čačim hihak kʷaa/ni hao/hello

Intercultural education is a go!

Weaving Webs:

On Sunday night, eleven grade 8 students from an elite school in Shanghai arrived in Gold River. Monday began with a beautiful welcome ceremony by some of our Mowachat Muchalat students and community members. In third block I led icebreakers with all of the Shanghai students and the grade 8 class. The social emotional learning was palpable. Here were the Gold River students that have largely been a group of the same twenty kids since kindergarten. Suddenly they are welcoming 11 new students into their tight knit community. All of students were on their best behaviour - we did the web exercise where students hold on to a piece of thread, share their hopes for the next two weeks of intercultural experience, then pass the thread across the cirlce - creating a web - a visual representation of their new community.

Gifts:

I spent the afternoon working with my grade 10 students doing homework catch up and having long, philosophical conversations with the Aboriginal Education Worker, Marge. Working on my oral history/storytelling unit, Marge came to me at the end of the day with written transcripts of her grandfather's oral history from '76. She gave me permission to use them not only in this upcoming NCN class, but also for the rest of my career. I welled up with thanks. A gift I will cherish for the rest of my career.

After school we went and held signs "Vote for BC Education!" in the main plaza - the village square - surrounded by empty buildings. There was no one to speak with. Two drunk guys wandered by and joked about their only ID being a grade 6 photo.

At seven we drove to the reserve (Tsaxana) for culture night at the Longhouse. Having seen my students dance in the small school lobby, it was spectacular to watch them dance and perform in the beauty of the warm, cavernous space. It was a practice so the songs only lasted for two hours, but in talking to an elder I learned that a performance (depending on the reason for celebration) can often last for up to 8 hours. I could have sat there for 10. This night was gift I will personally remember for the rest of my life. It's not mine to sing out loud, but there's a few songs that I have heard enough times now that I have them stuck in my head and beating in my heart.

Beyond beautiful, our time at culture night was an amazing example of First People's Principles of Learning in action. During one dance, the young boys that had not yet been initiated left the men's drumming circle and joined the women on the dance floor. Most of the boys were 6,7,8,9, but one little boy that was probably 1.5 joined the dance. The oldest boy patiently helped him through the dance, the toddler barely stable on his feet. I think about this toddler learning this dance: learning is connected to identity, learning is generational, learning takes time, patience, and practice, learning is experiential.

Tuesday started with my first NCN class. These students are in the throes of disengagement with course work. In the hallway they are sweet, thoughtful, and excited to share their struggles and achievements with you. In the classroom, they are silent. It's just not cool. I remember this: "talk in class: loose your power". Was I ever thankful that (absurd as it sounds) I started our unit on aboriginal storytelling with a clip of Kevin Hart standup.

After NCN I drove to antler lake with the grade 8 Gold River and Shanghai students. While we played drama games and prepared a lunch of hot dogs and hot chocolate over the fire, some students went canoeing. We then we ventured out on a beautiful hike around the lake. There was less international friendships forged that I would have hoped, but we did squeeze in some mini ethnobotany lessons and a game of camouflage. I'm realizing just how much students need their SEL structured. I'm also realizing the reality of inclusive outdoor ed. On our hike, as always, some students ran ahead, some dragged behind. Gaps grew within our line on the trail, and the students at the back grew silent. What was unique about this situation was that a few students lagging behind has some small physical mixed abilities that kept them from bursting along at a furious pace. This got me thinking about the reality of inclusive outdoor ed. If you are climbing a mountain and need to stay together, you can't differentiate for the student with a disability like you can in an English classroom. How do you differentiate physical activity when you must stay together? Can outdoor ed really ever be completely inclusive? Must read more on this.

In the evening Nat and I had a lovely dinner with Kathleen, the foods/PE teacher, then I jetted off to teach the Shanghai students nighttime ESL classes. I have never taught a group of students so disciplined. The were handed a K-W-L chart and fell completely silent. I'm curious to ponder how much of that is discipline from teachers, and how much it is the effect of a culture that deeply values learning and education. For our students in Canada that our struggling: how do we provide some semblance of the discipline that make the Shanghai students students effective learners while at the same time refrain from pushing our Canadian students into a deeper dislike of learning.