Long Jump
On Thursday I am helping out with a track meet in Powell River. In preparation for this trip, Nat and I went to today's track practice in the rain. A crow flew overhead as one of our students broke his previous record in long jump.
Last week, I was somewhat concerned that I would not quite be able to make the most of my time here. Now, finally, all my rural experience goals are within reach.
On Monday I taught Laban in PE 8. On Tuesday I lead conversation en français and told some travel stories in French 9. I founded my first lunchtime drama club (20 students attended: not bad in a school of 90!), observed English and Socials classes, and have been providing some students with extra help. Next week we have eleven students coming from Shanghai and I am busy planning several ice-breaker/arts-ed sessions that will engage both the Shanghai students and their Gold River buddies. It's basically everything I'm passionate about: intercultural education, aboriginal education, arts education, and outdoor ed.
However, the real thrill came when the NCN 8/9 ( Nuu-chah-nulth language and culture) teacher came and asked me if I was interested in teaching one or more of her classes. I jumped at this opportunity and am now planning a short 4 class unit on oral history and storytelling. This lead to an amazing conversation with Marge, the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Education Worker about aboriginal education in general and at Gold River Secondary. Amongst other things, we discussed the importance of passing on oral history and supporting oral history memory and skills within the mainstream curriculum. At the same time, how do we support these skills while still ensuring that students meet the settler (reading/writing) literacy standards that they need for their future. What does the balance look like?
More pressingly, although I have spent a good deal of time (but never enough) unpacking what it means to be a settler interested in AbEd, and even though I have been specifically granted this opportunity by several First Nations people in the school community, I am obviously nervous at the prospect of being a white educator facilitating a unit on First Nations oral history for an entire class of Nuu-chah-nulth students. They students are sweet and I doubt that they will bring this up, but I can only imagine how bizarre it will be for them to study in school what their elders taught them at home. Thankfully Marge agreed to tell some personal or sacred history that she is allowed to share, while I will open it up to discuss what techniques we can use to tell our own stories.