scaramouche

...born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad

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User: scaramouche
Irreverent, contrarian, delighted to be out of synch with the zeitgeist, I depend on my sense of humour (such as it is) to keep me sane in this wacky world.

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Wednesday, 04 November 2009

Hold me closer, fancy dancer: The latest “human rights” tribunal ruling on the CHRC site appears to be about a teacher who worked for a First Nations school board in Alberta, and who wasn’t allowed to return following her pregnancy leave--what you or I would call a wrongful dismissal suit were it to turn up in a regular courtroom. But why on earth would someone with a gripe want to take it before a real judge when the rules of the “quasi”-judiciary are so much more lax, and when you can have your legal tabbed picked up by the taxpayer, even if the tribunal rules against you. It’s nice to see, though, that despite the fact that political correctness precludes infidels from complaining about hateful imams, and would no doubt preclude a teacher in a similar situation from complaining about an Islamic school, a non-First Nations woman was allowed to complain about a First Nations school. Could this be the “human rights” tribunal’s way of signalling that, pace Steyn, Levant and the rest of the critics, the system is not necessarily mired in stultifying P.C.?
I didn’t have the patience to wade through the entire lengthy ruling, but this part jumped out at--and amused--me:
When asked if she integrated First Nations culture into her teaching, Ms. Gilmar testified that she was very enthusiastic about doing this. She gave several specific examples such as using a medicine wheel to illustrate geometry, math, science, and environmental instruction. She spoke of using First Nations medicine cards, and focusing the students on spirit perspective with animals. She would take the students outside at times, and walk out comparative distances between the planets, integrated Stoney language words into her lesson planning, and used the burning of sweet grass. Two of her students were tribal dancers, and one of them a "fancy dancer", so she had them showcase their talents in the classroom. She also incorporated First Nations images into her art lessons. I found her demeanour to be very sincere in recounting her desire while at Alexis to incorporate First Nations culture into her lessons, and it was obvious that she made real efforts in this regard…
“A fancy dancer,” huh? We could have used some of those back when I went to a Jewish Day School. All we ever got were Israeli folk dances about water and stuff--and there was nothing “fancy” about them.

Posted by: scaramouche at 16:47 | link | comments (3)


Comments:
#1  04 November 2009 - 21:37
 
Boring old Mayim Mayim! You didn't even get to dance Hora Mametera?! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlNGmAHclu4 (not that great a version, but the best I could find).

I love the fact that there's an Israeli dance to a sprinkler system.

cba
Anonymous
#2  05 November 2009 - 10:01
 
Yes, but where are the feathers?
User: scaramouche Contact me View user's mediablog scaramouche
#3  05 November 2009 - 17:16
 
"Yes, but where are the feathers?"

Yes, the feathers. Makes all the difference. :)

It is encoruaging mystisim, faith, and religious tradition is now acceptatable scientific solutions to problems allowed to be taught in the classroom.

It goes to show the disagreement by the left is not over the substance, but the source of the substance.
Anonymous
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