Each fall many new teachers from different parts of the country are recruited for employment in public and federal schools on American Indian Reservations. Perhaps the majority of these teachers have had little previous experience instructing Indian students and possess only limited knowledge about American Indian history and culture. Perhaps even fewer will have received any training from colleges of education in course work which could be of direct benefit to them - for example, courses focusing on cultural factors affecting student behaviors and attitudes and the particular educational needs of second language learners. But it is perhaps even more unfortunate that very few school districts in the nation which enroll primarily Indian students have recognized the magnitude of this problem and have attempted to devise any thorough, on-going program of in-service training for their teachers. Even if a district does wish to organize a comprehensive orientation program, few relevant materials exist. Therefore, any training materials directly related to a particular Indian culture must be developed locally.
Assessing Needs and Resources on the Papago Reservation
Teachers entering the public school system on the Papago Indian Reservation in southern Arizona have encountered similar problems in becoming acclimated to their new positions. In past years existing district orientation programs have been of limited assistance, consisting primarily of brief procedural lectures delivered in the few hectic days preceding the opening of school. When school begins, the new teacher is then often left to flounder with the many questions and problems which arise concerning curriculum and classroom administration. Many teachers manage to survive and learn to devise appropriate educational methods by sheer trial and error; a few succeed very well. Quite a few, however, find it extremely difficult to cope and could benefit greatly by increased assistance from the district such as could be obtained during in-service training programs.
At faculty meetings and at many informal gatherings throughout recent years many teachers have expressed their awareness of the need for the development of a more thorough orientation program. One idea which frequently surfaced was the need for the construction of some sort of written resource materials which could be consulted by the beginning teacher, particularly during the first few months of the academic year. However, because of chronic shortages of time, money and staff, prospects for developing teacher training materials appeared rather bleak. As of Spring 1972, no commercial or university materials were available and no federally funded programs existed in the district which could undertake the project. Furthermore, there was little official recognition of the problem and little encouragement for any teachers aspiring to assume the responsibility on their own. The remaining possibility was for someone to begin the process alone.
Selecting Topics. Since there were few models which could serve as a guide, the first decision was obviously to decide which topics the manual should cover. It was decided to limit the manual to` cover basic issues: traditional and contemporary Papago culture and also significant educational topics, such as student behaviors, culturally appropriate teaching styles, and bilingualism. Therefore, the first part of the manual copy contained two chapters on present-day reservation life and family structure and two chapters on traditional Papago culture and family life. The middle section consisted of one chapter which related Papago child-rearing practices to their implications for the classroom teacher, while the next two chapters dealt with the important issue of Papago and Anglo value systems, and the cultural conflicts which often arise because of differences between these contrasting values. A concluding group of three chapters focused on topics of language: development of the Papago orthography; difficulties of Papago speakers in learning English; and instructional techniques for use with second language learners, particularly the goals and methods of bilingual bicultural education.
Gathering Information. Information for the manual was gathered in several ways: written sources, contact with individuals and organizations, and personal observations. For example, cultural material about traditional Papago life came from library research of anthropological ethnographies. Present-day cultural data came from accounts by both Indian and non-Indian authors, as well as from interviews, both formal and informal, with Papago agency workers and community members.
Questionnaires, interviews, and formal and informal meetings provided attitudinal information from all facets of the educational community: administrators, school board members, teachers, parents, aides, and students. Technical and sociolinguistic information for the Papago language chapters was provided by both a Papago and non-Papago linguist and the contents were checked for accuracy.
The last method used for gathering insights into the cross-cultural inter-actions in the community was the anthropological technique of "observation-participation." This refers to the personal and professional experiences of the author as an employee and resident of the school district for six years.
Developing Mutual Trust. First, an attitude of credibility and trust had to be developed between the community and the writer before much work could progress. Receiving official permission by the school board to begin the project was somewhat helpful in gaining initial community acceptance. But in the long run it was left to the author to develop trust among the people and the awareness that the manual could be of real value to their children by helping their teachers become more knowledgeable about the Papago way of life.
