Social Issues in Education

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Media Awareness Network

Vivian Lee

Part 1: About the Association

Name of Professional Association:

· Media Awareness Network

· I found this organization through internet searches on various K-12 subject areas

· http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/corporate/about_us/index.cfm

Mandate/Mission statement:

· “In executing our mission, we are guided by our underlying philosophy of educating, not advocating, and by our fundamental goals to:

1. Develop and deliver high-quality Canadian-based media education resources.

2. Provide leadership in advancing media literacy and contributing to the development of public policy on issues related to the media.

3. Build broad public support for media education.”

(http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/corporate/about_us/mission.cfm)

Current Projects:

· Informs public about media education initiatives/research through News Releases published several

times a year.

· Develops media literacy/education resources for teachers and parents.

· Collaborates with Canadian Teachers’ Federation to organize and host Media Literacy Week.

Funders/Benefactors:

· For Media Literacy Week: CTV, Canwest, Telus, Canadian Internet Registration Authority, National Film Board of Canada, and Bell.

Association’s Link to Teaching:

· Media awareness/literacy is a prevalent and rising topic in education. We are constantly bombarded by media influences all around us, from advertisements on bus stops to our cereal boxes. Teaching students to be aware of media practices, purposes, and representations allows students to view media content with a more critical and evaluative eye.

· The Media Awareness Network if an information source for keeping informed on emerging issues in media literacy education. The Network also provides a range of educational resources such as lesson plan ideas and tool kits.

· Media awareness/literacy can be incorporated to meet Prescribed Learning Outcomes:

Examples from Grade 4 English Language Arts Integrated Resource Package:

· A3 listen purposefully to understand ideas and information (eg. summarizing main ideas and supporting details, generating questions, identifying opinions or viewpoints).

· B4 view and demonstrate comprehension of visual texts (e.g. cartoons, illustrations, diagrams, posters, photographs, advertising).

· B9 read and view to improve and extend thinking (eg. predicting and explaining, distinguishing between fact and opinion).

(http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/english_language_arts/2006ela_k7_4.pdf)

Other Collaborative Organizations:

· Canadian Teachers’ Federation and National Film Board of Canada

Part 2: Social Issue, Resource, and Education

A publication by Media Awareness Network titled `Media Education: Make it Happen’ defines media education as `the process through which individuals become media literate – able to critically understand the nature, techniques and impact of media messages and productions.’ Media literacy is a social issue as our modern world inundates young children with media messages from early childhood. This broad social issue may further influence other social issues such as gender, cultural, and socio-economic stereotypes, to name a few and teachers should be aware of how they might incorporate or highlight different social issues that may be addressed in learning about media literacy. For instance, the publication also notes how ‘ideological messages underpin all media: explicitly or implicitly the mainstream media convey ideological messages and notions of value power and authority. In media literacy, what or who is absent may be more important that what or who is included.’ Given these statements, it is important that students be educated to be aware of the influential power of media content and that its messages, representations, misrepresentations, stereotypes, and omissions, are not to be absorbed unquestioned by the viewer.

The publication also notes: `media education helps children critique media representations, teaching them to distinguish between reality and fantasy as they compare media violence and real-life violence, media heroes and real-life heroes.’ In other words, through media education, children need to understand that the media is not an absolute reflection of reality but a manipulated representation, carefully construed and structured to convey purposeful and intended messages with commercial implications. According to the Media Literacy Network, ‘research findings support the notion that media literacy needs to begin at the very early stages of learning’ and that ‘although it is a mandated curriculum area, teacher at the elementary level have very few resources available to them and very little in the way of professional development to support them.’ This suggests media literacy not only needs to incorporated into the curriculum from a primary level but that teachers also require resources and teaching support in educating on the issue.

(http://www.mediaeducationweek.ca/downloads/Media_Education.pdf)

Part 3: Pedagogical Strategy

Grade Level: 4/5

PLO’s:

· A3 listen purposefully to understand ideas and information.

· B4 view and demonstrate comprehension of visual texts.

· B9 read and view to improve and extend thinking.

Objective:

· To raise awareness of the purpose and meaning of media by deciphering many messages contained in advertisement, identifying the purpose of the messages, recognizing different representations (eg. lifestyles, people, and values), comparing similarities and differences between different brands of the same type of product, and describing methods/tactics for conveying messages.

