At Facing History and Ourselves, our mission is to use the lessons of history to challenge teachers and students to stand up to bigotry and hatred. This requires us to know the ideas and choices that have formed our history and the opportunities we have today to shape our present and future. In this blog post, you will learn about Ògo Tàwa Inc., a creative non-profit organization, and how you and your students can be involved in a Black Lives Matter (BLM) Dance Challenge. This dance challenge provides an opportunity for young people to work together and take a stand against racism, bigotry and hatred.
The Power of Movement: BLM Dance Challenge
Posted by Soumya Shashikumar and Khalidah Bello on February 17, 2022
Topics: Upstanders, Black History Month, dance
This blog has been re-posted from the FacingToday blog post written by Kaitlin Smith, a Marketing and Communications Writer for Facing History and Ourselves.
Topics: Holocaust Education, Holocaust and Human Behaviour, international holocaust remembrance day
This blog is Part 2 of Teaching about The Holodomor. We recommend reading through Part 1 of the blog, Teaching about The Holodomor, as it provides a meaningful way to teach about the man-made famine inflicted upon Ukrainians by Joseph Stalin and the Soviets. You can use the contents of that blog as a way to learn and/or teach about The Holodomor before engaging in Holodomor Memorial Day in Schools.
Topics: Memorials, Genocide/Collective Violence, Memorial, Inside a Genocide Classroom, Holodomor
This Remembrance Day, We Begin with Why we Remember
“I remember him leaning in and asking why I would want to forget. ‘Memory,’ [Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel] said, ‘wasn’t just for ... survivors. The people who ask us to forget are not our friends. Memory not only honors those we lost but also gives us strength... Nothing good comes of forgetting; remember, so that my past doesn’t become your future’....”
Topics: Classrooms, Facing History Resources, Teaching Resources, Remembrance Day
Resources for Treaties Recognition Week in Ontario
Posted by Andrew McConnell, Jasmine Wong & Erez Zobary on October 27, 2021
We are all treaty people, and it is important that we understand the role and significance of treaties and our responsibility to these important agreements. Across Canada, treaty days offer opportunities for celebration, teaching and improving our understanding of treaties. In Ontario, this takes place during the week of November 1-5.
In preparation for this week, we have worked with educator Andrew McConnell (Anishinaabe/English, member of Nipissing First Nation) to publish a list of resources to support you with your learning and planning.
Topics: Canada, Indigenous History, Indigenous, Treaty, Decolonizing Schools, Treaties Recognition Week
Thoughtfully Choosing Texts in an English Classroom
Posted by Facing History and Ourselves Canada on October 26, 2021
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:
Topics: To Kill a Mockingbird, Books, English Language Arts, English Classroom, Literature, English
In this blog post Stella Kim, one of the co-writers of “Addressing Anti-Asian Racism: A Resource for Educators” and Toronto District School Board secondary science and physics teacher, shares about the process of creating this resource and how you and your colleagues can use this resource for professional learning.
Topics: Teaching Resources, anti-racism, asian canadian
Honouring and Remembering Chief Theodore Fontaine as we Carry Forward his Testimony and Work
Posted by Leora Schaefer, Jasmine Wong and Erez Zobary on September 27, 2021
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. Read our full remembrance post here.
Helping You Nurture a Love of Reading
Posted by Facing History and Ourselves Canada on September 15, 2021
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.
Welcoming Students Back to School with Current Events in Mind
Posted by Erez Zobary and Jasmine Wong on August 24, 2021
What can we do to support students during unpredictable and challenging times? How can we create communities where people hear and see each other, treat each other with dignity and respond together as a community? In this blog post, which borrows much of its content from the Back to School with Current Events teaching idea, we will share resources and approaches for addressing current events in the classroom during the first few days of school.
Topics: Back-To-School, Student Voices, current events, Upstander