Facing History and Ourselves Canada
Facing History has provided professional development to Canadian teachers since 1981, and formed a Toronto-based, Canadian registered charity in 2008. We now provide nearly 3,000 teachers across Canada with training and resources, reaching more than 150,000 students each year.
"As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has written, there is a difference between history and memory: “History is information. Memory, by contrast, is part of identity… Memory is the past as present, as it lives on in me.” Survivors, witnesses, the descendants of those who lived through [histories], and all those who learn about [these histories] today face the question of how to remember the past and how that memory might shape our understanding of ourselves and our present world" (Holocaust and Human Behavior, Facing History and Ourselves, 2017. p. 598).
In his testimony sharing,teaching and life, residential school survivor, and self-described victor, Theodore Fontaine frequently explored how memory lives on in the present: His family’s love, the horrors of residential schooling, the joys of friendship, and the healing power of connection shaped and reshaped his life, his teachings and his works. In so sharing, those who listened became witnesses to his experiences, and many were transformed as a result.
The following interviews build on our event, Learning from Theodore Fontaine: A Call for Lasting Change, and draw on the voices of additional friends and colleagues whose life and work act as living examples of Theodore’s teachings, his legacy and calls to action. We hope that these interviews will prompt deeper learning from Theodore and inspire readers to consider how his testimony and legacies might shape our understanding of ourselves and the choices we make.
To watch his recorded testimony, please check out our blog, Honouring and Remembering Chief Theodore Niizhotay Fontaine.
As you read these interviews:
- What insights do you gain about Theodore’s legacy and his hopes for the future?
- What questions do the interview responses raise for you about yourself or the world around you?
- How do the responses extend or challenge your thinking about the possibilities for living with trauma, hope and healing?
- How are you reflecting on the possibilities for healing, hope and courage after trauma, as you read these reflections?
For Ted, real reconciliation came through everyday acts of generosity and kindness. Our breakfast meetings were often punctuated by Ted recognizing passers-by and stopping them for a quick hello and always a joke... He connected, related, and celebrated their shared existence, and thereby cultivated knowledge and nurtured learning..."
- Andrew Woolford
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Topics:
Survivor Testimony,
Canada,
Residential Schools,
Canadian History,
Indigenous History,
Indigenous,
stolen lives,
student activism,
Action
March 8th is International Women's Day, which coincides with Women’s History Month in the United States. While women and their contributions have been excluded from recorded history in many societies, women storytellers have ensured that their achievements are shared and celebrated. We hope these guiding questions and resource collections help in your inclusion of diverse women stories whether on International Women's Day, during Women's History Month in October and throughout the school year:
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- Looking for resources to weave disability representation into your literature equity and inclusion work?
- Interested in receiving a free class set of books by disability justice warrior, Judith Heumann? (first come first serve, read below to find out more!)
- Are you a middle and/or high school teacher of English Language Arts, humanities, social studies, civics and/or Special Education?
Facing History & Ourselves’ 2022-23 All Community Read will be a collective journey of transformation supported by an educator workshop and author event. We will engage in conversation around the young adult and adult versions of Judith Heumann’s memoirs:
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Topics:
Books,
English Language Arts,
Professional Development,
Online Workshop,
ELA,
Community,
English Classroom,
English,
Disability education,
book club
If you were to think of an identity chart for a Jewish person, what/who comes to mind? Depending on how many Jewish people you know, you may be falling into a singular story of who is Jewish. If we think about pop culture, then perhaps you are thinking of Tevye the MilkMan, Barbara Strrissand in Yentl or Jerry Seinfeld. While they are iconic characters, this perpetuates a singular story of what a Jewish person is. Let’s unpack and move away from singular stories because there is no one way of looking and being Jewish.
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Topics:
Identity,
Teaching Resources,
Jewish Education Program
In 2015, the House of Commons designated April as Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation, and Prevention Month and commited to “[honouring] the memory of the victims of genocide and reflect on the root causes of these tragedies, so that they never happen again.”
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Topics:
Armenian Genocide,
Facing History Resources,
Genocide/Collective Violence,
Teaching Resources,
genocide,
Genocide and Crimes Against Humanities Course,
Inside a Genocide Classroom
Choosing a piece of literature for your course is an important decision. Take a moment to reflect on the very small number of books you will have the opportunity to introduce to your students in any given year. Stories have the potential to help students understand different perspectives, question their surroundings, and build empathy in meaningful and communal ways. With such an important role to play, these are some of the questions we encourage you to consider when deciding how to develop a course and which texts to teach:
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Topics:
To Kill a Mockingbird,
Books,
English Language Arts,
English Classroom,
Literature,
English
For many educators, back to school is a time of excitement; the idea of inspiring young readers, fostering new understanding, smelling and holding books together as a classroom community brings delight. You hope students will bee-line to the bookshelf during independent and community reading time.
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Topics:
Books,
Readings,
Diversity,
Reading
As the ceasefire in Israel and Gaza continues to hold, Facing History and Ourselves mourns the loss of life and bears witness to the trauma wrought by the conflict. We recognize that addressing the recent violence will require careful preparation by both educators and students.
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Topics:
Teaching Resources,
current events
Our dear friend, mentor, and teacher, former Chief of Sagkeeng First Nation (Manitoba), Theodore (Ted) Niizhota Fontaine passed away on May 10, 2021. Theodore was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, nephew, cousin and Sagkeeng community member. He is known across Canada as an accomplished leader in First Nations and public service, a knowledge keeper, Elder, gifted author, educator and public speaker (click here for a full biography). We continue to mourn his loss, miss his presence and walk with gratitude for his friendship and for the legacy that he created with Facing History. NOTE: This blog post was updated Sept 2022 to include lessons and Theodore's video testimony.
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This resource list is part of a blog titled, Engaging as Co-Conspirators in Anti-Racism Work, which is a statement about our commitment as the staff of Facing History and Ourselves Canada to our mission to stand up against bigotry and racism. The Facing History and Ourselves Canada team have been reading, watching, and learning from the following resources. This is by no means an exhaustive list and we would love to hear from you what you are reading, and who are the voices that you are learning from.
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Topics:
Choosing to Participate,
Learning,
reflection,
Reading List,
Scope & Sequence,
anti-racism