Lesson:

· Start with a pre-lesson discussion on TV commercials to get a general sense of how students view and interpret advertisements.

· For instance: Brainstorm some favourite TV commercials as a class (eg. why students like it and their general thoughts and opinions on it), the most frequently seen commercials on TV, etc.

· Students can from groups of 4-5 students and each group can choose a product area to focus on (eg. soft drink, alcoholic drink, car, home cleaning product, personal hygiene product, tools, etc.).

· Each group can watch 3 different commercials for 3 product brands (eg. Coca-Cola, Silk soy milk, and Tropicana Orange Juice or Lysol, Windex, Pinesol).

· Groups should watch each commercial several times without any information or prompting questions provided to them beforehand.

· Groups should brainstorm their initial thoughts and reactions to the commercials.

· Groups are provided with a list of questions and prompted to watch out for key features of the commercial.

Example:

o What product is being sold? What are some key messages of the commercial? What are some differences in the messages of each of the three product brands? Who is the target audience? What kind of value/lifestyle is being represented? How might the representations in the commercial be different from reality? How does the commercial make you feel?

· Equipped with the list of questions, the groups watch the commercial several more times.

· Each group will develop an information board answering some key questions.

· The information board will also examine similarities and differences between the 3 product brands.

· Each group will present their observations to the class.

The BC Art Teachers Association

Shanaaz Mackay

1. What is the name of your professional associations or specialist organization? The professional association that is relevant to my future career as a teacher is The BC Art Teachers Association (BCATA).

How did you ﬁnd out about it (provide details such as urls)

I found out about it by googling BC art teachers. I wanted to keep it to something local so that it would be something that I can actually be a part of. The url is http://bcata.wikispaces.com/ .

What is their mandate?

Their mandate is to encourage members to maintain their dedication to promoting and supporting quality art education to all BC students.

What kinds of projects is your association currently working on?

They produce several resources annually including -twelve e-newsletters -quarterly newsletters -two journals -workshops -lesson plans -a conference once a year for the past 56 years.

Who are its funders?

The BCATA is self-funded by its members who pay an annual fee ($35 BCTF members; $20 Retired/TTOC/Pre-Service Teachers, $56 Non-BCFT Member).

How would you describe the possible link of this group to your teaching?

This organization is an absolute requirement for me to be a part of as a future Art educator, it is a great all encompassing Fine Arts resource that will connect me to other art educators k-12 as well as post-secondary, countrywide.

What other organizations does it work with?

The BCATA is a network uniting the arts community including schools, afterschool programs, museums, galleries, and supply stores. It promotes the artwork of both students and teachers in galleries, public buildings and special events. They are also closely afﬁliated with: The Canadian Society for Education through Art (CSEA) National Art Education Association (NAEA) International Society for Education through Art (InSEA) ArtStarts BC The Canadian Art Gallery/Art Museaum Educators (CAGE) Saskatechwan Society for Education through Art Manitoba Association for Art Education Ontario Society for Education through Art (OSEA)

Quebec-L’Association Quebecoise des Educatrices et Educateurs specialises en arts

plastiques (AQESAP)

Nova Scotia Art Teachers Association

New Brunswick Visual Art Education Association (NBVEA)

2. A central issue that is continuously addressed is the need to reform public opinion about the relevance and importance of the art class throughout the primary, intermediate, secondary and post-secondary levels. In a 2005 conference the central theme was focussed on how Government cuts are primarily directed toward the art program and negative public opinion of the arts further relegates it to an after school pastime. The BCATA were focussed on courting the media to get some exposure to their association and their cause in an attempt to give life and voice to the work these students produce within the program, in order to gain support in their ﬁght against these cutbacks. On the totem pole of educational importance and signiﬁcance the sciences are on top and the arts remain ﬁrmly planted at the bottom. Therefore their primary goal is to increase public exposure and in turn reverse negative connotations people associate with an arts program-primarily solely a “ﬁnger painting” and crafts activity. By highlighting the beneﬁcial aspects that the arts provide to troubled, at risk youth as well as nurturing inherent artistic ability that exists within everyone, art should no longer be relegated to nonessential electives but rather an integral aspect in a students development. This conference elaborated on the fact that the arts school program was in great danger and an incessant need to reform public opinion was required. By introducing creative and innovative teaching methods in the workshops at the conference, teachers would in essence, have the ability to connect to the students in a unique way and allow their own abilities to be fostered, while courting community participation and involvement.

