When I began learning, conversing, looking, reflecting, and listening to and about Indigenous lives outside of the school context, I was able to connect the historical and contemporary facts with raw trauma and growth and healing. These are the moments that connect factual information with real people and real lives… I have learned through Project of Heart, I can be an agent for reconciliation by standing with Indigenous people.
Through listening, learning, growing, and opening my mind and sharing my experience and knowledge with my peers, I continually move towards a greater understanding of the truth, and towards reconciling relationships based on this truth and recognition. These are learnings that extend far beyond the four walls of the classroom.
So says concurrent education student Emily Hoch in her reflections about a new initiative at Brock University, embedded into Professor Bobby (Stanley) Henry’s “Pedagogies of Indigenous Arts” teacher ed course.
Professor Henry incorporates Project of Heart to help concurrent education students bridge the gap between taking on new understandings and actually becoming “agents of reconciliation” in their own classrooms. With Professor Henry’s permission, the course description and learning expectations are the latest addition to POH’s Teaching Resource section and are ready to be adapted into teacher ed courses across a range of disciplines.
Professor Henry is no stranger to the discussion around the legacy of Indian Residential Schools ; here he is in an interview with CP24 News, talking about the devastating discovery of mass graves this past summer.
Teacher Heather Poublon and her Native Studies students recently dove into Project of Heart to learn more about First Nation, Metis, and Inuit people’s experiences at the Indian Residential Schools. Creativity and excitement were the result in the classroom, as the students persevered in their attempts to get their local Member of Parliament to come to their school to address their concerns.
The students at Georgian Bay Secondary School, under the leadership of teacher Nancy-Jean Lahn, embarked on a semester-long exploration of the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit culture and history. Project of Heart was easily incorporated into the classroom learning as the students commemorated the lives lost at St. Albert IRS in Alberta. Continue reading Georgian Bay Secondary: “Tiles were the highlight!”→
Teacher Timothy Cooper and his Grade 9 Native Studies students from Peninsula Shores District School in Wiarton Ontario recently took a plunge into Project of Heart, immersing themselves in new knowledge about the IRS era in Canada. In Cooper’s own words, “I stumbled upon it while watching the CBC’s “8th Fire” television series. The reaction was extraordinary. Without exception, the students were excited and determined to get involved, and I promised them I would investigate the possibility of making our own contribution.” Continue reading Peninsula Shores District School Remembers the Children of Shingwauk and St. Phillips→
Grade 5/6 teacher, Nanci Cameron, delivered Project of Heart to her elementary students in Tara, Ontario with the help of Aboriginal Lead Teacher, Ray Auger. The students commemorated the lives lost at St. Albert Indian Residential School in Alberta. Nanci states, “We learned so much about the Indian Residential Schools, and the crisis in Attawapiskat, and my students really wanted to help.” Continue reading Arran Tara Elementary remembers the students of St. Albert IRS→
Colinda Clyne, Head of Special Education at John F. Ross C.V.I. in Guelph, whole-heartedly embraced Project of Heart along with her students in April of this year. “The students loved this project”, she reported. She later presented it at her region’s Professional Learning Community’s conference as part of the “making connections” segment of the event. Continue reading Guelph’s John F. Ross C.V.I remembers four residential schools→
They were as young as Grade 4 but as the above collection of sad faces shows, their emotions were engaged at Brantford’s Brier Park public this spring as teacher Julie Lumax incorporated Project of Heart at her school by commemorating the students who lost their lives at northern Ontario’s Fort William Indian Residential School. Continue reading Young learners at Brier Park Public “touched by IRS stories”→
