Treaty 2 Territory – Earth Lodge – Life Long Learning Bundle
We are days away from a new school year. Some may have already started. The transition back to school can be very challenging for children of all ages. We have come through a trying time in education over the last two years and supporting our children both at home and in the classroom needs to be at the forefront.
How do we support a child’s physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing over the coming weeks and months?
Teaching resides in the distance travelled between the head and the heart.
Theresa Wilson
The following points are just a few of the possible suggestions that can support student success in the coming school year:
- Emphasis is placed on the values of trust, autonomy, confidence, encouragement, and acceptance.
- Presenting high, yet attainable expectations.
- Students need to be involved in thinking about and valuing what they learn.
- Build on a child’s strengths.
- Show students how to learn, not just what to learn.
- Provide students with an understanding of why they are learning, and its relevance to their lives.
- Acknowledge children as individuals.
- Communicate your confidence in a child’s ability to learn.
- Model respectful behavior and interactions.
- Communication between home and school is integral to a child’s success.
- Children need to be provided with opportunity in choosing of how they learn and how they show that they have learned.
- Encourage children to talk about their emotions, both at school and at home.
- Create daily routines that provide children with some predictability in their day. This assists in the decrease of anxiety levels.
- Changing language in the classroom to decrease stigma and anxiety: sharing circles vs public speaking, leadership development vs at-risk programming, displays of knowledge vs tests
A child needs to learn in an environment, at home and at school, that recognizes their strengths and their needs; an environment that challenges and equips them for the future and success in the plan the Creator sets before them; and a place where their values and identity are celebrated and encouraged.
Written by:
Valerie McInnes, Lifelong Learning Bundle Holder
Zoongi Gaabawa Keetahbih Mukwa (Strong Standing Circling Bear)
Government – First Nations in Treaty 2 Territory (FNT2T)