Great White North- Chap.4

1. How is being White problematic for an instructor who is teaching aboriginal students?

Being White does not allow a teacher to relate to her aboriginal students. Students don't feel like you understand where their coming from, and rightly so. The typical White Euro-Canadian's historical experience has little in common with the historical experiences of aboriginal people's. In the chapter, the author expressed a desire to help the underprivileged people on a reserve, but the response he received was "White boy, we don't need your help. We'll take care of our own problems." (Northcott, p.57) There is such an atmosphere of "mind your own business" that it is difficult for a White teacher to really connect with her aboriginal students, and therefore it is difficult to really teach.



2.Can a White instructor become "culturally sensitive" and, if so, how can cultural sensitivity be practiced in the classroom?

It's important to remember the difference between being sensitive to the distances between two cultures, and to actually understanding them. I believe that a White instructor can become culturally sensitive up to a point, but without living and experiencing not just the culture, but also the historical implications and prejudices, a teacher can not completely understand what it is to be a part of that culture. Some things a White teacher could do to become culturally sensitive are to learn the ways of aboriginal culture, such as ways of communicating and pedagogy. These can be applied to the classroom to lessen the requirement that aboriginal students assimilate to White pedagogy, and hopefully create a more pleasant and safe environment to learn in. In "Going Native", Northcott removed himself as facilitator of class discussion to create a learning environment that fit more with the experiences of his Cree students. This also did away with the ultimate White dominance in his classroom, by letting the students take control and discuss things that were important to them.