Traditional Write Up: Term Two!
Voices for Change:
Arts Education:
CP8.1 Create dance compositions that express ideas and student perspectives on social issues (e.g., poverty, racism, homophobia, sustainability, gangs).
We achieved this when we were on week 3, I believe. We were to create dances that had to do with a certain narrative, and my group chose First Nations and them being pushed away and not being helped, which could lead to gangs, poverty, addictions etc. I think that it is very important to include many different elements into your education because it makes you that much stronger.
CP8.2 Investigate and use choreographic forms (e.g., theme and variations, canon).
We accomplished this outcome when we went to visit Jackie at her dance studio. She is a choreographer, and I think that that was a very good opportunity for us. She taught us about theme, space, emotion, and other different elements to make our dances more interesting and esthetically pleasing. I believe that it made our dance experience more challenging but also it made our end product much better.
CP8.3 Choreograph one section of group choreography.
We accomplished this outcome when we did our dance week. For our end product, we had to create a dance with a group, so I joined up with 3 other people. We all banned together and created a lyrical dance that incorporated all of our moves and ideas. I think that we were all really proud of the end result.
CP8.7 Improvise, compose, and perform (e.g., with voice, instruments, and technologies) a selection of pieces in contrasting styles.
We did this in week 5 or 6 of this unit. We created songs from scratch or a parody and we sang to the background. It was pretty tricky to come up with something that didn’t sound very cheesy because the songs were about different narratives, such as the black narrative (what my partner and I did), but I think that it was a very good challenge for us all. A lot of people created their own track on Garage band or with a piano or guitar but I think that the song we created is unique because we didn’t exactly follow the pattern of where the voice goes in with the music so it was more our own.
English Language Arts:
CR8.2 Select and use appropriate strategies to construct meaning before (e.g., previewing and anticipating message), during (e.g., making inferences based on text and prior knowledge), and after (e.g., paraphrasing and summarizing) viewing, listening, and reading.
To accomplish this outcome, we had to do a lot of research on the different narratives we were assigned, which were African, Jewish, First Nations and LGBT. There were a lot of things on the internet that were not true, such a stereotypes, rumors and even some different articles that we really had to analyze. The internet doesn’t have a filter so we needed to go through it and see which things we through were true or not based on other resources and facts.
CC8.8 Write to describe a landscape scene; to narrate a personal story or anecdote and a historical narrative; to explain and inform in a presentation of findings, a biography, a documented research report, and a résumé and covering letter; and to persuade in a mini-debate and a review.
To accomplish this, we wrote spoken word about the black narrative. It was a different type of writing and also an art form that shows more passion in my opinion. You kind of perform it live and add some actions and a lot of emotion and expression. I think that it was a creative way to show what we have learned and are learning in Language Arts.
CC8.9 Experiment with a variety of text forms (e.g., Reader’s Theatre, role play, humorous instructions, an electronic presentation, a dramatization, a mini-debate) and techniques (e.g., imagery, music, graphics and statistics in a multimedia presentation).
We did this when we created our spoken word with Isaac. He taught us different ways to do partner spoken word pieces and how to make them in the easiest way possible. Spoken word is a different form of text that has a rhythm, so it is like a poem, but there is almost a freer vibe because spoken word can really be any words that you speak with a rhythm.
Health Education:
USC8.2 Analyze how personal prejudices/biases, and habits of mind shape assumptions about family identities, structures, roles, and responsibilities.
To accomplish this outcome, we did some research on different narratives. We noticed in our research that a lot of bad things in the world, such as the Holocaust and the residential schools can have a large impact on how people can view other people. For example, a lot of people see First Nations as poor and homeless, so if a parent taught their child that “First Nations are bad” then the child would learn that and view First Nations people differently.
USC8.4 Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of violence (including but not limited to emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, spiritual abuse, and neglect) on the well-being of and the supports needed for self, family, and community.
We achieved this curriculum outcome when we were also doing research on our narratives, which were LGBT, First Nations, Jewish/Holocaust and African. For LGBT, I noticed that in the videos, when the people who were LGBT were bullied or abused, they would often hate themselves quite a bit and certain negative things would happen.
For First Nations, when they were put in residential schools, it hurt their whole family because they were pretty community-based and when many people were taken way and often didn’t return, the community would be hurting. It also is still hurting the First Nation people here and now.
For the Jewish/Holocaust narrative, the whole Jewish community was killed or hurt. That would clearly affect them because that is their families and friends who are dying beside them.
In the African narrative, it was often the slaves who were hurt; violently, emotionally, sexually, spiritually and many others. They got pretty sick and felt really bad about themselves because they were being abused every day and that started to have effects on their self-confidence and how they see their own people as.
USC8.7 Assess the social, cultural, and environmental influences on and supports for sexual health knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and decisions.
To achieve this outcome, we did research on the First Nations narrative. The First Nations who were in the residential schools were never loved or taught to love, so when they got out, they were miserable and didn’t teach their children to love. A lot of people from the residential schools were hurting, so they turned to substance abuse. Those things made them do some bad things, which include sexual abuse. Also, it can cause those people to make bad decisions that can include having children at a young age.
Physical Education:
PE8.3 Implement personal plans for improvement of skill-related components of fitness (power, agility, speed, reaction time, balance, and coordination) to improve the weaker components and to support enjoyment in personal, social, and competitive movement activities.
We accomplished this outcome when we were creating our dances. We knew that there were some things we needed to work on such as coordination and balance so we wanted to incorporate some dance moves that help us practice and improve on those elements because we wanted to be the best we could be. For example, we added a lift into our dance because we wanted to practice balance and we added a very slow part because it is trickier to stay synchronized while it is so slow.
PE8.4 Utilize, including smooth transitions, complex movement skills that combine locomotor (traveling) skills, non-locomotor (non-traveling) skills, and manipulative (moving objects) skills (e.g., lay-up in basketball, spike in volleyball, hoop dancing, dribbling to a shot in soccer, rhythmical gymnastics movement, gathering a grounder and throwing to a base in softball, stick handling to a shot in floor hockey, ball control while moving in double ball) to enhance personal performance and enjoyment in a variety of movement activities.
We did this when we met with Jackie at her dance studio. She taught us different things you can incorporate into your dance such as locomotor and non-locomotor movements, axial movements and high, medium and low movements. I think that it improved our dance in the end because it was more aesthetically pleasing and also more interesting to watch.
Practical and Applied Arts:
To accomplish this, we met with Isaac, the spoken word artist. He taught us different was to make our writing more interesting and thought-provoking, and then we created our own pieces. I think that this is a skill you need in life because when you are applying for a job or a grant or something, you need to be good at writing if you want to receive what you applied for.
Religion:
To do religion in this unit, we met up with some people from the Jewish community. They taught us about Judaism and what their beliefs and traditions were. I thought that it was interesting to hear about a different religion because I had never explored any other religions besides mine and my family’s. I think that it is important to learn more about the people and things around you so that when something comes up, you are prepared and you know what to do or how to handle that situation or what is going on.
Science:
CS8.3 Distinguish structural and functional relationships among cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems in humans and how this knowledge is important to various careers. [CP, SI]
To achieve this, we did our dances. We had to use our bodies to create different shapes and movements; some fast and slow, so going along with that comes some sweat and fatigue. A professional choreographer is a career, and to be one, you kind of have to be in shape or else you can’t exactly show your dancers what you want from them (exception to Abby Lee Dance Company). We learnt that dancers need a lot of strength to do what they do and that their organs, tissues and cells have to be healthy and work together for a dancer to succeed.
CS8.4 Analyze how the interdependence of organ systems contributes to the healthy functioning of the human body. [CP, DM, SI]
We accomplished this when we were doing our dances. All of our dancing included a beating heart, working lungs, and functioning organs. Without those working right and healthy, we couldn’t have actually done the dance because we would be crippled and useless, but dance uses your whole body so it needs to be functioning right.
Social Studies:
IN8.1 Investigate the meaning of culture and the origins of Canadian cultural diversity.
We did this when we were doing our research on the narratives. We saw how all of those different groups played a part in Canada’s cultural diversity and uniqueness. Without all of those cultures here, it would be very different and even I wouldn’t be here right now because I am not First Nations, I wasn’t here first, so without my family coming over, I would not be living here and it would be a very different country without my family and all of the other cultures that aren’t First Nations here.
IN8.2 Appraise the influence of immigration as a factor in Canadian cultural diversity.
To accomplish this outcome, we did some research on the narratives. We saw things about the African slave trade, and if the African people didn’t come to Canada, we wouldn’t see and read things like that in our country, but it happened, so we do learn about it. The African people are a whole new group in Canada, and without them, it would look very different here in Canada.
DR8.3 Assess how historical events in Canada have affected the present Canadian identity
We accomplished this outcome by looking at the First Nations narrative. We saw how the residential schools affected the First Nations people greatly. They were not taught to love in the residential schools, so when the First Nations people got home, they didn’t teach their children how to love, and that still shows now. That has passed down through the generations and some First Nations turned to substance abuse, so other cultures is Canada may see First Nations people as addicts or something because they wouldn’t know about their past and what has happened. They don’t know WHY they are where they are.
Watersheds: Arts Education:
CR8.3 Investigate and identify how arts expressions can reflect diverse worldviews.
