Being an Antiracist Educator: There is No Checklist

When someone asks me about my pedagogy in the classroom (and it happens more than you think), I unapologetically tell them that I am an Antiracist Educator.  I answer this way, because antiracism is at the forefront of my teaching.  Antiracism permeates all aspects of my pedagogy: from the lessons I prepare, to the books and materials in my classroom to the material on the walls- it all feeds my anti-racism mission.

And it is a mission: as an anti-racist educator, I have been reprimanded, called out, harassed, stigmatized and excluded.  I'm sure my activism has cost me advancement in my career.  But because it is so core to my personhood, and my teaching, I keep going.  More on this later though.

The main thing to know about being an Antiracist Educator is this:  there is no checklist.   In order to be an Antiracist Educator, you have to be an Antiracist person, actively and without abandon. Becoming actively antiracist is a lot of work, and a lot of reflection by asking yourself a lot of hard questions.  As an antiracist activist, you will start to see all the inequities in the school system/ institution, and "just following the curriculum" won't be enough.  Luckily, there are books about being an Antiracist Activist.  And I'm going to look at a great one below:

How do you become an Antiracist Activist and Teacher?

To answer this, I go to my favourite Antiracism Activism guide by Ibram X. Kendi "How to be An Antiracist."(2019)   In his book, Kendi takes a look at the strongly held beliefs that stop people from engaging fully with Antiracism and tackles them without apology.  Using his own personal activist journey as a template, Kendi lays out steps that the reader can take to become an Antiracist in their own right.  In looking at his steps, I will be applying them to how we can put these steps into practice as teachers.

Step 1: Understand the definition of Racism- Kendi defines racism as "One who is supporting a racist policy through their actions or inaction or expressing a racist idea."  In more of a macro view of society, Sociologists Cazenave and Maddern write that racism is "a highly organized system of race-based group privilege that operates at every level of society and is held together by a sophisticated ideology of race/color supremacy." (This article is behind a paywall, so here's the citation: Cazenave, Noel & Darlene Alvarez Maddern (1999). "Defending the White Race: White Male Faculty Opposition to a White Racism Course". Race and Society. 2 (1): 25-50.)     This system of privilege is present in school from the leadership at the top, to the classroom at the bottom.

The way racism manifests in school systems can be on the surface as overt acts and covert acts of Racism as outlined in this popular image floating around the internet:

But if we really think about the covert displays of racism, they are examples of a bigger problem within the culture of schooling.  For example: Schools' "Hood and hat policy", may seem innocuous; however for Black students, this policy has been one that has punished Black students for protective hair covering since Black hair is more susceptible to damage. So, Black students are more affected and usually punished by this "rule."  This policy is problematic- but by enforcing it, teachers are complicit in the racism that affects students of colour.   Tone and Volume Policing is one covert example of school-based racism that affects students of colour and also staff of colour.  When faced with an example of racism, BIPOC students and staff must be polite, and calm- as showing anger can often lead to reprimand and punishment (ask me how I know.)

It's not just the overt examples of racism that affects people of colour within the school institution, but these less thought of and more insidious forms that beat down the dignity and identity of students of colour.   Being an educator and recognizing that you help perpetuate these systems of racism, is an important step to becoming an antiracist teacher.

Step 2: Stop Saying "I'm not racist"-  When people say, "I'm not racist," it is usually a self-serving statement.  It is used in reaction to something said or done.  Two problems with this: 1) the definition of "racist" constantly shifts so that people doing and saying racist things, can exclude themselves from said definition; and 2) You are making it impossible to see how your own ideas and actions are rooted in racist systems.

For example:  If you are a teacher who actively enforces a "no hat/ hood policy" without reviewing what this would mean for people of colour in your school, or if you have centred all your lessons around the experience of white students, then those choices are racist.

Step 3: Identify racial inequity and disparities-  Remember that racism yields racial inequities in every sector of personal and public life, and this includes within the school system.

When going through my math text books that were available to me to use in class, of the 3 textbooks, 83% of the children in the books were white.  This year in my school (2020) I have pulled 7 books off the shelves for using inappropriate language such as the word "negro" and "Indian" when referring to Black and Indigenous peoples.  A colleague had taken a book from a Grade 1 class that likened Black students' skin to foods.  A colleague asked one of my students' (who was teaching me some words in Urdu) if she was from "Urduistan."  A principal told me that my Afro-textured hair was inappropriate in parent- teacher meetings.  A co-worker asked it if my shirt was from my "homeland."  It was from Winners.  I had to explain to one of my Black 5th graders what "darky" meant because a supply teacher called him that.  I was reprimanded because my administration did nothing for a student in my class who was called the "n-word" and I got angry.