3.One pedagogical strategy that I would employ, to deal with the issue that art is being relegated to a useless pastime and as a result being underfunded, might be to introduce a gallery at school, in which all students within the arts program submit a sample of their work. This “gallery” will then be open to be viewed by all students and then voted on. The artwork that receives the most votes would then be donated and auctioned off in a community event. There are two beneﬁts from this, one being that the money raised in the auction would go directly to funding the arts program to be able to purchase more supplies and equipment, and second is establishing art as a valuable object. Once a monetary amount is associated with an object, public perception of it changes. Instead of swimming against the tide, we have to swim with it and play along with the societal constraints and redeﬁne what is valuable according to our own interests.

War Toys to Peace Art

Anna Ryoo

* What is the name of your professional association or specialist organization?

http://www.wartoystopeaceart.com/ War Toys to Peace Art

* How did you find out about it (provide details such as urls)?

From http://www.pagebc.ca/ (This association was in the list of the relevant links on this website.)

* What is the mandate of the association?

n/a

* What kinds of projects is your association currently working on (e.g., publications, mission statements, professional development initiatives, collaborations with museums, conferences, etc)?

1. This is the mission statement of this association. (http://www.wartoystopeaceart.com/mission.html)

A. To work on and organize peace education projects and activities, as appropriate, that promote a culture of peace and non-violence for children.

B. To provide organizational support (including but not limited to human resources, financial support, office, printing and publishing) for the Peace Education Project called, “Acts of Transformation from War Toys to Peace Art”.

C. To encourage, inspire, motivate and cultivate an educational environment that will create capacity and community support for the understanding and growth of the Peace Education Project in schools and school districts throughout British Columbia.

D. To promote, advocate and support the Peace Education Project as a 2010 Vancouver Olympic peace education showcase that builds support and understanding for the Olympic Truce in a uniquely Canadian way.

E. To consider the feasibility of extending the Peace Education Project through our member organizations to be national and international in scope and participation.

2. The upcoming project/event of this association is: (http://www.wartoystopeaceart.com/events.html)

http://www.wartoystopeaceart.com/Posters/Toys_4_Peace_Poster.jpg

"The Fountain of Peace" - Local Participation in The UN International Day of Peace – will visit Vancouver and Lower Mainland Elementary and Middle Year Schools January/February 2011. The intent of the Fountain of Peace Project is to raise peace consciousness and honour the voice of children and their role in peace and their futures. The fountain will travel across Canada visiting children and asking the questions:
- What does Peace mean to you?
- What kind of world do you want?

The Fountain of Peace will be reassembled at each school and stones from around the world will be hung in random order creating a world without borders. Each participating school will be twinned with another country and a mural with messages and images created by the Canadian children will be a gift to the twinned school.

A special song has been written for the Fountain's journey and will be sung by children across Canada. The children’s voices will be collected and then overlapped to create a recording that will be the largest collaborative collection of Canadian children singing a peace song in Canada.

3. Grants to Schools for Artist Residencies - This grant supports individual schools across BC to bring professional artists into their classrooms for a wide range of curriculum-integrated arts programs including workshops and long-term residencies. The selection of award is determined by a committee based on the eligibility and merit of the artists and arts activities proposed by the schools. Successful applications are student-centered projects that offer young people opportunities to deepen their learning, expand their understanding of the world and make meaning in new ways.

* Who are its funders?

It is a non-profit society. Aside from Blenz Coffee, which seems to be the main sponsor of this organization, it seems to be funded by individuals who make donation and/or sponsors, such as UNICEF and UNESCO, of the events that Promoting a Culture of Peace for Children Society of BC organizes. http://www.wartoystopeaceart.com/support.html

LENZ CARES PROGRAM

* How would you describe the possible link of this group to your teaching?

This organization seems to be mainly involved with kids who are in kindergarten and elementary schools. As a secondary school visual art teacher candidate, I am interested in expanding the idea of using war toys and other mediums to create peace art in a way that could be used to target larger audience to promote culture of peace and non-violence. Through the process of introducing and creating peace art, I would like to help students understand the relationship between nurturing/childhood/culture and outcomes/consequences/reality; in other words, I would like to facilitate students to come to their own realizations about the consequences/impact of things/events that we encounter as a child, young adult, and as an individual of today’s world.

