TEACHING AND LEARNING ABOUT TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION WITH OUR YOUNGEST LEARNERS


BY MICHELLE MCKAY M


y journey into explor- ing teaching and learning about truth and reconcili- ation in the early years be- gan during a board-level


professional learning session that was fo- cused on Indigenous equity. We were asked to reflect on how we could apply what we were learning about in the session to our classroom practice. One participant com- mented that in the early years, this should consist of reading picture books, because that was “developmentally appropriate” for students. I was inspired in that moment to learn more, reflect deeply and really explore what this work could look like in an early years setting. What are the possibilities for learning? I was eager to address the miscon- ception that this learning is not appropriate for students in the early years and that they are too young, when in reality, this is when the work must begin. At the time this occurred, I was teaching


Kindergarten and searching for resources and information to support teaching and learning about truth and reconciliation.


12 ETFO VOICE | FALL 2024


What I soon discovered is that many of the resources that I came across were not spe- cifically focused on the early years – they lumped the early years into a K-8 or K-12 category. I began having conversations with other early years educators about what this could look like with students in the class- room, with a focus on taking action. I had also just returned to school to


begin my doctoral degree in curriculum and pedagogy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto and used this opportunity to search for resources or research to guide my teaching in the classroom. When I could not find anything that specifically focused on teaching and learning about truth and reconciliation in the early years, I knew I had to shiſt my plan for my research. I always knew that I wanted my research


to be meaningful to educators and actionable within the classroom setting, and this new fo- cus provided the opportunity. I set out to ex- plore how educators can respond to the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) and engage


PHOTOS BY CHRISTINE COUSINS


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