Speaking Our Truth – Chapter 1 Reflection
When it comes to truth and reconciliation, there are a few things that come to mind:
Being honest with yourself and the person you are reconciling with, being humble to admit
faults, and being proactive and cooperative to make things right. While these are all fairly
simple/foundational concepts for reconciliation, I was surprised to a particular quality that was
included on the list of seven qualities in the book Speaking Our Truth. “Courage and Bravery”.
This is not something that I often reflect on, but it is incredibly important! Courage and
bravery are needed in all aspects of life, not just teaching and certainly not just reconciliation.
We need these qualities to stick up for ourselves, to speak with conviction, to advocate for our
student, to admit when we have made a mistake, and to speak with parents about their
children. While it’s very important to be compassionate, caring and kind, I think the people who
have these qualities sometimes forget to be courageous too.
Speaking Our Truth – Chapter 2 Reflection
I know that some people have experienced terrible things in their lives. That people
endure poverty, severe health problems, abuse, the loss of a close relative, and much more.
While I admire the strength, it takes to go through such circumstances, I feel very lucky to have
not gone through anything so traumatic myself. I come from a loving home. I have two parents,
three brothers, my health etc. I come from a home where my parents took good care of us,
where I was educated and my parents were my advocates.
While my life and home are not perfect, I am aware of the struggle’s others go through.
I believe it is incredibly important to be aware of others and their home contexts. If we do not
know the experiences of others, how would we be able to empathise, to help those who need
it, and to become more effective in that help? This is why it is so important to learn about the
experiences of the first nations people. If we do not begin to understand (let alone know) what
they have gone through, we would have no idea how to help.
Where I come from may make it a little harder for me to understand another’s
tragedies. But I believe it also enables me because I know what made me feel safe, cared about,
and happy. As a teacher, I can then take the people who were my examples of kindness, and
bring that to my students.
I knew… that residential schools were widespread and incredibly traumatic.
Now I know… the extent to which that trauma occurred. Especially in terms of emotional
trauma through shame and humiliation.
I used to think… that residential schools only happened to a couple of generations of people or
so. I never really knew how long they were open for.
Now I think… that their long-term effects are far from behind us, because numerous
generations went through this kind of trauma.
I used to feel… frustrated at the injustice of residential schools because I felt like trying to “fix”
the existing problems that stemmed from it is an enormously complex task.
Now I feel… hopeful that I know the first steps I can take to “fixing” it is to become more
informed myself and to inform others.
Speaking Our Truth – Chapter 3 Reflection
Look at the children's definition of reconciliation. What words from their definitions resonate
with you as a teacher?
One of the works I liked was “remembering”. Although it’s simple, I think that sometimes when
we talk about these difficult subjects, we wish we could just forget about it and move on.
However, forgetting is not part of reconciliation. Even when we make great strides to repair the
damage, we must remember to continue the healing and prevent further atrocities from
happening.
The second word I really liked was Harmony. If we unpack that analogy, and consider
the different cultural origins of our country individual notes, we can see that the notes coming
together is what makes harmony. And in harmonics, the chord is greater than the sum of its
individual parts, the notes (or alternatively, cultures).
Reflect on what you learned from the calls to action and identify the ones that may affect
your classroom. How will you bring them to life in your classroom?
One call to action that can affect the classroom is the Media and Reconciliation section.
While teachers may not be involved in the writing and production of such content, we can
certainly make the content that is being made, available to our class. One way this could be
done is by critically analyzing media that represent the culture. For example, in high-school I
remember watching and writing responses to the movie The Last Samurai. What if we did
something similar to an appropriate movie that represented Canada’s indigenous culture (Call
to Action #84). Another call to action that is very doable in the classroom is the promotion of
Aboriginal sports. All grade levels can participate in traditional aboriginal activities during PE
(Call to Action #87).
While many of these are difficult to bring to life in our classroom (specifically those that
are federal calls to action and include finances) all the calls to action can still be
discussed/taught to the students. I think it is important to be aware of all the things that are
involved in the reconciliation act and to see what improvements we’ve made. It would also be a
great exercise to have high-school students do a little research into the calls to action and see
what changes, if any, have been made according to each call.
Speaking Our Truth – Chapter 4 Reflection
Write a statement concluding what you have learned and how you plan to move forward in
becoming a teacher. What “Building Bridges actions” do you plan to take?
I have learned a great deal about the residential schools in Canada. I am embarrassed to
say that I knew very little about first-nation history before attending this class, and I am excited
to learn more! More about the people it affected, more about the culture that was lost and is
being re-founded, and more about how it has shaped the first-nations people and country we
live in today.
I honestly think the best way I can move towards reconciliation and “building bridges”
personally, is by continuing this path of discovery. I am committing to learning more about the
first-nations peoples, their culture, history, and current social climate. I am also committing to
seeking out open discussion with first-nations people to learn more about their culture and
experience. I think that before I can take big steps in reconciliation, I first need to come from a
place of greater understanding. I believe that action is crucial, but action must first be informed
by information. As my knowledge, communication, and relationships grow, I will be more
capable of positive change. More effective, positive change.
