Description
Circle Works: Transforming Eurocentric Consciousness attempts to explain an Aboriginal teaching model designed for post-secondary students. The author is a Metis professor in the Aboriginal Counselling Program at Brandon University. This book is a revision of a thesis designed to contribute to the theoretical understanding as well classroom practice in the field of education. The early chapters are devoted to outlining the theoretical perspective that emphasizes experiential learning, feminist and anti-racist pedagogies, as well as the Aboriginal perspective. The author employs the use of the Medicine Wheel and Talking Circle in her cross-cultural issues course where Native and Non-Native, Black, and other minority students attend. The alternate teaching model is described and extensive teacher and student reactions are provided. These student reactions to the dynamics of the course as well as their growing awareness are revealing. These quotes make for interesting reading as they reveal many of the conflicting emotions present in the class. As the course progressed many of the students are able to grasp the model from an intellectual viewpoint. In the book's final chapter, Learning from the Trickster, the author discusses issues such as appropriation, the role of the teacher, and Non-Native student resistance and backlash. A helpful index and bibliography are included. Anyone interested in anti-racism, Native education philosophy, and teaching will find the ideas challenging and thought-provoking.