* What other organizations does it work with?

Port Moody library, New Westminster library, City of Port Moody, elementary and middle year schools in Lower Mainland, UNICEF, UNESCO

2. Review one of the association’s resources or journals (e.g., Social Studies and the Young Learner: A Quarterly for Creative Teaching of Grades K-6) and locate a social issue that is central to an issue of import to educators in this association. Write one-two paragraphs summarizing the issue and other salient information on educating to address this social issue from the article/resource.

(http://www.wartoystopeaceart.com/Curriculum_Resource.pdf )

This website provides a Teaching Resource Guide written by Sam Fillipoff and Susan Ruzic which contains excellent resource materials, such as sample lesson plans, but more importantly, they address a major social issue, a pervasive culture of violence and war that exist all over the world through mass media, which now has turned into a preferred mode of entertainment. They believe that the power to promote world peace should not be left to governments, but rather, regular citizens, such as teachers, students, parents, and community members, should be the ones to start peacemaking in their homes, schools, and workplaces. By engaging students in active peace education through the use of war toys to create peace art, they seek to raise awareness in a demonstrative manner; those who participate in the process of creating peace art as well as the viewers of these art works will get a valuable experience and also contribute in promoting worldwide culture of peace.

3. Brainstorm one additional pedagogical strategy of your own dealing with the major social issue of importance that was discussed in the article/resource (e.g., How to teach soccer to students with a physical disability; how to discuss the environment in the classroom; how to teach science to English language learners?).

I would like to have students bring in visual images and/or photographs that were used in newspaper articles and have a class discussion on their intended or unintended messages that could cause misunderstanding and barrier between groups of people.

- Provide other examples in your life or from media where an action or words contributed to cause of violence unintentionally.

- What could be some practical prevention measures?

- If you were to choose a different image for this article, what would it be? In what way is it a better choice? Is it free from causing unintentional misunderstanding?

Let's Talk Science

Tess Gardiner

· What is the name of your professional association or specialist organization?

o Let’s Talk Science , inspiring discovery http://www.letstalkscience.ca/

o Let’s Talk Science is an award-winning, national and charitable organization.

· How did you find out about it (provide details such as urls)?

o I found this organization by researching on-line. I googled “BC Science Teachers” and followed a link from the BCScTA site http://www.bcscta.ca/links/links.htm

· What is the mandate of the association?

o Let’s Talk Science’s mandate is to deliver science learning programs and services that turn children and youth on to science, keep them engaged in learning and develop their potential to become 21st century citizens, innovators and stewards.

o Their approach to science education engages children and youth with fun, exciting hands-on/minds-on activities that improve their understanding of physical and life science, mathematics and technology. Their approach builds critical life skills, including problem-solving, communication and teamwork, and accounts for the fact that each individual learns in their own unique way.

· What kinds of projects is your association currently working on (e.g., publications, mission statements, professional development initiatives, collaborations with museums, conferences, etc)?

o Let’s Talk Science continually researches to understand the impact of their work. They have published their findings in numerous venues, including conferences, peer-reviewed journals, teachers’ magazines and on their website.

o Let’s Talk Science collaborates with universities and colleges across Canada. University volunteers engage students in classrooms, field trips, lab tours, and science fairs as well as at workshops in schools, museums and community events all across Canada.

· Who are its funders?

o Goverenmnet of Ontario, Nserc, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Esso, Pfizer, Synapse, Merk, Suncor Energy Foundation, Shaw, 3M, The Cloverlearf Foundation, Hydro-One, RBC Foundation, Trudell Medical Limited, Health Canada, Trottier Family Foundation

· How would you describe the possible link of this group to your teaching?

o As a science teacher it is very important to be aware of the resources that are available so I can utilize these in my teaching. I hope to have the opportunity to invite volunteers from this organization to my classroom to deliver fun, exciting hands-on science activities.

· What other organizations does it work with?

o Let’s Talk Science has two other websites; Wings of Discovery and CurioCity. Wings of Discovery provide resources for families and early childhood learning programs. CurioCity provide youth with relevant articles that reveal the science behind topics that matter to them.