I have more anecdotes.  If you ask any Black teacher or student, they will also have memories like this.   Many of my white colleagues were "shocked" and found it "unbelievable" that this had happened to me and my students.  It is not.  It is fairly common that something happens to remind me that I work in a racist institution.  Being an antiracist means that you believe these things happen and that you see them when they happen.

Step 4: Confront the racist ideas you hold and continue to hold- In his book, Kendi notes that people can hold racist ideas without realizing they are biased- and while they embrace antiracist ideas.  If you don't know whether your beliefs are racist- do some research!  There are many activists online that write about antiracism, and have outlined anti-racism positions and policies.  Learn from that research- and challenge yourself.

For example, why are you against hats and hoods in class?  Think about it.

Step 5: Understand how antiracism needs to be intersectional- Because race intersects with multiple aspects of people's identities (including their gender, class, sexuality,) it's crucial to use an intersectional approach when being antiracist.

For teachers this looks like recognizing that Students of colour are dealing with not only racism, but sexism (that is formed in a racist lens) and class among other pieces of their social identity.  In my board, the schools that are the most racially diverse are in the inner-city, lower income areas of the city.  For these students, race and class intersect in every facet of their school experience.  More, how does the class of these students, shape the biases that teachers have of their race?  Why don't teachers want to teach in the "inner city?"  Why are test results lower in the inner city?

Step 6: Champion Antiracist ideas and policies- Antiracism requires activism.  You can't be an antiracist educator without action.  Kendi notes that one way to act is by supporting organizations in the community that are fighting policies that create racial inequity.  Volunteer.  Fund antiracist organizations.  Use your privilege to fight the disparities in school, regardless of inconvenience or discomfort.  Support your colleagues of colour.  The point is to commit to some form of action that has the potential to change school policy towards and anti-racist framework.

For your own pedagogy, adopt a "Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy. (CRRP)"  Make sure that your classroom instruction speaks to the lives of the students you teach.  Students need to see themselves in the materials and books you use, what you talk about in class, even within the staff and admin in the building.  Recognize that the curriculum has a hidden agenda that is biased toward a white, middle-class worldview.

Linked above is a Framework that can be used to form a CRRP for your pedagogy.  This was written by the Centre for Urban School at the University of Toronto.  It is a great guide for helping one form their antiracist pedagogy in a concrete way.  By asking yourself the questions outlined in the Framework, you can start looking at the places in which to start tackling the systemic racism in your classroom.





Works Cited:

Kendi, I. X. (2019). How to be an antiracist. First Edition. New York: One World.

Here is a great article on being an anti-racist educator from The Atlantic:  https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2020/06/how-be-anti-racist-teacher/613138/

https://mashable.com/article/how-to-be-antiracist/

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/dictionary-definition-racism-has-change/613324/

https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/5/20/18542843/intersectionality-conservatism-law-race-gender-discrimination

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_ResponsivePedagogy.pdf

https://cus.oise.utoronto.ca/UserFiles/File/CUS%20Framework.pdf 

Round Earth, Flat Maps (or, how can we fix the world if we can't read the map?)

Map comparison of the Mercator and Gall-Peters Map, overlaid 

One of the purposes of this blog is to show that you can embed social justice thinking into any subject that is taught.  As a socio-historian (at least that's what my graduate work was in) I like to see  political and sociological implications in everything from the things I watch on TV to the books I read and the music I listen to.  Nothing that we learn and consume happens in a vacuum- that is everything that has to do with people is touched by society (which can be a really complicated concept that we won't be looking at in this post, but there are some great articles and books about it.)

One geography unit that I love to teach is the comparison of map projections and their purpose for development.  Its really interesting- really!

For the introduction, the students participate in an activity that show the difficulties in mapping the planet (a sphere, in 3D) into a flat map (in 2D- Math is EVERYWHERE!). Depending on how long you want this lesson to be, you can look at 2 to 3 different map projections in this lesson: The Mercator projection (the oldest, 1512), the Gall-Peters projection (1973) and the Winkel-Tripel projection (1921, but standardized in 1998).  As we examine the maps, we also need to look at what societal changes happened to change the focus of the maps.  Then we end the lesson with a consolidation exercise on our big ideas.

If cartography is completely new to you, have a read of this great article about maps as representation here.

The Introduction:

To begin students thinking around the problems of mapping a round planet on a flat surface, I usually begin with a demonstration and group project.  I begin with an activity created by geographer David J. Smith (who wrote If the World was a Village) To show students the difficulty in mapping the planet.

