ARNOLD: Volume 1, Issue 2

The Good News Arnold is many things. On the one hand, it is an affectionate embrace with theww Trent and Peterborough com-

munities. It aims to look at the lighter side of life within these complicated places, delving into the grins and giggles that rarely shine through all the grit and grime. Yet, it also represents an at times caustic, satirical, and often very angry response to some of the major events and issues that have fuelled controversies and filled the head-lines over the past several years.

In that sense, then, much of the content ap-pearing in this volume should be taken with a grain of salt. A great deal of it should never be taken seriously, and much of it should probably be dismissed outright. Some stories, however, should be re-written in a more serious tone so as to draw attention to issues that require more thoughtful and urgent consideration.

What is important is that in reading this pub-lication you take a risk. You risk laughing up-roariously in a quiet place on campus, perhaps embarrassing yourself by contravening the cod-ed silence of the Library’s red zones. You also encounter the possibility of being offended, in which case you should do something produc-tive and creative with those feelings. In the best-case scenario, however, you will read this vol-ume and reflect on the possibility of what could have been if all the bad news suddenly became good news.

For questions, comments or submissions please email:

[email protected]

Volume 1 | Issue 2 | May 2011

Volume 1 | Issue 2 | May 1, 2011 Arnold page 1

CONTENTSEditorial...........................................................................................page 2

Gzowski college occupied....................................................page 3-4

Trent moves outside................................................................page 4

Feature............................................................................................page 5-6

Food heals rifts...........................................................................page 7

Medicine wheel to be used..................................................page 7

No schools will close...............................................................page 8

News in Brief.................................................................................page 8

Horoscopes...................................................................................page 9

DISClAIMEr

Volume 1 | Issue 2 | March 28, 2011 Arnold page 2

EditorialIt is increasingly difficult to ground one-

self in today’s context of extensive over-lapping social, political, environmental and economic crises. Everywhere one

turns today, it can feel as though you im-mediately confront the thick, time-hardened edifice of societal crisis and despair.

Such a grim outlook often makes the ex-ploration of tangible and meaningful alterna-tives to this tired old status quo appear seem-ingly impossible. Yet here at Arnold we have long appreciated the crucial role of humour in intervening within a variety of topical so-cial issues and problems. It was for this reason that our editorial team decided that the second issue of our beloved publica-tion would be devoted to edu-cational issues. Thus, here you are, delivered to your electronic doorstep: Arnold Issue 2 - The Education Edition.

It was perhaps Thomas King — a prominent Indigenous novelist, broadcaster, and edu-cator — that phrased the liber-ating potential of humour most effectively. To paraphrase his appearance in recent documentary film Red Skins, Tricksters, and Puppy Stew, ‘Humour allows you to get your foot in the door.’ In-deed, this conceptualization suggests that humour represents an invaluable means of generating discussion, particularly when the reach of our conventional criticism becomes exhausted and ineffectual in the midst of dis-missive attacks and consternating attitudes.

The Education Edition attempts to em-body a similar process of ‘getting one’s foot in the door,’ hopefully allowing for much needed space to by pried open for meaning-ful discussion to occur regarding the role of education within our society. By satirizing

relevant news stories, and bringing to light ill considered alternatives, it is our hope that we contribute to such a moment where a space can be created in which opportunities for compassionate critique and humble, honest dialogue may begin to flow through.

On page 3, staff reporter Bea Minor cov-ers a shimmer of hope read through the recent student/faculty occupation of Trent University’s Gzowski’s College by a series of local popular educators. Despite it’s domi-

nant name, the building is also the home of the First People’s House of Learning and the Department of Indigenous Studies.