Time and effort in developing this trust was on-going throughout the project and was absolutely crucial. Needless to say, honesty and sincerity at all times was essential. Community sensitivity was extremely high to anything which might smack of manipulation and exploitation. Previous researchers, interested primarily in their own theoretical ends, had left a very indelible negative imprint about "research" on the minds of many Papago people.
Developing Background Knowledge. Secondly, knowledge of Papago history and culture had to come to the author mostly secondhand — from books and from what interested people wanted to tell, as well as from aspects of the culture which could be most readily observed. For a greater depth of knowledge, the author had to rely heavily on the interest and cooperation of the Papago people in gathering information. They provided both the background information which gave objective structure to the manual, as well as the personal insights which helped give the manual emotional depth and a feeling of authenticity. Several Indian and non-Indian individuals critically evaluated various sections of the first draft and offered many suggestions and modifications which were frequently incorporated into the final copy. A formal presentation of the manual has also been made to the Papago Education Committee. Their attitudes will undoubtedly influence any further usage of the materials on the reservation.
Portraying a Representative View of Papago Culture. One of the difficulties in writing about culturally sensitive areas, such as values, is that it sometimes becomes very difficult to satisfy everyone's perception as to what "Papago values" are. In the first place although there is a strong sense of communal feelings among many Papago people, there is also an equally strong belief that no one Papago can really speak for another's point of view. Therefore, it sometimes becomes difficult to gather a consensus about the prevailing view on any particular topic.
Conversely, individuals sometimes feel that their personal viewpoints are representative of the group as a whole. For example, when asked to review a section on values and a discrepancy arises world, they need to be exposed to both Anglo and Papago cultural viewpoints on may issues, not simply Papago and not simply Anglo. However, when it comes to the specifics, such as how to develop a cooperative Indian and non-Indian effort in writing an orientation manual, then the process of working out the details can become a little touchy. In this case a non-Indian individual coordinated the project, soliciting both Indian and non-Indian involvement. However, other districts will need to work out their own approaches, dependent upon the particular history and attitudes of their own communities. For example, in a district where feelings of cultural separatism run high, then perhaps Indian participants could deal with the strictly Indian cultural material and non-Indians could deal primarily with Anglo culture. Regardless of the plan chosen, it seems advisable if at all possible to have a joint Indian-non-Indian Committee which could review the final materials. This would provide some assurance that all materials presented an objective, fair view of both cultural groups and were designed to be genuinely helpful for teachers in an Indian- Anglo bicultural classroom.
Need for an Effective Delivery System. Once the material has been collected, it is important to select the most effective methods of communicating this information to the desired audience. Several helpful suggestions have been given the author on possible modifications of the Papago manual.
The first reaction has been that the 400-page volume is too large and too overwhelming a mass of material to present to beginning teachers. One recommendation has been to break down the manual into smaller, topical sections, perhaps bound in spiral
booklets. Hopefully, this would improve the accessibility and digestibility of the material. Also, the suggestion has been made that some type of a topical index could facilitate easier reference when teachers needed assistance on a particular problem. For example, a checklist could be prepared with questions such as, "Are you having trouble with classroom management? Turn to page ." Without an easy reference system busy teachers may be forced to ignore what could potentially be a helpful resource.
It has also been suggested that effective use of the materials will come only if they are used as a basis of instruction in a formal orientation program or course. For example, a school district could develop an intensive week-long instructional program for beginning teachers which included reading assignments from the manual and other sources, lectures, role play, guest speakers from the community, and field trips, followed by class discussions to help interpret and analyze the experiences. Such a workshop at the beginning of the school year could also be followed by an evening extension course which delved into topics in greater detail and for which teachers received college credits leading to annual salary increments between a person's individual beliefs and those which are described, the following chain of reactions may occur: "This is not what I feel. Papago people don't feel this way. This is wrong and therefore casts doubts on everything else you've written. It's not valid for a non-Indian to write about Papago values anyway."
