Page 19 - Exploring the Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession through Anishinaabe Art

The Standard of Professional Knowledge Reflect on the following description of the artist’s painting which honours and celebrates
the standard of Professional Knowledge and then respond to the professional inquiry questions:
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
Artist's Reflection
The teacher stands at the doorway of opportunity, reflecting on her journey thus far. She welcomes new opportunities and challenges. Throughout her years, she has acquired many teachings and has many gifts to offer. She is always ready to go forward, to share her knowledge and gifts with the community and her students. With open arms, she welcomes the challenges and obstacles that she will face daily, throughout the years.
The painting depicts a teacher ready to implement into practice the knowledge she has gained.
She was once a student not so many years ago. Through her experiences, which have included overcoming challenges and obstacles, she has acquired many teachings that have strengthened her growth as a teacher and an individual. She is now ready to pass on her knowledge and experiences and understands that students are individuals with their own learning styles. She continually reflects on this knowledge and strives to foster student growth and development. She is committed to strengthening her professional knowledge through ongoing research and learning theory, pedagogy and curriculum, ethical standards and related policies and legislation, to practice professional judgment.
Within her body and soul, she has acquired experience through research of learning theories and practicing the Anishinaabe teachings of the seven grandfathers: Respect (black), Courage (white), Honesty (red), Humility (yellow), Love (violet), Truth (green) and Wisdom (blue). She is eager to pass on these teachings to her students and to the community. She understands that all things are connected, and like a spider, she is ready to weave all knowledge of professional practice to convey life’s teachings to her students. She is well prepared and is surrounded by the Anishinaabe world of the four medicine wheel colors and directions: black/west, white/north, yellow/east and red/south. Each medicine wheel depicted in the painting represents one of the four ethical standards: red for Care, black for Respect, yellow for Trust and white for Integrity.
EXPLORING THE STANDARDS OF PRACTICE FOR THE TEACHING PROFESSION THROUGH ANISHINAABE ART 13