From this sometimes-contradictory space flows an innovative intermixture of tradi-tional Indigenous Knowledges that meets head-on with the rigid conventions of West-ern academia. While such a meeting place is not without its tensions and difficulties, the space that is created nonetheless suggests that a reconfiguration of dominant educa-tional paradigms is indeed possible. On page 4, Henry Giroux reports on one such devel-opment related to how learning on the land can reconnect human beings to the endless

wisdom of the natural environment.Moving forward, on page 6, we learn

that resolutions to long-standing animosi-ties within the community are in the works, aided by the curative effects of food and drink. Often we neglect the transformative potential of food and eating together in help-ing to allay conflicts through the deployment of compassionate criticism. To borrow a foodie metaphor offered by Creek-Cherokee scholar Craig Womack, compassionate criti-

cism “gathers people back together, seats them at the table, feeds them, and they, in turn, give something back.”

If you haven’t already received your fill, then consider turning on over to page 7. Here we find a good news conclusion to the long-standing intention of the local school board to shutdown one of the City’s high schools. It appears that the viral promise of alter-native pedagogical models have touched the hearts of at least a few high-standing officials, with the attending

result being that the local curriculum will be broadened within the City of Peterborough to incorporate important discussions regard-ing social justice and Canada’s place in the world.

Finally, we all know that a paper isn’t a paper without the inclusion of this month’s astrological readings. On page 9 we serve a hearty dish of what the stars have to offer. And if all that wasn’t enough to curb your hunger for change, then just remember the potent words of Thomas King in the closing comments of the Dead Dog Café Comedy Hour: “Stay Calm, Be Brave, Wait for the Signs.”

juST rEMEMBEr THIS: “STAy CAlM, BE BrAVE, WAIT FOr THE SIGNS”

CampusA group of rogue stu-

dents and faculty have oc-cupied the teaching spaces at Gzowski College at Trent University, allegedly in an effort to transform them into more constructive learning environments.

Armed with food, art sup-plies, and an assortment of teaching materials related to critical pedagogy and popu-lar education, the group en-tered the building late last Friday and immediately set to work on modifying the College’s various class-rooms and lecture halls.

Their first act of rebel-lion was to hold an open potluck in the Peter Robin-son dining hall. The feast was staged as an act protest against the Aramark-operat-

ed cafeteria’s policy requir-ing that patrons pay $10 to enter, and forces them to leave their belongings at the entrance for fears that they will steal food.

“We wanted to demon-strate that food is a right, and that eating is in fact a very communal experience that is also a fabulous source of sharing and education,” said Maxine Greene, a sec-ond year Business Adminis-tration student.

“By bringing people back to the table in the form of a potluck that is intended to subvert the private nature of Trent’s dining spaces, we hoped to send a message that is ‘enough is enough.’”

The café cart and seat-ing area on the lower level of the building, known by the Trent community as the

red light district, was also seized and converted into a multi-purpose zine-making and jam space.

However, it was the actual classrooms and lecture halls at Gzowski that were sub-jected to the most dramatic of alterations. Long reviled for the incommodious lay-outs and long rows of desks bolted to the ground, furni-ture was immediately pulled from the concrete floor and repositioned in the form of a circle.

Peter McLaren, a fourth year physics student, says that the benefits of learning in circular spaces have been known for centuries, and that such physical layouts promote a healthier dynam-ic between individuals.

“Having a circular space means that the relationship of the instructor to the stu-

dent no longer takes one of authority in which students often occupy a subordinate position. It helps to ensure that no one gets left out,” McLaren said.

“It’s also great that you can see everyone, commu-nicate with them directly, and therefore engage all of your senses within the learning environment.”

The group claims that the physical modifications will lead to a more “decentred” learning environment that avoids treating learners as repositories of knowledge, instead promoting creativ-ity and innovation.

When asked whether the group had adopted a for-mal leadership structure, they responded by saying that they were opposed to

GzOWSkI COllEGE OCCupIED By pOpulAr EDuCATOrS by Bea Minor

Protestors set up tent city, teach-in area on lawn outside of First People’s House of Learning


Students, teachers demonstrate the benefits of learning in a circle in converted classroom

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Classrooms transformed into ‘decentred’ learning spaces

...continued from page 3

Space constraints corre-sponding to a shortage of classrooms and efforts to meaningfully incorporate Indigenous-learning meth-odologies into the Univer-sity’s core curriculum have led to a decision to hold all first year courses on the land.

