Oakville School welcomed a prestigious Manitoba writer into their classrooms last week in hopes of showing students another side of Truth and Reconciliation.
David Robertson stopped by after Ashley Tully, a Grade 4 Teacher at the school, reached out at the start of the school year in hopes of getting him to shed light on Indigenous studies.
Tully says that she first encountered Roberston at a book launch in the summer and knew he would be a great person to have come to the school.
Robertson spent a day-and-a-half at the school, bringing students from Kindergarten to Grade 8 through a writer's workshop.
"The kids loved it! You know, kindergarten to Grade 3, they think anybody other than their teachers is great, so that was perfect," Tully says with a smile.
The Oakville Educator says that the students were fully engaged and thinking very hard about the questions they would ask him.
Robertson also brought the kids through land acknowledgments, challenging the students to make their own and bring them in the following day.
"They learned about the Indigenous groups around Portage. They learned about what treaties were in a day," continues Tully. "I couldn't have done better in the two months that I'll teach that stuff and how much they got out of it."
David Robertson talking to Oakville students.Tully adds that with Truth and Reconciliation at the forefront of Canadians' minds, she felt like this time with him was a gift.
"It helped our teachers also see that it doesn't have to be the sad and angry side of it," she says. "What David (Robertson) says is Truth and Reconciliation can be done through storytelling and getting to know each other."
Tully notes that any way she can help the community get to know their neighbours and see other perspectives, is an excellent opportunity for education.
Thu, Apr 18, 5:00 PM
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