For the demonstration:

1. Provide each group students with a grapefruit.  (Or you can demonstrate with one and have students assist you, which is how I usually do this.)
2. Challenge the students to think of the grapefruit as Earth.
3. Identify and mark on the grapefruit the locations of the North Pole and South Pole.
4. Then locate the spot that is halfway between the two poles using a measuring tape,  and use a marker to draw a line around the Earth at that point, which geographers refer to as the equator.
5. Draw a few lines of longitude on the map.
6. Then draw shapes to represent the continents on Earth.
7. Use a knife to pierce the skin of the grapefruit, then use your fingers to get under the skin to peel it off the grapefruit. Try to keep as much of the "globe" intact as possible.
8. Next, challenge students to create from the sphere (grapefruit) a map that is flat and readable. Students will come up with really interesting ways to try and "map" the grapefruit   One of my students tried tracing over the raised "land masses" to create a map, but it didn't work.  We tried "stamping" each of the land masses and then piecing it together like a puzzle.  
9. As students try to create the map,  they come to understand the difficulty that geographers have in creating an accurate flat representation of Earth. This leads into the lesson that there are many map projections of Earth and none of them is a totally accurate depiction of Earth; each of them is distorted in some way- which is why we have so many versions of the map of Earth. And each map carries a little bias in its own way.  (My students usually ask, "How can a map have bias?" I love it when they fall into my learning traps.) 

It's a good idea to introduce some of the terms we will use in the lesson, such as "projection," "representation," "distortion," "globe" and "map" because we will be using those terms a lot.

The Unit Lessons: 

Students get a comparison worksheet to complete as we go through the lessons.  It helps if groups have a device to access the internet to help them complete the historical context column during the lesson.  First we look at the famous Mercator Projection: 

The Mercator Projection (1569):

The Mercator Projection, 1569 from NatGeoEd.org

While looking at this projection, we start looking at different parts of the map.  

Lines of Longitude: straight up and down, which we can compare to a globe, where the line of longitude are NOT straight up and down- they can't be on a sphere.  

Provide some background on the projection:

"The Mercator map was designed as an aid to navigators with straight lines, loxodromes or rhumb lines—representing lines of constant compass bearing—that are perfect for "true" direction.

If a navigator wishes to sail from Spain to the Caribbean using this map, all they have to do is draw a line between the two points. This tells them which compass direction to continually sail in until they reach their destination." 

What distortions do you see?: I lead my students through the distortions- first I have them look at Antarctica- Its HUGE!  I have someone search for the size of Antarctica compared to other continents (Antarctica is about the size of the USA and Mexico together) and definitely not the largest continent like it is shown here.

I have another student search the size of Africa compared to the size of North America.  Africa is actually about 6 million square kms larger than North America but it is shown as smaller than North America significantly.

Last, I have a student search the size of Greenland versus the size of South America.  South America is 8.2 times larger than Greenland, but it definitely doesn't look that way on the Mercator map.

After we get this information down (I use an anchor chart and write with them) We look at the next section- the historical context to explain the choices that Gerardus Mercator (the guy who drew this map first) made when creating his projection.

Historical Context: For students younger than 8th Grade, this part takes a lot of explanation.  For my 6th graders, we use the devices, and groups get 10 minutes to look up a historical term definitions that reflects the era of the Mercator map.

• Colonialism
• Imperialism
• Explorer Vasco Da Gama
• Explorer Francis Drake
• Conquistador, Hernon Cortez
• Mercantilism

Each group gives us a little information about the historical subjects, and then we get to the point of debating whether or not we should use this map.

Use this projection?  Why or Why not?:

I usually give the students a spoiler here-- most institutions do not use this map anymore as it is obsolete.  Sailors don't depend on maps to sail anymore now that we have GPS and satellite imaging guidance.  However, for a very long time (404 years) this was the map that was used.  So our question is why was it used, and why have we stopped.

Why?

On the one hand, "Mercator projection made world exploration much easier and became an essential map projection for navigation."  "Sailors could mark their starting and ending points and simply follow the line along their expeditions." - they would always be going in the right direction.   It was one of the reasons that explorers could sail around the world (like Francis Drake) and colonize different places.  

Why not?

The main criticisms of the Mercator projection are that it gives people a false impression of the size of the world’s landmasses. Greenland, for instance is not bigger than South America, but it appears to be on Mercator maps. 

Maps with an agenda: Critics of this map say that this projection and the large size of continents like Europe gave an advantage to the colonial powers because it made them appear larger than they really are.  Maps have also frequently been used as political tools. As Robert Edsall (2007) states, "some maps…do not serve the traditional purposes of maps but, rather, exist as symbols themselves, much like corporate logos, communicating meaning and evoking emotional responses" (Edsall, R. M. (2007). Iconic Maps in American Political Discourse. Cartographica, 42(4), 335.)  

