Friday was an amazing day of growth and development. It was an honor to be welcomed by School District 57, to this unique learning opportunity. In a time when we feel so distant, we were able to virtually come together as family of educators and continue in our lifelong journey of learning. We had the opportunity to attend this Professional Day last year and I remember the chills of hearing the ceremonial drumming in person, it was sad that this had to be experienced virtually but I still find it amazing that technology provides us with these opportunities. The lectures throughout the day were filled with hard truths and a promise for the future.

A BIG take away: The importance of differentiating assessment to reach and impact our indigenous learners in a positive way. Providing your students with fair assessment does not mean they all have to be assessed in the same method, we need to shift our understanding the fair means same. Its important to reach each student on their level in a way that works for them as an individual learner. Finding different methods of assessment for each individual student will not only help benefit the learners but it will help you educate with a trauma informed lens. A method of assessment mentioned was using the medicine wheel as a tool for assessment. Using the medicine wheel is a way to include culturally relevant assessment for your students. They will be able to relate to this assessment method on a more personal level. If your students, see you reaching them on their level this will strengthen your relationship with them and help improve all aspects of the classroom.

I think the point about every professional development day is the more we continue to educate ourselves the better we can be for our students. I want to immerse myself in knowledge so I can continue to understand every child that walks through my door. Being a trauma informed educator will provide us with the tools needed to benefit our students. Understanding the intergenerational trauma and the impact is has on our indigenous learners will help us understand who they are and how we can help them best. As we continue our year as teacher candidates and soon educators within the districts, I think its important that we grab every opportunity of learning that comes our way. The more we understand the history and the hard truths of our indigenous people they more we will be able to change the classroom for the better.

“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.”
– Malala Yousafzai