Teaching Philosophy: The Holistic Approach Just Makes Sense
“Make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students.”
TRC Calls to Action
I’ve found myself feeling nervous to teach about the indigenous histories of Canada. Upon further reflection, I’ve discovered this nervousness to be based on fear: fear to be offensive, fear of passing forward misinformation, and fear of causing harm to anyone who has been affected by this history, especially since it’s still so recent considering the last residential school closed in 1996. However, the importance of this information, this history, and knowledge are substantial to our growth as a more united society. One of the greatest resources our communities have is our elders and knowledge keepers because they share the stories that are important from our history. Additionally, I view books and novels in a similar way because they contain important knowledge that we need in order to learn and grow. Thus, this is why I would incorporate many books into my lessons to target every grade I may teach in the future. For example, I stumbled across a picture book which highlights the experience of a young indigenous girl, including her having to leave home, how her teachers treated her poorly, and how the knowledge she gained was more so about how to clean and do yard work rather than a proper education. This book is called “White Raven” by Teoni Spathelfer. It is appropriate for grades 1-4 because it uses gentle language to express the harsh treatment of a residential school attendee. One of the main reasons this book stood out to me is that it is dedicated to and written after a real story about a residential school survivor and I believe it’s these real events that will create the most impact on students learning because empathy is powerful. Overall, despite my fears, I understand the importance of learning our indigenous histories and their current impact on our communities which is why I will continue to learn different ways I can teach it.
Below is the link to access TRC Calls to Action: