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.

Topics: Identity, Teaching Resources, Jewish Education Program

In this blog post, Ontario educator, Uthish Ganesh, discusses how he set the foundation for the deep and complex subject matter in the African Diaspora course by focusing the first unit on building community, centering an equity approach and creating space for identity affirming activities. This process created necessary space to explore the layers of identity and its interplay with society and build bridges of commonality, understanding and empathy between students of all backgrounds. 

Topics: Identity, Teachers, Community, Black History

Topics: Identity, Toronto, Video, Canada, Assessment, Using Technology, Equity in Education

The past five years have witnessed a landmark re-emergence of gender diversity in North American public life and a surge in mainstream media representation. Transgender-spectrum people – those with a gender identity that does not align with expectations based on our assigned sex – are standing on decades of trans activism and increasingly bringing our entire selves to our workplaces, schools, and other public places.

Topics: Safe Schools, Identity, Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy, gender, transgender awareness week

This video is the first part in a four part webinar series featuring Jasmine Wong in conversation with Lorrie Gallant.

This series of blog posts explores stories and teachings that Lorrie Gallant shares about the purpose and importance of territorial acknowledgments and treaties. They are based on a recorded webinar from March 18 2020. Lorrie is a writer, illustrator, storyteller, visual artist, educator, Expressive Arts Practitioner, born and raised on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory in Ontario.

These posts and activities have been written for students to explore as part of a virtual learning community.

Topics: Identity, History, Canadian History, Indigenous History, Indigenous, Grade 10 History, stolen lives, Facing Canada, land acknowledgements, territorial acknowledgement

 As an educator, I used to think true learning was my teacher content knowledge level or how much information I could get out there to students. Here’s what I thought should happen: students would learn information,reproduce it in the way I wanted them to, and then that would be a good measuring stick for how much they knew. However, In the 21st century with a world of information availability at your fingertips, this approach has become more and more obsolete.

Topics: Identity, Holocaust Education, Holocaust and Human Behaviour, facing history pedagogy, Facing Canada

As the blog manager for Facing Canada, I have the privilege of working with many very talented, dedicated and creative teachers. There are so many teachers who come up with fantastic and meaningful projects and assessments for students that deepen learning and pique student interest. I have often been inspired by projects posted, and recently had a chance to adapt one for my own classroom that had been on my mind for awhile. 

Topics: Identity, Holocaust Education, Salvaged Pages, facing history pedagogy, Azrieli Foundation Memoirs, Holocaust History in Canada, Facing Canada

Students love music so, when I tell my grade 11 College English classes that they are going to be creating CDs as their first project, students get excited. Inspired by Facing History’s approach to teaching about genocide, I started the “Tracks Of My Life Project” to engage students in exploring the concept of identity that is foundational to our first novel, Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese.

Topics: Identity, Music, Residential Schools, Truth and Reconciliation, Indigenous History, English Classroom, trc, stolen lives

The students in my Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity course gained new and meaningful perspectives on what life was like for those targeted for extermination by the Nazi regime by creating a unique and innovative art exhibition that explored the lives of young victims of the Holocaust.

Topics: Art, Identity, Holocaust, Salvaged Pages, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanities Course, Inside a Genocide Classroom, Anne Frank

“Kim Kardashian published a book of them, Russia banned them, and at the Oscars last year Ellen took the most liked one of all time: Selfies.  And love them or hate them, there’s no denying the impact their proliferation has had on modern society.”  When I came across this statement in a magazine (Elle: Selfie Culture and Female Identity), I for the first time, appreciated the value of a ‘Selfie.’ Indeed, a Selfie can shed light on attitudes, values, allegiances, cultures, and pursuits – and all of this in a tiny, square screen.

Topics: Identity, CHG, CHC