The strategy extends the principles of the wildly popular Indigenous Studies course Living and Learning on the Land, which allows students to earn academic credit by participating in an intensive ten-day course on a nearby Trent property while guided by tradition-al Indigenous knowledge holders.

A statement released by the Vice-President Aca-demic, and endorsed by the University’s senate,

confirmed the decision on April 26, just after the con-clusion of the 2010-2011 exam period.

“Having the opportunity to learn in a natural setting provides students the abil-ity to learn experientially, all the while taking stock of the abundant lessons

offered by the natural en-vironment,” the statement reads.

“This dramatic shift in our approach to our curriculum ensures that knowledge and learning is opened up to multiple per-spectives that cannot be accessed through the tradi-

tional classroom format in which a course instructor lectures from the front of the room.”

All first year courses, from politics and sociol-ogy to business adminis-tration and nursing, will incorporate a land-based component under which students will spend a sig-nificant portion of their ‘class time’ in a natural setting throughout the Kawartha bio-region.

The curriculum will represent a mixture of conventional and alterna-tive Western principles of education, as well as traditional Indigenous Knowledge, the Univer-sity has said.

by Henry Giroux

TrENT TO HOlD FIrST yEAr ClASSES IN NATurEUniversity to explore alternative pedagogical methods

authoritative, hierarchal processes, and preferred to make decisions as a collective.

“We will make decisions regard-ing this educational space with con-sensus,” reads an online statement issued by the ad hoc collective. “We wish to ensure that all voices are in-cluded within the decision-making process and that people have tools at their disposal to make changes they want and need.”

The statement also acknowledges the influence of famed Brazilian educator Paulo Friere, who in his

lifetime received both accolade and scorn for his anti-oppressive ap-proaches to education.

Designed to empower margin-alized groups to identify and ulti-mately change their social realities, Friere’s pedagogical methods have influenced scores of subsequent popular educators across the world.

Popular education represents the

infusion of politics into the art of teaching. It is geared towards including learners in efforts to achieve their own emancipation.

It remains to be seen how the University will respond to the recent occupation, but a spokes-person told Arnold on Monday that they are willing to embrace changes to the way issues of teaching and learning are ap-proached within the institution.

STOCK PHOTO FEATURING A FOREST ILLUMINATED BY THE SUN


“We will make decisions regarding this educational space with consensus”

Volume 1 | Issue 2 | May 2011 Arnold page 5

Feature

Making education work for us

When it comes to the formalized system of education adopted

in much of the Western world, things haven’t really changed all that much — even after 300 years.

Given the amount of time since the Age of Enlightenment — that precipitous moment in the 18th century where a subset of influ-ential Europeans determined that humans should be guided by narrow principles of reason and intellect — one might expect that the system under which the ma-jority of us are educated might have shifted to some degree.

Unfortunately, however, this is for the most part not the case.

ly opposed to the interests of the people being educated.

That doomed-to-fail model leaves us here, 11 years into the 20th century, and no less capable of responding to the great social, economic, political and environ-mental crises of our time. Seem-ingly, the same rusty cogs that move a pupil across a conveyor belt, fill them up with a sense of authority, and then graduate them several years later into the world of ‘professions’ have dem-onstrated a unique capacity to keep on turning.

It would perhaps be a different story if the structures of this sys-tem went entirely unopposed. Yet arguments in favour of change

Despite a heightened infusion of market-based economic logics into classroom spaces, and the increasingly right-wing ideologi-cal thinking underpinning key decisions within the education system, we are continually con-fronted with the reality that, as the old French saying goes, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

The basic process, as outlined in the same archaic Enlighten-ment era script, is that public education should be tied to fash-ioning a readily complacent and malleable workforce, which also blindly supports the governing practices of the state, even when such practices seem diametrical-


are no less abundant than the build up of lost time itself. Indeed, look to the news today and you’ll quickly see the level to which a growing body of people believes that the education system is fail-ing today’s generation of children and youth.

