Philosophy of the Teacher Education Program
A constructivist philosophy (focused on how learners construct knowledge from prior learning and interests) underlies CMN's teacher education program that prepares teachers as decision makers to care, reflect, respect, take risks, and become collaborative participants in pursuit of becoming professional teachers. The performance skills necessary for the endeavor are guided by the tribal clan structure that portrays the early social organization of the Menominee. Centuries ago, clans accepted responsibility for the security, construction, hunting and gathering, law (governance) and freedom and justice so the community could survive and thrive. Those clans (pictured in the CMN logo) are represented by the moose for security, the crane for construction, the wolf for hunting and gathering, the bear for law (governance) and the eagle for freedom and justice.
Today, those clans still function in the community in various ways. Here, for education purposes, CMN's teacher education program matches those clan functions with performance skills necessary for thriving in an education community. Clan responsible for:
Security means teachers obtaining a strong knowledge base for planning teaching and learning experiences to thrive;
Construction refers to teachers building a safe environment that honors tribal "ways of knowing" and "learning together;"
Hunting and gathering sees teachers as seeking problem solving for learning situations- teachers guiding learners to seek information and search for reasoned arguments that explain life forces;
Governance describes teachers as developing a governing or professional voice to communicate and collaborate;
Freedom and justice challenges teachers to monitor their own beliefs that serve as barriers to social justice.
Today, those clans still function in the community in various ways. Here, for education purposes, CMN's teacher education program matches those clan functions with performance skills necessary for thriving in an education community. Clan responsible for:
Security means teachers obtaining a strong knowledge base for planning teaching and learning experiences to thrive;
Construction refers to teachers building a safe environment that honors tribal "ways of knowing" and "learning together;"
Hunting and gathering sees teachers as seeking problem solving for learning situations- teachers guiding learners to seek information and search for reasoned arguments that explain life forces;
Governance describes teachers as developing a governing or professional voice to communicate and collaborate;
Freedom and justice challenges teachers to monitor their own beliefs that serve as barriers to social justice.