Conference to focus on ways of improving Indigenous education in remote communities
- Fraser Needham | February 22, 2016
About 400 educators from all over the country will meet in Saskatoon next month to discuss ways of improving rural education.
Teachers’ Credit Union Place is the site of the 21st National Congress on Rural Education in Canada, which runs March 20-22.
The central theme of this year’s congress is “Imagine the Possibilities,” which calls on delegates to reflect on potential strategies to overcome distance, size and economic uncertainties for schools operating in rural and remote settings.
“It really provides an opportunity for delegates to talk about issues that are affecting schools in rural and remote areas and share ideas on how schools could be better, how they can be improved,” congress chair Brian Keegan says.
Sub-themes of the congress include using technology for improved programming and learning, how social media can be used for educational use and benefits and developing self directed learning.
Incorporating Indigenous cultures, values and pedagogy into educational content will also play a major role at this year’s event.
Along these lines, Waneek Horn-Miller will be one of the keynote speakers.
Horn-Miller, who hails from the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory near Montreal, was a member of the Canadian Women’s Waterpolo Team that won a gold medal at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg and competed at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
She will speak about overcoming various challenges, including getting stabbed as a 14-year-old by a soldier’s bayonet at the 1990 Oka crisis, as part an inspirational talk on how Indigenous youth can reach their goals.
“We’ve always had a number of attendees and delegates from First Nations and Métis schools and we also have a number of presentations that relate to First Nations schools,” Keegan says. “But, the broader issue is certainly many of the schools that First Nations have are in rural and remote areas so we see the congress as an ideal opportunity for them to be involved in a congress that really relates to a lot of the issues they would identify with.”
This part of the congress will also feature a workshop entitled Promoting Educational Success for Aboriginal Students: Answers through Research and a Turn to the Medicine Wheel.
In this session, presenters will look at how educators in Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island and Nunavut encouraged academic success by incorporating Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing.
This will be followed by a presentation by Mi’kmaq Elder Noel Milliea on how the medicine wheel can be used to help Indigenous learners succeed.
Other keynote speakers include University of Regina professor Alec Couros and former school principal Karl Subban.
Couros will speak about how the latest digital tools of technology can be used to improve learning in rural schools.
Subban, who taught in one of Toronto’s toughest neighbourhoods for over 30 years, will present on how teamwork and leadership can lead to educational success as well as offering a fresh take on what it means to succeed.
Karl Subban is the father of current National Hockey League players P.K. and Malcolm Subban.