Turtle School Tour:
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
3:30 - 5:00 PM
(meet in the lobby of the hotel at 3:00pm)
The Oneida Nation School is dedicated to recognizing the individuals worth, dignity and mutual respect between all people, young and old, as well as, members of the world family. This dedication provides the encouragement for each child to feel accepted and valued. The Oneida Nation School presents each student with the opportunity to experience and learn the responsibility of caring and accepting others.
The Turtle School will continue to revitalize the Oneida language and culture by using Oneida ideas and materials throughout the school building wherever learning can be made most meaningful to Oneida Students.
Culture evolves from language. Language carries cultural norms in an upward spiral which encompasses all community members. Oneida cultural concepts flow upward, moving from the general to the specific and back to the general again. The cultural concepts seek their own balance as they meet the evolving needs of the people.
The cultural spiral of knowledge brings a higher progression of awareness. All parts of the environment are interdependent. Each part has an integral function that affects the whole. The inter weaving of human beings in a social setting and the organisms that thrive in the natural world follow the same natural laws. Students will attain this cultural knowledge through four processes:
Nurturing the individual is the first process. Oneida students will leave with a deep understanding of themselves espousing the Oneida value of REASON.
Students will acquire the capabilities of maintaining balance. This value is incorporated in the Oneida concept of PEACE.
The student skills learned will include active listening, seeing other perspectives, decision making, and arriving at a consensus. These responsibilities and skills reflect leadership qualities that are inherent in the Oneida principle of RIGHTEOUSNESS.
The arts, crafts, songs, dances and games are both ceremonial and social. These activities promote unity. Their cultural message is derived from the Oneida concept of POWER which is a belief system and explains our existence here as human beings.
It is understood that the educational process for ethnic groups has been and can be destructive or constructive to growth and development. With this in mind, the school provides opportunities for students to know what is their own in contrast to what belongs to others. Multiethnic education leads to higher level thinking skills and an appreciation for others.
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