The Orange Fall/Winter 2003

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S a v i n g A b o r i g i n a l L a n g u a g e s | C h a m p i o n C u r l e r M a r c e l R o c q u eR e u n i o n D a y s 2 0 0 3 | A n s w e r i n g t h e C a l l | C u l t u r e s o f A c c e p t a n c eC a n a d a R e s e a r c h C h a i r | J u d y L u p a r t | L i v i n g P o e t i c a l l y

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F A L L & W I N T E R E D I T I O N Y E A R E2003 V O LE06 I S S U EE01

gU N I V E R S I T Y O F A L B E R T A | F A C U L T Y O F E D U C A T I O N

Sol Sigurdson in South Africa

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B Y G O R D O N M C I N T O S H

The Canada-South AfricaTeacher Development Project

U of A Faculty of Educationalumni and staff are playing keyleadership roles in a six-milliondollar in-service teacherdevelopment initiative in SouthAfrica funded by the CanadianInternational DevelopmentAgency (CIDA) and spear-headedin Alberta by Alberta Learning.

Sue Lynch, ‘66 BEd, ‘69 MEd, ‘75 PhD,formerly the Assistant Deputy Minister, BasicLearning Division of Alberta Learning andnow on the staff of the Faculty ofEducation, Fred Burghardt, ‘92 MEd, whorecently retired as the Director of TeacherDevelopment and Certification for AlbertaLearning, and Terry Carson, ‘74 MEd, ‘84PhD, Chair of the Department of SecondaryEducation at theU of A, weremembers of the1999 inceptionmission thatlaunched theproject.

Discussionsbetween NelsonMandela, who

was then the President of South Africa, andPrime Minister Jean Chrétien launched theproject. Since April 1994, when freeelections finally ended the apartheid era,South Africa has been building a newsystem of public education to replace theracially divided and unequal provisions foreducation that had been inherited from thepast. The Canada-South Africa TeacherDevelopment Project was to be a means ofsupporting the development of the neweducation system.

Fred Burghardt represents Alberta Learningas the Project Manager in Alberta for theproject. “The primary objective [of NelsonMandela’s new government],” Fred said ina recent conversation, “was to redress theinequities of the past and to build a trulydemocratic and equitable education systemthat would benefit all South Africanstudents and all of South African society.”

Terry Carson represents the University ofAlberta on the projectmanagement team.Under the leadership ofSue Lynch, andtogether with the Deansof Education of theUniversities of Calgaryand Lethbridge, Terryand Fred worked withSouth African educators

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THE CANADA-SOUTHAFRICA TEACHER

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTP A G E 2

THE POWER OF SONG:SOL SIGURDSON IN

SOUTH AFRICAP A G E 4

SAVING ABORIGINALLANGUAGES

P A G E 6

MARCEL ROCQUE:A CHAMPION ON THE ICEAND IN THE CLASSROOM

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REUNION DAYSP A G E 1 0

ANSWERING THE CALLTO BE A TEACHER –KAREN MARTINOVIC

P A G E 1 2

ANNA KIROVA:CREATING CULTURES

OF ACCEPTANCEIN SCHOOLS

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JUDY LUPART:CANADA RESEARCHCHAIR IN SPECIAL

EDUCATIONP A G E 1 6

THE HEART OFPEDAGOGY: RUMINATIONS

ON LIVING POETICALLYP A G E 1 8

CONTACT USINFORMATION

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to create the overall design for the Canada-South Africa TeacherDevelopmentProject — afive-yearcooperativeproject (2000to 2005). Forthe project tosucceed, theprogramdesignershad to findways to support the South Africanvision for public education — to assist inredressing the inequities of the past throughthe development of classroom teachers.Disadvantaged regions of the country wouldbe the major focus in the project work.

Educators from two countries with entirelydifferent educational cultures and differenthistories had to find ways to work togethercollaboratively. The South Africans hadmuch experience with international aidprograms that weren’t all that they claimedto be. “They were initially skeptical aboutcollaboration. They’d heard all this talkbefore. For us to become good partners,we had to come to an understanding of thedepth of their commitment to eliminatinginequity,” Terry Carson said.

“It took us a long time to learn how oneactually collaborates,” Terry continued. “The South Africans are pleased with whatwe have achieved. They’ve told us that theyhad rarely experienced this before inworking with international aid programs.There’s respect in our relationships. We arelearning to work as partners with ongoing

dialogue and a shared commitment todemocratic education.”

There are four separate components withinthe Canada-South Africa TeacherDevelopment Project: project work in eachof three provinces — Free State, Gauteng,and Mpumalanga — and another with thenational Ministry of Education.

The Free State project, involving teachersfrom Botshabelo, a black settlement withdisadvantaged schools not far fromBloemfontein, is of special interest to usbecause this is the project in which Sol

Sigurdson is involved. (See Sol’s article,“The Power of Song.”) It is a cooperativeeffort of Alberta educators, with supportfrom the Free State department ofeducation and the University of Free State.

The Free State project was designed inSouth Africa by South African educatorswhose priorities are incorporated in theProject’s Annual Work Plan. “We workedas a true partnership in developing thisplan,” Terry Carson said.