Summary:

In the article “A wake-up call on science literacy: Canada’s future depends on it” Kenneth Knox and Bonnie Schmidt (2006) discuss the importance of educating Canada’s citizens in the field of science and technology. They stress the importance of creating a science-literate society that will ensure the success of the future of Canada and the world. This article was written for the magazine Policy Options. This magazine is Canada’s premier public policy magazine. Its goal is to encourage an informed debate on the important public policy issues of today and tomorrow.

Knox and Schmidt (2006) discuss the need for society to understand science in order to make informed decisions about Canada’s future. Science knowledge is increasing exponentially and people need to understand the links between science, technology, innovation, the economy and our society.

They also include information on what Canada is doing to improve science literacy. They stress that the focus should be on engaging youth. The article lists a number of organizations involved. However, they state Canada has “no national strategy, no common goals” when it comes to science literacy. In addition, they compare how Canada’s science knowledge rates internationally. They state that other countries are creating a strong science culture and Canada is lagging. They conclude in order for Canada to do better they must establish a new federal, independently governed science literacy agency.

Social Issue:

Canada’s future depends on science literacy. Citizens need to be prepared with the science skills and knowledge to play an active role in Canada’s future. Without an understanding of science people cannot make informed decisions about issues that affect their lives. Issues such as, stem cell research, new sources of power generation, climate change and genetically modified organisms. People need to have knowledge of basic scientific concepts and processes so they can understand science-driven social issues. Youth need to learn science-based skills so they can help solve the problems of our future.

Pedagogical strategies from the article:

Knox and Schmidt (2006) address many strategies to improve Canada’s science literacy. They suggest that Canadian citizens must continue to learn, investigate and inquire and these attributes must be fostered in children and reinforced throughout life. In order to build science skills they suggest “hands-on, minds-on” programs and science organizations to engage youth. These organizations include science centers, national and regional outreach organizations, media, libraries, scientific societies, research institutes, universities and colleges. These organizations bring science out to communities, for example, creating science fairs and early child education learning programs.

My pedagogical strategies:

In order to attract and retain people in science it is important to instil a love and passion for science at a young age. Creating a positive classroom atmosphere is one of the first steps in developing a student’s love for science. In my experience I have observed that many students have low science confidence. By establishing a climate where everyone respects one another and feels comfortable to ask questions and offer suggestion students will show an increase in their science confidence. As a result, students will grow to enjoy science learning more.

A further method to improve students’ science confidence is to have them sign a personal contract. This contract asks them to think positively about their accomplishments in science and to not put themselves down if they make a mistake.

My third strategy is to incorporate experiential science learning whenever possible. Students learn more effectively when they are actively engaged. Active learning can be accomplished by doing hands-on activities whenever possible. Experiential learning includes field trips, designing and conducting student led experiments, lab activities and more.

Mineral Resources Education Program of British Columbia

Sourcing Practitioner Journals:

Minerals Resources Education Program of British Columbia

Ruth You Ree Kim

Professional association:

Mineral Resources Education Program of British Columbia

Website URL:

http://www.bcminerals.ca/index.html

Mandate of the association:

The Mineral Resources Education Program of British Columbia (MREPBC) is a partnership program between teachers and the minerals industry in B.C. It was created to assist teachers in their development of educational materials to support teaching about minerals, mining and geoscience in the classroom. MREPBC's goals are to foster a well-informed public through school education based on accurate and balanced minerals information, and to stimulate young peoples’ interest in minerals industry careers.

Projects:

Workshops:

· K-3 Integrated Resource Unit: Kids and Rocks, VSB, Oct. 22, 2010

- MREPBC`s fun, hands-on workshop for primary students held at the VSB this fall.

· Gr 5 Integrated Resource Unit on Mining, PITA, Surrey, Oct. 22, 2010

- For intermediate teachers intending include a mining unit this year.

· K-3 Kids and Rocks and Grade 5 Mining Workshops, Fraser Lake, Nov. 26, 2010

- The MREPBC in cooperation with the School District 91, is presenting informative and hands-on in-service workshops for MREPBC's two teacher-written elementary resource units - K-3 Integrated Resources Unit: Kids and Rocks and Grade 5 Integrated Resource Unit on Mining in Fraser Lake as part of the District Pro-D Day on November 26, 2010.

