With Native American Heritage Month around the corner, some educators are taking a different approach to how they teach the meaning of land.
KBIA’s Xcaret Nuñez recently visited a kindergarten class at Parkade Elementary where a teacher and her students are drawing from Indigenous beliefs to explore the power of the land around them.
Xcaret Nuñez files this audio postcard.
Class chattering.
DAWNAVYN JAMES: My name is Dawnavyn James, I am a kindergarten teacher, and today we are doing our second observation of our pocket world for science.
Students singing to get in a line.
JAMES: A pocket world is a part or pocket of the world that you normally wouldn't pay attention to. So we did our first observation where we looked at the things that are [outside], whether they're rocks or plants or animals, and just jotting them down into a notebook. And so today, we're going on our second observation to see if there are any changes or anything new there.
Students' footsteps running; student sees leaves
JAMES: I just thought it'd be a good opportunity for them to discover living and nonliving things on their own. But also, I just recently learned just how much kids are taught that land is something to be conquered or taken over. When in reality, land has always been here and it's always been loved. So, instead of saying that, we discovered our pocket world, it's something that we're loving on because we're observing it and giving it our attention at this moment.
Students find a spider outside.
JAMES: It's important to change that narrative about how we treat our land, first of all, for me, because now I know that we aren't giving our land enough acknowledgment about what it does for us, and how long it's been here. So, I want my students to know the truth that I know and join me in acknowledging the land that we live on. Just seeing what the land gives us like, the different animals and plants that are out there or the shelter that it may provide.
Students find a grasshopper; James tells student to not bother it.
JAMES: I think it's important to teach my students about people from different backgrounds, because first of all, my classroom is full of people from different backgrounds. But also the world is that way. I don't want my students to leave my classroom, not knowing or feeling uncomfortable or unsure about people. I also think the classroom is one of the safest places, so, if I can foster that questioning and love and acceptance of people, here in my classroom, I think that's something that they will always carry with them.
Class shares with James how their pocket world changed
JAMES: Something I’ve learned from my students about their pocket world is that they are really fascinated with nature, and what nature brings, and how they really have respect for the pocket world.
Class shares what they enjoyed the most about their pocket world.
That was an audio postcard from KBIA’s Xcaret Nunez, visiting the Parkade Elementary School kindergarten classroom with teacher Dawnavyn James.
