Supporting our Children – Back to School

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.

http://www.lodge.fnt2t.com

Written by:

Valerie McInnes, Lifelong Learning Bundle Holder

Zoongi Gaabawa Keetahbih Mukwa (Strong Standing Circling Bear)

Government – First Nations in Treaty 2 Territory (FNT2T)