Educators in the Free State wanted toimprove teaching in the areas of science,mathematics, and technology education –and they decided they had something to

learn from the Alberta experience with in-service teacher development. Could theProject provide them with experiencededucators to lead a teacher developmentprogram in Free State in the subject areasof mathematics, physical sciences, andbiological sciences?

Back in Alberta, a call went out forapplications from educators who had theexperience and expertise needed for theteacher development program in Free State.Three were selected: David Geelan, anassistant professor in physical scienceseducation from the U of A’s Department ofSecondary Education, and two professorsemeriti from the same department — WallieSamiroden, ‘66 BEd, whose field is biologicalsciences education, and Sol Sigurdsonwhose field is mathematics education. Theircurrent commitment is for a series of three,two-week workshops this year for teachers.These workshops are likely to be repeatednext year with new groups of teachers.

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“ We are learning towork as partners withongoing dialogue ... ”

Terry Carson


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In my retirement from the Faculty ofEducation, I have been involved in severalteacher development projects in blackcommunities in South Africa.

South Africa is a fascinating country –geographically, bordered by the Indian,Antarctic, and Atlantic Oceans; historically,populated by successive migrations ofpeople; politically, governed, until recently,by the great statesman, Nelson Mandela;socially, inhabited by blacks, whites andbrowns forming a Rainbow Nation; and,educationally, challenged with providing theblack majority with opportunities to integrateWestern educational practices into theiraccustomed ways of teaching.

From my casual observation, the nationalpolicy of reconciliation (refusing to blame thewhite minority for past social andgovernmental practices) is an achievement of

enormous proportions, especially becausepopulation pressures have brought aboutrampant unemployment. All of this is framedby a severe HIV/AIDs epidemic. South Africais an amazing country. As a Canadianmathematics educator, on a two-weekassignment (with three such assignments inthis phase of the project), I would need tokeep a tight focus on the relatively minorgoal of improving mathematics teaching insecondary schools.

I am faced with 25 black mathematicsteachers from the large black settlement ofBotshabelo, poor but progressing. Having

SolSigurdson

PowerThe

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seen the face of their community, includingthe dusty roads and the shacks, and havingbeen informed of the 10% pass rate of theirgrade 12 mathematics students, plus tryingto come to grips with the overwhelmingstrangeness of their country, my firstreaction was to admit defeat, go through

the motions of the workshop, and thenquietly go back to my familiar Canada.

How, indeed, could sharing my views withthem on mathematics teaching in affluentand progressive Alberta make any differenceto their classrooms and their students?My past 35 years of work in teacherdevelopment have taught me theimportance of building relationships withand among teachers. At least I could get toknow them, let them know that I caredabout them and their teaching, and providea workshop environment where they wouldfeel comfortable analyzing and developingtheir own mathematics teaching.

I began by learning all their names andasking them to call me Sol. I told them theworkshop was very similar to a course theycould take at the University of Alberta.I treated the content of the workshop assimple ideas with which they might welldisagree. Disagreements were given fullattention and often labeled with theteacher’s name such as “Tabu’s view ofapplications.” I encouraged them to expresstheir ideas. Misinterpretations were treatedas new ideas to explore. We found endlesspossibilities for humour (in mathematicseducation). They enjoyed laughing atthemselves, at each other, at me and at ouremerging ideas on mathematics teaching.

I found these “foreign” teachers to beengaging, charming and completelysincere. After one lively and contentiousthirty-minute discussion of problem solving,I asked them to take five minutes tosummarize the discussion in their notes.I asked them to entitle their summary,

“The Teaching of Problem Solving Accordingto Sol.” They heartily appreciated thisbiblical reference and its implied arrogance.I asked them to put at the bottom: I (do/donot) believe in Sol. We were indeed havingfun and getting along famously.

One day, the local white, South Africanlecturer working with me asked the teachersto sing a song for me. I was shocked by therequest. She said because I (Sol) was a singerI would particularly enjoy their singing. Oneteacher began clapping slowly. A voice ortwo began singing softly, to be joined soonby the entire class. Their song of peace,“Soshalosa” in the native Sotho language,rose to fill the barren classroom with acathedral sound. Completely overwhelmedby the beauty of their voices and singingand wiping tears from my eyes, I said that ifthey agreed to sing for our final large-groupmeeting I would also sing a song.

At the final meeting, joined by otherteachers, their resonant voices rang outin song. In turn, I with a guitar in handtreated them to Harry Belafonte’s “JamaicaFarewell.” They joined me in the choruswhich I showed on the overhead projector.I had modified the last line – “I have toleave my little friends in Botshabelo town.”Everyone from dignitaries to lecturers andteachers enjoyed this enthusiastically.

Although I’ve been singing all my life, I have never participated in such singing.What a memorable way to end the week’sworkshop – the power of song.

I spent the following week visiting theteachers in schools. I was receivedespecially warmly, invited to observeclasses, and was pleased to see everyteacher trying to implement the workshopideas. Judging how much is “learned” ina workshop is difficult but the enthusiasmwith which they were trying out the ideasleads me to believe that they had learnedmore than the workshop content. Theywere approaching mathematics teachingwith spirit, showing me that they reallycared about the process. In two grade nineclasses, the students, at the teacher’srequest, sang for me with the samerichness of sound that I’d heard from theteachers the previous week. I felt that ourrelationship building had had an impact atboth a professional and personal level.Many times that week, I heard, “ProfessorSol, where is your guitar this morning?”

