Our trip to Cottonwood park was a snowy affair, picturesque if rather cold. I have been there a number of times before but not in an educational capacity. I wonder about how many students have been there on their own time and what their take away would be, and also how many of them could stay on task for a field assignment. I like the idea of getting practice taking measurements in the field: it is quite relevant to jobs in the region and ties science into land and awareness of space and our surroundings.

With regards to First People’s Principles of Learning I always wonder if my attempts to include them will ever really reflect Indigenous learning methods, or if I should even presume that I can. My outlook on life is set, and to presume that I can present one single way of doing things that will encompass western learning and Indigenous learning seems like a short track to assimilate Indigenous affect into a western framework. I am not giving up on allowing for FPPL in the classroom and in assessment, but I am staying mindful that it can’t just be me as a white teacher trying to divine what works for Indigenous students. As a path of least resistance, however, that is often what happens.