"In our society we equate size with importance and even power."   

-Salvatore Natoli, Educational Affairs Director of the American Association of Geographers

And thinkers like Arno Peters (developer of the Gall-Peters Projection) and Anti-Racist Activist Jane Eliot thought this map was an example of "Cartographic Imperialism" in that the Mercator map made the small European dominated countries bigger (and therefore more important) than continents that were dominated by colonialism (like Africa and South America.)  They are that Mercator's bias is part of how he decided to draw his map projection.

The Galls- Peters Projection (1973):

Lines of Longitude: straight up and down, just like on the Mercator map.

Provide some background on the projection: 

"[Peters] promoted [his map] as a superior alternative to the Mercator projection, which was suited to navigation but also used commonly in world maps. The Mercator projection increasingly inflates the sizes of regions according to their distance from the equator. This inflation results, for example, in a representation of Greenland that is larger than Africa, which has a geographic area 14 times greater than Greenland's. Since much of the technologically underdeveloped world lies near the equator, these countries appear smaller on a Mercator and therefore, according to Peters, seem less significant.  On Peters's projection, by contrast, areas of equal size on the globe are also equally sized on the map. By using his "new" projection, Peters argued that poorer, less powerful nations could be restored to their rightful proportions."

What distortions do you see?: This one is a little easier to see the distortions on.  Students can see that the North and Antarctica are almost non-existent on this map, and the they seem crammed into the picture at the top.  Also, the continents look stretched out, so that they are representative of the size of the continents, but not the shape.  You can't see the island nations in the Pacific at all.  Students will see more distortions and have really interesting observations.

Historical Context: For students younger than 8th Grade, this part takes a lot of explanation.  For my 6th graders, we use the devices, and groups get 10 minutes to look up a historical term definitions that reflects the era of the Mercator map.

• Decolonization of Angola and Mozambique
• Space Race
• Green Revolution
• Anti-War Movement/ Civil Rights Movement
• Iranian Revolution

Each group gives us a little information about the historical subjects, and then we get to the point of debating whether or not we should use this map.

Use this projection?  Why or Why not?:

The Gall-Peters Map was adapted by Boston Public Schools in 2017 as the standard maps for classrooms.  And the map is promoted for use by the UN.  Should it be used this way?

Why?

The Gall-Peters map was still useful for ocean navigation, just like the Mercator map was.  Additionally, Peters sought to remove the bias he saw in the Mercator map, by resizing the continents so that they reflect the proper size, trying to fix the eurocentric bias of the Mercator map-- this map started the conversation of the impact of maps on society.  It shows the area of the oceans appropriately, and equal positioning of the continents- one isn't centered over another.  Last, it is good for looking at social and human geography like comparing population density.  

Why not?

This map is still very distorted, especially at the poles.  Also, the "distance fidelity"-- the representation of distance is also distorted.  Points from one place to another look closer and father than they actually are on this map.  Antarctica looks like it stretches all the way across the planet, making it look bigger than it is.  And, it cuts off part of Russia and attaches it to the opposite side of the map.    Finally, the bias of Arno Peters is an important part of why he developed this map-  to fix the inequity of the Mercator map was his agenda.  Even though it is a progressive idea, its a political map and caused quite the controversy in the 1970s and 1980s.  

The Winkel-Tripel Projection (1921)

The Winkel-Tripel Projection, from NatGeoEd.org

Lines of Longitude: curved trying to reflect the rounded lines on a globe.

Provide some background on the projection: 

Created by German cartographer Oswald Winkel in 1921.  "Winkel's goal in his map projections was to minimize three kinds of distortion: area, direction, and distance."  This map centres the Pacific ocean, putting Africa on the left side of the map instead of in the lower right centre of the other projections. This projection was not popular when it was created in 1921- as it became buried in the history of this era.  This map was created at a time of optimism: World War 1 had ended, and society saw an uptake in modernity- that anything was possible through modern technology.  But the rise of the Nazi Party in Winkel's country of Germany, was not the best environment to foster progressive thinking, and so Winkel's projection was not popularized until 1998.


What distortions do you see?: The distortions happen at the side edges of the projection and in the North.  

Historical Context:

• Roaring Twenties
• USSR/ Communism
• Interwar Europe
• Nazism

Each group gives us a little information about the historical subjects, and then we get to the point of debating whether or not we should use this map.

Use this projection?  Why or Why not?:

The Winkel-Tripel Map was adopted as the standard map by the National Geographic Society in 1998 and is most likely the map projection you would see in books and websites today.  