On Friday afternoon, arriving at my last visiton the last day, I found some teachers inthe dry and dusty schoolyard meeting as agroup. School, apparently, was over for theday. I was greeted with a refrain from theJamaica Farewell chorus: “My heart is down,my head is turning around. I have to leavemy little friends in Botshabelo town.” Thiswas quite a send off I was receiving. Oneteacher drew me aside to say that he wasvery sorry that he didn’t have a class for meto observe but that he would like to teach alesson at our next workshop. I was thrilled,especially because of their usual reluctanceto present lessons in front of their fellowteachers. I told him I would really lookforward to that. We said our good-byesand as I walked away, he called to me.“Professor Sol, I do believe in Sol.”

Sol Sigurdson is Professor Emeritus ofSecondary Education at the University ofAlberta, with a specialization in mathematicseducation.

“ ... having been informed of the 10% pass rateof their grade 12 mathematics students, plustrying to come to grips with the overwhelmingstrangeness of their country, my first reactionwas to admit defeat ...” Sol Sigurdson


SavingAboriginalLanguages

“Deadly serious” is how Heather Blair, AssociateProfessor in Elementary Education, describesthe decline of Aboriginal languages in Canada;if something is not done to preserve them,she added, they are at risk of dying out within two generations. A U of A summer program is hoping to change that.


The Canadian Indigenous Languages andLiteracy Development Institute (CILLDI) isan intensive summer school whose goal isto train Aboriginal speakers and educatorsin First Nations languages, linguistics,curriculum development, research, andsecond language teaching methodologies.The mandate is to help preserveendangered languages by developingresearch skillsand teachingresources forthose whospeak thelanguages.

“No one –not eventhe speakersof thelanguages – has paid muchattention to what has been happeningand now we’re in bigtrouble,” says Heather.“With the exception of farnorthern communities, theyoungest speakers of anyindigenous languages inSaskatchewan and Albertaare in their 40s – it’s onething to preserve an activeliving language andanother thing to have toretrieve it.”

In some Alberta FirstNations communities, only10 per cent of the residents– mostly the elders – stillspeak an indigenous language. English asthe primary means of communication hasbeen gaining momentum for generations.

The Institute, which was modeled after aninstitute at the University of Arizona, is theonly one of its kind in Canada. It began in2000 at Onion Lake First Nation inSaskatchewan, with 15 students inattendance. For this year’s session, 142people from the western provinces and thenorth flocked to the U of A campus, wheresessions included an introduction to Denelanguage and culture, web-based resourcedevelopment for indigenous languages andliteracy, and drama in Aboriginal languageeducation. School principals and teachers,elders and students, some of whom had

never been to a large city before, came tothe U of A to learn how to preserve andteach these indigenous languages in theirhome communities.

“It’s big,” said Dr. Sally Rice, a linguist fromthe U of A Faculty of Arts who was one ofthe organizers along with Donna Paskeminfrom the U of A School of Native Studies.“We were all overwhelmed with theinterest. Last year I looked at two languagesand this year we studied seven. It was agreat group of people who were thirsty forthis knowledge.”

Another highlight of the Institute was aCree immersion day camp for children,aged four to 12, during the Institute’sthree-week run. The children took part ingames, story-telling, music, and artprojects, as well as an Elders’ program.Not only did the children benefit from the

program, but also it provided researcherswith an opportunity to examine some ofthe language acquisition questions neededto learn what methodologies work and fitbest with the learning styles of Creechildren.

A key component of the Institute was theinvolvement of Elders. Through a $75,000contribution from Alliance Pipeline theInstitute was able to include Elders in manyaspects of their programming on an ongoingbasis. “The Elders are the libraries, dictionariesand grammar texts of these languages. Theywere an enormously valuable resource andthe support from Alliance made it possible tobring them to the city to work with CILLDIstudents and faculty.”

Alliance Pipeline, which began commercialoperation in December 2000, is a relativelynew entrant to the long-distance naturalgas pipeline business. During the four yearsthat preceded start-up, the system wasplanned and then constructed. It wasduring that time that Alliance workedextensively with Aboriginal groups from

northeastern BC, north central Alberta andsouth central Saskatchewan. Considerabletime was spent in environmentalassessments of areas where specific aspectsof the system were to be built. A part ofthese assessments included participation ofvarious Elders from specific Aboriginalgroups to help identify areas of specialsignificance to the Aboriginal communityin the area. These ranged from identifyingsacred places to areas where medicinalplants are found.

“Our involvement with CILLDI, andspecifically the program componentinvolving visiting Elders, is in a small wayour way of saying thanks for theirinvolvement in our project. At Alliance,we have an Aboriginal, cross-culturalorientation program for our employeeswhere the importance of culturaldifferences is explored. One of the keycomponents in the transmission of culturalvalues from one generation to the next isthe language that provides the nuancesand shading of the culture through stories,legends and tales. We want to contribute tothe maintenance of a strong, diverse societyin Canada and a key to that strength lies inthe preservation and continued use ofdifferent Aboriginal languages,” saysAlliance Pipeline spokesperson Jay Godfrey.