We looked at a children’s song to accomplish this outcome. The song was called, “We All Live in a Watershed,” and it taught us that we all live in a watershed, but also what the singer believed. If they didn’t believe that we all lived in a watershed, they wouldn’t write a song about it.
CH8.4 Examine and respond to the work of artists who incorporate more than one art form in their work (e.g., combining poetry and music).
To accomplish this, we listened/watched a song called, “We All Live in a Watershed.” It was a music video that had song and an animated video to it. Someone had to have made those things, so by putting them together, it made the video more compelling and interesting. It also gave us a better idea of what the video was about.
English Language Arts:
CR8.4 View critically and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of visual and multimedia texts including videos, television broadcasts, informational presentations, dramatic presentations, websites, and news programs to locate and interpret key messages and details, to develop conclusions, opinions, and understanding, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the text.
We looked at a website called, “Caring for Our Watersheds,” to achieve this outcome. The website gives a lot of information about different watersheds, including the South Saskatchewan River Basin, and we had to look through and see if we really thought they were true, because on one poster, it said that there were 300,000 people living in the watershed, while one other website said 3,000,000 people live in the watershed, while on a different website, it said that 1.7 million people live in the watershed. We had to choose which ones we believed based on the credibility of that website.
CC8.2 Create and present a group inquiry project related to a topic, theme, or issue studied in English language arts.
To achieve this task, we entered the caring for our watersheds contest. I joined up with Julia to do a project based around the chemicals that enter the watershed, so we created a line of hand sanitizers, dishwasher detergents and hand soaps that are triclosan free.
AR8.2 Appraise own and others’ work for clarity, correctness, and variety.
To do this outcome, we went over our watersheds contest proposals. We want to win the contest so to do that we need a strong proposal for our idea. To make it the best that we can, we want to go over each other’s proposals so that our proposals are very strong and convincing.
Health Education:
USC8.1 Analyze and establish effective strategies of support for purposes of helping others increase health-enhancing behaviors.
To accomplish this outcome, we worked on our contest entries. In my project, Julia and I are creating different products to keep triclosan out of the watershed. We asked others if they could help us out with experiments, testing out our project and gathering some containers for the product to go in. They were helping us because they knew that if we made it in the top 10, we would be helping our watershed and helping their health by making them stay away from triclosan.
USC8.6 Examine and assess the concept of sustainability from many perspectives, and develop an understanding of its implications for the well-being of self, others, and the environment.
We did this in our watersheds unit by looking at different people’s in our classes perspectives on sustainability and water. We learned that half a percent of fresh water is available to humans currently, and a large portion of that is in Canada. If we are sustainable with our water usage, we can help ourselves and the environment in many ways! We need water to live so that is a major plus but the plants and animals do too. With a healthy environment comes healthy people!
Practical and Applied Arts:
To do practical and applied arts in this unit, we made Bat Boxes. Two girls in our class were making bat boxes because bats eat insects and with more insects, there are more insecticides which go into the water. We got the wood pieces and hammered them together with nails, and then we spray-painted them black so that the bats will go in, because they like dark spaces. I think that it is very important to learn how to create things because in the future, you will know how to do repairs in your home, or even make something yourself!
Another time we did practical and applied arts was when Julia and I were making our soap. We searched up recipes online and then added different things to make them our own! We needed to gather the right ingredients that would be good at cleaning but were also natural. I think that this helps us in the future because if we had a mess in our home or something and we didn’t have any cleaning products, we would know which items or oils can clean well and are also natural.
Religion:
To do religion this unit, we just looked at the earth. We realized that there is finitude in our life and that is humbling. God created the earth and it is so beautiful, so we wanted to refresh our minds in knowing that we need to take every opportunity we get with this amazing world that He created. We need to spend time with God and the land because our lives and the earth won’t last forever.
Science:
WS8.1 Analyze the impact of natural and human-induced changes to the characteristics and distribution of water in local, regional, and national ecosystems. [CP, DM]
To accomplish this outcome, we looked at the Diefenbaker Dam. We saw the example of the Calgary flood last year and we realized how important it is to have that dam; it prevented Saskatoon from having a flood. This human-induced water distribution is helping us and the environment downstream because the earth gets more water and the people get less in the city!
WS8.2 Examine how wind, water, and ice have shaped and continue to shape the Canadian landscape. [DM, SI]
When we were looking at the landscape of Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba; where our watershed lays. The glaciers have shaped the land, and that is how our watershed was created! The glaciers didn’t go on the Rocky Mountains as much, because they weren’t flattened, and then they were less on Alberta, and then there were a lot in Saskatchewan and some in Manitoba! B.C. is rocky, Alberta is rocky, but less, Saskatchewan is flat, and Manitoba is flat too.
WS8.3 Analyze natural factors and human practices that affect productivity and species distribution in marine and fresh water environments. [CP, DM, SI]
We achieved this when we saw what was happening in the tar sands with the ducks. The ducks like to swim and drink from the tailings ponds and then that kills them, so not many animals or fish live in that ecosystem because there is so much chemical waste that is killing the animals and plants.
Social Studies:
PA8.2 Examine the role of power and authority in the application of diverse decision-making processes in a variety of contexts.
We saw this when we were looking at the tar sands. The government and the major oil companies are the ones who are benefitting with this project, and it just so happens that these are the ones with power and authority. It often occurs that the people with power benefit the most from certain projects that aren’t helping other people, the land and the animals very much at all. The government and the oil companies are also the ones who made the decisions to put the tar sands in action.
RW8.1 Analyze the social and environmental consequences of living in the Canadian mixed market economy based on consumerism.
We accomplished this outcome when we were looking at some of the bad things going on in our watershed, such as habitat loss caused by chemicals. Canadians like to have clean skin and teeth, and a lot of the products they use have micro beads and chemicals in them which seep into the watershed. This hurts the environment, and we are hurting the environment just because we want the nicest soap, sanitizer, toothpaste and skin cleansers.
Physical Education:
Advent Unit:
Arts Education:
CR8.3 Investigate and identify how arts expressions can reflect diverse worldviews.
To accomplish this, we created Christmas Cards and gave them out to the public. They all said, “Merry Christmas,” or something along the lines of that, but it showed what we believe in. I wouldn’t have written Happy Hanukah because I don’t participate in Hanukah. If we were from the Jewish community, we may have written that, so it just shows that there are different world views that can be expressed through art and words.
CH8.4 Examine and respond to the work of artists who incorporate more than one art form in their work (e.g., combining poetry and music).
To accomplish this, we watched a video. It was about war, and I believe that it had music and imagery in it. Someone would have taken those pictures and written those songs, so we noticed that those are two different art forms mixed into one!
EcoJustice Difference > Term 2! By JasmineJ
This year has been beyond amazing, but I think that the second term has transformed me the most. I have learned so much about my eco family, myself, my country and my own backyard. This term has been unforgettable and simply amazing. I know that I will never get another opportunity like this in my life, so I wanted to make the best of what was presented to me. Here is the true eco difference:
To start off with our first unit, Advent, I think that it has been the most impactful and different unit of them all. We went into the community by ourselves, we gave back to the community and we learned about the issues present in our city and country. I really enjoyed this unit, and I believe that some of my best work came from this unit. Here is everything different in this unit:
First things first, I think that I enjoyed this unit the best it was because it is all reflective work. I think it felt more like some “me time” almost and it gave me a chance to dig deep inside to what I believe in and what I think is right and just. I never ever got a chance to do that in my old school, besides saying what I like and don’t like about myself in Fully Alive, but that doesn’t really count, because we just did the activity and then left it behind us. In eco, we would do the activity and do something with it, and what we did was community service. I am extremely proud of my 1000+ word essays I produced in this unit, because I think that I pushed myself in my writing. Last year, I would have a minimum amount of words and just barely make the minimum, because that was all I had to do. This year, we are still given a minimum, but I surpass it because I want to; because I am driven to; because I believe that I could do better; because I push myself to be greater. I saw a quote that said, “You should only want to be better than the person you were yesterday.” I think that that is true because you are always striving for success, and also, you are only trying to be better than yourself, not anybody else. Here is a part of a reflection from the first week that I am really proud of:
“When some people think of Christmas, they think of Santa, toys, and getting as much as possible. This is not a very good mindset to have. The real purpose of Christmas is to celebrate the coming of Jesus. During the time around Christmas, we should also give to people as a sign of gratitude and love. Lots of people in Canada receive gifts on Christmas, but do we really think about where they came from? It isn’t from Santa’s workshop, but from our Mother Earth. So many things are made out of oil, such as clothing, electronics (speakers, headphones, TVs etc.), candles, paints and paint brushes, and so many more things that we use in our everyday life. These all come from the earth, so we should give back to the earth to thank it for all that it gives to us. After all, it is our one and only home! Here are some ways that we can give back to Mother Earth! First off, you do not have to buy all of your gifts! All of these gifts are using up precious oils that could be put to a better cause, so giving homemade gifts will prevent you from using up these non-renewable resources! I’m sure Mother Earth will thank you for this one! You can give gifts that have something to do with the animals! You can adopt an animal at some zoos where you can go and feed and play with the animals, so you are helping out the animals, a local zoo, and also, you are not using any oils or resources at all! You are just having fun with the animals, and saving the earth at the same time! Another way to give back to the earth is to get a real Christmas tree over a plastic one! It may seem like deforestation, but when you look into it, you realize that it is actually helping the earth. Christmas trees are regularly planted on tree farms, so there is usually no loss of trees! Also, using plastic trees means using oils. After a plastic tree gets old, people generally throw them out, and they don’t decompose, so they generally stay in the world forever. Real trees will decompose easily, as they are living, and they also give off oxygen, helping us humans to live! You see, there are ways that we can give back to our earth, and they are not very difficult too!
