Category Archives: Identity

My “Journey of Knowing” presentation.

When we first met with CTLT, I was a little bit confused as to what we were supposed to do.  However, it ended up being one of my favourite experiences of this whole program.  Since I am in the primary cohort, it was nice to work in a higher learning environment.  I am now confident that I can work with people of any age group.  I also felt like the skills that I acquired from my B.A. in English Literature and the B.Ed. program transferred nicely to CTLT.  It was valuable to see how an education degree could be useful in a place completely different from the classroom.

Dani & Olivia

Apart from learning practical things at CTLT (creating online resources, e-portfolios, etc.), the depth of learning that I experienced at CTLT was astounding.  I did not expect to be affected so deeply in such a personal way.  I met individuals who were so giving and selfless in the way that they did their work, and those are qualities that any teacher candidate would be lucky to witness in a professional environment.  Also, I am now much more comfortable with technology.  Technology used in the right way can be extremely beneficial to students, educators and other professionals.

I could foresee teacher candidates being a little tentative about this placement because the duties that are expected of them may seem a little ambiguous at first.  However, I would strongly suggest that future candidates tap into their adaptability and keep an open mind.  Any moment is a learning moment.  I honestly feel like Olivia and I got lucky and discovered a cave full of treasure being placed at CTLT.  It is an intellectually and emotionally stimulating environment that any TC would be lucky to be placed in.  I am so grateful to the CTLT team and all that they have done for me and my learning.

PDF of my presentation: Journey of Knowing-Snapshot of a Life-Long Process

What does Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) mean to me?

To me, TRC means hope for everyone whose lives have been affected by residential schools.  It means starting to untangle the convoluted mess that years of systematic discrimination has created, and it means hope for bringing both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people together to move forward in a positive way.

After viewing the Indian Reservation School Initiative (IRSI) website:
1. Create a series of reflective questions that students in the Faculty of Education could use as points of reflection as they engage with this initiative on campus. 

• Even though you, or even your family, were not directly responsible for the violent and oppressive legislation imposed upon Aboriginal people, how are you related to it?

• As someone who lives in, and benefits from, a governmental system that emerged from such brutal, inhumane acts, what is your role?  What should your role be?

• Knowing more about our history as Canadians, how can you contribute in creating more truthful and honest discourse around Canada’s damaging legislative legacy?

• If you were to make an argument for why knowing this history is important, what would you say?

• Some people don’t feel that knowing this history is important because of the subjects that they are interested in teaching (e.g. Math, science, music).  Whatever your personal view is, think about possible counterarguments to that sentiment.  Think of a way to connect this history into your subject.

2. Write a reflective article for the IRSI website that could speak to your experience as students in the Teacher Education program learning about the TRC and UBC initiatives.

I think that the TRC and UBC initiatives are wonderful because these are important issues to learn about and understand, especially as Canadians.  It also reaches another level of importance for us as educators, no matter what subject we’re interested in teaching.  We are part of a system, the school system, that has viciously tried to annihilate nations of people and reproduced harmful perceptions, thereby contributing to a cycle of oppression and violence upon the rightful inhabitants of the country that we call Canada.  Shouldn’t we at least acknowledge and learn the history in order to begin reversing these pernicious effects and discourses?  The power of acknowledgement can go a long way.

I am a second generation Chinese-Canadian, completing the Teacher Education program at the University of British Columbia as a guest on the unceded territory of the Musqueam people.  For as long as I can remember, I had always felt a deep sense of injustice on behalf of Aboriginal people, but I did not have the words and understanding to articulate why.  I knew something was wrong, but because of the lack of candid education about Canadian history, and the lack of respectful discussion surrounding Aboriginal issues, I was left in a place where I felt helpless.  How do I negotiate between my position as someone who benefits from a system that is based on systematic oppression and a desire to make a positive change for Aboriginal people and other Canadians?  As I reflect on my convictions and sociohistorical positioning, I also wonder, at what point did I diverge from mainstream attitudes regarding First Nations, Inuit and Métis people?  Somewhere along the way, someone said something that stirred up my social conscience regarding human issues, and here I am now, finally beginning to see how I can plant seeds of change in the path that I walk as an educator.  At some point in my career, I hope that I can be that person who says or does something that inspires a student to have compassion for other human beings, and then act upon that compassion.