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Photos above: Alliance Pipeline worked with Elders from communities throughout Alberta prior to laying their pipeline.


It’s not unusual for a teacher to be a curler.During my first year of teaching in a smallSaskatchewan town in 1960, on the openingday of the local bonspiel the principalappeared at my classroom door and said,“Your rink curls at eleven this morning.Grab your broom and get going. I’ll coveryour classes until you return.” As I raceddown the icy streets to the curling rink,I wondered what the superintendent wouldsay if he showed up at our school and foundthat I had gone curling. When I reached therink I realized I needn’t have worried.The superintendent was out on the ice,playing third for the principal from theneighbouring town. They were engaged ina close game against the science teacher,a former Brier contender, who was skippinga rink of high school students.

Since then I have met many teachers whocurl, but none who have achieved thelevel of excellence of Marcel Rocque, ajunior high physical education and Frenchteacher at Riverbend Junior High inEdmonton. Marcel and his teammatesRandy Ferbey, David Nedohin, and ScottPfeifer are two-time world curlingchampions. They are also the only rink tohave won the Brier (the Canadian curlingchampionship) three years in succession andto have earned over $235,000 in prizemoney in a single season.

Marcel grew up in St. Paul, Alberta. Whilemost of his contemporaries dreamt aboutbecoming hockey stars, Marcel’s goal wasto become a curling champion. His motherhas kept an essay he wrote in junior highabout winning the Silver Broom, emblematicof world curling supremacy. In grade elevenhe begged his parents to let him move toSherwood Park to experience the higherlevel of curling competition available in theEdmonton area. After a successful juniorcareer, Marcel and his buddy TrevorMcGregor hooked up with veterans Don

Walchuk and Gord Trenchie who mentoredthem for four or five years until they wereready to strike out on their own.

A few years later, while playing lead for ateam which beat the Ferbey team in abonspiel in Leduc, Marcel was invited byRandy Ferbey and David Nedohin to jointheir team. Marcel’s only condition was thathe be allowed to continue to use ahorsehair brush rather than the synthetictype the rest of the team used. It is notsurprising that his first thought was aboutsweeping. He and second Scott Pfeifer takegreat pride in this aspect of the game, andhave become recognized as two of the bestbrushers in the game. They not only haveuncanny ability to judge the rocks, theysweep with such energy and enthusiasm

that TSN curling commentator Ray Turnbullhas nick-named them “Huff 'n Puff.” Manyof those spectacular double-raise takeouts ordelicate draws through narrow ports whichRandy and David seem to make routinelyare made possible by the exceptionalsweeping ability of the front-end.

Marcel’s decision to pursue a curling careercame much earlier than his decision tobecome a teacher. After two years in acollege transfer program he enrolled in ageneral arts program at the University ofAlberta. He realized that education wasimportant, but was faced with uncertaintyabout how he would earn a living aftergraduating. He decided to switch intoeducation, because “worst case scenario,

I could always sub on Tuesday, Wednesday,and Thursday and curl on Friday, Monday,and the weekend.” Fortunately, that “worstcase scenario” never came because afterteaching one term in St. Albert, he wasoffered a position in 1996 with EdmontonPublic. During the job interview he madeclear that he was a competitive curler andwould need some Fridays and Mondays offto travel to major bonspiels. He was toldthat he could have time off, but each dayhe missed would cost him 1/200th of hissalary. While Marcel enjoys teaching he findsthat in one respect it is not the idealoccupation for a curler. “What good areholidays in July and August?” he asks with awry smile. “The Brier’s not in the summer!”

Marcel appreciates the support of hiscolleagues and students. He found the bighomecoming celebration they put on forhim rather touching when he returned fromwinning the first Brier. His message to hisstudents was “dream dreams and don’t letthem die. Set your goals high and if youwork hard enough you’ll achieve them.”While he is hesitant about calling himself arole model for his students, his dedicationand passion for his sport, the highexpectations he has for himself as an athleteand a teacher, and his astounding workethic provide an ideal role model for youngpeople. Although the team has won threeconsecutive Briers and back-to-back worldchampionships, they still have one majorgoal to achieve. “The fire that’s fueling ourefforts for the next two or three years is theOlympics.” Although qualifying for theOlympics is a grueling event with anincredibly talented field, don’t bet against ateam with the determination, skill, andenergy of Marcel Rocque and his teammates.

John Oster, ‘72 PhD, is a Professor Emeritus ofSecondary Education at the University ofAlberta. His area of specialization is EnglishEducation. He is an avid curler.

Marcel A Champion on the Ice and in the Classroom

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“Dream dreams anddon’t let them die. Setyour goals high ...“

Marcel Rocque

RocqueUOA030681 Winter 2003 12/15/03 2:30 PM Page 8


ReunionUniversity of Alberta

Faculty of Education

October 2-5, 2003Days

alumni attended Reunion Days enjoying fun,Once again, Faculty of Education

themselves with old friends.food and laughter while re-acquainting


Elizabeth Crown, '78 PhD, is an internationallyrespected expert in the field of textile science,specializing in thermal protective materials andclothing. Her research has contributed significantlyto the development of both national andinternational performance standards for protectiveclothing for workers in the oil, gas, forestry and firefighting sectors. In 2002, her research team wasawarded major grants from Canada Foundation forInnovation and Alberta Science and ResearchInvestments Program to further its work on thecombined effects of heat and moisture transferthrough clothing. Crown has also studied clothingas protection against ultraviolet radiation. Shereceived a YWCA Women of Distinction Award forScience and Technology in 1999 and the 2002Canadian Home Economics Association HonourAward for her outstanding contributions to theprofession of home economics.

