Fifth graders in Vimari Khiat’s class at Ronald E. McNair Elementary School couldn’t help talking over each other in their eagerness to share what they had just learned about Native American history.
And that excitement is just what Khiat was looking for when she designed the projects for her class to learn about and commemorate Native American History Month.
“We usually celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and African American History Month, so why not Native American Heritage Month? As Hispanics we have a great amount of Native American in our DNA,” said Khiat, a bilingual teacher who is from Puerto Rico and 12% Taino, the native people of the Caribbean islands.
The students also learned about Native Americans at the beginning of the school year in social studies and are currently learning about the first American civilizations, she said. They learned not just about the native peoples of North America but also the native civilizations of Central and South America.
“They were mostly peaceful and their religions were similar even though their gods had different names,” Carla R said. They didn’t fight a lot like you see in the movies.”
Khiat, who has been a teacher for 25 years, assigned each student to a different Native American tribe. Students were tasked with researching facts about the tribe, like location, culture, housing, and foods. Then, they created a posterboard reflecting that information. Finally, they did an oral presentation to their classmates.
“I think it was important for my students to learn the history and culture of the different Native Americans tribes,” she said. “It was important not only because it is part of our reading/social studies curriculum, but it is part of our ancestry. It is celebrating diversity and promoting cultural awareness among children.”
Khiat always wanted to be a teacher because she loves children and learning, and seeing her students find joy in learning is rewarding.
“My best childhood memories are at school,” she said. “I’m a bilingual teacher because I love learning other languages and cultures. I also love to teach reading and working with children. I understand the struggle of learning a second language firsthand and I want to help others to become bilingual as well.”
