‭Forced Departure (Class 2 September 14)‬

‭ his chapter discussed the different stories of children being taken away from their families to‬
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‭attend residential schools and the consequences if they didn’t follow directions. Some potential‬
‭consequences were parents going to jail, welfare rations and money cut off, or taking other‬
‭siblings if the old ones refused.‬

‭The direct passage that resonated with me was‬

‭When Shirley Williams’s father took her to catch the bus to the Spanish, Ontario, girls’‬
‭school, he bought her an ice cream and gave her four instructions: “One was remember‬
‭who you are. Do not forget your language. Whatever they do to you in there, be strong.‬
‭And the fourth one, learn about the Indian Act, and come back and teach me. So with‬
‭those four things, he said that ‘You don’t know why I’m telling you this, but someday you‬
‭will understand.’”‬

‭ he guiding questions I asked my group were “If you were forced to go to school knowing that if‬
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‭you didn’t your family would suffer, how would that impact your will to learn?” and “ What‬
‭different things can impact a student's will to learn?” Our group talked about feeling scared,‬
‭worried, and threatened if we were forced to go to school knowing our families would suffer if‬
‭we did not go. Under these conditions, students aren’t able or willing to learn. We also talked‬
‭about kids having different reasons for going to school or not. Some are reliant on supporting‬
‭their family and not able to attend school. As teachers, we don’t know what living situations our‬
‭students are coming from and we have to give them a fresh start every day.‬

‭Bedwetting (Class 3 September 21)‬

‭ his chapter was about kids wetting their beds caused by instances of stress, anxiety, and acts of‬
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‭abuse. Kids who were labelled bedwetters were given harsh and embarrassing punishments that‬
‭not only didn’t solve the root of the problem but led to more bedwetting.‬

‭The passage that resonated with me was‬

‭The trauma of being taken from their parents and placed in an alien, highly disciplined,‬
‭and at times violent institution contributed to the development of involuntary bedwetting‬
‭among many students.‬

‭ he discussion questions I presented to my group were “How might a student feel in class when‬
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‭they are labelled a certain way?” and “How can we as teachers help get rid of those labels?” As a‬
‭group, we discussed that if students have labels put on them then they won’t want to come to‬
‭class and they might have long-lasting effects on their personal view of themself. This will hurt‬
‭their learning and confidence and it would be hard for them to build relationships. As teachers,‬
‭we can help students focus on their strongest traits and always assume the best in the students.‬
‭We are the people to help students grow and see their brightest potential. Having no tolerance for‬
l‭abels or bullying of any kind in the classroom (and life in general) is something that we must‬
‭practice. We have to provide our students with a safe space where their learning can flourish.‬

‭Separated Siblings (Class 4 September 28)‬

‭ iblings were often separated from each other when they arrived at residential schools. This left‬
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‭the kids feeling discouraged, alone, and not feeling connected to their own.‬

‭The passage I chose to share with my group was‬

‭But anyway, living in a residential school, I don’t know, it just seemed, you were alone.‬
‭There were always so many people there and you were always [audible crying] you were‬
‭always alone and you didn’t know who to talk to because you weren’t allowed to become‬
‭friends, or mingle with your brothers or sisters.‬

‭ y question this week was “How can we support students who feel alone?” My group had a‬
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‭discussion about finding different resources, reaching out to past teachers, and creating ways in‬
‭the classroom for students to work with people they might not normally work with to help‬
‭students feel less alone. A good place to start could be finding different clubs or activities for‬
‭students to get involved in. If they are part of a group of people with similar interests, they won’t‬
‭feel so alone.‬

‭Hiding the Truth (Class 5 October 5)‬

‭ tudents at residential schools got very little meaningful education and instead learned to steal,‬
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‭lie, fight, manipulate, run away, and develop a bad attitude. They would do anything they could‬
‭to avoid punishment and that took so much away from their learning.‬

‭The passage from the chapter that resonated with me was‬

‭“We learned how to play the game and acknowledged and bowed our heads in agreement‬
‭and whatever they said we agreed with them, because they were too powerful to fight and‬
‭they were too strong to, to, for us to change their, their habits and their ways of living.”‬

