After reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a novel that openly explores topics that are generally frowned upon, I completed a presentation with three of my peers to examine the steps school systems have taken to serve Indigenous students. We connected our findings to current events, drew conclusions for the future, and highlighted how individual citizens can make a difference. Through this assignment, we were able to examine and better appreciate the importance of strengthening bonds within our community, considering education as a human right, and working towards a better future.

A link to our final PowerPoint presentation can be found here.

1) I use digital spaces to plan and execute collaborative projects with my peers.

Due to the collaborative nature of this assignment, my peers and I often utilized online resources such as group chats and comments to effectively communicate with each other. This was especially beneficial as many of us had busy schedules and had to miss school for various reasons. By sending group messages and leaving comments on our shared documents, we could provide constructive feedback, support each other, and answer questions more easily, leading to a more cohesive team, efficient workflow, and a more fulfilling presentation.

4) I constructively build upon or synthesize the ideas of my peers.

As the humanities can often be very subjective and open-ended, it was essential for me and my peers to share, listen to, and expand upon each other’s ideas and unique viewpoints. I am a strong believer in the aphorism “two can accomplish more than twice as much as one” and value teamwork and collaboration. Because of this, I actively participated in discussions and shared my findings from credible research sources and drew conclusions from my personal experiences. When my peers shared two different ideas, I strived to help the group come to a consensus by incorporating elements of both suggestions into our final product.

11) I go beyond google and use databases to find scholarly research sources.

In order to create an engaging and well-researched presentation to share with our class, my peers and I consulted scholarly articles from resources such as Statistics Canada and Gale Canada in Context for information. I ensured that information and facts were accurate by referencing multiple sources. Because I was required to draw conclusions on the topic with reference to current events, I searched for news platforms that are known to value accuracy. To properly give credit to these sources, I created a bibliography at the end, which is formatted in the MLA style.

12) I look at controversial issues or topics from opposed perspectives to gain a more complete understanding.

Since the education of first nation students has always been a topic with a plethora of different perspectives and elements to consider, the research for this presentation was slightly overwhelming at first. To ensure that I was spreading unbiased information and speaking from a deeper understanding of the subject, the resources I relied on were varied, with different authors and backgrounds. I went above and beyond the research criteria and, as a result, gathered valuable details that allowed me to benefit from more profound insight. I also distinguished facts from opinions and synthesized opposed points of view to relay this knowledge effectively to my peers.