I believe that everyone should be able to share the world equally, and each and every plant, animal and human benefit from it equally. Every one of us lives on our earth, so why shouldn’t we all be able to share it with the same amount of beneficial properties from it. Sadly this is not true. Look at the plants and land for example; trees are constantly being chopped down, muskegs are being filled with oil, the air is being polluted with harmful toxins, the oceans are being filled with litter, and the glaciers are melting faster than ever before. This is our reality, and it has to stop! Why do we feel the need to wreck our homes? Are we really benefiting from spilling thousands of gallons of oil into our water systems? Will we ever be taught when enough is enough? Why haven’t we noticed that these conditions are only going to get worse without change? These are some questions that we need to look at when we are making decisions that are connected to the environment, just as many First Nations cultures do. We are wrecking our planet, and it is the only planet that can sustain life, so without it, we can’t survive!
We also have to give equal parts of the earth to the animals. They actually help us live. It says in an article that we read that animals can help prevent depression, and help heal people who are sick. They bring joy, and we need them. They also need the earth. It is where they live, where they get food from, and where they care for their families for. Animals are very similar to humans! It is actually proven that humans evolved from the primate family, as we are extremely similar. We need to treat these animals as our friends, and we should split the world with them equally!
All humans should share the world equally too. People in third world countries are experiencing lots of terrible air quality conditions, and they are living with unsafe diseases and bacteria that are harming them and putting them in danger. This should not be our reality. Everyone in the world should have equality, and I will fight for equality with all countries, even though I have it pretty good. Humans have the power to create change, good and bad. We need to focus on the good change, and try to make the world as safe as it can possibly be for all humans, as they are our brothers and sisters. Us humans are the ones who can wreck the world, but we ae also the ones who can make it better. Here is a prose I wrote that I feel like relates to this very well:
We Are Atlas
Atlas. The God who holds up the world on his shoulders. Such a responsibility. I can only think; how can a simple man hold the world in his hands? How can one simple man be the guardian over this pale blue dot that sustains the life of all of these ecosystems? But, Atlas is not the man who is responsible for all of these injustices concerning our earth. We are Enbridge, we are those companies that are wrecking our world, and we are killing these innocent animals, plants and ecosystems. But my friend, we are also David Suzuki, and Jane Goodall. We are those people who create positive change, we are the ones who can save the spirit bears, the oceans and the continents that make up our home! We can be the ones to hold the earth on our shoulders. We are one with our planet! Water like blood, soil like skin, and bone like granite. We can be the change that we wish to see in the world. We…are Atlas.” I really like this piece because I think that it shows what I believe in during the Christmas season, and all year round. It shows what I am passionate about, especially in the spoken word part. I wanted to add it in because I am proud of it, and I want to showcase my work. Last year, I still got really great marks, but I never had to work hard to get them; they came so easily and naturally. I was embarrassed, though. I had the best marks, and many others in my class didn’t, so they treated me different – almost as if I had to win at everything, or I would not be able to live or something. I didn’t know what it was, or even why it was, but I felt awkward with everyone asking me what I got. In eco, I don’t feel embarrassed - I feel proud. Proud because I know that people around me are proud, too. Proud because I put in the hard work and I knew that I was happy with what I had created. I was proud that I had pushed myself and succeeded. I was truly happy with my work.
Later on in the unit, we learned about war toys. In previous years, we had never really learned about injustices, war included. We had seen sneak-peaks of injustice in our “What-In-The-World” monthly books, but we were never allowed to investigate injustices that we were interested in. I guess we were allowed to investigate, but it was never encouraged or brought up as something we could do. In eco, I am very grateful to be able to connect different things from my passions to injustices. For example, I really love Disney, so I connected the black narrative to Disney and a lot of other narratives. In eco, we have freedom to figure the things out on our own. We get to search about topics we are interested in. Last year, we could usually only write and search about topics that our teachers presented us with.
In one of the last weeks, we did community service. We gave Christmas Cards to random people on the street, we sang Christmas Carols on the sidewalk, and we helped out at a school, we hung out with people at a senior centre. Last year, we were never allowed to go out into the community or create our own experiences. This year, we have gone out into the community many times and we created many of our own experiences. But I think that the largest difference with all of this is that our teachers trust us. They trust us enough that they allow us to decide what we want to do with our year. Last year, our teacher would assume that we would decide to go to Apex or something. Mel and Dustin trust us because they know that we are invested in our education. They know that we are mature enough to create decisions that will actually help us and other people. I really loved going out into the community and seeing the smiles on people’s faces when we helped them out or tried to cheer them up. Community service is one thing that I really enjoy and I can see myself doing it quite often in the future. Without this experience in Eco, I wouldn’t have found out this passion as soon or maybe even ever. Community service is very important because it is helping people in our community and we are creating human to human connections.
The next unit we did was called Voices for Change. It was all about educating ourselves on different narratives, such as the African narrative, the LGBT narrative, the Holocaust narrative, the First Nations narrative and the Idle No More narrative. I think that it is extremely important to educate ourselves on different narratives because once we know every different culture’s back stories, we know what they have gone through and what their past experiences were. Once we know what has happened to them, we definitely cannot make assumptions or judge them by their skin colour or race, not that I would anyways, but this just finalizes it. The major thing that is different between my old class and Eco is that my old class made many racial slurs. I never really gave it a second thought because they were always making rude comments and I chose to ignore them but now I realize how much they can affect people. I would have never learned that this soon if it wasn’t for Eco, and I feel like I would’ve let the racist statements go on.
https://instagram.com/p/0ZVm3CkcVH/?taken-by=hannah.hii here is a sweet picture of the Roxy with our event.
In eco, we learned about the narratives. That is key, because last year and other previous years in school, I have learned only about the First Nations narrative, but we were barely scratching the surface. We learned the definitions and regions-the basics, but I never knew what Idle No More was, or that First Nations people are discriminated every single day. How was I so oblivious to this?! I can’t believe that my teachers would hide us from all of that. It may be a touchy subject that most like to ignore, but what they may not realize is that we can create positive change in the world. We can teach many other people that this is wrong. We can educate others like Dustin and Mel have done for us.
Without Eco, I wouldn’t have known what LGBT stood for. I knew what a gay person was, and the definition I had heard was usually negative. Even in Fully Alive last year, we had discussed what gay meant, but it was a 2 minute chat. Why do we ignore this? These are clearly people, like everybody else in the world, so why haven’t I learnt about what it means? In Eco, we preach equality. We include people who are pushed to the side. Including people means hearing their narratives, and that is what we did in our Voices for Change unit. Now, I know that L stands for Lesbian, G stands for Gay, B stands for bisexual and T stands for transgender. I am very thankful to have learned about a new group of people, because if I ever meet one of these people, I know their background and how to act/what to say around them. We need to include everyone if we want a perfect world. A girl named Zoe at the Living in Harmony award ceremony said a spoken word. I mentioned that cultural diversity in communities is important as biodiversity in nature. I think that that is so true, because if you think about it, if everyone was the same, there would be no activities really because it would be different. There would be no colored or white people, because it would be different. There would be no songs, art pieces, or videos, because it would be different. Imagine how boring that would be! Everyone would be wearing the same color skin, same color hair, same color eyes, same face, same body, same everything. We would all be the same. It would be like there was one person, because the copy-cat mentality would be so there. I personally would be devastated and annoyed. I like living in Canada. I like being in EcoJustice. I like my personality, what I look like and who I have become. I like diversity, and I think that everybody else should too. It is important. Everybody is important, and everybody has a part to play in our diverse country. We need to be equal and actually live like we are diverse, and not judge because of that.
https://instagram.com/p/0bx-fjCDft/ here is an awesome picture of our event!!!!!!
Here are some parts from my reflections in this unit that I think show that we need to educate ourselves on other narratives and that diversity is a good thing:
“We created spoken words pieces to prepare for the spoken word artist coming in tomorrow. I was with Jenna, and we did ours on the Earth but other people did theirs on black racism. I particularly like Zoe and Maddy’s spoken word because I felt like it had a special component to it that no other pieces really had. Was it the expression? Did it just seem so real? Whatever it was, I liked it! They went back and forth talking about how the white person was better and how the black person had, “Skin like dirt, that poisons the earth,” something like that. It was very powerful and serious. I thought that it was very interesting to see both narratives, and the white person had much different things to say than the black person. Overall I thought that it was very intriguing. I really liked creating spoken word. It was extremely difficult at first to actually create it, but once we were started, it came along much nicer. I am super pumped about doing that Spoken Word workshop tomorrow because I want to make a very good and thought-provoking spoken word piece to share with my class and maybe even the Roxy Theatre!
