Educators respect and value the history of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis and the impact of the past on the present and the future. Educators contribute toward truth, reconciliation, and healing. Educators foster a deeper understanding of ways of knowing and being, histories, and cultures of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis.
Standard 9 is the newest standard that we have for BC educators, but personally, I think we should’ve had this standard all along. British Columbia is filled with so many different Indigenous cultures and students from those cultures have been a part of our school systems for generations.
I think that it is essential for educators to value and educate themselves on the history of Indigenous peoples. Only then can we start the true path towards reconciliation. Students from different Indigenous groups attend school in our school systems, yet they don’t feel as welcome as they should. Standard 9 is part of the BC Professional Standards for Educators because it is our job as teachers and members of the community to ensure that our Indigenous students feel welcome and that our non-Indigenous students understand the history of the land they are situated on.
This standard goes hand in hand with our First Peoples Principles of learning. As educators, we must respect that all subjects we teach have an FPPL incorporated into it. We can teach math by teaching the history of our local Indigenous group and how they incorporate math into their artwork. We can teach Language Arts by talking about the importance of storytelling to Indigenous cultures. The list goes on..
This standard was created to keep teachers accountable for the responsibility of ensuring that they maintain an inclusive classroom and that inclusivity includes teaching their students about the Indigenous peoples that came before them and their practices.