Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, Learners' Walk, Vancouver, BC, Canada
“T To enhance the community, I will start with a school garden. There are endless opportunities to learn, teach and collaborate there. Hands-on gardening experience is an excellent way for students to learn responsibility and patience and appreciate the importance of nature in our community.
“K As I begin my teaching journey, I want to focus on building a reciprocal relationship with folks from Musqueam FN, as well as other Indigenous groups. I highly value Indigenous knowledge, language, voices and ways of knowing, and one way I can work to support reconciliation and strengthen community is through strengthening my relationship and connection with local Indigenous peoples. Through meaningful, reciprocal relationships, we can strengthen community and also reconnect to the land through learning from indigenous peoples, whatever they would like to share. I will begin by reaching out to Geronimo at Vandusen Garden, an excellent Indigenous botanist and educator, to see if I can volunteer for him, and learn from him. I will also seek out Professional development day opportunities with the local Indigenous communities, as much as possible, to begin to build connections, and find ways to connect my future students with the local Indigenous peoples to this land.
“O Going forward I think it is important to recognize the importance of the community when teaching. Having students interact with the land and the natural parts of their community helps build key connections and an important environmental connection. As we have shown in several posts it is also important to connect to people and cultures in our community and try and connect these human experiences with the land to help students build a holistic version of themselves which is grounded in their community.
“N In terms of next steps as individuals on our journey to build community as educators, I think it is really important to create a space where every student (and their families) feel welcomed, acknowledged, and represented. One way I plan on doing this is by incorporating different cultures and perspectives into both the content of my lessons and in the ways that I deliver my lessons. I would also like to do a “passport around the world” where my class explores different holidays and cultural traditions from different countries around the world, with a special focus on the countries where my students are from. This will be a fun way for my students to share a little bit about their own cultures, and for us to explore how all these cultures come together in places like Canada to create the beautifully diverse communities we live in.
“J As I begin my teaching journey, I think it is so important for me to build community among my classroom first and foremost. This means taking the time in the beginning of the school year to really get to know my students and get them to know each other. Creating a safe space where everyone feels welcomed, safe, and heard is so important for me. To have a strong community, empathy is vital. I will host sharing circles, where we as a class can work together to talk about our interests, what we have been up to, goals, and problems and conflicts. Being in a circle, all facing each other and actively listening grows this sense of community as everyone has a role and is important. I want my students to truly care for one another because it is through this empathy and care that a community can truly grow and flourish.
“M As we move on to the world of teaching, I have been reminiscing about the ways in which I was taught at my own school, what was seen as important and what was put aside for the sake of “finishing the curriculum” in time for final exams. This journey of inquiry, while slow-moving at times or even repetitive, has forced me to pause, take a break and re-think about how I want to proceed, not only how I want to teach but also how I would have liked to learn. It has taught me to reflect..The word reflection is curious: it is derived from the Latin for re = back and flectere = to bend. So I guess you can say that when you pause for reflection your thoughts are bending inward. It is this process that I would like to see my students engage in – to not just learn something in one go, but to revisit and reflect on their learning as the year goes on.