Exit Slip- Sept 24th Discussion

         

          I feel delighted to participate in the seminar with Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, it shifted my thinking of the relationship between science, our mother nature, and culture. I liked her using sweetgrass as a metaphor for “braiding way of knowing”.  I remember when I learned biology in school, we have never organized field trips to explore nature other than following the textbooks and a few observations in the lab using a microscope. We didn’t spend time to smell plants, touch them, or feel them, never mind the stories behind them related to culture. Now, I feel that I was learning science incompletely. I have heard some kids who live in cities don't know where our food comes from and what the stories behind it. Do we teach our kids science with emotion removed or teach them the science that lives in our lives?

           Regarding indigenous education, the book from Dr. Kimmerer, the seminar, and our discussion in the class educated me about indigenous culture, way of thinking, and beliefs. I learned the importance of an indigenized classroom curriculum. As a teacher, I have the responsibility to bring the indigenous voice to the classroom and to education.