Jim Donlevy, '59 BPE, '61 BEd, '75 MA, has beena leader in provincial sports for more than 30 years.A highly respected coach, he received five Coach-of-the-Year awards from his colleagues at both theprovincial and national levels and is an inductee tothe University's Sports Wall of Fame. His impact insports continues through his coaching andeducational clinics in the Western Hockey Leagueand in his role as commissioner for the CanadaWest Football League.

Leona J. Makokis, '89 BEd, has been tireless inher efforts to provide cross-cultural education andunderstanding of indigenous values while workingas a Cree language instructor, internationalpresenter, and provincial resource person. Aspresident of the Blue Quills First National Collegein St. Paul, Alberta, she was instrumental inspearheading a Bachelor of Education completionprogram with the University of Alberta. She hasearned numerous awards and accolades for hervisionary work in aboriginal education.


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Faculty of Education2003 Alumni Pride Award Winners


TeacherAnswering the call to be a

MartinovicKaren



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I start to reflect on the long journey to thisparking lot. How did I get here?

Teaching is my second career. I was aMedical Laboratory Technologist for eightyears at the Canadian Blood Services inVancouver, B.C. People usually changecareers because they do not like their job.I loved being a lab tech. I never imaginedchanging careers until I developed ananaphylactic allergy to the latex gloves.I knew that fate was telling me to leavemedicine and find another career.

What was I going to do now? Teaching wasthe only other job I thought of doing.When I was a tech, I had always asked toteach the new techs, doctors or supportstaff when I had the opportunity, so itseemed a logical choice. Unfortunately,I had to start from scratch, as my previousschooling was not transferable into anyEducation program. My long journey

continued with two years of college inVancouver, and then the big move toEdmonton to attend the University ofAlberta in 1996. Coincidentally, I found outthat I was pregnant with my second childjust as I was moving to Edmonton.I completed two semesters with a full courseload one week, to the day, before my 9.5pound baby boy was born. Now that istenacity! I continued with school takinga few courses per semester while caring formy two young sons and husband. I gotpregnant with baby number three a yearand a half later. When my daughter was ayear old, I went back to school and finishedthree years later. It took me eight and a halfyears to obtain my degree.

I just wanted to be a teacher. When I thinkof all of the late night study sessions afterthe children went to bed, the term papermarathons until 2 or 3 in the morning,and getting the children up and ready forschool before my early morning classes inthe dead of winter – I know that I reallyearned my degree.

OK, so I have answered the call to be ateacher, but I know that I am not there yet.I know that obtaining your degree is justthe foundation of your teaching career.There will be many late nights preparinglesson plans, finding resources, markingand compiling the dreaded report cards,while attending to all of the extracurricularactivities. I still feel the call.

I have heard that teaching is a scienceand an art. University prepares you for the‘science’ aspect of teaching by giving youthe knowledge and skills to deliver a

product. How you deliver that product Ifeel is the ‘art’ aspect of teaching. For me,this is where most of my anxiety andapprehension comes from. I know thatteaching is very demanding. Teachers haveto deal with overflowing classrooms, andteaching the curriculum effectively tostudents with varying degrees of ability,while dealing with all of the otheradministrative duties, and political situationsinside and outside of the school. It is aconstant juggling act. I feel that there is theeven bigger challenge of honouring thespirit of each child that has been entrustedto you – now that is pressure! That is whyI believe that teaching is a vocation –a calling – not just a job or a profession.

I know that I am accountable formaximizing each student’s humancognitive, affective, psychomotor, andspiritual potential. How does one evenbegin to accomplish that Herculean task? I feel more confident in maximizingstudents’ cognitive and psychomotorpotentials because these things can belearned and measured. I pray that I learnto nurture students’ affective and spiritualpotentials. I feel that those potentials buildfrom all of the little things such as kind orencouraging words, and actions such assmiles and hugs. I have been told that youshould not hug your students for legalreasons – but I know that I will. It has alsobeen recommended that you do not everhelp students alone in the classroom,but I know that I will help a student if heor she asks for it during recess.

I know that I will review that concept onelast time when I am exhausted. I have to

honour my calling. I am also cognizant thatthe fire of my passion for teaching can burnme out quickly in the first few years. I willdefinitely need to find a balance.

These thoughts all flood over me as I grab thedoor handle of the school. I open the doorand walk in with a spring in my step eager tostart this next chapter of my life. Wish meluck as I work on my angel wings!

Karen Martinovic earned her BEd in 2003specializing in Elementary Education.

“... teaching is a vocation – a calling – not just a job or profession ...” Karen Martinovic

It is 8:05 and I am sitting in my van in the parking lot of Mary Hanley Catholic Elementary School. It is September 5th, and I am waiting to go to my first assignment as a replacement teacher, or as I liketo put it, my first gig as a sub. I am engulfed with apprehension and anxiety, and ask myself the typicalquestions. Will the students like me? Will I do a good job? Will the staff talk to me in the staff roomduring the breaks? Will this be the first and last job I ever have?


