This chapter of Ayer’s novel titled Keeping Track, concerns primarily with the idea of standardized testing and properly assessing students’ progress, as per mentioned in the title. As set in the tone of the chapter, it can easily be argued that Ayers does not necessarily favour standardized testing and fairly so. Ayers opens the chapter by writing: “the root of the word “evaluation” is “value”, and authentic assessment includes understanding what students value and building from there” (81). In my opinion, students learn best when they are genuinely interested in the subject matter and value the material being presented to them. In this context, students will fully immerse themselves in the material being presented if they are able to recognize and identify themselves in their work.
The problem with standardized testing, as raised by Ayers lies in the fact that they are inherently bias, focusing solely on one learning style. A classroom is filled with a diverse community of learners, each having their own individual needs necessary to achieve success. Standardized testing, as already raised by many, assumes that all students learn the same way, and as can easily be argued this is simply not the case. Far too often, teachers, students, and parents get overly preoccupied with standardized testing such as the EQAO, wanting their student or child to surpass expectations. But, the result on a test is not the most important part, it is the journey. Students should not be made to feel ashamed or guilty because of a grade they received, they should understand the value of the time and effort that is put into work. As in Ayers’ example, Quin was only preoccupied with being the first to finish the test, failing to remember whether he learned anything. This is the inherent problem with standardized tests. As previously mentioned, students learn best when they can fully immerse themselves in their work, and produce something that they take pride in. Although standardized testing is a part of the general discourse in many elementary schools, it is important to not focus our attention solely on achieving exceptional grade. The journey/process needs to be accorded the same level of importance.
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Although this post does not directly pertain to the short indie-film The Lesser Blessed, I would, however, like to make note of something that I feel needs to be addressed about Aboriginal people. A large part of what we hear and watch all surround the negative aspects of Indigenous culture. Are the aboriginal people really considered inferior or as per the title of the film, The Lesser Blessed. As maintained in an interview by Carol Bedrosian conducted in early 2001, “Make no mistake: living in community for native people is neither glamorous nor inherently spiritual and oftentimes just as thick with political turmoil and materialistic greed as in any non-native community.” (Bedrosian, 2001, n.p) But, does this mean we should concentrate a large portion of our lessons on the more negative aspects of a culture? I would argue that it is time that we shed some light on the positive aspect of Indigenous culture, and focus on aboriginal accomplishments and the resilience of our people. As I mentioned in my last post, aboriginal people are not ashamed of their past, but proud of their accomplishments and continuously strive for the success of their youth. While these films, documentaries, and texts do provide a glimpse into an important past that often fails to be discussed, it also opens the door for people to feel sorry for our people. Yes, as a person you can be empathetic with the situations that many aboriginal people were forcibly put into, but feeling sorry for our people is not what we are looking for. Instead of focusing our attention on the more difficult aspects of aboriginal culture, we can focus on self-sustaining communities such as the Cree from James Bay, political leaders trying to make a difference and improve our daily lives, and even discuss powwows, a traditional gathering. I’m sharing this perspective not out of hate or discontent with the current state of affairs, because I truly am grateful that teachers and professors are finally acknowledging Indigenous culture but, after watching We Were Children, and reading The Absolute True Diary of Part Time Indian, and finally watching The Lesser Blessed, I began to feel sad for myself and my people. I’m proud of my Indigenous heritage, and I acknowledge the struggles faced by my people, but we are also progressive, and our successes should also be noted and celebrated.
As far back as the arrival of Jacques Cartier in New France, the goal of the Canadian Government has always been to assimilate Aboriginal people into dominant Canadian society whether French or English. From the 19th to the 20th century, thousands of aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their homes, and separated from their families in an attempt to integrate the children into the Canadian nation. The aboriginal culture was considered inferior, and “killing the Indian in the child” was the only perceived measure that would assure the superiority of the French and English ways. In 2008, after decades of abuse whether physical, emotional or sexual at the hands of church officials, then Prime Minister Harper presented an apology, on behalf of all Canadian in the Chamber of Common in Ottawa. The apology was met with mixed reviews by the aboriginal people, some claimed that it lack sincerity and others claimed that it did not speak about the real issues. It was also, however, met with silence, as claimed by Knockwood.
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January 2016
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