Manitoba teacher Monica Sharma recently shared this inspiring update from her Grade 7 classroom:
In the 2012-2013 school year, the Grade 7 class in Poplar River School participated in Project of Heart. It is important to note that Poplar River School is located in a small isolated community of Poplar River First Nation, Manitoba. This project hit very close to home for the students, since many of the students’ relatives are survivors of Residential Schools. While some students were aware of the existence of Residential Schools, many others were not. They were shocked to learn about the devastating loss, and the inter-generational trauma experienced as a result of IRS. We focused our project on Cross Lake Residential School, and were fortunate enough to speak to an Elder in the community who actually attended that school. The students were able to listen and ask questions about his experience.
The collaborative, and healing approach of Project of Heart was a perfect way to study this very important part of Canadian history. As a class, we discussed the importance of having this knowledge, and the need to share it. We discussed why learning about the past allows us to better understand the present situation in their surroundings.
Project of Heart was by far the most important and memorable experience for me and the Grade 7 class last year.