NM School Goes From Worst to Among Best in 3 Years By Heather Clark, Published: Oct 19, 2009 in Indian Country Today.

This article discusses first-year principal George Bickert and how he encouraged the students of Tohatchi Public School located on the Navajo lands in Tohatchi, New Mexico.  Before the arrival of Mr. Bickert, the students were struggling academically, with many of them classified as English language learners.

He found a way to make learning fun and challenging for the students. Part of his strategy was using  lots of smiles and hugs with the students. The other part was knowing his students.

A couple of important  points to note in this article (other than the influence of Mr. Bickert, and the amazing  progress of the Indian students)  is that there are many American Indian children (and adults) whose first language is not English. Many of the Indigenous Indian people of this country still struggle with learning  English as a second language.  Another equally important fact this article discusses is that many of our Native schools are impoverished, as are the living conditions of the people.

This is such an inspiring and informative piece, that I  highly recommend teachers have students read the article in its entirety online.

Find addittional information and lessons plans for the Navajo people here.

Suggested Exercises based on this news article:

Vocabulary Exercise:

1. In groups designate paragraphs from the article.

Discussion Questions for Comprehension:

1. Where is the school located?
2. What are some of the problems children face in this area?
3. Why do you think that 80% of the students are English language learners?
4. Identify and discuss the two main causes for the low scores of the students.
5. Discuss the ways Mr. Bickert  motivated the students.
6. In addition to English language learners, what other group of students does Mr. Bickert mention?
7. Compare the education system in your home city, to that of the Navajo Indian school in this article. Discuss the similarities or the differences.

Tags: American Indian children, George Bickert, indigenous, Navajo, Tohatchi New Mexico, Tohatchi Public School

Thinking Indian: How we think by Richard B. Williams, published: Oct 12, 2009  in Indian Country Today.

This article was  written by Richard B. Williams,  formerly a teacher at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and now President and CEO of  the American Indian College Fund.   At the university  he taught American students with learning disabilities, and Indian students who were at varying learning levels. In this article, he  focuses on how to cope with the cognitive challenges American Indian students face when acclimating into the mainstream.

Mr. Williams points out that although the Indian students are intelligent and their scores on the ACT were high enough to allow them admission into the university, they were challenged by the “academic methodology and pedagogy.” Mr. Williams figured that the way to overcome this problem was by learning to teach to the cognitive strengths of the students. Mr. Williams makes the following observation:

“Throughout my life, I often heard people say, “You Indian people are different.” Although their meaning was derogatory, inside I knew we were different in some way. I have known many intellectually talented Indian people in my life. Many were unrecognized geniuses, sometimes only possessing an eighth grade education. I began to wonder why these brilliant people, my heroes, [were] unsuccessful in their academic pursuits.”

He began conducting research on the human brain and its functions. He arrived at the conclusion that all brains process information the same way, unless there is damage from a brain injury or disease such as Alzheimer’s or autism. To  account for the fact that process information differently form Western Europeans, he concludes that the different “Indian thinking style” can be attributed to a greater reliance on oral communication as the central mode for learning together with a greater reliance on intuition.

He further states,

“…There has been significant research related to Indian students and learning modalities, styles and specialized pedagogy, but it is often juxtaposed with Western theories of learning and cognitive processing. The tribal colleges have intrinsically become centers of “Indian thinking” and need to continue their practices and research to improve American Indian student outcomes.”

Mr. Williams presents his argument eloquently and provides sound evidence to substantiate his findings.

Suggestions for  reading activity based on this article:

Group Discussion Exercise:

Have students read the article in its entirety, and search for any unknown vocabulary words.

Place  students in groups and have them answer the following questions

1. Mr. Williams states, “Throughout my life, I often heard people say, “You Indian people are different.” Although their meaning was derogatory, inside I knew we were different in some way…”Explain his meaning.

2. Do you think people from different cultures  process information differently from people in other cultures? Explain why or why not.

3. Do you think people in your culture learn differently from people in other cultures? Explain why or why not, and provide examples.

Tags: ACT, Alzheimer's, American Indian College Fund, Autism, learning disabilities, Richard B. Williams, University of Colorado

Indians believed in The Great Spirit and fashioned their lives according to the teachings of this deity. They had sayings which reflected their thoughts about The Great Spirit.

Here’s are a few of my favorites:

“The Great Spirit is in all things, he is in the air we breathe. The Great Spirit is our Father, but the Earth is our Mother. She nourishes us, that which we put into the ground she returns to us….”

Big Thunder (Bedagi) – Wabanaki Alonquin

“The Great Spirit raised both the white man and the Indian. I think he raised the Indian first. He raised me in this land, it belongs to me. The white man was raised over the great waters, and his land is over there. Since they crossed the sea, I have given them room. There are now white people all about me. I have but a small spot of land left. The Great Spirit told me to keep it.”

Chief Red Cloud – Sioux

More Teachings…

“When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies with yourself…”

Tecumseh – Shawnee

“Some of our chiefs make the claim that the land belongs to us. It is not what the Great Spirit told me. He told me that the lands belong to Him, that no people owns the land; that I was not to forget to tell this to the white people when I met them in council.”

Kanekuk – Kickapoo prophet

As an ESL exercise, place students in groups and first have them choose two of the sayings. After they interpret each of the two sayings, have them compare/contrast the meanings of each.

Additional sayings can be found here.

Tags: Bedagi, Big Thunder, Chief Red Cloud, deity, Earth Mother, Great spirit, Kanekuk, Kickapoo prophet, Shawnee, Sioux, Tecumseh, Wabanaki Alonquin, white man