Jessica - 3.2 Connection is Key for Learning in Indigenous Communities

January 21st, 2025

Dear Diary,

Two weeks have passed since I opened that letter. It's not what I anticipated, some of the information within the letter made me unsettled, I feel skeptical of this whole situation. I was in the photocopy room printing the tests for my next period when I noticed the cloud of black dust appearing again from the window. I closed my eyes and opened them again as I was in disbelief that he was visiting me again, what else could he have to tell me!? When I re–opened my eyes, another envelope with the letter L on it was dropped on the photocopier and the figure vanished again.

Wish me luck!

Gemma

Connection is Key for Learning in Indigenous Communities

Dear Gemma,

I hope this letter finds you well. I apologize for the abrupt ways in which I must get them to you. I need to conceal my identity to protect the events in my timeline.

Our mission is to share the tragic reality of what has happened within education in 2040 so that you can act now to prevent the same fate as us. We caution you to take action and circle back to the roots of education. A time educators in my world dream about. A time filled with genuine connection. A time that focussed on building relationships instead of building virtual applications to substitute the feeling of being in a close-knit tangible community. Only YOU can do that. You have the power to remind teachers of where we came from. Where we will return to when we leave our physical bodies. And what awaits them if they refuse to comply.

With all of our efforts in the past to incorporate Indigenous Knowledge into the curriculum, the complete control of technology has infiltrated our education system. I remember a time when holistic approaches to learning were embraced. Where Indigenous elders were of the most respected sources of knowledge. Where non-Indigenous peoples were eager to learn Indigenous histories and experiences. Grade eleven English no longer includes Indigenous texts and narratives. In fact, Indigenous Studies no longer exists in 2040 as Technological and Artificial Intelligence Studies have replaced it. Instead of teaching students to be empathetic, we are re-colonizing the minds of the youth and making robots right from the beginning. It has become a place where tools such as ChatGPT are answering and coming up with material to teach. Teachers have become technology facilitators and are fully relying on the transmission of lessons through applications rather than staying true to traditional learning.

I was able to find a source from your timeline that fully captures the importance of Indigenous Knowledge in the curriculum. In Indigenous Knowledge and the Story of the Bean by Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy and Emma Maughan (2009), it is evident that Indigenous Knowledge is vital in educational settings to encourage reflective and mutual learning environments. They use the analogy of knowledge as a verb or noun to distinguish the difference between the active communal learning spaces Indigenous Knowledge provides and the passive, rigid, technical nature of Western knowledge. Brayboy and Maughan (2009) explain how Indigenous Knowledge systems represent the verb as they are “rooted in the lived experiences of people; these experiences highlight the philosophies, beliefs, values, and educational processes of entire communities” (p. 3). Whereas Western knowledge systems are the noun in which educators treat knowledge as a commodity to possess, control, and regurgitate when instructed (Brayboy and Maughan, 2009, p. 12). Our world is simply that; a heightened Western knowledge system where students reiterate information through AI on command. They are not comprehending what is being taught and are therefore not truly learning.

We were born on this earth surrounded by life and loved ones. We need to come back to a world where knowledge is transferred properly through community-based learning. We need to start living what we are learning. How can we reconnect everything and everyone in the world without unplugging and disconnecting from what we know now? Gemma, you need to give your world a wake up call. They have to realize that if we forget about our roots, there will be no return from robotic teaching. As an educator, you must remind yourself that connection is key. Let the teachings of Indigenous knowledge guide you Gemma. Contextualize what is being learned and relate it to the lives of your students. Only then will you be able to ground yourself and revive the connection between you, your students, and the world.

Best of luck. The fate of education is in your hands.

Over and out.

Messenger #346