Post 9: Individual Strengths and Community

One of B.C.'s First Peoples Principles of Learning is, "Learning requires exploration of one's identity". This principle aligns with British Columbia's move to Competency Based Inclusive Education Plans. Another way to explore this concept came to me in my reading of Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The 3 sisters refers to the Indigenous agricultural practice of growing corn, beans, and squash or pumpkin plants together. This process allows the strengths of each plant to supplement and support the growth of each other, simply by doing what it naturally needs to do to survive, because, "as it happens, when the individuals flourish, so does the whole" (Kimmerer, 2013, p.134).

The Competency Based Inclusive Education Plan is designed to reflect the revised B.C. curriculum's focus on core competencies, like creative and critical thinking and social responsibility. Students use their personal strengths, interests, and passions to access the province's curriculum, using innovative teaching and learning styles and accessing technology. Perhaps one of the biggest changes in IEP development is that the "Competency-Based IEP presumes competence. It starts with the premise that all students can learn, regardless of how they’re communicating or how they’re accessing knowledge. This shift in thinking rejects old methods of collecting and relying on data based only on what kids cannot do. It recognizes that ability and learning can take many forms and look unique to every student" (Inclusion BC, 2022).

It would seem that as we learn more about best practices in education and in inclusive education, you can come back to an Indigenous teaching and learning principle and idea. As I further develop my knowledge and understanding 0f challenging behaviours in the elementary school setting, it becomes more clear that connections in the classroom, school, and community environments need to be a part of any plan or intervention. The isolation and separation of the involved persons is a big part of the problem. Kimmerer writes, "The gifts of each are more fully expressed when they are nurthured together than alone"(2013, p. 140).

First Nations Education Steering Committee. (2007). First Peoples Principles of Learning. https://www.fnesc.ca/first-peoples-principles-of-learning/

Inclusion BC. (2022). "Individual Education Plans" Parent's Handbook on Inclusive Education. https://inclusionbc.org/our-resources/inclusive-education-handbook-chapter-5/

Kimmerer, Robin Wall. (2013). Braiding Sweetgreass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Minnieapolis: Milkweek Editions.

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Post 5: Curriculm Changes in British Columbia

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