I think that this week has taught me so much about the problems black people are facing just because of their skin; who they are. During this week, I learned the perspectives of the white AND black people and how they interacted with each other. There is so much more to the black people’s story and I want to know so much more! I am very glad that I have the opportunity to learn about all of these things so that I can use my new knowledge to transform the world surrounding me!” I think that this shows that we need to include the African Narrative into our knowledge because there is so many things that I discovered while researching their narrative. Also, it says in the beginning that we were preparing for spoken word. I had never heard of a spoken word before Eco, but I soon realized that it is a type of poem/song/rap/rhythm all mixed into one! It is very interesting to me to learn a new medium of art. I love art and I think adding a new form of it will help me strengthen my art altogether. We did many different art forms in this unit, those of which I had never done at my old school whatsoever. Even if we did do them, it would be really awkward or not have much purpose behind it.
Here is a piece from our second week in this unit, focusing on the Jewish Narrative:
“I learned so much that day about the Jewish people, and the Holocaust in general. I really appreciated going off on my own and investigating the things that I really wanted to learn about. I loved the freedom of being able to tell which was true or false, and being able to be passionate about what I found out myself. This was a very informational day, and I was/am very grateful for it.
After they left, I realized how privileged we are. We got the opportunity to have two members of the Jewish community come in and talk to us about their life and experiences. They even came in to talk to us for no cost at all. I was very happy that we gave them our eagle feather, and I think it meant a lot to them because they knew that the feather meant a lot to us. It was nice to see them smile, knowing that their own family members were part of the Holocaust. It was very interesting to hear a new perspective and create a new connection with Laurie and Itai. I hope they will visit us again.
These past few days have helped me so much to investigate the Jewish narrative and the Holocaust. I had never learned much about it before, so it was very exciting and new to me. I had a very enjoyable time researching the Holocaust on my own and finding out new things that interest me with this topic. I hope that I can learn more about this topic and use my new knowledge to change the world!!” In this piece, I mentioned how we had experts come in. That is another thing special to Eco; we have different people come into our class, or sometimes we meet with them over skype or FaceTime, and they tell us about things they are passionate about, their culture in this case, or other things that they are connected to. In my old school, we had different people come in, but they came maybe once every 5 months, and they usually didn’t talk about things that were very relevant (like maybe they would talk about magazines, or TV, or celebrities). It is very important to hear lots of different information from people from all different communities because you can hear every side of the story, not only the one presented to you immediately. I really enjoy having experts come in because it gives us a new opportunity to meet new people from different communities, and it also gives us a lot of information; first-hand information that you can’t get off of Wikipedia!
(This means peace in Jewish)
Here is a part of a reflection I wrote during the third week when we learned about the LGBT narrative:
“I was a bit sad that this week’s narrative started on Wednesday because there is just so much to learn about, but I was really excited because I NEVER had investigated this topic before. I had never even heard of a bisexual or a transgender person and I barely even knew what lesbian meant. I had A LOT of research to do and I was ready for it! I think that all people, no matter what their sexual orientation is, should be treated with respect, love and kindness. We are all human and I want to treat everybody as an equal, but that isn’t the same for everybody else.
I went on searching and I discovered that 10 % of people in Saskatoon were LGBT and I found that really cool. I think that it is very important to have a diverse group of people in a city or community. Diversity means that there are more people to love, and with all of these diverse people, they bring different things to the table, such as discussions, perspectives and even cultures and foods. That is why I love travel so much I guess; I love meeting more and more diverse people and it is very interesting to me to experience different ways of life, even if they are very different from my own, I just think that the key element is to keep an open mind!
I think that God chose a path for everybody, and if He chose somebody to be LGBT, society should accept that.” I think that what I said in the last part was very true. If God supposedly chose a specific path for everybody, why do people who follow God say that this is a bad way of life? I think that you shouldn’t judge people because they are different from you. I think that this is different from my old class because they used to bully different people (not me though) and they used to make racist remarks. It is so disturbing for people to go around judging people because they aren’t as society would like them to be. I preach, and Eco preaches, that every single person in the world is good and they are all equal.
We also did the First Nations narrative and the Idle No More narrative. I think that those ones are the most important because they are the closest to us, yet very many people pay attention to it the least. I love the First Nations narrative because I think that they have such an interesting story. They have gone through residential schools, they have gone through attempt genocide against them, they have gone through red skin scalping projects, they have gone through racism day in and day out, they have gone through inequality. They thing is though, that they are indestructible. They have never been completely defeated. Sure they may have lost a few battles and a few tribe members, but they are still here today. In Eco, we have learned all of this. We learned all of these narratives and I can easily have a strong conversation about all of them. It is confusing as to why my old school never brought up any of these stories of history. I mean, you wouldn’t want to show “12 Years a Slave” to a grade 2 class, but even in grade 4 – they could’ve taught us about what slavery was.
I think that the major differences in this unit is the education and the arts. We learned so many things about the African, LGBT, Jewish, First Nations and Idle No More narratives. These are all very important to Canada’s cultural diversity, so I don’t understand why the usual schooling methods have never included these narratives into the regular day’s schedule. I wish that I had learned about different histories in Canada earlier.
With the arts, we did spoken word, paintings/art pieces, song, video and dance. I thought that it was very interesting to incorporate a whole bunch of different art styles into this unit because I had never done any song writing or spoken word in school. I had done dancing before, but it never really had any meaning. I had also done drawing and painting, but again, it had no inspirational purpose. I think that all schools should include many forms of art into their everyday routine because it is lighter, and more fun, in my opinion! I hope that I am able to do many different art forms in the future!
The next interesting unit we did was called Watersheds! I think that this unit was different from traditional schooling methods because we all got to create our own projects where we are the inventors, we make the blue notes, and we are the ones to make the decisions! I really enjoyed having the freedom to explore different problems concerning our watershed, and figure out what we want a solution to be. My partner Julia and I decided that we wanted to create a line of triclosan-free bathroom products, including shampoo, hand soap, and sanitizer. We created our own recipes after doing some research with certain scents. It was very fun experimenting and doing our own thing. I liked not having a teacher over our shoulder the whole time telling us what was next; it was the trial and error process that made us a stronger team! To make sure our products worked, we did tests with petri dishes by taking samples of people’s hands with and without our products and then we saw the mould and bacteria grow. We discovered that our product actually worked! This was also a difference because we had to make all of our own agar jelly and do the tests ourselves. I enjoyed that freedom. We also wanted to make our “Squeaky Green” products more public, so we went off on our own down by the river and filmed a commercial to show to different classes. It was a bit tricky since we have both never really done any commercial making. But again, I liked the freedom to have a bit of a challenge and create our own extras to make the project our own.
Julia and I are very confident with our Squeaky Green triclosan-free and 100% organic bathroom products (buy them at your local EcoJustice for $10! Just kiddingJ). I think that the main reason that we are so confident is because we got to design our own project, have our own challenges, be our own managers and have fun with our own products. If it were a class project, it would still be very enjoyable, but we would have less struggles because there are more people. I have never really experienced that at my old school so I think that this was a great difference that I really enjoyed.
Here is our watersheds commercial!! Made with VideoFX Live http://VideoFXLive.com/FREE
Another major way our class is different from others is that we go on a major year-end class trip. At the start of the year, we planned on going Bella Bella. We were super excited, as we had to raise about 30,000 dollars to arrive at an amazing, remote place on the West Coast of B.C. I was all in, and that was new for me. I would usually just wait and procrastinate for a while because I knew that I was a good student, and I would get a good mark, because I had that “good two-shoes, perfect student” reputation. I knew that something was different when I heard about Bella Bella. I was passionate about it. I was excited, truly excited. I was inspired to do so much research and invest time into finding out different things about the Heiltsuk and the environment there. Also, I learned so much about Enbridge and the pipelines. When we heard the news that we were going to the Yukon instead, I was crushed, but also happy. I knew that an adventure awaited us and that we were starting from square one, creating our own legacy. The privilege is huge, and that is a major difference. We have so much privilege to be able to do the things we do, travel to the places we go. I really enjoy being able to do these amazing things, but we need to have responsibility. We cannot be selfish and show our privilege to everyone we meet, we have to be humble. I think that I have grown in my maturity a lot because I know how privileged we are and that we have to be responsible with that, and with responsibility comes maturity. Last year, we didn’t have much privilege, or at least as much as we do this year, so we didn’t really have to do much with that. I guess that having all of this responsibility has made me a better person.
EcoJustice has transformed me, positively, in so many ways. I feel like I want to make change, give back to the community and help people. I want to make people smile. I want to help the earth with all of its environmental issues. I want to help the people on this earth. I just want to give back to the world. I think that every class should take part in acticities like we do, with social and environmental activism because just imagine a world where we all got along and we had no injustice. I guess there would be nothing worth fighting for, then. I kind of like it how it id right nowJ. I am so thankful for EcoJustice because it will always have a special place in my heart, along with all of the laughs, amazing people, experiences, and great times that come with it.
Here is a picture of our class bonding in Batoche. I just really like this picture of all of us together: https://instagram.com/p/uJnJDSCgbZ/?taken-by=julia.vis
Jasmine Thomas, Term 2 of EcoJustice, 2015
Voices for Change:
Arts Education:
CP8.1 Create dance compositions that express ideas and student perspectives on social issues (e.g., poverty, racism, homophobia, sustainability, gangs).
