Sunday, November 14, 2010

Gregory Cajete-- Blog 9

Gregory Cajete

I decided to research Dr. Gregory Cajete. I chose him because I had never heard about him and found he would be interesting to learn about. Dr. Cajete is a Tewa Indian from New Mexico and a Native American educator. He focuses on indigenous culture and science from a Native American perspective. He obtained a bachelors degree in biology and sociology as well as a doctorate in philosophy. His doctorate emphasizes Native American education. He has had the opportunity to lecture at prestigious schools all around the world including countries such as England, Mexico, New Zealand, Italy, Japan, and Russia. He has had many accomplishments in his life. He was the dean of the Center for Research at the Institute of American Indian Arts for 21 years and was also a professor there. He created and ran the National Native American Very Special Arts Festival. He is a director of Native American Studies currently at the University of New Mexico, which is where he received his masters in adult and secondary education from. He also designed a specialized curriculum for Native Americans which focuses on their specific views and way of life.  He has also written and published five books. He seems to be a very influential member in the education society. He has opened up a new type of education that was not really brought about before. He understands what it means to be a Native American and focuses on teaching about their history, thought processes, spirituality, and ways of life. His book “Look to the Mountain” shines light on his ways of teaching and his beliefs. He believes that current culture needs to open up and teach students about their culture and how to connect to it. He uses indigenous ways of teaching rather than the “modern ways”, which includes story-telling, art, and rituals that the Native Americans used. I feel this is great because the Native Americans have such a rich history and deserve to be able to learn about it and become part of their culture. Not all students are the same and this allows them to learn about what is important to them in a way that means something to them.

Resources:

No comments:

Post a Comment