Indian Residential School Resources
This is not a website I intend to use for my project. It is one I intend to use in school. Even though, over the last few years, residential schools have come up in the media, most people are completely unaware of the truth behind residential schools or the impact residential schools had on community, families, and individuals.
One of the nice things about the website is its disclaimer, which recognizes the sensitive nature of the subject matter. It also provides a list of guidelines to follow when teaching about residential schools, which include: don’t overgeneralize or simplify, respect the differences people in the class will have, encourage empathy, among many others.
The website also has links to 8 individual lesson plans. The first four deal with learning about sensitive issues and how to investigate and research a paper/project on residential schools. These four lessons are great in the fact that they can be tailored to suit almost any grade level and interest group.
The second four deal with reconciliation and recovery. There is a superb , albeit brief, summary of Aboriginal education going forward for the teacher. The first lesson: Roots deals with the idea of institutionalized racism. The second: Removal or Relocation deals with the horror of removing children from their homes. The third: Reconcilliation deals with the idea of what Canada needs to do to reconcile with survivors of residential schools. It also introduces learners on ways of using newspapers as research tools. The fourth plan: Rights and responsibilities deals with the Charter and the UN Human Rights. This lesson forces students to reflect on times they felt violated and also makes students look to the future for things they can do to make this world a better place.
The lesson plan page on Indian Residential School Resources may not be used for my project, but will be ideally suited for social studies teachers and this is a link I plan to share with colleagues.
TM