We achieved this when we were on week 3, I believe. We were to create dances that had to do with a certain narrative, and my group chose First Nations and them being pushed away and not being helped, which could lead to gangs, poverty, addictions etc. I think that it is very important to include many different elements into your education because it makes you that much stronger.
CP8.2 Investigate and use choreographic forms (e.g., theme and variations, canon).
We accomplished this outcome when we went to visit Jackie at her dance studio. She is a choreographer, and I think that that was a very good opportunity for us. She taught us about theme, space, emotion, and other different elements to make our dances more interesting and esthetically pleasing. I believe that it made our dance experience more challenging but also it made our end product much better.
CP8.3 Choreograph one section of group choreography.
We accomplished this outcome when we did our dance week. For our end product, we had to create a dance with a group, so I joined up with 3 other people. We all banned together and created a lyrical dance that incorporated all of our moves and ideas. I think that we were all really proud of the end result.
CP8.7 Improvise, compose, and perform (e.g., with voice, instruments, and technologies) a selection of pieces in contrasting styles.
We did this in week 5 or 6 of this unit. We created songs from scratch or a parody and we sang to the background. It was pretty tricky to come up with something that didn’t sound very cheesy because the songs were about different narratives, such as the black narrative (what my partner and I did), but I think that it was a very good challenge for us all. A lot of people created their own track on Garage band or with a piano or guitar but I think that the song we created is unique because we didn’t exactly follow the pattern of where the voice goes in with the music so it was more our own.
English Language Arts:
CR8.2 Select and use appropriate strategies to construct meaning before (e.g., previewing and anticipating message), during (e.g., making inferences based on text and prior knowledge), and after (e.g., paraphrasing and summarizing) viewing, listening, and reading.
To accomplish this outcome, we had to do a lot of research on the different narratives we were assigned, which were African, Jewish, First Nations and LGBT. There were a lot of things on the internet that were not true, such a stereotypes, rumors and even some different articles that we really had to analyze. The internet doesn’t have a filter so we needed to go through it and see which things we through were true or not based on other resources and facts.
CC8.8 Write to describe a landscape scene; to narrate a personal story or anecdote and a historical narrative; to explain and inform in a presentation of findings, a biography, a documented research report, and a résumé and covering letter; and to persuade in a mini-debate and a review.
To accomplish this, we wrote spoken word about the black narrative. It was a different type of writing and also an art form that shows more passion in my opinion. You kind of perform it live and add some actions and a lot of emotion and expression. I think that it was a creative way to show what we have learned and are learning in Language Arts.
CC8.9 Experiment with a variety of text forms (e.g., Reader’s Theatre, role play, humorous instructions, an electronic presentation, a dramatization, a mini-debate) and techniques (e.g., imagery, music, graphics and statistics in a multimedia presentation).
We did this when we created our spoken word with Isaac. He taught us different ways to do partner spoken word pieces and how to make them in the easiest way possible. Spoken word is a different form of text that has a rhythm, so it is like a poem, but there is almost a freer vibe because spoken word can really be any words that you speak with a rhythm.
Health Education:
USC8.2 Analyze how personal prejudices/biases, and habits of mind shape assumptions about family identities, structures, roles, and responsibilities.
To accomplish this outcome, we did some research on different narratives. We noticed in our research that a lot of bad things in the world, such as the Holocaust and the residential schools can have a large impact on how people can view other people. For example, a lot of people see First Nations as poor and homeless, so if a parent taught their child that “First Nations are bad” then the child would learn that and view First Nations people differently.
USC8.4 Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of violence (including but not limited to emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, spiritual abuse, and neglect) on the well-being of and the supports needed for self, family, and community.
We achieved this curriculum outcome when we were also doing research on our narratives, which were LGBT, First Nations, Jewish/Holocaust and African. For LGBT, I noticed that in the videos, when the people who were LGBT were bullied or abused, they would often hate themselves quite a bit and certain negative things would happen.
For First Nations, when they were put in residential schools, it hurt their whole family because they were pretty community-based and when many people were taken way and often didn’t return, the community would be hurting. It also is still hurting the First Nation people here and now.
For the Jewish/Holocaust narrative, the whole Jewish community was killed or hurt. That would clearly affect them because that is their families and friends who are dying beside them.
In the African narrative, it was often the slaves who were hurt; violently, emotionally, sexually, spiritually and many others. They got pretty sick and felt really bad about themselves because they were being abused every day and that started to have effects on their self-confidence and how they see their own people as.
USC8.7 Assess the social, cultural, and environmental influences on and supports for sexual health knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and decisions.
To achieve this outcome, we did research on the First Nations narrative. The First Nations who were in the residential schools were never loved or taught to love, so when they got out, they were miserable and didn’t teach their children to love. A lot of people from the residential schools were hurting, so they turned to substance abuse. Those things made them do some bad things, which include sexual abuse. Also, it can cause those people to make bad decisions that can include having children at a young age.
Physical Education:
PE8.3 Implement personal plans for improvement of skill-related components of fitness (power, agility, speed, reaction time, balance, and coordination) to improve the weaker components and to support enjoyment in personal, social, and competitive movement activities.
We accomplished this outcome when we were creating our dances. We knew that there were some things we needed to work on such as coordination and balance so we wanted to incorporate some dance moves that help us practice and improve on those elements because we wanted to be the best we could be. For example, we added a lift into our dance because we wanted to practice balance and we added a very slow part because it is trickier to stay synchronized while it is so slow.
PE8.4 Utilize, including smooth transitions, complex movement skills that combine locomotor (traveling) skills, non-locomotor (non-traveling) skills, and manipulative (moving objects) skills (e.g., lay-up in basketball, spike in volleyball, hoop dancing, dribbling to a shot in soccer, rhythmical gymnastics movement, gathering a grounder and throwing to a base in softball, stick handling to a shot in floor hockey, ball control while moving in double ball) to enhance personal performance and enjoyment in a variety of movement activities.
We did this when we met with Jackie at her dance studio. She taught us different things you can incorporate into your dance such as locomotor and non-locomotor movements, axial movements and high, medium and low movements. I think that it improved our dance in the end because it was more aesthetically pleasing and also more interesting to watch.
Practical and Applied Arts:
To accomplish this, we met with Isaac, the spoken word artist. He taught us different was to make our writing more interesting and thought-provoking, and then we created our own pieces. I think that this is a skill you need in life because when you are applying for a job or a grant or something, you need to be good at writing if you want to receive what you applied for.
Religion:
To do religion in this unit, we met up with some people from the Jewish community. They taught us about Judaism and what their beliefs and traditions were. I thought that it was interesting to hear about a different religion because I had never explored any other religions besides mine and my family’s. I think that it is important to learn more about the people and things around you so that when something comes up, you are prepared and you know what to do or how to handle that situation or what is going on.
Science:
CS8.3 Distinguish structural and functional relationships among cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems in humans and how this knowledge is important to various careers. [CP, SI]
To achieve this, we did our dances. We had to use our bodies to create different shapes and movements; some fast and slow, so going along with that comes some sweat and fatigue. A professional choreographer is a career, and to be one, you kind of have to be in shape or else you can’t exactly show your dancers what you want from them (exception to Abby Lee Dance Company). We learnt that dancers need a lot of strength to do what they do and that their organs, tissues and cells have to be healthy and work together for a dancer to succeed.
CS8.4 Analyze how the interdependence of organ systems contributes to the healthy functioning of the human body. [CP, DM, SI]
We accomplished this when we were doing our dances. All of our dancing included a beating heart, working lungs, and functioning organs. Without those working right and healthy, we couldn’t have actually done the dance because we would be crippled and useless, but dance uses your whole body so it needs to be functioning right.
Social Studies:
IN8.1 Investigate the meaning of culture and the origins of Canadian cultural diversity.
We did this when we were doing our research on the narratives. We saw how all of those different groups played a part in Canada’s cultural diversity and uniqueness. Without all of those cultures here, it would be very different and even I wouldn’t be here right now because I am not First Nations, I wasn’t here first, so without my family coming over, I would not be living here and it would be a very different country without my family and all of the other cultures that aren’t First Nations here.
IN8.2 Appraise the influence of immigration as a factor in Canadian cultural diversity.
To accomplish this outcome, we did some research on the narratives. We saw things about the African slave trade, and if the African people didn’t come to Canada, we wouldn’t see and read things like that in our country, but it happened, so we do learn about it. The African people are a whole new group in Canada, and without them, it would look very different here in Canada.
DR8.3 Assess how historical events in Canada have affected the present Canadian identity
We accomplished this outcome by looking at the First Nations narrative. We saw how the residential schools affected the First Nations people greatly. They were not taught to love in the residential schools, so when the First Nations people got home, they didn’t teach their children how to love, and that still shows now. That has passed down through the generations and some First Nations turned to substance abuse, so other cultures is Canada may see First Nations people as addicts or something because they wouldn’t know about their past and what has happened. They don’t know WHY they are where they are.
Watersheds: Arts Education:
CR8.3 Investigate and identify how arts expressions can reflect diverse worldviews.