According to a recent U.K survey, it was determined that schools across the ocean per-sistently fail to address gender-based stereotyping within their institutions. The survey, conduct-ed by the Office for Standards in Education and Children’s Services and Skills, found that female stu-dents are frequently channeled into “stereotypically female” work placements, including positions in retail, beauty salons, education, and offices.

In an entirely different context, a 2009 study conducted on the impact of race and class in Toron-to-area elementary schools found that belonging to a racialized or lower-class background seriously undermined the success rates of such students, with signs of fall-out appearing as early as grade 3.

The evidence is compelling, alarming and abundant, with

many other noteworthy examples available that I am unfortunately unable to include within the lim-ited space of this article. Despite this, the fact remains: things need to change, and change fast.

What is significant is that pro-posals for ways to change the education system have been cir-culating for a fairly long time. It’s been nearly 31 years since the publication of the English edition of Paulo Friere’s influential book Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Here the Brazilian outlines the mul-tiple ways in which the education system is designed to reproduce negative relationships between oppressed peoples and a histori-cally dominant minority.

Although the landmark text has garnered numerous important criticisms, including well-war-ranted feminist analyses address-ing the masculinist nature of the language employed, most critics accept that Friere’s thinking has had far-reaching implications for how we might conceptualize an alternative to our current educa-tional model.

To begin with the basics, we need to start questioning the very

purposes of educa-tion. What goals and objectives does it serve and, critically, what should it serve? Is it really only about producing the next class of subordinate workers? The high-powered moving and shakers at Trent University certainly think so, a point that is expressed all too potently in their frequent reference to the student body as “Basic Income

Units” during budget time. One of the most immediate

problems it would seem is that we need to collectively address how our formalized system of educa-tion produces and reproduces a demoralizing experience for the majority, yet conveniently pack-ages this as the only way to gain the necessary means for subsis-tence.. You got to eat somehow right?

A potential answer to that ques-tion can found in the deplorable contents of what we are being fed. It suggests that we need to start demanding — not just asking po-litely — for better, more nourish-ing grub to be placed on the col-lective table of our society. Then and only then will change move from away from the trappings of mere symbolism to a context where meaningful alternatives become viable, tangible, and in-credibly liberating.


CommunityPeterborough’s café district buzzed with the sounds

of reconciliation last week as feuding community members put aside their differences and smoothed out residual tensions over tea and pastries.

In what was the first face-to-face encounter follow-ing a protracted period of silence, both factions ap-peared cordial and receptive upon arrival, yet fears of relapse temporarily circled table as the last vegan chocolate croissant was snatched up by one attending member.

“We all let out a gasp there,” said long-time organiz-er Terrence Toole in reference to the pilfered pastry. “I’ve seen from experience how this kind of scenario can really divide people.”

“I’m just so grateful that we managed to defray any potential conflicts by bringing in a batch of lemon squares.”

After narrowly averting that crisis, the meeting pro-ceeded as a mostly productive encounter, despite some minor quibbles arising from miscommunications over the music selection, as well as disagreements sur-rounding whose dog was the best dressed.

The event allowed for some much needed dialogue over long-standing frustrations within the commu-nity, many of which seem to have stemmed from mis-interpretations of each other and a general lack of conversation, said organizer Anita Hairpin, who is a member of a local knitting and crafting guild.

Those in attendance agreed that their efforts to build community in the city would be more effective if they shared resources and worked together in the spirit of communion.

To commemorate the newly minted partnership, a conceptual art installation has been prepared for dis-play within one of the city’s local gallery spaces. It is set to open early next week.

