Week 6 Critical Reflection: Black Canadian Learning Resource

The Resource

This resource was made in response to the calls from Black-Canadian activists who called for the inclusion of Black history in Canadian history since they are inseparable. This resource explains that teaching Black history with an anti-racism lens means infusing joy and positive moments into the material. Thefore, it focuses on positive narratives that go beyond oppression. This was designed with Ubuntu philosophy, an indigenous worldview from South Africa. This philosohpy focuses on four main areas: Solidarity, Coexistence, Compassion, Respect and Dignity. Ubuntu ideology aligns strongly with both the First Peoples Principles of Learning and the core competencies. Here is a cool venn diagram from the zoom that demonstrates the overlap.

There are many pro’s to teaching this content, but one of the main ones is that Black students will feel seen by their education. The only con I can think of is that, like any sensitive topic, the teacher must tae care to establish a safe learning environment, and sometimes teachers may fail to properly set up this environment.

Information on the N-Word in School

This resource does a good job of tackling the sensitive topic of the N-word and how to handle it if it comes up in your classrooms. It is a bigger topic of consideration for English teachers who may be reading books that include the slur. It is obvious to me that teachers, especially White teachers, should never be reading it aloud to their classes, but even in my own high school experience it happened. There is a helpful infographic on the website that uses some humour to help explain that there is never a context that it should be used at school. Finally, it also gives the teacher tools to explain to students who may be using it, why it is harmful and has no place at school. Before this, I would have been unsure how to handle a situation if one of my future Black students were to use it. However, the resource explains how it can affect people differently and not all Black people feel the same way about it, and that is why it should never be said at school in any context.