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Eight educators from across the country have been selected by Canada’s History Society as recipients of the 2010 Governor General’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History.
The award recognizes their efforts to bring Canadian history to life for their students, as well as their innovative and interactive teaching concepts. Among the teachers from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec are some who encouraged their students to uncover historical Inuit artifacts, recreate Nellie McClung`s mock Parliament, or retrace the roots of democracy from ancient Athens.
This year's winners include:
Governor General David Johnston will present the awards Nov. 19 at Rideau Hall and a celebration dinner will be hosted by Canada’s History Society at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
The eight recipients will each receive $2,500 and a gold medal, while their respective schools will receive a cash gift of $1,000. The awards are supported by the TD Bank Financial Group.
“At TD, we believe that it is creative and enthusiastic teachers who can truly make a difference in our classrooms,” said TD Bank Group Community Relations national manager Alan Convery. “We applaud those teachers who continually seek new and innovative ways in bringing a proud Canadian history to life for their students.”
The week's events in Ottawa will also see 150 of Canada’s top historians, educators, writers and media producers participate in a National History Forum at Library and Archives Canada. The event will be broadcast live via the Internet at CanadasHistory.ca.
In addition to the Governor General’s Awards, the Rideau Hall ceremony will include presentations for several other Canadian history honours, including two prizes initiated by Canada’s History Society. Desmond Morton will receive the 2010 Pierre Berton Award and two students will receive their prizes as winners of the Kayak Kids Illustrated History Challenge.
The challenge encourages Canadian students between the ages of seven and fourteen to create their own illustrated story based on any aspect of Canadian history and heritage. This year’s recipients are Billy Parrell from Central Technical School in Toronto and Chanelle Albert from École Jeunesse Active in Sturgeon Falls, Ont.
The Ottawa ceremonies will also include the announcement of the winner of the 2010 Begbie Canadian History Contest, which provides high school students with the opportunity to test their skills in history against those of other students from schools across Canada. This year’s recipients are Eden Nzeyimana from Port Coquitlam, B.C., and Gregory Bailey from Gander, N.L.
Other awards to be presented will go to the winners of the Canadian Historical Association’s Sir John A. Macdonald Prize and the Historica-Dominion Institute’s Great Canadian Questions Essay Competition.
Video interviews with each of the award-winning teachers will be available later this month at CanadasHistory.ca.