We looked at a children’s song to accomplish this outcome. The song was called, “We All Live in a Watershed,” and it taught us that we all live in a watershed, but also what the singer believed. If they didn’t believe that we all lived in a watershed, they wouldn’t write a song about it.
CH8.4 Examine and respond to the work of artists who incorporate more than one art form in their work (e.g., combining poetry and music).
To accomplish this, we listened/watched a song called, “We All Live in a Watershed.” It was a music video that had song and an animated video to it. Someone had to have made those things, so by putting them together, it made the video more compelling and interesting. It also gave us a better idea of what the video was about.
English Language Arts:
CR8.4 View critically and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of visual and multimedia texts including videos, television broadcasts, informational presentations, dramatic presentations, websites, and news programs to locate and interpret key messages and details, to develop conclusions, opinions, and understanding, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the text.
We looked at a website called, “Caring for Our Watersheds,” to achieve this outcome. The website gives a lot of information about different watersheds, including the South Saskatchewan River Basin, and we had to look through and see if we really thought they were true, because on one poster, it said that there were 300,000 people living in the watershed, while one other website said 3,000,000 people live in the watershed, while on a different website, it said that 1.7 million people live in the watershed. We had to choose which ones we believed based on the credibility of that website.
CC8.2 Create and present a group inquiry project related to a topic, theme, or issue studied in English language arts.
To achieve this task, we entered the caring for our watersheds contest. I joined up with Julia to do a project based around the chemicals that enter the watershed, so we created a line of hand sanitizers, dishwasher detergents and hand soaps that are triclosan free.
AR8.2 Appraise own and others’ work for clarity, correctness, and variety.
To do this outcome, we went over our watersheds contest proposals. We want to win the contest so to do that we need a strong proposal for our idea. To make it the best that we can, we want to go over each other’s proposals so that our proposals are very strong and convincing.
Health Education:
USC8.1 Analyze and establish effective strategies of support for purposes of helping others increase health-enhancing behaviors.
To accomplish this outcome, we worked on our contest entries. In my project, Julia and I are creating different products to keep triclosan out of the watershed. We asked others if they could help us out with experiments, testing out our project and gathering some containers for the product to go in. They were helping us because they knew that if we made it in the top 10, we would be helping our watershed and helping their health by making them stay away from triclosan.
USC8.6 Examine and assess the concept of sustainability from many perspectives, and develop an understanding of its implications for the well-being of self, others, and the environment.
We did this in our watersheds unit by looking at different people’s in our classes perspectives on sustainability and water. We learned that half a percent of fresh water is available to humans currently, and a large portion of that is in Canada. If we are sustainable with our water usage, we can help ourselves and the environment in many ways! We need water to live so that is a major plus but the plants and animals do too. With a healthy environment comes healthy people!
Practical and Applied Arts:
To do practical and applied arts in this unit, we made Bat Boxes. Two girls in our class were making bat boxes because bats eat insects and with more insects, there are more insecticides which go into the water. We got the wood pieces and hammered them together with nails, and then we spray-painted them black so that the bats will go in, because they like dark spaces. I think that it is very important to learn how to create things because in the future, you will know how to do repairs in your home, or even make something yourself!
Another time we did practical and applied arts was when Julia and I were making our soap. We searched up recipes online and then added different things to make them our own! We needed to gather the right ingredients that would be good at cleaning but were also natural. I think that this helps us in the future because if we had a mess in our home or something and we didn’t have any cleaning products, we would know which items or oils can clean well and are also natural.
Religion:
To do religion this unit, we just looked at the earth. We realized that there is finitude in our life and that is humbling. God created the earth and it is so beautiful, so we wanted to refresh our minds in knowing that we need to take every opportunity we get with this amazing world that He created. We need to spend time with God and the land because our lives and the earth won’t last forever.
Science:
WS8.1 Analyze the impact of natural and human-induced changes to the characteristics and distribution of water in local, regional, and national ecosystems. [CP, DM]
To accomplish this outcome, we looked at the Diefenbaker Dam. We saw the example of the Calgary flood last year and we realized how important it is to have that dam; it prevented Saskatoon from having a flood. This human-induced water distribution is helping us and the environment downstream because the earth gets more water and the people get less in the city!
WS8.2 Examine how wind, water, and ice have shaped and continue to shape the Canadian landscape. [DM, SI]
When we were looking at the landscape of Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba; where our watershed lays. The glaciers have shaped the land, and that is how our watershed was created! The glaciers didn’t go on the Rocky Mountains as much, because they weren’t flattened, and then they were less on Alberta, and then there were a lot in Saskatchewan and some in Manitoba! B.C. is rocky, Alberta is rocky, but less, Saskatchewan is flat, and Manitoba is flat too.
WS8.3 Analyze natural factors and human practices that affect productivity and species distribution in marine and fresh water environments. [CP, DM, SI]
We achieved this when we saw what was happening in the tar sands with the ducks. The ducks like to swim and drink from the tailings ponds and then that kills them, so not many animals or fish live in that ecosystem because there is so much chemical waste that is killing the animals and plants.
Social Studies:
PA8.2 Examine the role of power and authority in the application of diverse decision-making processes in a variety of contexts.
We saw this when we were looking at the tar sands. The government and the major oil companies are the ones who are benefitting with this project, and it just so happens that these are the ones with power and authority. It often occurs that the people with power benefit the most from certain projects that aren’t helping other people, the land and the animals very much at all. The government and the oil companies are also the ones who made the decisions to put the tar sands in action.
RW8.1 Analyze the social and environmental consequences of living in the Canadian mixed market economy based on consumerism.
We accomplished this outcome when we were looking at some of the bad things going on in our watershed, such as habitat loss caused by chemicals. Canadians like to have clean skin and teeth, and a lot of the products they use have micro beads and chemicals in them which seep into the watershed. This hurts the environment, and we are hurting the environment just because we want the nicest soap, sanitizer, toothpaste and skin cleansers.
Physical Education:
Advent Unit:
Arts Education:
CR8.3 Investigate and identify how arts expressions can reflect diverse worldviews.
To accomplish this, we created Christmas Cards and gave them out to the public. They all said, “Merry Christmas,” or something along the lines of that, but it showed what we believe in. I wouldn’t have written Happy Hanukah because I don’t participate in Hanukah. If we were from the Jewish community, we may have written that, so it just shows that there are different world views that can be expressed through art and words.
CH8.4 Examine and respond to the work of artists who incorporate more than one art form in their work (e.g., combining poetry and music).
To accomplish this, we watched a video. It was about war, and I believe that it had music and imagery in it. Someone would have taken those pictures and written those songs, so we noticed that those are two different art forms mixed into one!
EcoJustice Difference > Term 2! By JasmineJ
This year has been beyond amazing, but I think that the second term has transformed me the most. I have learned so much about my eco family, myself, my country and my own backyard. This term has been unforgettable and simply amazing. I know that I will never get another opportunity like this in my life, so I wanted to make the best of what was presented to me. Here is the true eco difference:
To start off with our first unit, Advent, I think that it has been the most impactful and different unit of them all. We went into the community by ourselves, we gave back to the community and we learned about the issues present in our city and country. I really enjoyed this unit, and I believe that some of my best work came from this unit. Here is everything different in this unit:
First things first, I think that I enjoyed this unit the best it was because it is all reflective work. I think it felt more like some “me time” almost and it gave me a chance to dig deep inside to what I believe in and what I think is right and just. I never ever got a chance to do that in my old school, besides saying what I like and don’t like about myself in Fully Alive, but that doesn’t really count, because we just did the activity and then left it behind us. In eco, we would do the activity and do something with it, and what we did was community service. I am extremely proud of my 1000+ word essays I produced in this unit, because I think that I pushed myself in my writing. Last year, I would have a minimum amount of words and just barely make the minimum, because that was all I had to do. This year, we are still given a minimum, but I surpass it because I want to; because I am driven to; because I believe that I could do better; because I push myself to be greater. I saw a quote that said, “You should only want to be better than the person you were yesterday.” I think that that is true because you are always striving for success, and also, you are only trying to be better than yourself, not anybody else. Here is a part of a reflection from the first week that I am really proud of:
“When some people think of Christmas, they think of Santa, toys, and getting as much as possible. This is not a very good mindset to have. The real purpose of Christmas is to celebrate the coming of Jesus. During the time around Christmas, we should also give to people as a sign of gratitude and love. Lots of people in Canada receive gifts on Christmas, but do we really think about where they came from? It isn’t from Santa’s workshop, but from our Mother Earth. So many things are made out of oil, such as clothing, electronics (speakers, headphones, TVs etc.), candles, paints and paint brushes, and so many more things that we use in our everyday life. These all come from the earth, so we should give back to the earth to thank it for all that it gives to us. After all, it is our one and only home! Here are some ways that we can give back to Mother Earth! First off, you do not have to buy all of your gifts! All of these gifts are using up precious oils that could be put to a better cause, so giving homemade gifts will prevent you from using up these non-renewable resources! I’m sure Mother Earth will thank you for this one! You can give gifts that have something to do with the animals! You can adopt an animal at some zoos where you can go and feed and play with the animals, so you are helping out the animals, a local zoo, and also, you are not using any oils or resources at all! You are just having fun with the animals, and saving the earth at the same time! Another way to give back to the earth is to get a real Christmas tree over a plastic one! It may seem like deforestation, but when you look into it, you realize that it is actually helping the earth. Christmas trees are regularly planted on tree farms, so there is usually no loss of trees! Also, using plastic trees means using oils. After a plastic tree gets old, people generally throw them out, and they don’t decompose, so they generally stay in the world forever. Real trees will decompose easily, as they are living, and they also give off oxygen, helping us humans to live! You see, there are ways that we can give back to our earth, and they are not very difficult too!
