Canada’s History has announced the recipients of the Governor General’s History Awards for Excellence in Teaching and I’m so excited for all the teachers and students involved. Congratulations to the recipients: Raymond Bédard, Sarah Beech and Chad Howie, Shantelle Browning-Morgan, Flora Fung, Sylvia Smith and Andrew Stickings.
This fall, I had the privilege of visiting some of our recipients in the classroom and it didn't take long to see why these teachers were selected for the award. In all of the classrooms I visited, the teachers were passionate, students were enthusiastic and a mutual respect between the two was obvious.
One of this year’s recipients, Sylvia Smith, has developed a project to teach students about the history and legacy of Canada’s Indian Residential Schools (IRSs). Students learn about the conditions of residential schools, conduct research on one particular school, decorate small wooden tiles to commemorate the lives lost as a result of the system, learn from elders or IRS survivors about Aboriginal traditions and culture, and learn about the legacy of residential schools by participating in a social justice activity.
Project of Heart is method of education, as well as commemoration. It guides students to learn with their mind, body, heart, and spirit, which unites Western and Indigenous approaches to learning. The legacy of the residential school system is poorly understood by many Canadians, which contributes to many problems that Aboriginals face today. It's encouraging to see that Project of Heart, which is being used in schools across Canada, is trying to change that.
On the day that I visited Sylvia’s class, Chris Herodier, a residential school survivor, came to speak to the class. Right away, I could see that the students were active participants in their learning. The chairs were arranged in a circle, each student had a task – introducing the guests; preparing or presenting a gift – and each came prepared with questions for the speaker. Having Chris share his experience was a very powerful way of learning and the students were visibly affected by his stories.
In speaking with Sylvia after class, she told me about some of the social justice activities her students have been involved with through Project of Heart. Students have attended hearings and tribunals, participated in rallies, and written letters to newspapers and politicians for a variety of Aboriginal issues. What’s key about these actions, is that many continue after class or even after the students have graduated.
Project of Heart is an amazing project for many reasons, but two in particular stand out for me. The first is that it incorporates an Aboriginal perspective and approach to learning. With an understanding of Aboriginal traditions and culture, students see the contrast between Western and Indigenous learning and better understand the tragic impact that residential schools had on these children’s lives.
Second, the students are applying their knowledge of the past to issues that are continuing in the present. When talking about history, we are so quick to use the cliché “you need to understand the past in order to understand the present,” but how many of us are actually applying this knowledge in a tangible way? These students are empowered by their understanding of the past and have become active citizens in our society. To me, this is the best use of history, and it's very encouraging to think of the strong, caring students that are in our schools today.
Thank you to all of the teachers who are making a difference in our classrooms. Be sure to visit CanadasHistory.ca/Awards/Teaching to learn about Sylvia Smith and all of the other recipients who are teaching with heart.