Caitlin Gilpin聽was born and raised in the Cree community of Wemindji, Quebec, on the east coast of James Bay, about 1,400 killometres north of Montreal. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Education in Educational Psychology, studying the concept of implicit theories of intelligence, based on the work of American psychologist and Stanford University professor Carol Dweck. During the three years she worked as a coordinator for a summer school for high school students in her community, Gilpin became convinced that intelligence isn鈥檛 something people are born with, but rather, that intelligence can be grown and nurtured.
鈥淚 noticed students who would find stuff hard, and would just make negative attributions and stop trying,鈥� Gilpin said. 鈥淢y theory is that people with a more malleable view of intelligence do better in school 鈥� not necessarily because they鈥檙e smarter, but because when they hit obstacles, they see them as opportunities to learn.鈥�
Christopher Reid, of the Nisga鈥檃 nation, is completing a PhD in Educational Studies, focusing on urban Indigenous people鈥檚 experiences with land education, public schooling, and historical education. Reid is currently teaching a seminar dealing with Indigenous critiques of schooling and colonialism.
