Magic Moments

I went in today thinking it was not going to be a good day. Rainy days, double indoor recesses can be rough! On top of that, I had a headache, the cards were not stacked in our favour. 

After first break, students were yawning, and itching to get outside.  I wasn’t sure if it was a good move or not, but I pushed ahead and had them set up the space to continue on the inquiry we’ve been working through, which is part of a larger Project Based Learning experience (more to come on this in a future post!).  I didn’t think it would go well.  I couldn’t feel the energy in the room, and today, I didn’t have the energy either.  It took quite awhile for students to start their investigations, I had to give some reminders to a few to make good choices, people were asking to take a walking break early into the period, it didn’t feel great.  

Then, something shifted.  

Two boys ran up to me, computer in hand, wanting to show me a video they were watching on the impact of seismic blasting on marine animals.  They were excited that the video featured an Inuit perspective.  As they were telling me about it, another student had overheard our conversation and said, 

“Can you throw that link on classroom, it sounds interesting.”

It was like their energy, their passion was contagious, it began to spread around the room. 

A few minutes later someone else called me over to watch a video she had found showing the impact of extracting resources on animals.  Before I knew it, half the class were up and were gathered around her computer. We all shared a bit of an emotional moment, and it sparked ideas about how we might use art to make an impact.  Off another student went to the idea board.  

I suggested that a group tweet out some of what they had found using the hashtag (#goglobalsaveearth) we had developed and try to make some connections.  They sat huddled around a chromebook in the hallway, composing a tweet. 

Someone else came up, asking if we could have a chart paper up somewhere so that he could put up new learning and thinking that isn’t necessarily connected to any of our questions, but that shouldn’t be forgotten. 

I was about to redirect a couple boys who just seemed to be wandering and chatting, I assumed they needed some help to focus or figure out where to go next.  As I approached, they turned to me and said, 

“So, we were just talking about how money, the government, business, all this stuff we have, it’s just one big endless cycle that we can’t seem to stop.”

It was so neat, because they are doing two completely different questions, but are sharing theories and ideas, finding connections. 

By the end of the period, every single student had something to add to our knowledge building board. Arrows were being drawn, connecting ideas.  I stood back and watched, listened.  Even if they weren’t all talking at that point about their inquiry, I was witnessing something special, a little bit of magic. They were connecting intellectually through the inquiry, by sharing ideas, critical thinking and questions. Perhaps more importantly though, they were connecting as individuals, relationships that we had built over the year were strengthening.  

Teaching this way is not easy, it is so messy, so unpredictable.  It does not work so beautifully every day.   Kids are resistant sometimes, they aren’t always engaged, not every one of them, not all the time. Sometimes I wonder if they are learning enough. Do I give them too much freedom, do things need to be more structured, less structured? Am I giving everyone what they need? Are my expectations high enough? 

These questions are important for me to keep asking. We need to be reflective about our practice and what is happening in our classrooms. 

Even though it is messy, I believe in it. I’ve seen the impact that teaching like this can have on kids.  The power of Knowledge Building and PBL was so clear to me to me today. Teaching this way empowers students, gives everyone a voice, deepens the learning and creates communities of creative and critical thinkers. It helps students develop confidence by discovering their strengths and realizing their passions.  Isn’t that what school should be about?

My students make me want to do better.  

My students inspire me to learn and to grow.  

Their voices are so powerful

                                        when we take the time to listen,

                                                                                         when we let them tell the story. 

The Power of Stories

“The truth about stories is, that’s all we are.”

-Thomas King

I have been on a journey of learning over the past several years, as an educator and as a Canadian citizen.  I have been learning about Indigenous Perspectives, and what has happened here on this land, Turtle Island.

This learning has impacted my teaching practice.  It has really helped to ground me in the importance of relationships and authentic community building.  Learning about Indigenous Perspectives has led me to realize that relationships are the foundation to everything that happens in my classroom.  It has helped me to realize the power of using circles in my classroom, where everyone sits at the same level, and all voices are heard.