Thirdly, because of the cultural changes which have been taking place on the reservation for the past few decades, there is often a variety of possible behavioral patterns which exist, ranging from those of a very traditional life-style to those which are very acculturated. Attempting to describe accurately what "Papagos think" sometimes becomes very difficult.
Therefore, in order for the manual to describe with any validity a Papago system, of thought or behavior, such as the Papago value system, it became necessary to indicate frequently the range for possible behaviors. For example, a particular value was first described in its most traditional and perhaps prevalent form. Then if there was indication of movement by some individuals toward a more contemporary expression of this value, that form was also described. When value systems were presented in this fashion, many Papago readers seemed to be comfortable with the analysis.
To highlight the contrasts between Papago and Anglo values, the manual also juxtaposed traditional Papago values with prevalent Anglo value orientations. Anglo values were also described in a fairly traditional forms as well as, where applicable, in more emergent, contemporary forms.
Evaluation of the Manual
When it becomes necessary for one individual to shoulder the primary responsibility for such a major undertaking, one who is also either a full-time teacher or graduate student with only vacations to devote to the project, the time required to complete such a task can become inordinately long. In this case the time was six years.
In order for materials to be developed in a much more reasonable length of time and thereby gotten into the hands of teachers much more quickly, alternatives need to be explored which could speed up the process. In some districts with only a basic teaching staff a teamwork approach would perhaps be preferable. Teachers and aides could be given release time during the school year or paid for summer curriculum work. Other districts might have auxiliary staff who could devote full-time to such a project or who could provide back-up services for teachers working on the project part-time.
Organization of Task-Flow Among Project Workers. On the Papago reservation there seemed to be a consensus among parents that if their children are going to live successfully in a bicultural
Other Needs of Teachers. The orientation manual just completed contains many general principles of classroom management which can be helpful. However, there is also a need by teachers for even more specific information in such areas as curriculum selection, classroom materials development, teaching styles, learning styles, student-teacher interaction, and student discipline. When filling out questionnaires for the manual, many teachers offered excellent "how to do" suggestions which have been effective in their own classrooms. Plans are now in progress for these ideas to be compiled in a companion booklet as an instruction manual.
Many teachers in the district are also interested in becoming more aware of the complex cultural interactions which occur in the total educational system — between school administrators, tribal officials, school board members, teachers, aides, parents, and students. They are interested in understanding the perceptions of each group on the many issues concerning Papago education. Much of the information gathered from these groups in questionnaires and interviews during the project was not included in the orientation manual because of space limitations. Plans are now in progress to compile this material and develop a booklet which analyzes the various attitudes of each group in the educational system. Both this booklet and the instructional manual should be completed by July 1979.
Additional Possibilities for Generating Culturally Relevant Materials for Bicultural Classrooms
Experience in developing the Papago orientation manual has indicated that there are many other possibilities within existing organizational frameworks which could enable additional kinds of materials to be produced for teacher training programs and for student instruction.
1 Colleges of education could conduct surveys among teachers, aides, and community members on reservations to ascertain instructional needs of future teachers of Indian students. Materials could then be developed in universities, and field tested by reservation staff and by student teachers, with provision for their suggested modifications.
2 Colleges of education could also design on-site courses to meet the specific educational needs of teachers and aides in isolated areas. Class assignments could exist of papers in certain areas in cross-cultural education which the teachers and aides of that
district would like to examine. These papers could then be shared within the class and afterwards reprinted and bound into a booklet for distribution among the other teachers in the system.
3 Individual administrators could also set up a similar program and collecting pertinent academic papers which teachers write in their graduate classes during the summers. 4 Administrators could also encourage an annual collection of each teacher's "best ideas of the year," relating to all areas of classroom teaching.
5 Student-authored materials could be printed and distributed.
McFARLANE, JAN taught for six years on the Papago Reservation in southern Arizona and is currently a doctoral graduate student in The Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson.
WHEN IS DISADVANTAGEMENT OF AN INDIAN STUDENT