Geraldine Balzer

Where Are Our Stories?: Decolonizing the Classroom Geraldine Balzer

Recent Canadian curricular reforms have recognizedthe prevalence Amer-Eurocentric literature in theclassroom and the resulting exclusion of minorityvoices. While the new curricula advocate theinclusion of those voices, the comfort of teacherswith these literatures is limited. Not only areteachers unfamiliar with the literature, they do nothave the theoretical knowledge to interpret from anon-Eurocentric tradition. Two teachers workedtogether with Balzer to introduce their students toAboriginal literature and appropriate criticalliterary theories. The exploration of this literatureexposed the presumptions and prejudices arising fromthe systemic racism in the communities. Through theintroduction of this literature, the teachers wereable to engage the students in dialogue andproblematize their assumptions. They were also ableto further their own understandings and developstrategies for teaching minority literatures. Thisstudy provides the groundwork for teacher introducingminority literature in their classrooms and forteacher educators wishing to prepare the nextgeneration of teachers for more inclusive classrooms.