FEUDING HIPSTERS, BLOGGERS ENJOY SNACKS, CONvERATION

COMMuNITy TENSIONS rESOlVED OVEr TEA AND CruMpETSby Jack Apple

In the midst of ongo-ing conflicts over evolving educational processes, the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB) re-cently adopted the medicine wheel as a theoretical and methodological framework

for the curriculum taught in local schools.

The adoption of the medi-cine wheel — which in In-digenous cultures provides a structure for understand-ing human interactions with each other, the self, and the land — replaces the more Western approach of char-

acter education, founded on the belief that teaching should produce socially ac-ceptable and compliant citi-zens.

According to a statement issued by KPRDSB Chair-person, Albert Dumbledoor, the move stems from the Board’s recent efforts to re-structure its policies towards a more holistic education that teaches life skills along

with mental, spiritual, emo-tional, and physical wellbe-ing.

“In adopting the medi-cine wheel, we recognize the Indigenous territories on which our local schools are built,” Dumbledoor said. “It is only natural that we mean-ingful respect the philoso-phies and world-views cor-responding to this land and it’s First Peoples.”

SCHOOl BOArD ENDOrSES MEDICINE WHEEl by Dee Major

Controversies surround-ing impending school closures were allayed last week after the local school board — echo-ing popular opinion within the community — announced that cutting programming and in-frastructure would deplete edu-cational quality and constrain the availability of diverse learn-ing opportunities.

Initially several high schools within the city proper and near-by suburbs had been targeted for potential shutdown pend-ing feedback received through extensive public consultations with students, teachers, parents, and other community interests.

“When we learned from the community consultations that no one was in support of school closures, we realized that we had to find alternative options in order to ensure that Peter-borough retains a diverse set of options for student learning,” said Ira Shore, a representative member of the Kawartha Pine

Ridge District School Board. Although the decision does

not resolve ongoing budgetary problems, the school board says it will take an aggressive stance with the province in requesting that increased funding be allo-cated to public education.

“The economy isn’t every-thing,” local high school teacher Richard Cairns told Arnold in a recent interview. “The province needs to wake up and realize that maintaining a strong public educational sector is of utmost importance for future genera-tions.”

Cairns said that the decision would allow the community to explore other options for edu-cational attainment within a revamped public sector model, including opportunities for al-ternative schools that could op-erate within larger institutions.

Options currently under con-sideration are the development of an ‘alternative’ curriculum that would be contextualized around common issues within the Peterborough area, mean-

ing that students would have concrete examples from their own experience with which to form the basis of their learning.

Arnold’s sources have re-vealed that the reformed cur-riculum would also focus on important social justice issues, including Canada’s concealed history of white-settler colonial-ism and controversial global economic entanglements such as mining and resource extrac-tion.

“I think it would be great if students were afforded the space to gain critical tools with which to act locally and think globally,” said Denise Gourmand, a grade 12 high school student at the Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School

The recent decision fueled a spirit of long-submerged ex-citement over the possibilities of education to produce mean-ingful forms of change within society.

It remains to be seen when the proposed changes will come into effect.

SCHOOl ClOSurES AVErTED, AlTErNATIVE OpTIONS CONSIDErEDLocal Board weighs options following big decisionby Adam Zapal

BriefsBATA rENAMED “BIkO” lIBrAry

Trent University’s Bata Library has been officially renamed “Biko Library” in commemoration of slain South African anti-apartheid activist Steven Biko.

The name change campaign has been in the works since the 1980s. Protestors then rallied the administration to make the symbolic move against the owner’s of the Bata Shoe Company, whose labour practices in apartheid South Africa were considered racist and unjust.

TrENT ISW TO FEATurE TruST GAMES

Administrators and student leaders at Trent released a joint statement last week announcing that trust games will be incorporated into programming for Introductory Seminar Week.

It is hoped that using the short ice-breakers will inaugurate a spirit of cooperation and camaraderie that will last throughout the 2011-2012 academic year, the statement says.

CITy COuNCIl: “rEADING IS COOl”

In an effort to promote literacy and critical readership within the City of Peterborough, the local council said in an official statement Monday that “reading is cool.”

