(This is a picture of the work they did in class. I asked them to pull out quotes, phrases, words, from the poem “Monster” by Dennis Saddleman that stood out to them and made them feel something.)
Yesterday my students looked at poetry that stemmed from the Truth and Reconciliation Council to illustrate how poetry can be a means of finding healing. I was very apprehensive and nervous because of this subject, these stories, always bring up such sadness and a sense of injustice within myself, I could just imagine the rolling, tumbling balls of emotions that are my students at the best of times. The day before I strategically scaffolded the subject, sharing a video of survivor testimony, all while asking for their respect and empathy. After the video we took a walk around the school to decompress and digest what we had seen. But, when we returned to class, I was met by many groans of “This isn’t social studies, Ms. Nishi, you know that right?” or “Why are we learning this, we already learned this last semester in Socials”.
So I started the day yesterday being very anxious about the lesson. I had found two poems about the residential schools and two music videos showing indigenous Canadians taking back their own voices and defining themselves.
They handled the content wonderfully with such empathy and respect I was very surprised and very proud of them. The lesson flowed effortlessly from poem to poem and song to song and their empathy was heartwarming.
Yesterday showed me that my students are not the uncaring, self-absorbed children that the world makes them seem; they care deeply, they are empathetic, and are keenly aware of social justice that is lacking in today’s society.