Why?

The Winkel-Tripel map has the least amount of distortion of any projection (using Tissot's indicatrix), and represents area, direction and distance the most accurately of any flat map because it attempts to model the roundness of a globe. This map is best used to map an entire planet, and not usually anything smaller than that.  

Why not?

No map is distortion free, and the Winkel-Tripel Map does have some distortion in the representation of Land masses at the poles.  

Conclusion:

Students get a sheet of chart paper with one of the following sentences: 

1. Maps are embedded with cultural significance.  
2. Maps can be deceiving.
3. Maps have different uses.
4. Maps reflect the history of the time they are created.
5. Maps require a critical gaze to be effective.

As a group, they create a graffiti chart that captures their ideas of what they think this sentence means using their learning from the unit.

1.  Maps are embedded with cultural significance: the Mercator map was a political tool that emphasized certain countries over another, and this was not accidental.  (it make have been unconscious, but not and accident.)  Eurocentrism (that Europe is the centre of the world) became the defining way we saw our maps for 400+ years.  Changing these components of the map resulted in controversy.  Geographers have noted that maps have been and are used as political tools, and it is important to have a critical view of the maps we use. 

2. Maps can be deceiving:  Maps can represent geographical information in a variety of ways.  But because mapmakers are trying to capture a 3D surface on a 2D image, there has to be some distortions to make the map readable and usable.  Geographer Mark Monmonier notes that an accurate map "tells white lies."  Because a map needs to simplify in order to present information, as map readers, we need to accept the limits of the map to use them  This is very different than other "lies" that maps can tell- such as "cartographic imperialism"-- that we need to recognize and be critical of.

3. Maps have different uses: Maps will emphasize certain elements over others depending on the purpose.  The Mercator map was important for sailing- so the representation of the continents was secondary to having straight longitude lines.  The Gall-Peters map is great for population density mapping, but not for mapping distances.  The Winkel-Tripel map is the most accurate, but is only good for mapping entire planets and not portions of a planet.  Each map will have a purpose, and there is no map that would work for all purposes.  That is why it is important to recognize that there is more than one map.  This is crucial for the visual landscape that people inhabit today.  We are bombarded with images, that are used to justify opinions and theories.  Critical reading of these images is important.

4.  Maps reflect the history in which they were created:  The Mercator Map was created to assist in exploration and colonization for European powers.  It makes sense that if would reflect the values in colonization.  The Gall- Peters Map was unveiled in the 1970s, a time in which revolution and social change were happening.  Last, The Winkel-Tripel map was created at a time where the world was optimistic about the future, after the first world war ended, and technology was going to change the world for the better.  Because mapmakers were people living in these specific times, their experiences and values were part of their work.  

5.  Maps require a critical gaze to be effective: Because of the culture, history, politics, and distortion involved in making a map, those of use who look at them need to be "Smart Map Viewers."  That is, we need to recognize the necessary distortions and be suspicious of the lies in our maps.

Sources:

• https://www.juliantrubin.com/encyclopedia/mathematics/mercator_projection.html
• https://www.thoughtco.com/peters-projection-and-the-mercator-map-4068412
• https://www.thoughtco.com/how-maps-can-deceive-us-1435680
• https://www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/investigating-map-projections/
• http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/dailylp/dailylp/dailylp009.shtml
• https://source.opennews.org/articles/choosing-right-map-projection/
• https://learn.arcgis.com/en/projects/choose-the-right-projection/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7-y8MNzJKI- Jane Elliot "A World of Difference"

How is this Social Justice?

A critical view is the cornerstone of a social justice education.  All our culture is shaped by the politics and values of our society at a given time- even something like maps.  Some thinkers would argue that absolute truth is not achievable because people do not exist outside their experience of society.  So studying how maps can shape inequitable views of some people on our planet, we see that inequity is insidious and is part of all our institutions, and more that inequity is systemic.  

How does this fit into the Curriculum?

Grade 6- B2.1 formulate questions to guide investigations into global issues of political, social, economic, and/or environmental importance

B2.3 analyse and construct different types of maps, both print and digital, as part of their investigations into global issues, their impact, and responses to them

Grade 8- B2.1 formulate questions to guide investigations into issues related to global development and quality of life from a geographic perspective

Building a Black History Month Book Nook

This was my Black History Month Book Nook in 2020.  There are a few things that I do to make the book nook work in my class- and I'm going to share those tips with you!

1. Plan your nook in January: Start collecting books in January so you are not scrambling.  You don't have to buy books for the nook.  My nook includes library books, borrowed books and books I bought.  However, I know that as teachers, we end up buying a lot of our libraries.  In this post, I will list some great books by division that you might think about adding to your collection.