City officials say they will invest in the local library infrastructure to ensure public access to information and knowledge, while also lobbying the federal and provincial governments for the restoration of funding to the beleaguered public sector service.


Aries: You have always been one to live in the moment, Aries. Although at times too much impulsivity can lead you into dangerous territory, your ability to seize every minute is a positive trait. Today, like any other day, Carpe Diem.

TAurus: Life’s finer objects have always been your forte. For, it can all be about going big or just going home. Just remember that you can sometimes accomplish a lot with very little. Rice and beans my friend, rice and beans…

Gemini: You might be plagued by indecisiveness this month, Gemini. You might pull one way, but the forces of life might try to constantly pull you in another. Try to stay grounded in what you already know, and then move forward from there.

CAnCer: Your mysterious, introverted qualities are leading people to think that you might be a mole bent on infiltrating the movement. Try hard to build strong relationships this month in order to plug that leak and prevent any more harmful rumors and assumptions.

Leo: There is no need to be a control freak Leo, especially when the talents of others surround you. You could be a lot more constructive in your efforts if you aimed to facilitate or draw out the strengths of others. No need to flaunt your own any further.

VirGo: A lot of positive things flow from being, like you, an analytical being. Just make sure that you aren’t always stuck in the clouds so that there is some possibility that you will take action this month. Often thinking is about doing too.

LibrA: You aren’t going to find balance everywhere, Libra. Sometimes you have to confront the conflicts head-on. Because you’re sensitive and adept at reading peoples emotions, you should have no trouble acting as an effective moderator this month.

sCorpio: Depositing knowledge in people’s heads like quarters in a piggy-bank has rarely resulted in people learning much at all. Make sure you step back from the role of the lecturer this month and occupy a listening position. You have things to learn from others too!

sAGiTTArius: You are often drawn to menial or shiny objects that have very few applications within the ‘real world’ of things. Its good to be a dreamer, but no one likes when things get hoarded. This month, have a hard sale or give it all away.

CApriCorn: Take a walk outside today. You’ve been too caught up with the various processes and procedures that you think secure your material success and wellbeing. Indeed, there are other kinds of green you need to become aware of.

AquArius: You are one of the biggest rebels out there, always pushing the boundaries of what is deemed acceptable and appropriate. Yet there is something to be said about cooperation, and you energy of dissent has a place within that process too. Just be kinder.

PisCes: Often you learn best when you are out in the world and not stuck between the four walls of a classroom. The world is sort of your oyster right now. Wherever you end up in the next month, bring along that oyster knife and get cracking.


HOrOSCOpES

A receding shoreline at Little Lake in downtown Peterborough has exposed a large oak chest containing various treasures and valuables dating back to the colonial occupation of Peterborough by Europeans in the early 19th century.

The fortuitous discovery was made last month by a woman walking her dog on an early morning outing, and has been claimed by the municipality on the provision that it be used to fund social programs and services within the city.

“We intend to use the funding to improve our public trans-portation systems, as well as ensure that the city has an adequate shelter system and community-drop in centre for individuals that face barriers to housing and employment,” said City spokesperson Randy Delmiere.

It is believed that the chest belonged to famed Canadian writer Catharine Parr Traill and her sister Susana Moodie. Local histori-ans have speculated that the concealed treasures were being saved to fund a trip back to England, the original home of each of emi-grant Canadian writers.

“We know from Moodie’s Roughing it in the Bush that life with-in the area was a rather harsh reality for many,” says archeologist Samual Bogdeen. “It is very likely that both sisters wanted a way out, and had been saving away sufficient funds with which to mark their return passage home.”

The discovery comes as a blessing for the cash-strapped city, which has been busy building war monuments and expanding the suburbs while proceeding with intensive cuts to the city’s ailing so-cial welfare net.

BurIED TrEASurE FOuND IN lITTlE lAkEby Bea Minor

Documents

ARNOLD: Volume 1, Issue 2