The Icelandic Canadian - 01.04.2009, Síða 8

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 62 #2
understanding much, I watched their faces
as they listened and I could tell that they
were nodding their heads in agreement to
the accuracy of the facts or moving their
lips silently as they too recited the poetry.
At the time, I thought Icelanders were
nerds. How did these adventurous bullies
of the seas become the poets of present
day? “Evolution,” my Mom would reply.
Now, of course, I have grown to under-
stand my mother’s superior and sarcastic
personality but more importantly, I have
grown to understand how a country instils
its love of learning, not by rigor and stan-
dardized tests, but by celebrating their oral
histories, recording their stories, and
investing in its expressions.
So, when parents wonder why their
child isn’t reading, before thinking some-
one or something is at fault, talk to them.
Do they have stories to tell, but no one lis-
tens? Do they know how to converse by
taking turns talking? Most of all, are they
excited by the stories you tell them?
My Mom was raising six children, all
within eight years, and I remember telling a
sibling how I knew I was my Mom’s
favourite. It took me a long time to realize
that all of my siblings thought they held
that special place in my Mom’s heart. It
wasn’t because my Mom was fickle. It was
because she understood that if children are
to learn, you must build a unique and
authentic relationship with them.
The greatest impact on improving lit-
eracy in North American public schools,
has been the approach to differentiating the
teaching strategies and teaching every stu-
dent one by one, believing that each child
can learn. When a student doesn’t get it,
doing the same thing over and over again
only questions which one has the problem
. . . the teacher or the student? Research,
conducted in the soft sixties, which focused
on the importance of connecting to the stu-
dent, or, engaging a student in their learn-
ing, has become as important as the learn-
ing strategies. This means that homework,
computer technology, and wealth are not
the factors contributing to student achieve-
ment, and the factors we had thought to be
barriers, are not only solvable but as the
elegant leader to the south of us says, “It
will take all of us to educate the children.”
Next September, we will witness a
record number of students applying to
post secondary institutions in an effort to
equip themselves with the knowledge and
skills of a society not known yet. When I
attended university, the percentage was
the difference of having five grade 12 aca-
demic classes to one grade 13 academic
class. This is not a great statistic, but it
does illustrate that in the seventies there
were other choices for high school gradu-
ates.
Now that I have read about the
Icelandic education system, and how a
student who completes their secondary
education can pursue post secondary edu-
cation if they desire, I know why my
Mom never told us, her children, we had
an option. I learned that parenting skill at
an early age, of giving choices to children
and students only ensure that both choic-
es are means to the same end. It was never;
“Are you going to university?” It was
which university are you going to?
So in hindsight, was Mom’s parenting
a result of her personality or her Icelandic
heritage? Why did it have such a profound
impact on the way I approached my job as
an educator? I know there are similarities
in the Icelandic culture and my approach
to education. That may also be the result
of looking at a country with a 100% liter-
acy rate and being proud of that heritage.
However, I do believe my Mom’s
approach to life has always been, “Don’t
sweat the small stuff,” and she has this
defined better than anyone I know. The
second most important gift she has passed
on to her children is integral to parenting
and to teaching, and that is, the gift of
optimism. If we don’t believe this, then
what chance do we have in sharing the
world where children can believe in a
future?
Amma, I love you.
'"'It should be noted that this school’s
student achievement remains higher that
the province and the school board average
in the area of reading comprehension.