When asked about why she wanted to become a doctor, my friend, Dr. Sasha Ho Farris Nyirabu, wrote that her mission is to:

[…] Prosper a deeper sensitivity and appreciation of our humanity, grasped through the propinquity of others’ suffering, struggles, and needs, recollecting the contributions of visionary physicians who possessed profound moral inner convictions and resolute integrity, who, in the face of personal hardships and disappointments, selflessly sacrificed time, talents, and resources for the good of the sick, needy, and disenfranchised (2013). 

Though Sasha is a physician, I can relate to her sentiments through the lens of an educator.  A point worth reflecting on is that the “sick” and “needy,” in my mind, may not necessarily only refer to those who are visibly oppressed, but to those in privileged places.  In short, for anyone who is interested in making change, there is a lot of work to be done.

Sources: http://www.cair.ca/en/news/spotlight/index.php?r=8

After our meeting with Hanae and Michael, we were given some questions to think about.  Here are the questions that I have addressed:

1. Do you see your relationship with this place differently after going through the timeline?
Going through this timeline has deepened my understanding of Aboriginal people’s issues and just how intricately entangled those issues are.  I did not understand the depth to which their identity was tied up with legal rights.  Reading about the measures that the government took in order to limit Aboriginal people’s freedom and basic human rights scared me as well as gave me clarity about how much I, and many others, do not understand of our history.  As I said in another blog post, “How do I negotiate between my position as someone who benefits from a system that is based on systematic oppression and a desire to make a positive change for Aboriginal people?”  In regards to how I see my relationship with UBC, I have come to understand the importance of acknowledging that I am a guest on

The post on the right has “BRITISH COLUMBIA” on it backwards, and also reads, “TODAY YOUR HOST IS LIL’ WAT.”
Consider the nature of “host” and “guest” relationships.

Musqueam territory.  I deeply appreciate that I have the privilege to pursue my studies here, but that appreciation is inevitably counterbalanced with traces of guilt.  How could it be otherwise, given the circumstances by which my privilege has been made possible?  That being said, as Amy Perreault has discussed with Olivia and myself, we need to move past guilt.  I think a starting point is to begin building on the work that people such as Amy, Sarah Ling and others have been working on, even if we only contribute in small ways–a nail hammered in a place where it is needed may be a tiny thing, but an important thing.

2. How does this learning/reflecting process speak to the education you have received?
I do not think that I came out of an education system that does Canadian citizens justice.  Most of us do not know the detailed truth about how Canada got to where it is now.  Furthermore, by sinister processes, it seems to me that many Canadians have developed a subtle, visceral aversion to knowing the truth about colonialism and the lasting impacts that it has had on a large population of human beings that we share this land with, often casting it off as the “past” and “irrelevant” to current society.   This history is not just an Aboriginal issue; it’s a human issue that all Canadians should start thinking about.

3. How do you think the timeline is relevant to your teaching?
As a teacher, and especially one with a focus on elementary school teaching, I think it is my duty to try to make my students see the importance of knowing our history.  Having this timeline is brilliant because it enables us to visualize what happened at certain points in time.  Also, the timeline helps us begin to insert our own family history into it, thus making it easier to see how everything is connected.  As Olivia alluded to in her reflection, what was happening in Canada in the past “made a huge impact” on her ancestors’ descendants.

4. How might you use the timeline in your classroom?
I would have students take the timeline, and investigate what their own families were doing during the significant dates listed.  For a point of discussion, perhaps students can then choose a specific date, and answer the question, “How do you think residential schools has has affected your family or yourself?  If you don’t think that it has affected you or your family, how do you think it affected Aboriginal families?”  “If the government never took away Aboriginal people’s rights, and never sent them to residential schools, what do you think Canada would look like now?  How would you fit into that picture of Canada?”  Another activity that students could do is to take the perspective of an Aboriginal person, and then do a creative writing project or a drama skit on how that person might have been feeling.  A lot of times, we discover understanding (or lack thereof) through students’ creative output.  There are many other things that one could do, but I will add to this list at a later time.  Depending on the age group, there would be varying degrees of support in how to get certain conversations started, and perhaps even modifying the timeline would be necessary, especially for primary students.