First Peoples Principles of Math By Aaron Hoffman, Ed May Social Responsibility Fund recipient and Vernon teacher
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very teacher wants to believe they are relevant and can make a difference. From my 19 years of teaching, I have learned that one of my strengths is acquiring the necessary supports to maintain relevance. This has led me to develop the First Peoples Principles of Math pilot project. A grant from the Ed May Social Responsibility Fund has enabled educators like me to continue the dedicated work of Ed May and his battle against discrimination and injustice within schools in British Columbia. Often, one does not have the access or ability to pursue interests outside their daily profession. Through funds from this grant,
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however, I was able to access the necessary release time and resources to collaborate with other educators and members of the community. I was inspired to create inclusive, innovative, and positive experiences for my students and school.
afforded the privilege of welcoming into our school the local Syilx people. The project has heightened my awareness of the importance of involving local Aboriginal Elders when teaching their history and culture to our students.
The grant has benefited my teaching by providing me with more time to reflect and refine specific focuses in three crucial areas: inclusive practices, Aboriginal curriculum, and improved food options at school. I will limit my discussion in this article to the ways I have explored bringing Aboriginal curriculum into my classroom through collaborative mentoring with younger grades.
This grant has inspired me to pilot the First Peoples Principles of Math. This resource guide allows for a more hands-on approach with math that improves student learning through its real-life applications and connections to Aboriginal people. Although early in its development, I feel the new guide is helping me to create learning experiences for my students that honour the First Peoples Principles of Learning.
The grant has allowed me to create connections with individuals who have transformed my planning and delivery to engage student learning. Community Elder Frank Marchand spoke with our students about traditional connections to the land through hunting and sport, specifically lacrosse. We were also uniquely
While the material is middleschool level, we are fortunate to collaborate with teachers from two younger classes—Holly Fischer (Grades 2–3) and Shannon Truesdell (Grades 4–5)—in a project in which the older students teach the younger students an adapted version of this program. Our Aboriginal Support Worker Jessie Brown, our Fine Arts teacher Neena Sood, and University of British Columbia Okanagan teacher candidate Gabby Valachy will also be directly involved with this implementation. The strength of this diverse group is that it will provide an opportunity to look at the role of Aboriginal content from many different perspectives with a critical eye. We are also eager to include our school’s physical geography to utilize the First Peoples Principles of Learning from the land. The Math First Peoples Resource Guide will be available soon on TeachBC at www.teachbc.bctf.ca.
BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Summer/Fall 2020
