APPENDIX A

Using Elders in the Classroom

"What are some ways to use elders in the classroom?

The elders have played a crucial role in the development of the Dene Curriculum. Their involvement continues to be crucial in the delivery of the program at the community and classroom levels. Elders should be accessed for advice in planning or other problem areas, and to help in teaching concepts and skills.

1. Suggestions for the Teacher

The following suggestions will help the teacher who wants to involve elders in the classroom. In all cases, the proper respect should be given and protocol should be followed when dealing with elders:

• The Community Education Committee should make decisions as to which of the elders in the community should be approached by the teacher. Having a core group of elders that the teacher can access is very helpful.
• The Community Education Committee should be made responsible for deciding how the elders should be paid for their services. (Some schools have found it most acceptable to pay their elders and resource people cash from the Community Education Committee account. The Community Education Committee is then reimbursed by the Board in due course.)
• The elder should be approached well in advance and told what is required, the age of the students, and the time needed.
• Prior to the elder's classroom visit, set up the classroom so that the elder has a chair and the students can gather comfortably around the elder.
• If possible, video tape or tape record the elder's presentation. The tapes can be used by the students later for follow-up work, or shown to other students if it is not possible for the elder to do another presentation. Also, since the elders are the only source of this knowledge, the schools must do what they can to collect the knowledge for future use. It is important however, that the elder be asked for his or her permission to tape the presentation with a full explanation of how the tape will be used in the future.
• Whenever possible, restrict the number of students to small groups of about 5-6 students, especially if hands-on skills are being taught. An effective way of organizing the classroom to allow this kind of grouping is to use the "activity-centered" approach (see page 27).
• Ensure that the students understand why the elder is so important to their education. This understanding should be at the base of teaching the children .respectful ways of being with an elder:
  • greeting
  • listening politely
  • showing interest
  • observing local manners such as not walking ahead of an elder
  • thanking
  • using the Dene language as much as possible when with the elder.
• Teach the students the custom of "paying back" the elder for the stories, knowledge or advice they are given. Some ways that students can become involved in "paying" an elder are to:
  • prepare a stew or some other food for the elder
  • deliver groceries for the elder
  • shovel snow
  • get wood, etc.

The Community Education Committee and the teacher can decide together whether this is sufficient payment or whether the elder should also be paid a fee.

• Encourage students to begin visiting the elders on their own, always keeping in mind that they must help the elder and give things in payment for the stories they will hear.
• Encourage the students to ask questions of the elder during or after a presentation depending upon what is appropriate.
• So often today, our children do not have the behaviour, language or knowledge that children in previous years may have had. This may be very frustrating for some elders, resulting in their being impatient or belittling. Elders chosen to work in the school should have patience, especially with disruptive students, though the teacher should control these students as much as possible.

2. An Example From Fort Rae

In the Elizabeth Mackenzie School in Fort Rae, the school administrator and the supervisor of the Elders' Home arrange for elders to make monthly visits to the school. On these occasions, the students sing or read to an elder, or elders tell stories, drum or chant with the students. To "pay" the elders and to show their appreciation, the students take traditional foods they have prepared to the home for the elders.