I believe that everyone should be able to share the world equally, and each and every plant, animal and human benefit from it equally. Every one of us lives on our earth, so why shouldn’t we all be able to share it with the same amount of beneficial properties from it. Sadly this is not true. Look at the plants and land for example; trees are constantly being chopped down, muskegs are being filled with oil, the air is being polluted with harmful toxins, the oceans are being filled with litter, and the glaciers are melting faster than ever before. This is our reality, and it has to stop! Why do we feel the need to wreck our homes? Are we really benefiting from spilling thousands of gallons of oil into our water systems? Will we ever be taught when enough is enough? Why haven’t we noticed that these conditions are only going to get worse without change? These are some questions that we need to look at when we are making decisions that are connected to the environment, just as many First Nations cultures do. We are wrecking our planet, and it is the only planet that can sustain life, so without it, we can’t survive!
We also have to give equal parts of the earth to the animals. They actually help us live. It says in an article that we read that animals can help prevent depression, and help heal people who are sick. They bring joy, and we need them. They also need the earth. It is where they live, where they get food from, and where they care for their families for. Animals are very similar to humans! It is actually proven that humans evolved from the primate family, as we are extremely similar. We need to treat these animals as our friends, and we should split the world with them equally!
All humans should share the world equally too. People in third world countries are experiencing lots of terrible air quality conditions, and they are living with unsafe diseases and bacteria that are harming them and putting them in danger. This should not be our reality. Everyone in the world should have equality, and I will fight for equality with all countries, even though I have it pretty good. Humans have the power to create change, good and bad. We need to focus on the good change, and try to make the world as safe as it can possibly be for all humans, as they are our brothers and sisters. Us humans are the ones who can wreck the world, but we ae also the ones who can make it better. Here is a prose I wrote that I feel like relates to this very well:
We Are Atlas
Atlas. The God who holds up the world on his shoulders. Such a responsibility. I can only think; how can a simple man hold the world in his hands? How can one simple man be the guardian over this pale blue dot that sustains the life of all of these ecosystems? But, Atlas is not the man who is responsible for all of these injustices concerning our earth. We are Enbridge, we are those companies that are wrecking our world, and we are killing these innocent animals, plants and ecosystems. But my friend, we are also David Suzuki, and Jane Goodall. We are those people who create positive change, we are the ones who can save the spirit bears, the oceans and the continents that make up our home! We can be the ones to hold the earth on our shoulders. We are one with our planet! Water like blood, soil like skin, and bone like granite. We can be the change that we wish to see in the world. We…are Atlas.” I really like this piece because I think that it shows what I believe in during the Christmas season, and all year round. It shows what I am passionate about, especially in the spoken word part. I wanted to add it in because I am proud of it, and I want to showcase my work. Last year, I still got really great marks, but I never had to work hard to get them; they came so easily and naturally. I was embarrassed, though. I had the best marks, and many others in my class didn’t, so they treated me different – almost as if I had to win at everything, or I would not be able to live or something. I didn’t know what it was, or even why it was, but I felt awkward with everyone asking me what I got. In eco, I don’t feel embarrassed - I feel proud. Proud because I know that people around me are proud, too. Proud because I put in the hard work and I knew that I was happy with what I had created. I was proud that I had pushed myself and succeeded. I was truly happy with my work.
Later on in the unit, we learned about war toys. In previous years, we had never really learned about injustices, war included. We had seen sneak-peaks of injustice in our “What-In-The-World” monthly books, but we were never allowed to investigate injustices that we were interested in. I guess we were allowed to investigate, but it was never encouraged or brought up as something we could do. In eco, I am very grateful to be able to connect different things from my passions to injustices. For example, I really love Disney, so I connected the black narrative to Disney and a lot of other narratives. In eco, we have freedom to figure the things out on our own. We get to search about topics we are interested in. Last year, we could usually only write and search about topics that our teachers presented us with.
In one of the last weeks, we did community service. We gave Christmas Cards to random people on the street, we sang Christmas Carols on the sidewalk, and we helped out at a school, we hung out with people at a senior centre. Last year, we were never allowed to go out into the community or create our own experiences. This year, we have gone out into the community many times and we created many of our own experiences. But I think that the largest difference with all of this is that our teachers trust us. They trust us enough that they allow us to decide what we want to do with our year. Last year, our teacher would assume that we would decide to go to Apex or something. Mel and Dustin trust us because they know that we are invested in our education. They know that we are mature enough to create decisions that will actually help us and other people. I really loved going out into the community and seeing the smiles on people’s faces when we helped them out or tried to cheer them up. Community service is one thing that I really enjoy and I can see myself doing it quite often in the future. Without this experience in Eco, I wouldn’t have found out this passion as soon or maybe even ever. Community service is very important because it is helping people in our community and we are creating human to human connections.
The next unit we did was called Voices for Change. It was all about educating ourselves on different narratives, such as the African narrative, the LGBT narrative, the Holocaust narrative, the First Nations narrative and the Idle No More narrative. I think that it is extremely important to educate ourselves on different narratives because once we know every different culture’s back stories, we know what they have gone through and what their past experiences were. Once we know what has happened to them, we definitely cannot make assumptions or judge them by their skin colour or race, not that I would anyways, but this just finalizes it. The major thing that is different between my old class and Eco is that my old class made many racial slurs. I never really gave it a second thought because they were always making rude comments and I chose to ignore them but now I realize how much they can affect people. I would have never learned that this soon if it wasn’t for Eco, and I feel like I would’ve let the racist statements go on.
https://instagram.com/p/0ZVm3CkcVH/?taken-by=hannah.hii here is a sweet picture of the Roxy with our event.
In eco, we learned about the narratives. That is key, because last year and other previous years in school, I have learned only about the First Nations narrative, but we were barely scratching the surface. We learned the definitions and regions-the basics, but I never knew what Idle No More was, or that First Nations people are discriminated every single day. How was I so oblivious to this?! I can’t believe that my teachers would hide us from all of that. It may be a touchy subject that most like to ignore, but what they may not realize is that we can create positive change in the world. We can teach many other people that this is wrong. We can educate others like Dustin and Mel have done for us.
Without Eco, I wouldn’t have known what LGBT stood for. I knew what a gay person was, and the definition I had heard was usually negative. Even in Fully Alive last year, we had discussed what gay meant, but it was a 2 minute chat. Why do we ignore this? These are clearly people, like everybody else in the world, so why haven’t I learnt about what it means? In Eco, we preach equality. We include people who are pushed to the side. Including people means hearing their narratives, and that is what we did in our Voices for Change unit. Now, I know that L stands for Lesbian, G stands for Gay, B stands for bisexual and T stands for transgender. I am very thankful to have learned about a new group of people, because if I ever meet one of these people, I know their background and how to act/what to say around them. We need to include everyone if we want a perfect world. A girl named Zoe at the Living in Harmony award ceremony said a spoken word. I mentioned that cultural diversity in communities is important as biodiversity in nature. I think that that is so true, because if you think about it, if everyone was the same, there would be no activities really because it would be different. There would be no colored or white people, because it would be different. There would be no songs, art pieces, or videos, because it would be different. Imagine how boring that would be! Everyone would be wearing the same color skin, same color hair, same color eyes, same face, same body, same everything. We would all be the same. It would be like there was one person, because the copy-cat mentality would be so there. I personally would be devastated and annoyed. I like living in Canada. I like being in EcoJustice. I like my personality, what I look like and who I have become. I like diversity, and I think that everybody else should too. It is important. Everybody is important, and everybody has a part to play in our diverse country. We need to be equal and actually live like we are diverse, and not judge because of that.
https://instagram.com/p/0bx-fjCDft/ here is an awesome picture of our event!!!!!!
Here are some parts from my reflections in this unit that I think show that we need to educate ourselves on other narratives and that diversity is a good thing:
“We created spoken words pieces to prepare for the spoken word artist coming in tomorrow. I was with Jenna, and we did ours on the Earth but other people did theirs on black racism. I particularly like Zoe and Maddy’s spoken word because I felt like it had a special component to it that no other pieces really had. Was it the expression? Did it just seem so real? Whatever it was, I liked it! They went back and forth talking about how the white person was better and how the black person had, “Skin like dirt, that poisons the earth,” something like that. It was very powerful and serious. I thought that it was very interesting to see both narratives, and the white person had much different things to say than the black person. Overall I thought that it was very intriguing. I really liked creating spoken word. It was extremely difficult at first to actually create it, but once we were started, it came along much nicer. I am super pumped about doing that Spoken Word workshop tomorrow because I want to make a very good and thought-provoking spoken word piece to share with my class and maybe even the Roxy Theatre!
