Tag Archives: local history

M4P3: The Transmountain Pipeline

                                                                   

One area of focus for my final project is exploring activism with my class, with this classroom learning module adapted as the final project. The proximity of our school to Burnaby Mountain offers an opportunity for rich discussion and personal connection regarding the TransMountain Pipeline. It also offers us a chance to explore some of the messaging that is available online, both through the site Coast Protectors and the Transmountain site. Both sites discussion environmental issues at play, but in very different ways. What information is provided and what information is missing? Helping students evaluate the messaging is an important piece of decolonizing technology use.

This CBC Kids news video is a good introduction to the topic, providing background on both sides.

http://https://youtu.be/Hv5RBMVpGTc

Module 1 Post 1

As a French Immersion classroom teacher, I have been interested in the protection of French culture and comparative lack of protection of indigenous culture within Canada. The immersion program was initially designed as a way of preserving and maintaining Quebec-French culture in Canada. No such program exists with the same participation or funding for protecting First Nation traditions and cultures, though they can exist to some degree independently.

In my first year of teaching, I worked at a school where the students learned Salish as their second language instead of French. I saw firsthand how it helped to grow and expand their understanding of the complexities that existed around them. First Nations students in the class felt represented by the curriculum and their peers gained a cultural lesson while all students benefitted from increased understanding of local history and current reality. As a teacher, it was both humbling and illuminating to have my local knowledge challenged and expanded so quickly.

This interactive website presents some important “first step” information to learning about one of the Nations on who’s traditional territory my school is located: the Sto:lo Nation. I appreciate that it is an authentic voice that can help guide class learning.

http://digitalsqewlets.ca/index-eng.php