Education Vision Statement

When Bay Mills Community College (BMCC) was chartered 40 years ago we did not have widespread internet access, most didn't have personal computers (Ryan 2017), and we certainly didn't know what a "social media influencer" was. According to Our World in Data (2019) social media didn’t make its debut until 1997, and really took off with the advent of Facebook in 2004. Nobody could have predicted how integrated and omnipresent these technologies would be today, let alone the jobs, education, and communities they would create. 

Our mission is to provide quality educational opportunities, promote research, and facilitate individual development in an accessible, community-based, and culturally diverse environment that supports and maintains the Anishinaabe culture and language. (Bay Mills Community College [BMCC], 1984) Looking forward, BMCC will focus on three main themes: practical technological adaptation, strengthening support structures using indigenous frameworks, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and community. 

Gloria Ladson-Billings (1995), advocating for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP), wrote, “These sociolinguists have suggested that if students' home language is incorporated into the classroom, students are more likely to experience academic success.” One miserably unique aspect of the contemporary indigenous student experience is that due to assimilation policies enacted by the governments occupying their ancestral lands, few were afforded the opportunity to hear, speak, or know about their languages at home (Hanson et al., 2020). Technology has been leveraged to further the colonization agenda in many ways, it has also thrived with big tech leaders touting policies like, “Move fast and break things.” (Bourg et al., 2018) which, not unlike cancer, promotes unchecked growth for the harm it causes (a lack of accessibility considerations makes these particularly exclusionary). Technology innovations have developed so much faster than critical analysis and regulations can address. In order to reclaim indigenous and educational wellbeing, we must evaluate and harmonize those technologies to serve our culture and language preservation efforts while preparing students to collaborate with diverse communities as the world continues to become more interconnected.

Every student should be uplifted, supported, and empowered. Everyone in the students' support structure – including guardians, dependents, instructors, and advisors – should have the tools and resources needed to offer support in the students' environment(s). BMCC strives to incorporate the Seven Sacred Teachings (BMCC, 2020) in our educational framework; these teachings are: Gaazhwenimowin (Love), Minaadendimowin (Respect), Aakide'ewin (Courage), Gwe'ekwaadiziwin (Honesty), Dibaadendiziwin (Humility), Debwewin (Truth), and Nibwaakaawin (Wisdom). Opportunities to study and practice these teachings are also an integral part of the communal structure at BMCC, events like feasts, round dances, and pow wows facilitate connections with the culture and language.

How we interact with our peers, our communities, and the world has already changed drastically, and these changes are accelerating, still. The innovation of new technologies that shape the landscape and the possibilities available to us is thrilling and intoxicating. We need interdisciplinary considerations to guide our innovations with circumspection, ensuring well-rounded perspectives and discussions. A myopic focus for technology and innovation can leave us vulnerable to biases we don’t usually recognize. As Albaroudi et al. (2024) found with recidivism rates and hiring algorithms,

“Moreover, AI techniques may be prone to overgeneralization since deep learning models depend largely on training data. This causes the risk of overgeneralizing the patterns, further reinforcing the biases in the algorithmic biases [90]. For instance, if historical successful hires have been predominantly male, the model may favor male candidates in future predictions.”

By incorporating these themes, BMCC will not only adapt to the rapid technological advancements but will also preserve and promote the culture and language of the Anishinaabeg (plural form meaning "Anishinaabe people"). Our commitment to fostering practical technological adaptation, empowering every member of the student's support structure, and reinforcing interdisciplinary collaboration and community ensures that we are preparing our students to meet the challenges of the future with resilience, innovation, and a deep respect for their cultural identities. As we move forward, BMCC will continue to be a beacon of educational excellence, community support, and cultural preservation, promoting the success of not only our students but every member of our community in an ever-evolving global landscape.

References

Albaroudi, E.; Mansouri, T.; Alameer, A. A Comprehensive Review of AI Techniques for Addressing Algorithmic Bias in Job Hiring. AI 2024, 5, 383–404. https://doi.org/10.3390/ai5010019

Bay Mills Community College. (2020). Culture. Retrieved August 2, 2024 from https://bmcc.edu/community/culture.html

Bay Mills Community College. (1984). Mission and Objectives. Retrieved August 2, 2024 from https://bmcc.edu/about-us/mission-objectives.html

Bourg , A., James , J., Priest  , D., & Robertson, M. (2018, October 30). The Facebook Dilemma. FRONTLINE. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/facebook-dilemma/ 

Hanson, E., Gamez, D., & Manuel, A. (2020, September). The Residential School System. Indigenous Foundations. https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/residential-school-system-2020/

Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that's just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 159-165.

Ortiz-Ospina, E., & Roser, M. (2019). The Rise of Social Media. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media

Ryan, C., “Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2016,” American Community Survey Reports, ACS-39, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 2017. https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/comp-internetuse2016.pdf