This blog began in Room 52 at Alexander Muir/Gladstone Ave Junior and Senior Public School in 2011. I am now a former Toronto District School Board (TDSB) educator on a new journey at the University of Toronto Scarborough.
So, while I may never find myself in Room 52, the blog's name is an homage to one of the school communities, central to my development as an educator and person.
Today is the actual, official, day for Orange Shirt Day.
As I do some more reading, reflecting, and thinking I wanted to add something that I feel is important. At the University of Victoria in the Centre for Youth and Society a series of Digital Story projects were developed and known as "Residential School Resistance Narratives." Fatty Legs is on its way; I liked the idea of the protagonist, 8-year old Margaret Pokiak, resisting!
In this video, Rita Merrick from Pasqua First Nation shares "Honouring the Stories of Our Grandmothers" from 2012. It embodies the stories of resistance and resilience, key elements to balancing the narrative when examining the legacy of Residential Schools in this nation.
Understanding the background of what Orange Shirt Day is key to having an understanding of how we can move forward on the path towards Reconciliation in Canada.
Orange Shirt Day is rooted in the story of Phyllis Webstad and what happened to her, when she wore an orange shirt to St. Joseph Mission Residential School. Here is Phyllis Webstad explaining the significance of the day:
If I had my class in the Virtual Classroom, I would have spent some time getting to know them and probably getting a sense of what they already know about Orange Shirt Day and the legacy of Residential Schools in this nation. Having this knowledge would allow for one possible framing of our discussion; taking stock of Student knowledge is key.
Understanding the legacy of Residential Schools can be framed around the Concepts of Historical Thinking that exist in the Ontario curriculum. At this point in the year, we have not started looking at subject areas but I do not think it is too early to look at this way of thinking right now. Here are the 4 concepts. This is a shorter summary I created from the curriculum document.
From my reading regarding the teaching considerations for Teaching about Residential Schools, it pointed out that it is crucial that Students understand the legacy of Colonialism in Canada. Additionally, it's important that Students know that there was and is still resistance to existing structures of Colonialism in Canada.
I am formulating an idea of a novel to read to the class (when it arrives) called Fatty Legs, written by Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton. I suggest this book because it introduces us to 8 year old Margaret Pokiak who embodies the act of resistance. Goodminds.com is First Nations owned business and offer up the summary of the text:
For me, the character of Margaret embodies all of the concepts I have listed above, but I will need to buy and read the book. Hey, I think I may have given myself an idea for our first read-aloud. Here is a teaser of the first chapter, read by Christy Jordan-Fenton:
I look forward to meeting my Students and exploring and talking about Orange Shirt Day, even if it is not September 30. In solidarity, resistance, joy and curiosity. UPDATE: I bought the book from Goodminds.
This year I will not be in my Centrally Assigned role and returning to the classroom -- the Virtual Classroom. This is exciting but I have not been assigned a class and it is the first day of school!
I am hoping this will be straightened out so my Students and I can begin to navigate this new space of learning. For now, I am going to post some screenshots with information about the Brightspace learning platform under the inference that some Parents or Students may have "Googled" my name, wondering who this Mr. Proudfoot it.
First, what is Brightspace? Since I am still attempting to figure and learn about the platform, I will post some images that may be helpful.
In order for you to get onto Brightspace, you are going to need to create an account. I am hoping the following images will be helpful in explaining this process. First, follow this link: http://tdsb.elearningontario.ca
It will take you to a page that looks like this:
You will follow the orange link. Eventually, the Students will follow the green one. You will be prompted to set up an account.
Once this is setup, you you should be able to login to Brightspace.
In the time that I wrote this post, a YouTube video came out explaining this process. It is kind of long, but it will probably help you through this process.
I hope this helps. I am not even sure if any of my Parents, Guardians or Students will get this. I hope so and look forward to working together to learn this year!
I look forward to Brightspacing soon in this school year.
So much has happened since my last post back in April. So much. One of the first things I have decided to post is a link for a summer program at Rose Avenue PS which has a focus on Literacy and Black Affirmation. A colleague I work with at Nelson Mandela will be in charge of this program this year, Cecil Dwyer, Here is the blurb and the link about the Remote learning opportunities for this Summer:
Remote Elementary Summer School 2020
The focus of all summer school locations is on Literacy and Numeracy and consistent with the Ontario Curriculum guidelines. The differentiation of delivery through STEM, French Immersion, or the Arts is developed by the local summer school principal to reflect the local school focus, however, the programs are always embedded in Literacy and Numeracy.
This summer, to accommodate the overwhelming response and interest, elementary summer school has moved from hybrid to fully remote. Classes are scheduled from 9am-12pm, with a teacher engaging students during the three hours of instruction. This may involve whole class activities, small group sessions, and independent work. There may be follow up assignments, reading, or other activities for students to complete from one day to the next. There may also be some project-based activities that students will work on over a few days. Our intent is to also incorporate a 15-minute technology/nutrition/mental health break.
Obviously, the trauma of what has happened since the killing of George Floyd has been in the front and center of so many minds of Students and families. For a number of people, they may have only heard about Whiteness for the first time and how this plays a role in perpetuating Anti Black Racism. I am awaiting the arrival of this book from Anastasia Higginbotham called Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness. Here is her talking about the impetus behind this book:
... I will return. One cool thing, I realized, this is my 1000th post!