2. Choose a spot in your room that is accessible to everyone: My nook used to be in the window sill, but students would have to interrupt each other to access the books, so I moved it to the front of the room, with an unobstructed path.  The goal was to make it easy for students to pick up a book when they had time.  My nook is also near the classroom door- I found that students and teachers from other classes would come in and ask to borrow books.  Which is great!  Spread the knowledge!

3. Draw attention to the books: I had Black History Month Posters and decorations, and art to draw attention to the books.  I wear a celebrate Black History Month t-shirt! You can't help but be interested in the books!

4. (This is the hard one) Introduce these books in February.  While I feature a range of books in my classroom that centre the lives of Black people throughout the year, I keep my Black History Month display books separate from the class library, because the novelty is important to grab student interest.

5. Choose at least 3 books that you are going to read aloud to the class and work on.  This year we read: Pink and Say; Viola Desmond Won't be Budged and Before She Was Harriet. (Lesson plans for these books will be in later blog posts.)

6. Choose books that are varied and reflect a wide range of subjects.  If you look at the titles in the picture, there are a few history books, some non-fiction, biographies, and books about music.  There are even a few graphic novels in the mix.  I like picture books, because students can read through them in a few periods.  Below is a list (not complete, and still growing) of books by division that are great for a Black History Month book nook (or your classroom library ANYTIME).

*Where is was possible in the list below, I linked to the books in stores run by Black-owned, Canadian Booksellers.  If that was not possible, I linked to a Canadian Independent Booksellers, then a Canadian Bookseller.

Symbols: 📘= novel     [NF]= non fiction    🍁= Canadian Black History   📖= Poetry/ Music


Primary (Grade K-3):

• The ABCs of Black History by Rio Cortez
• A is for Activist by Innsanto Nagara 
• The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Johnny Ray Moore [NF]
• These Hands by Margaret Mason [NF]
• We March by Shane W. Evans 
• Of Thee I Sing by Barrack Obama [NF]
• If A Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks by Faith Ringgold [NF]
• Dear Mr. Rosenwald by Carole Boston Weatherford 
• Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine 
• Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange 📖
• Oscar Lives Next Door by Bonnie Farmer 🍁 📖
• The Case for Loving by Selena Alko [NF]
• Africville by Shauntay Grant 🍁 [NF]
• Up Home by Shauntay Grant 🍁 [NF]

Junior (Grades 4- 6):

• The Children of Africville by Christine Welldon 🍁[NF]
• The Kids Book of Canadian Black History by Rosemarie Sadlier 🍁[NF]
• A Change of Heart by Alice Walsh 
• Counting on Katherine by Helaine Becker [NF]
• From the Heart of Africa: A Book of Wisdom by Eric Walters 📖
• The Stone Thrower by Jael Ealey Richardson 
• Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles
• Freedom on the Menu by Carole Boston Weatherford
• A Spy Called James by Anne Rockwell
• Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport 
• Viola Desmond Won't Be Budged by by Jody Nyasha Wanrer 🍁[NF]
• The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles [NF]
• Like a Bird: The Art of the American Slave Song By Cynthia Grady 📖
• Hip Hop Speaks to Children by Nikki Giovanni 📖
• Pink and Say by Patricia Pollaco
• Birchtown and the Black Loyalists by Wanda Lauren Taylor [NF] 🍁
• Black Women who Dared by Naomi Moyer  [NF]
• Meet Viola Desmond by Elizabeth MacLeod [NF] 🍁
• Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis 📘
• The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis 📘
• Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis 📘 🍁
• If I Just Had Two Wings by Virginia Frances Schwarz 📘
• Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome 📖

Intermediate (Grade 7- 8):

• Heart and Soul by Kadir Nelson [NF]
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis📘
• Hidden Figures (Young Reader's Edition) by Margot Lee Shetterly📘[NF]
• A Big Dose of Lucky by Marthe Jocelyn📘
• Chasing Freedom by Gloria Ann Wesley📘
• We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson📘
• The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine📘
• Dear America: A Picture of Freedom by Melissa McKissak📘
• Dear Canada: A Desperate Road to Freedom by Karleen Bradford 🍁
• Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges 📘 [NF]
• The Greatest: Muhammad Ali by Walter Dean Myers📘[NF]
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kankwamba📘[NF]

That's a list that should get you started!  I hope you will share your Book Nooks with me- use #BlackBookNook on Twitter to share!

Guest Speaker: Dallas Squire from Onkwehonwe Games

Our class was lucky to have Dallas Squire (Ex-Profession Lacrosse player, as one of my Lacrosse-head students told me) visit our class for a Guest talk one the Six Nations History and traditional indigenous games.

