Me to We: A Lesson in the Power of Individual Stories on Building a Classroom Community
The power of children seeing themselves in their learning, whilst having the opportunity to share personal stories and hear the stories of their peers, holds no limits. While engaging in a series of lessons in Treaty Education with a group of Grade 2 students, I was drawn to the children’s curiosity around the significance of smoking the pipe to honour the treaty agreement. But how could I convey the value of this sacred item to a class of non-Indigenous children with no prior knowledge of its cultural significance?
The answer emerged through a question posed by Bainbridge & Heydon (2009): “The most critical variable is the learners themselves. How can learners inform the curriculum so that their funds of knowledge, interests, and investments are central to the learning opportunities in the classroom?”
(p. 49).
With this question as my guide, I invited the children to think about a personal artifact. Their task was to go home, select their artifact, and prepare to share the story behind it. What made the artifact important? Is it because of who gave it to you? How long have you had it? Where did it come from?
The day of the sharing circle, the room buzzed with excitement. As we went around, each child shared their artifact and its story, and I was overwhelmed by a feeling that wrapped around me like a warm hug. The pride and emotion radiating from each child as they shared, and the genuine interest and engagement from their peers, was undeniable. A ring passed down from a grandparent who died of cancer, a childhood stuffed animal passed down from his dad born in Argentina, a necklace given to him by his mother from when she graduated, a baby toy given to her by her grandmother in Israel who couldn’t immigrate alongside her family. These were not just stories of artifacts; they were stories of identity. As the stories unfolded, so did layers of each child’s identity. The children were able to learn more about their peers; some shared similar stories of identity and culture, some were very different. The emotional and cultural significance of each item shone a light on the connectedness we share as human beings within a classroom community.
As Wilson (2022) suggests, it is essential to nurture learners in “classroom societies where they each feel valued, regardless of class, culture, race, or gender, and where the curriculum they live helps them better know and understand one another” (as cited in Bainbridge & Heydon, 2009).
What a privilege it is to be a part of such powerful learning!
Your Thoughts?
- As an educator, how do the learning opportunities you provide allow students to share their knowledge and experiences?
- How has this approach to teaching impacted student behavior and engagement in the classroom?
- How can we nurture the individual identities of our diverse community of learners through Indigenous Education?
By Rachael Yusim
References
Bainbridge, J. & Heydon, R. (2009). Constructing meaning (5 th ed). Nelson Education Ltd.
Wilson, L. (2002) Reading to live: How to teach reading for today’s world. Heinemann.
About the author
Rachael Yusim is a Learning Support teacher at an elementary school in Winnipeg, MB, specializing in early childhood education. Prior to this role, she spent nearly 10 years as a Nursery and Kindergarten teacher, where she was passionate about implementing play- based and hands-on learning experiences that promoted joy and curiosity for learning in her students. She holds a Master’s in Education specializing in Language and Literacy from the University of Manitoba.