense Project

As Native Americans in this day and age, we are survivors, we have survived the genocide, the federal Policy to “kill the Indian, and save the man”, and all the other atrocities that are not covered in US history books. I wish a beautiful victory song to all Native Americans today, we have survived and, for most of the tribes and bands, our cultures are intact, alive and well.

We have overcome the onslaught, we must however never forget, and strive to better our Native communities and homelands by educating ourselves and our people so that they can represent our people to preserve our land, our resources, our cultures, and our religions.
Steven Chischilly 

COLUMBUS DAY - NO REASON TO CELEBRATE
Article Last Updated: 10/06/2006

By Mary Annette Pember 
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue on a mission of plunder for Spain. When he arrived here, he commenced the virtual annihilation of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. 

A culture and nation founded on the murderous, exploitive philosophy of this act has two choices: apologize and make reparations, or cunningly twist the facts and make it an opportunity for celebration. 

The United States has chosen the latter. In many ways, the whole Columbus Day debate is a big yawn for native peoples, just another in the ongoing pinches in the rear that define being Native American in America. 

Mostly, we simply say, "Ouch," and go on with the business of surviving the policies borne out of a ruling government's mindset that sees Christopher Columbus as a national hero. 
At the time of European "discovery" in the 15th century, there were more than 10 million native peoples in North America. But by the beginning of the 20th century, our numbers had dwindled to less the 230,000. 

So, we're pretty ambivalent about the whole celebration idea surrounding our near-demise. The Columbus attitude has justified U.S. Indian policy all the way from stolen lands and broken treaties to recent attacks on tribal sovereignty and the failure to make good on Indian trust funds. 

Currently, mainstream America has a "just get over it" attitude to native peoples, dismissing our grievances as political correctness gone awry. But in the recent words of an elder, "If the shoe were on the other foot, Americans would carry laminated copies of their ancestors' treaties until they got their just dues." 

Asking the U.S. government to abandon Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples' Day is akin to asking for a sea change in the national psychology. It demands a soul-searching objectivity that is simply too threatening to the mainstream culture and economy. 

The European "discovery" of America is a misnomer. This victor's history is still very much at the heart of the American psyche. By ignoring the fact that that the place was already inhabited by millions of indigenous peoples, the celebration of Columbus Day exalts a criminal act. 

This philosophy has allowed the current Christopher Columbus reincarnation, George W. Bush, sufficient national support in his efforts to bring democratic light to the darker regions of Iraq. 

As a native woman, experienced in the repercussions of American policy-making, I'm waiting for the president's supporters to propose establishing a George W. Bush Day in Iraq, celebrating the civilizing of that country. 

I bet few Americans would see the irony. 

Mary Annette Pember, Red Cliff Ojibwe, is past president of the Native American Journalists Association. She currently lives and works as an independent journalist in Cincinnati.

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE or OPINION PIECE to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.