He talked about the wampum belt and the symbolism on the belt.  It was nice for students to see and actual belt, because all they had seen were pictures until then.  Additionally, Dallas brought some games for the students to try out.  They played Bone and Toggle (no pictures because I was the first one to try it) and the indigenous version of the Peach Pit game which the students really enjoyed.

I appreciated that Dallas reviewed the symbolism of the games, as well as what the games taught and why it was important.  

It was a very engaging presentation.  Unfortunately, we never got to complete the second visit where we were going to learn lacrosse due to the Covid-19 shut down of our school.  But hopefully, I will be able to have Calls come back next year so that we can finish the program with the next grade 6s.  

If you are interested in booking Dallas Squire, or just want some more information about his program, list his website: https://www.onkwehonwegames.com  

Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action: Reconciliation Tree

Our Finished Reconcillation Tree

After we studied about the experiences of Indigenous children in Residential schools, our class started looking at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as one of the ways Canada can work to acknowledge the wrongs committed to Indigenous peoples in Canada.

I framed this lesson around the artist that sculpted the "Reconciliation Tree" for the TRC, Donald Chretien.  We also looked at one of his paintings "The Tree of Life" on which the Reconciliation Tree is modelled.  We watched a quick video on the purpose of the TRC commission, and why is was so significant and important.  Then I highlighted some of the Calls to Action from the TRC document, so that students had a sense of what was being requested by the commission.  I focussed on the Education, Heath and Language sections for our class discussion, but the students were going to read them in groups to complete the activity.

Donald Chretien and the Tree of Life Painting (from the Artist's website)

As a class, we looked at the painting, and made notes of what we saw/ felt/ thought about it.  As a class, we read the Artist's statement about the tree, which is a story available on his website http://donaldchretien.com/portfolio/treelifepaint/.  I had the students focus on the word "restorative."  We looked up a definition, and once we understood the meaning, students discussed why it was a good symbol for Truth and Reconciliation.

Our discussion was great.  One student noted that they thought it was "amazing" that Indigenous people could forgive Canada for the residential schools.  And another noted that "maybe its not for Canada, but for the people to feel better."  I agreed that healing and forgiveness can be "restorative" and that is an important part of TRC.

For our activity, groups went through the TRC document in sections.  Then we did some "expert groups break outs" so that each student could share about the section they read.  Students made not of one of the Calls to action they felt connected to.

Then students got a Circle worksheet (linked at the bottom of this post).  On the front of the circle, they were to colour the circle using colours from Chretien's Tree of Life Painting.  On the back, they were to copy the call to action and write why they were moved by this specific statement.

First, I shared my circle.  I felt connected to Call to Action #62 "We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, in consultation and collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal peoples, and educators, to: i) Make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students." You can see my reflection in the picture above.

Students were excited to share their circles with one another.  

I was impressed by how thoughtful the students were when writing their circle reflections:

After students were finished their circles, they hung them on the Tree:

Making the tree was simple, I found some fallen branches and put them in a planter with some plasticine and some heavy rocks to keep it from toppling over.

And now the tree lives in our classroom window.  Because it is eye-catching, anyone that comes into the classroom, automatically comes over to it and reads it.  And the students are more than happy to explain the project to any visitor.  

If you want to complete the activity with your own students, here is the circles I gave the students.  To save paper, cut on the diagonal for 2 worksheets.  Print these on card stock so the circles are stronger, can withstand writing on the front and back, and can hang on the tree nicely.  

How does this fit into the curriculum?
The Ontario Arts Curriculum:

The elementary Arts Curriculum specifically notes that in Art education, there should be a commitment to social justice-- and art is a way of communicating artists responses to issue of injustice and culture.  Additionally, in this activity, we look at the "Tree of Life" and make connection to what students think and feel about the painting, as well as making the connection between the art, artist and Truth and Reconciliation, a focus of Social Studies.

Ontario Social Studies Curriculum:

Although it shouldn't be, Truth and Reconciliation is a controversial issue.  Investigating the Calls to Action, and sharing that information is advocacy, and something my students did without being told to do so.  They were proud of their research and of the Reconciliation Tree in our classroom, that they spread the knowledge about the project freely.  

What other TRC activities do you do in class?  I would love to hear about it.

Residential Schools News Deep Dive

My class knew (vaguely) about residential schools.  In conversation about them, one student said, "I don't get what the big deal was.  They had to go to school.  So do I."   A problematic view, for sure.  But a great opportunity for education.  I wanted my students to learn about the atrocities of the Residential School System, but it had to be a) age and stage appropriate, b) reflect the terror that was the residential schools and c) fit into the curriculum (which is easier to justify than you think.)