One PhD is enough for most people, but Anna Kirova has two, onefrom the University of Sofia in her native Bulgaria, and the otherfrom the Faculty’s Department of Elementary Education where sheis now an Associate Professor in Early Childhood Education.

In Bulgaria, Anna won a rigorous competition for a three-yeardoctoral fellowship. Her topic and research methodology wereprescribed by the then-communist government: she was directedto examine how toys help children develop social relationships andlearn about their world. She observed children’s behaviours as theyinteracted with toys and with each other, and concluded that onefactor that influenced those interactions was the gender role towhich they had already been socialized. This was an unpopularobservation in a communist regime that insisted that genderdifference in social roles had been eliminated. Her refusal tosuppress this information meant that an academic future was out

of the question. Instead, for three years Anna worked as a researchassociate at an institute that developed educational toys, materials,and sporting equipment. She worked with engineers and designersto create toys that were developmentally appropriate for children.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s Anna realized how limited andsuperficial political reforms in Bulgaria were. After a brief stay inParis, she applied to immigrate to Canada. She initially settled inQuebec. Her ability to speak French made this stay enjoyable, butshe soon found herself in Edmonton, unable to work or study andunable to access ESL instruction promptly.

The experience of adjusting to a new culture obviously had aprofound impact on Anna. For a highly educated and capableprofessional, the sense of loss and isolation was devastating.Unable to communicate, unable to put any of her education to

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AnnaKirovaCreating Cultures of

Acceptance in Schools


use, “I struggled with a complete loss of sense of self,” she nowsays. She had been a successful professional and now found thatnot only was she unable to work in her chosen field, her lack ofEnglish created a barrier to establishing personal support networksessential for new immigrants. She recognized that mastering a newlanguage would be the only route to personal and professionalfulfillment in her adopted country.

Within two years she had passed TOEFL and was ready to workand research in the field she loved. She received Province ofAlberta and SSHRC fellowships to complete a second PhD in theDepartment of Elementary Education at the University of Alberta.

This time Anna was free to determine her own research interestsand explore many different methodological approaches. She alsoencountered a professor who would become a true mentor: Maxvan Manen. Max introduced her to phenomenology, a researchmethodology with the goal of understanding human experiences.Its emphasis on collecting and describing lived experiences helpedher redefine her research interests and regain confidence in herability not just to function but to thrive in her new researchcommunity.

In her dissertation, Anna examined the essence of the experienceof loneliness in children. In researching this question, she faced anenormous practical challenge in asking children to communicatetheir experiences. Her innovative solution – an interactive boardgame that established trust and allowed children to express theirfeelings – is a major contribution to the field. This strategy allowedher to engage in a non-threatening conversational interview whilecollecting data from children. Her conclusions provided practicaladvice for classroom teachers. She identified the importance ofcreating a physical environment in classrooms that allows all

children to be a part of the classroom community andavoids separating or segregating ESL children or

children with special needs who may need thehelp of a classroom aide. She also emphasized

the need for teachers to provide learningopportunities that draw on children’s

nonverbal skills and require socialinteraction. For example, teachers needto provide opportunities for childrento express their learning through art,music and movement, all of whichrequire thoughtful yet spontaneousexpression and create a sense ofbelonging. Finally, Anna remindedteachers of the power of theirown and their students’nonverbal communication.Teachers and students can createa welcoming environment bybecoming more aware of theirbody language, their gesturesand eye contact. But since thiskind of communication is oftenvery culturally bound, it is alsovulnerable to miscommunication.

Anna continues to examine the lives of children, particularlyimmigrant children who struggle with many of the samechallenges she faced: mourning the loss of their own identity,learning a new language, adjusting to a new home, striving tobecome valuable members of their new community. She recentlyreceived a research grant from the University’s Prairie Centre ofExcellence for Research on Immigration and Integration. In herstudy, she will work with Michael Emme, Associate Professor ofArt Education in the Department of Elementary Education,to investigate the strategies immigrant children use to interactwith their peers. They are particularly interested in the nonverbalstrategies children use. Since most of these children strugglewith English, Anna and Michael will give the children in their studythe opportunity to communicate their experience of life in schoolthrough images, in the form of photo novellas. Again, Anna willexplore new ways of learning about the lives of children and shehopes that her research will offer guidance to classroom teachers.Schoolteachers and administrators face enormous challenges inhelping children from a wide variety of ethnic, cultural andlinguistic backgrounds come together in a school community.She hopes that exploring alternative forms of communication willencourage schools to engage children in the dialogue aboutcreating a culture of acceptance and celebration of diversity. She insists that immigrant children have much to contribute tothis discussion. As she says, “Children’s lives are a lot richer thanwe make them.”

