EDTE PEER REVIEW

Social Justice Issues in Education

EDTE 531
I like how you highlighted your paper with the positive terms, such as respect,
acknowledgment, acceptance, commitment, appreciate, etc. These statements and terms
give me the impression that you are a positive person and that you are open to diversity. This
approach shows how you value education and your identity. Your paper shows that you
express motivation and your attempts to being proactive and positive within your education
field. You state your goals clearly on the topic of diversity. As I read your paper regarding
identity, I noticed that your experiences with adaptability skills are strengthened by your
bilingualism. I believe that is a great positive advantage for you as a teacher. Your reflection
around being bilingual making your learning another language was beneficial and a positive
experience, this is great information to know from you prior me going to teach my own
traditional language to student that want to learn. Your vast experiences around culture and
language skills enables you to be open to multiple diversities is a great asset. I appreciate
your openness to other cultures and traditions and how this can create a wonderful learning
environment for students in your classroom.
I can relate to your experiences outside the education realm in society. As an Aboriginal,
Indigenous, First Nation woman there are many struggles; such as poverty, racism, exclusion,
discrimination, etc. The question of ethnicity is constant reminder with myself as well. I like
to think we are closing the gap or changing the mind set of others when we are open and
forward about diversity and inclusion as teachers. Like you, I am open to creating a neutral
approach to subjects and topics so that students can connect and ultimately become proud of
our selves, cultures, ethnicities, and celebrate each others diverse backgrounds together. I
understand that change takes time, and you have clearly identified with making changes and
creating balance in your approach within education, as well as within your experiences within
society. This is a strength for you as a teacher. You talked about including or incorporating a
variety of cultural experiences in your classroom, and I am grateful for that. It is important to
know your districts and what resources they have of other cultures, such as, Aboriginal,
Indigenous, or First Nations content. Some resources are difficult to find. My struggles are

not mainly with resources but with actually seeing the content within classrooms even though
it is clearly stated in the British Columbia curriculum. I wonder; do you see Aboriginal content
consistently within the classrooms? How do you feel teaching Aboriginal content?
I noticed you talked about critical thinking skills and safety for your goals, this is important.
How can we strengthen our goals and implement them in a short few weeks as teachers? We
are definitely in for a lot of work and as I taught in practicum these past couple of semesters;
time is an issue. There is so much to cover, but very little time. I appreciate your input and
topics for sure. You have expressed a vast amount of areas that I did not consider; such as
your point about physically responding to external stimuli, Parkers theory. This theory is
something for me to look into so that I can understand and explore further about engaging
students to develop their social responsibility and critical thinking skills. You talked about
viewing each other as individuals first to create an open, supportive, comfortable classroom
community, and I believe this approach can be beneficial. By providing students
opportunities to express and celebrate their ethnic backgrounds is important so that voices
can be heard and students can share and not feel isolated. Thank you for sharing and
creating a picture for me about your identity and about your experiences that supports your
values and thoughts. I would like to encourage you to continue to be positive and to keep
motivating others to be open to diversity.
Again, thank you for sharing. I enjoyed learning from you!
Gina-Mae Harris