‭ he question we discussed was “How can we ensure students are learning the knowledge we are‬
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‭teaching and not just following orders?” Making sure students are engaged in learning is one of‬
‭the most important things we have to do as a teacher. We can do this by relating the content to‬
‭real-life examples and experiences, getting students involved in a variety of activities to‬
‭demonstrate their knowledge, student-led learning and inquiry-based learning. We said that‬
‭teaching is servicing what interests the students. If students are in charge of their learning then‬
‭they are better able to remember and apply that knowledge.‬

‭Discipline (Class 6 October 12)‬

‭ any students were caught off guard by surprise by the physical violence when entering‬
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‭residential schools because it wasn’t something many had been exposed to. Punishments were‬
‭often strict, painful and seemingly random at times.‬

‭The direct passage I chose to share with my group was‬

‭Fred Brass said that his years at the Roman Catholic school at Kamsack, Saskatchewan,‬
‭were “the hellish years of my life. You know to be degraded by our so-called educators,‬
‭to be beat by these people that were supposed to have been there to look after us, to teach‬
‭us right from wrong. It makes me wonder now today a lot of times I ask that question,‬
‭who was right and who was wrong?”‬

‭ e discussed how there is a difference between punishment and discipline. Punishment is‬
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‭making a child suffer whereas discipline teaches them to make a better choice next time. My‬
‭questions for them were “What are some problems with giving punishments to students?” and‬
‭“What are better forms of discipline in the classroom?” Some problems we discussed were that‬
‭punishments are embarrassing and a negative motivator. Students don’t learn anything when they‬
‭are punished because they are scared and don’t feel like they are in a safe environment. A big‬
‭focus of our discussion was to create a safe classroom environment from the start with zero‬
‭tolerance for certain behaviours or actions. If students were to act with such behaviour or actions‬
‭there would be consequences. These would not be extreme consequences like residential schools,‬
‭but they would allow the student to reflect and be accountable for their actions. It is not a matter‬
‭of students versus the teacher, we always have to find ways to bring it back to learning. We‬
‭talked about creating a classroom contract that consists of the classroom expectations. This‬
‭would be created as a class and would be posted in the classroom as a constant reminder of their‬
‭expectations.‬

‭Warm Memories (Class 7 October 19)‬

‭ his chapter was different than the rest as its focus was the positive memories of residential‬
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‭schools even through all the negative. Some of these things included making friendships, playing‬
‭sports, learning new things, participating in a variety of different activities, and some staff‬
‭members who treated them with affection. Some kids came from worse home lives, making‬
‭residential schools and escape from their harsh reality.‬

‭The final passage from this book that I found interesting was‬
‭My mother didn’t really seem to know how to show affection physically at all so there‬
‭was a kind of cold atmosphere and my father was absent a lot and he was working. I‬
‭mean I sort of understand that was necessary because there were so many of us and, but‬
‭it was not really the most loving circumstance so anyway that’s just kind of a bit of a‬
‭framework. I went to … I was sent to boarding school when I was fourteen. And that was‬
‭100 miles away from where we lived. I lived in Red Deer at the time. And I was sent to‬
 b‭ oarding school in Edmonton and for me that was a pleasure to be in boarding school.‬
‭There were a lot of people in the school that were trying to run away constantly but I was‬
‭happy to be there because it was less hurting and less anger and yeah.‬

‭ he question I posed to my group was “What kinds of things can we do as teachers to make‬
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‭school fun, engaging, and a positive experience?” There are many things we can do as teachers‬
‭to ensure students are left with a positive experience at the end of each day. Incorporating‬
‭student’s interests, creating different and enjoyable experiences, going on field trips, and creating‬
‭play in the classroom are all great ways to engage students in their learning. Simple things can‬
‭make the biggest difference. Your lessons don’t have to be extravagant every single day but‬
‭adding a variety of activities will engage a larger audience.‬

‭How did you like the format of the readings (read every 5 stories instead of all)?‬
‭I really enjoyed the format of this activity. I found myself engaged with each of my‬
‭stories but also with the summaries and discussions of my small group. If it was a‬
‭requirement to read the whole book I don’t think I would have paid as much attention to‬
‭the important discussions, I would just focus on getting it done. This format allowed me‬
‭to immerse myself in the material meaningfully. It was great and I learned alot!‬