I think that this week has taught me so much about the problems black people are facing just because of their skin; who they are. During this week, I learned the perspectives of the white AND black people and how they interacted with each other. There is so much more to the black people’s story and I want to know so much more! I am very glad that I have the opportunity to learn about all of these things so that I can use my new knowledge to transform the world surrounding me!” I think that this shows that we need to include the African Narrative into our knowledge because there is so many things that I discovered while researching their narrative. Also, it says in the beginning that we were preparing for spoken word. I had never heard of a spoken word before Eco, but I soon realized that it is a type of poem/song/rap/rhythm all mixed into one! It is very interesting to me to learn a new medium of art. I love art and I think adding a new form of it will help me strengthen my art altogether. We did many different art forms in this unit, those of which I had never done at my old school whatsoever. Even if we did do them, it would be really awkward or not have much purpose behind it.
Here is a piece from our second week in this unit, focusing on the Jewish Narrative:
“I learned so much that day about the Jewish people, and the Holocaust in general. I really appreciated going off on my own and investigating the things that I really wanted to learn about. I loved the freedom of being able to tell which was true or false, and being able to be passionate about what I found out myself. This was a very informational day, and I was/am very grateful for it.
After they left, I realized how privileged we are. We got the opportunity to have two members of the Jewish community come in and talk to us about their life and experiences. They even came in to talk to us for no cost at all. I was very happy that we gave them our eagle feather, and I think it meant a lot to them because they knew that the feather meant a lot to us. It was nice to see them smile, knowing that their own family members were part of the Holocaust. It was very interesting to hear a new perspective and create a new connection with Laurie and Itai. I hope they will visit us again.
These past few days have helped me so much to investigate the Jewish narrative and the Holocaust. I had never learned much about it before, so it was very exciting and new to me. I had a very enjoyable time researching the Holocaust on my own and finding out new things that interest me with this topic. I hope that I can learn more about this topic and use my new knowledge to change the world!!” In this piece, I mentioned how we had experts come in. That is another thing special to Eco; we have different people come into our class, or sometimes we meet with them over skype or FaceTime, and they tell us about things they are passionate about, their culture in this case, or other things that they are connected to. In my old school, we had different people come in, but they came maybe once every 5 months, and they usually didn’t talk about things that were very relevant (like maybe they would talk about magazines, or TV, or celebrities). It is very important to hear lots of different information from people from all different communities because you can hear every side of the story, not only the one presented to you immediately. I really enjoy having experts come in because it gives us a new opportunity to meet new people from different communities, and it also gives us a lot of information; first-hand information that you can’t get off of Wikipedia!
(This means peace in Jewish)
Here is a part of a reflection I wrote during the third week when we learned about the LGBT narrative:
“I was a bit sad that this week’s narrative started on Wednesday because there is just so much to learn about, but I was really excited because I NEVER had investigated this topic before. I had never even heard of a bisexual or a transgender person and I barely even knew what lesbian meant. I had A LOT of research to do and I was ready for it! I think that all people, no matter what their sexual orientation is, should be treated with respect, love and kindness. We are all human and I want to treat everybody as an equal, but that isn’t the same for everybody else.
I went on searching and I discovered that 10 % of people in Saskatoon were LGBT and I found that really cool. I think that it is very important to have a diverse group of people in a city or community. Diversity means that there are more people to love, and with all of these diverse people, they bring different things to the table, such as discussions, perspectives and even cultures and foods. That is why I love travel so much I guess; I love meeting more and more diverse people and it is very interesting to me to experience different ways of life, even if they are very different from my own, I just think that the key element is to keep an open mind!
I think that God chose a path for everybody, and if He chose somebody to be LGBT, society should accept that.” I think that what I said in the last part was very true. If God supposedly chose a specific path for everybody, why do people who follow God say that this is a bad way of life? I think that you shouldn’t judge people because they are different from you. I think that this is different from my old class because they used to bully different people (not me though) and they used to make racist remarks. It is so disturbing for people to go around judging people because they aren’t as society would like them to be. I preach, and Eco preaches, that every single person in the world is good and they are all equal.
We also did the First Nations narrative and the Idle No More narrative. I think that those ones are the most important because they are the closest to us, yet very many people pay attention to it the least. I love the First Nations narrative because I think that they have such an interesting story. They have gone through residential schools, they have gone through attempt genocide against them, they have gone through red skin scalping projects, they have gone through racism day in and day out, they have gone through inequality. They thing is though, that they are indestructible. They have never been completely defeated. Sure they may have lost a few battles and a few tribe members, but they are still here today. In Eco, we have learned all of this. We learned all of these narratives and I can easily have a strong conversation about all of them. It is confusing as to why my old school never brought up any of these stories of history. I mean, you wouldn’t want to show “12 Years a Slave” to a grade 2 class, but even in grade 4 – they could’ve taught us about what slavery was.
I think that the major differences in this unit is the education and the arts. We learned so many things about the African, LGBT, Jewish, First Nations and Idle No More narratives. These are all very important to Canada’s cultural diversity, so I don’t understand why the usual schooling methods have never included these narratives into the regular day’s schedule. I wish that I had learned about different histories in Canada earlier.
With the arts, we did spoken word, paintings/art pieces, song, video and dance. I thought that it was very interesting to incorporate a whole bunch of different art styles into this unit because I had never done any song writing or spoken word in school. I had done dancing before, but it never really had any meaning. I had also done drawing and painting, but again, it had no inspirational purpose. I think that all schools should include many forms of art into their everyday routine because it is lighter, and more fun, in my opinion! I hope that I am able to do many different art forms in the future!
The next interesting unit we did was called Watersheds! I think that this unit was different from traditional schooling methods because we all got to create our own projects where we are the inventors, we make the blue notes, and we are the ones to make the decisions! I really enjoyed having the freedom to explore different problems concerning our watershed, and figure out what we want a solution to be. My partner Julia and I decided that we wanted to create a line of triclosan-free bathroom products, including shampoo, hand soap, and sanitizer. We created our own recipes after doing some research with certain scents. It was very fun experimenting and doing our own thing. I liked not having a teacher over our shoulder the whole time telling us what was next; it was the trial and error process that made us a stronger team! To make sure our products worked, we did tests with petri dishes by taking samples of people’s hands with and without our products and then we saw the mould and bacteria grow. We discovered that our product actually worked! This was also a difference because we had to make all of our own agar jelly and do the tests ourselves. I enjoyed that freedom. We also wanted to make our “Squeaky Green” products more public, so we went off on our own down by the river and filmed a commercial to show to different classes. It was a bit tricky since we have both never really done any commercial making. But again, I liked the freedom to have a bit of a challenge and create our own extras to make the project our own.
Julia and I are very confident with our Squeaky Green triclosan-free and 100% organic bathroom products (buy them at your local EcoJustice for $10! Just kiddingJ). I think that the main reason that we are so confident is because we got to design our own project, have our own challenges, be our own managers and have fun with our own products. If it were a class project, it would still be very enjoyable, but we would have less struggles because there are more people. I have never really experienced that at my old school so I think that this was a great difference that I really enjoyed.
Here is our watersheds commercial!! Made with VideoFX Live http://VideoFXLive.com/FREE
Another major way our class is different from others is that we go on a major year-end class trip. At the start of the year, we planned on going Bella Bella. We were super excited, as we had to raise about 30,000 dollars to arrive at an amazing, remote place on the West Coast of B.C. I was all in, and that was new for me. I would usually just wait and procrastinate for a while because I knew that I was a good student, and I would get a good mark, because I had that “good two-shoes, perfect student” reputation. I knew that something was different when I heard about Bella Bella. I was passionate about it. I was excited, truly excited. I was inspired to do so much research and invest time into finding out different things about the Heiltsuk and the environment there. Also, I learned so much about Enbridge and the pipelines. When we heard the news that we were going to the Yukon instead, I was crushed, but also happy. I knew that an adventure awaited us and that we were starting from square one, creating our own legacy. The privilege is huge, and that is a major difference. We have so much privilege to be able to do the things we do, travel to the places we go. I really enjoy being able to do these amazing things, but we need to have responsibility. We cannot be selfish and show our privilege to everyone we meet, we have to be humble. I think that I have grown in my maturity a lot because I know how privileged we are and that we have to be responsible with that, and with responsibility comes maturity. Last year, we didn’t have much privilege, or at least as much as we do this year, so we didn’t really have to do much with that. I guess that having all of this responsibility has made me a better person.
EcoJustice has transformed me, positively, in so many ways. I feel like I want to make change, give back to the community and help people. I want to make people smile. I want to help the earth with all of its environmental issues. I want to help the people on this earth. I just want to give back to the world. I think that every class should take part in acticities like we do, with social and environmental activism because just imagine a world where we all got along and we had no injustice. I guess there would be nothing worth fighting for, then. I kind of like it how it id right nowJ. I am so thankful for EcoJustice because it will always have a special place in my heart, along with all of the laughs, amazing people, experiences, and great times that come with it.
Here is a picture of our class bonding in Batoche. I just really like this picture of all of us together: https://instagram.com/p/uJnJDSCgbZ/?taken-by=julia.vis
Jasmine Thomas, Term 2 of EcoJustice, 2015