Anna’s passion for research and for improving the lives of childrenis reflected in her teaching. She is this year’s winner of theUniversity of Alberta Graduate Students’ Association Academic StaffAward. Graduate students nominate faculty for this award, and sheis particularly touched by the time and effort her graduate studentsput into her nomination. Her students felt that Anna’s dedicationand talent deserve wider recognition. They described theirexperience in Anna’s graduate courses in early childhood educationas “life-transforming.” Gloria Hlibka explained that, “From the veryfirst class Anna challenged what we thought we knew andbelieved.” They praised her ability to inspire rather than directtheir learning. “She does not present as the all-knowing teacher,but rather as ‘co-constructor’ of the meaning that arises amongus,” Darcey Dachyshyn says. Her ability to simultaneouslychallenge students and invite them to engage with course materialand with each other was valued by her students. Loreen Pawlowskisays, “We felt safe to put forth our own emerging ideas tocontribute to the whole.”

Having worked in a very different academic world, Anna values ourfreedom to choose our own theoretical paradigm through whichwe make sense of ourselves and our research. It is not surprisingthat she challenges students with provocative readings, encouragesthem to explore all possible points of view and creates a learningcommunity in which all are free to discuss controversial topicswithout being judged. She knows that real academic freedomcannot be taken for granted.

Amy von Heyking is an assistant professor in the Faculty's Departmentof Elementary Education. She joined the Department in July 2002 inthe area of Social Studies Education.


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Judy is delighted to be working with anumber of colleagues she remembers asprofessors from her graduate student days inthe Department as well as many newcolleagues. She considers herself fortunate tobe working in the exciting and expandingarea of Special Education in the Faculty. Sheis pleased to note that the same nurturing,collaborative culture she remembers from herearly days in the Faculty is still in evidence.Asked about the changes she sees in theFaculty over the past decades, Judycomments on a number of positivedevelopments, including the increasedrecognition of the importance of research toeducational practice. She also comments onthe high quality and research achievementsof the new faculty members in herDepartment and admires their expertise andfamiliarity with new technologies, which shesees as being well supported by the Facultyof Education.

Judy’s own research interests are wide-ranging, focusing on inclusive education,giftedness and at-risk learners, and genderissues. In particular, she is well known for herwork on women’s achievements in scienceand in researching how and why many giftedgirls and women fail to achieve theirpotential in the field of science. She hasreceived numerous research grants from theSocial Sciences and Humanities ResearchCouncil of Canada and from other agencies

to study and promote inclusive educationalpractices and to research gifted learning.Judy explains that most of her research iscollaborative; she values and enjoys workingwith colleagues locally and across the countryon a variety of research projects. In onestudy, for example, Judy and a colleague,Vianne Timmons, who lives in Prince EdwardIsland, are researching “Inclusion across theLifespan,” interviewing participants who aredevelopmentally disabled across all agelevels, and considering the variety and typesof support services and legislation available tothem. This research will provide an excitingsnapshot of what it means to be a personwith disabilities living in Alberta and PrinceEdward Island at the start of the 21st century.Judy is also supportive of cross-disciplinaryresearch and has particularly appreciatedworking on a project with a University ofCalgary colleague in Geomatics Engineering,Elizabeth Cannon, researching genderdifferences in adolescents’ achievementsin science.

Asked what she considers to be her prioritiesas a Canada Research Chair, Judy highlightsher passion for mentoring graduate studentsinto academic life. She works collaborativelywith them on research projects, offers themsupport at all levels, and invites them to co-present at conferences and to co-authorarticles for publication. She sees thisnurturing to be a valuable component of her

academic life and feels it is well supported bythe Faculty of Education at the University ofAlberta. Judy’s dream for the future is to seeincreased recognition of the valuablecontributions of Canadian researchers in theSpecial Education area. To that end, she hasbeen actively involved with the CanadianAssociation of Educational Psychology,working on the executive to network withCanadian colleagues and to promote theirexpertise and accomplishments, bothnationally and internationally. During hersix-year appointment as the FoundingDirector of the Centre for Gifted Educationat the University of Calgary, Judy launchedthe journal Exceptionality Education Canada,to provide a forum for scholarly exchangeamong Canadian professionals in educationand related disciplines who are working withstudents across the spectrum ofexceptionality. Judy’s own outstanding grantsand publications record attests to herdedication to research in learning disabilities,giftedness and in promoting femaleachievement in the sciences and to her abilityto make a difference in people’s lives.

Ingrid Johnston, '92 MEd, '96 PhD, recentlywas appointed Associate Dean (Researchand Graduate Studies) for the Faculty ofEducation. She is also an Associate Professorin the Department of Secondary Educationwith specializations in English educationand curriculum.

Canada Research Chairin Special Education

B Y I N G R I D J O H N S T O N

Moving to our Faculty of Education as a Canada Research Chair has been a homecoming for Judy Lupart who completed her

BEd, MEd and PhD degrees in this Faculty. Judy explains that she was one of the first graduates from the Faculty to receive her

BEd with a specialization in Special Education. After completing her PhD, she worked at Mount St.Vincent University for a

year and then took up a position at the University of Calgary where she stayed for almost twenty years, developing an enviable

reputation as an outstanding researcher and teacher. In January, 2003 she moved to the University of Alberta to take up her

current position as Professor and Canada Research Chair in Special Education in the Department of Educational Psychology.

Judy



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dream“Judy’s for the future is to see increased recognition ofthe valuable contributions of Canadian researchers ...”