Some of the best and most impactful learning for me and for my students has been sitting and listening to elders and Indigenous community members share their stories.

Troy Maracle, an incredible leader in Indigenous Education in this province, said during a PD session I attended,

“Students know the space that exists between themselves and their teachers.”

Ever since I heard Troy speak those words, I have been asking myself ‘How do I bridge that gap?  How do I make that space smaller?’

Something very powerful happened in my classroom this year.  Something that I didn’t expect. It has been a story that I have wanted to share.  

My class and I had been exploring Indigenous perspectives.  We learned about what treaty meant. We had been to Crawford Lake, sat in a longhouse and listened to a First Nations woman speak to us about her experiences and share her stories.  We had examined images about residential schools in Canada, read books on the topic, sat in silence as Gord Downie’s Secret Path played and we connected over Chanie’s story.  We were visited by Dawn, a survivor, who shared her story with us. We learned about colonization, and explored the question “How has colonization impacted Turtle Island?”  Our investigations led us to looking at some modern day realities in Canada, and at issues facing those living in remote reserves. Students wrote and performed found poetry.  We sat together sharing our learning and our questions in circles. We watched Jessie Wente’s short docs Keep Calm and Decolonize. We began to plan our Reconciliation Garden, in partnership with another class and Indigenous community partners. My students were beginning to understand what it meant to be a treaty person in Canada.   

One day, as we discussed the importance of culture and language and the implications of having that taken away, our conversation naturally expanded to include my students’ own experiences in our school and community. The realities of Indigenous Peoples having to hide who they were resonated with some of the students in the classroom. One person voiced that he didn’t always feel safe to share his religious and cultural background because of the social and political implications. Others shared that they didn’t feel their native countries were celebrated here, but rather were victims of a ‘single story’ perpetuated by a misinformed public. We recognized as a class that just as speaking Cree, Mohawk, and Mi’kmaq grounded people in their identify, so too does speaking Urdu, Arabic, and Mandarin.

A few weeks later we sat in a circle with Peter Schuler and Nancy Rowe, two elders from the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation.  Peter spoke to us about how important it was for him to introduce himself in Ojibwe. He invited us to go around the circle and say our names and where our ancestors came from.  What happened next was one of the most profound moments of my career. My students began introducing themselves in their Native languages. Organically a safe space had been created and students felt secure and confident to reveal their true selves in their first languages.

Together we discovered the importance of stories and the need to share them in our own voices.

This led to each of us exploring our cultures, identities, family histories and sharing these with each other.  We spent one period searching photos of rickshaws in Pakistan. Students shared how fun it was to ride on a rickshaw, we marvelled as a class at the colours and how beautifully decorated they were. Two boys sat together following this conversation and started talking about their religions, they began to connect over similarities between the two.  We were breaking down single stories together.

As a response to this, each student shared a story connected to who they are on their blogs. Some students even translated their stories into their native languages.  Our inquiry question, that we were investigating in History and Science, “How has colonization impacted Turtle Island?” led us to this point. Our journey led us to understand our role as treaty partners and about the importance of Truth and Reconciliation.  It also led us to share and be proud of our own languages, cultures, and stories.

-Christine

A Journey

For many years now, I have been on a journey in my role as a teacher.  

A journey to create safe spaces where students feel comfortable to be themselves, and share their stories.  

A journey to help foster a culture of risk taking and creativity.  

A journey to create communities of critical thinkers and problem solvers, whose voices are heard and valued.

A journey to help students follow their passions, to be creators over consumers of content.

When I asked students to write down a question they wanted to explore or something they wanted to DO this year, I wrote down that I wanted to start a blog about education.  So, here I go, I’m diving in, I’m taking the risk, just as I encourage and hope to empower my students to do everyday.

This year I attended the roll out of the enhanced TRC Social Studies and History Curriculum.  We were fortunate enough to listen to elder Peter Schuler from the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation open and close our sessions.  He shared something that really stuck with me, and connected with what I aim to do everyday in my classroom and in my school.

“...plant the seeds, even though we might not be there to see how big the tree will grow”

-Peter Schuler