So our big question was, "What was so bad about Residential Schools?" And we set out to answer it with some case studies.

The Activity

And that sparked this "Deep News Dive" for the class.  In this post, I will outline how I introduced, and taught this media/ social studies lesson, as well as how I developed the lesson materials.

Graffiti Wall- Click to enlarge

To introduce the lesson, we looked at a painting by Kent Monkman (Sidebar:  I know that Kent Monkman is a controversial figure right now after the unveiling of his most recent painting (LINK HERE).  However, the painting above title "The Scream" is a great artistic representation of some of the emotions of the kidnapping of Indigenous children in a dynamic visual.  And, it's  a great example of current Indigenous Arts and culture in Canada.

Our introductory activity was a graffiti wall.  Students looked at the painting, and they were to write their first thought on what they thought was going on in the picture.  You can see some of the thinking in the picture above.  There are some interesting responses.  On the one hand, this activity was able to flush out some of the racist thinking that my students have been exposed to eg. "I see drunk people" or "red guys and dead guys,"  which is helpful for me because I know what they've been exposed to so I can address it.  Also, students picked out some great details that we expanded on in our discussions eg. "nuns were taking the kids away," and "no cloths" [sic] recognizing the poverty of the Residential System.  One thing that popped up a number of time was the violence of the kidnapping of the children.  This common comment was our starting point.

We watched a clip of a documentary by Al-Jezeera about the residential schools in Canada, that was the experience of a man who was taken away by Mounties.  Students listened to his story, about the school, and then we got to work on the news stories.

Student notes

In groups, students were given a news story about one specific residential school.  Each students had a role: There was a reader, a note taker, a time-keeper for discussions, and question asker and presenter for each group.  While they read, they had to capture important information about the school their group was focussed on, and they noted the text features of the articles.  We focused on the by-lines mainly for this class.) I printed out articles for the groups to focus on.

The articles that each group read were:

• https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/mohawk-home-children-spanish-school-1.5025062
• https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/residential-school-survivor-recalls-hungry-eight-years-in-port-alberni-1.543526
• https://www.cbc.ca/2017/canadathestoryofus/how-stanley-redcrow-and-first-nations-activists-reclaimed-the-blue-quills-residential-school-1.4108629
• https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2017/01/canada-dark-secret-170130091149080.html
• https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/st-anne-residential-school-opp-documents
• https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-famous-gramma-shingoose-1.4349879

But there are many more.  I had no problem finding articles on Residential schools and their history of abuse.  While reading the articles, students had to infer what happened at the school.  For example, one article noted that a mass grave of human remains was found.  Students had to figure our what that meant.  

After the "News Dive" students had to present their finding to the classy where each student needed to take notes on this sheet:

;

After the presentations, students had time to look at the note sheets from each group to fill in their note frame (for students who could not get all the information down from the presentations.)

Many of my students were shocked at the conditions of the residential schools and the abuses of the students.   After this activity, students had a clearer picture of the difference between the school they attend, and the Residential schools that Indigenous children were forced to endure/ survive.  To consolidate this lesson, each student took our "big" question, and wrote a journal response, answering it based on the new learning they had.

How does this fit into the curriculum?

Social Studies, Grade 6 Overall Expectations

• A2- use the social studies inquiry process to investigate different perspectives on the historical and/or contemporary experiences of two or more distinct communities in Canada 
• A3. demonstrate an understanding of significant experiences of, and major changes and aspects of life in, various historical and contemporary communities in Canada

This is an important issue for many Indigenous communities, and should be for non-indigenous population of Canada.  The abductions of indigenous children was a terrible blow to Indigenous communities.  Not only was it a terrifying experience for the children, the residential school system worked to erase the culture and identity of the children who suffered in these school.  How many languages are in peril because children were not allowed to use and learn them?  How many communities dwindled with shrinking population of lost children?  More, the experience of residential schooling affects indigenous communities today.  It's something that all Canadian should be aware of,  and want to acknowledge.

Language, Grade 6 Reading Expectations:

• 1.4- demonstrate understanding of increasingly complex texts by summarizing and explaining important ideas and citing relevant supporting details 
• 1.5- develop interpretations about texts using stated and implied ideas to support their interpretations

Students read the news articles, and they had to infer the meaning of what happen in each school, based on the text provided by the reporter.  The note-taking both in each group and during the presentations help students focus on important details and summary, based on the guiding questions provided.

Updates are coming!

Wow, I really let this blog get away from me! Now that I have a handle on this distance learning, I will be updating this blog with lessons for the next 7 days- EVERY DAY!