Ingrid Johnston


A while ago a former Bachelor ofEducation student visited me.Mike was one of the most prolificand enthusiastic writers I have everworked with. He explained thatsince completing the writing coursewith me, he had not written anymore poetry. I felt disappointed.Then he added, “But thoughI haven’t written any poetryfor months, I am living poetically.”And with Mike’s gift of wordsI began asking, What does it mean to live poetically? And, so, I offer afew ruminations on living poetically:

1. To live poetically is to be still.

Poetry invites me to be still, to remember tobreathe, to hear and see and know with theheart. And as a teacher, I need to be still,I need to remember to breathe, I need tohear and see and know with the heart. In1926, Evelyn Underhill presented three

lectures at Oxford University. These lectureswere published in a book titled Concerningthe Inner Life. Underhill insightfully claimsthat a life of outward “action, effort andtension” must “hang on and be nurtured byan inward abidingness in simplicity, stillnessand peace” (p. 73). As teachers we need toattend to our spirits, our hearts, our innerlife, our imaginations, our emotions, ourbodies, our minds. Teachers live suchdemanding and challenging lives that it isvery difficult to maintain the time andlocation for nurturing the inner life, but weneed a healthy inner life if we are going tohelp others develop healthy inner lives.

What do educators need in order tomaintain a healthy inner life? Poetry canhelp us sustain a vibrant inner life. Underhillasks: “Is your sense of wonder and mysterykeen and deep?” (p. 20). A healthy inner life“means giving time, patience, effort to sucha special discipline and cultivation of yourattention as artists must give, if they are toenter deeply into the reality and joy ofnatural loveliness and impart it in theirwork” (p. 20). Moreover, “the importantthing is to discover what nourishes you, bestexpands and harmonizes your spirit, now, atthe present stage of your growth” (p. 60).

2. To live poetically is to play with ludicabandon.

Above all, I write and teach and live in orderto have fun. I love to play with words, to feelwords rolling on my tongue, to write lists ofwords that rhyme, to read dictionaries. I liketo sit in public places and eavesdrop andwrite whatever comes into my head. I like tomake up words, and shape words on thepage, and write sentences that go on andon and on. I claim that writers are thehappiest people in the world. When I was akid I played with wooden blocks engravedwith the twenty-six letters of the alphabet.I am still playing with the alphabet, and likea kid I remain open to the wonder aroundme. Henri Lefebvre reminds us that “humanbeings are engaged in a perpetual adventurewith its attendant risks. More deeply,however, they place themselves not onlyinto question but also in play” (p. 87).

Of course, one of the problems with beingplayful is that nobody takes you seriously.That is a paradox, especially because everychild knows that play is very seriousbusiness. In my classes I am committed tocelebrating interrogation, play, imaginativemeaning-making. Young children know the

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Editors Note: In the Spring/Summer 2003 issueof The Orange names were not included withthis photo. We apologize to “the girls.”

Top row left to right:Audrey Clark, Phyllis (Wobick) Murrell, Gert (Baker)Lawrence, Carol (Case) Allen.

Front row left to right:Lois (Woodcock) Anderson, Joyce (Hastings) Krysowaty.

The Heart of Pedagogy (continued from page 18)

inextricable link between fun and learning.They spend years enjoying themselves inrisk-taking exploration, tireless questioning,sensual encounters with their environments,insatiable seeking after wonder.

3. To live poetically is to nurture a balancebetween the mind and the heart.

Many years ago, I read a short story byStephen Vincent Benet, titled “By theWaters of Babylon.” The story narrates theexperiences of a young man named Johnwho struggles to survive in a desolatewilderness, a time and place that seem fardistant from contemporary life on earth.John disobeys the warnings of hiscommunity, and ventures alone across theriver into the forbidden land called theDead Places where it is believed onlydangerous spirits dwell. But John learns thatin the forbidden land people like him oncelived. He learns that the forbidden land wasonce a city called New York.

He learns that the city and all its peoplewere killed in a terrible explosion. And withheartful wisdom, John wonders about thegeneration of people long ago destroyed ina catastrophic war: “Perhaps in the old

days, they ate knowledge too fast.” I havebeen thinking about that phrase a lot lately:“Perhaps in the old days, they ateknowledge too fast.” These days, we heara great deal about the information highwayand information technology, but I amconcerned that our desire for knowledge isoutpacing our exercise of wisdom. To livepoetically is to nurture a balance betweenthe mind and the heart. As Jean Vanierwrites: “understanding, as well as truth,comes not only from the intellect but alsofrom the body. When we begin to listento our bodies, we begin to listen to realitythrough our own experiences; we beginto trust our intuition, our hearts” (p. 25).

Carl Leggo, '89 PhD, is an associate professorin the Department of Language and LiteracyEducation, Faculty of Education, University ofBritish Columbia.

References: LEFEBVRE, H. (1988). Toward a leftist culturalpolitics: Remarks occasioned by the centenary of Marx'sdeath, in: NELSON, C. & GROSSBERG, L. (Eds.). Marxismand the Interpretation of Culture. Urbana, University ofIllinois Press.

UNDERHILL, E. (1999). Concerning the Inner Life. Oxford,Oneworld Publications.

VANIER, J. (1998). Becoming Human. Toronto, House ofAnansi Press.


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