Fieldtrips:

· Copper Mtn. Mine Field Trip, Oct. 22, 2010

- MREPBC is partnering for the first time with Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (CMMC) to provide a professional development field trip for teachers (Princeton area, west Kootenay, and Lower Mainland districts) to the soon-to reopen Copper Mountain Mine located 15km SW of Princeton BC.

· Career Educator Field Trip to Highland Valley Copper, Oct. 22, 2010

- Highland Valley Copper is hosting this special, professional development field trip for career educators to familiarize them with the scope of a modern mining operation and the breadth of skilled workers and career opportunities in this growing sector.

· Sea to Sky GeoTour, Oct. 22, 2010

- As featured outreach of National Science and Technology week GSC geoscientists will lead an all day pro-d field trip for teachers to explore the interesting and complex natural history of the Sea to Sky geologic landscape.

MREPBC funders:

This school program began in 1991 and its earliest initiatives were supported by the Mining Association of BC (MABC). As the education program grew and demand from teachers increased a separate, registered charitable organization was established in 1994 to garner the financial support to continue to develop and deliver the program province-wide. Since that time the BC minerals industry, including many MABC member companies and individuals, has raised more than $4.9 million dollars for the charity in support of this school program and its Endowment Fund. This support has made it possible for MREPBC to assist more than 7,300 BC teachers who are estimated to have taught more than 650,000 students mining-related topics in their classrooms.

Personal links to teaching:

I found out about this organization from my Social Studies cohort instructor who informed us of their great (and often free) yearly geosciences fieldtrips held in October. My interest was piqued as I majored in Human Geography at UBC, and always wanted to gain more information about physical geography topics, such as rocks, minerals, and geosciences. Most of the geography taught in BC high schools tends to revolve around physical geography topics, so I found this website to be extremely helpful in introducing to me some of the rich resources available for teachers wanting to incorporate information about minerals into their classrooms in a practical, relevant and enjoyable manner. As Geography tends to be taught as a singular and non-binding unit in most Social Studies courses, I found the various resources and tools on this website to be very helpful in suggesting ideas on how to incorporate geographical thoughts and skills into daily lessons in an interesting and engaging manner.

Other related organizations:

- The BC Social Studies Teachers’ Association

- The Mining Association of British Columbia

Resource review:

I have reviewed the resource package, “Social Studies 10/11 Mining in BC”. The 89-page document outlines 9 unit lessons that is a curricular match to the “Resource” section in the Potential Learning Outcomes for Social Studies 10 and 11. The Resource Unit is intended to increase the base knowledge of students about the minerals industry in BC, and review the overall process of and issues around mine development. This kit includes a teacher resource binder including lesson plans, black line masters, slides and other materials (in PDF format), samples and activities, supplementary resources, teacher poster and resource pack and the small booklet, Mining Explained. Various exercises and worksheets are included, which engages students to increase their knowledges and skills relating to mining topics. I have personally found such resources to be very helpful and insightful for use in future classes. The easy accessibility of such resources also makes it appealing for regular use.

Pedagogical Strategy:

I would assign my students a project which has them choose one natural mineral resource found naturally in British Columbia, and create a six-panel brochure that reflects their research about their mineral. The pages should introduce the mineral and include information on where it is found, how it is mined, who mines it, and what its uses are. A short diagram of how the raw material travels from the site of production to the site of consumption at by the consumer should also be included. A discussion of the environmental effects and impacts of mining this particular mineral should also be noted, as well as a page dedicated to the references noted during the student’s research.

BC Teachers for Peace and Global Education

Michael Wiskar

Professional Association - BC Teachers for Peace and Global Education.

How did you find out about it – Through Social Issues in Education class.

Mandate - “Global Education is a philosophy of living and a methodology that seeks to link issues of peace, human rights, environment, and equitable, sustainable development to our personal and professional lives. It also seeks to find and implement ways of infusing these interconnected issues into our existing curricula and institutions by coming to understand the natural and human engineered systems in which they exist”.

Projects of association –

- The Global Educator, journal of the B.C. Peace and Global Educators (PAGE), is published twice yearly.

- Sponsorship of professional development initiatives for teachers, for example, “The Future Lives Here…Uniting Schools and Communities, Oct 21, 22 with key note speaker Stephan Lewis”.

- Provides resources for teachers to infuse global issues into their curriculum.

Funding – Association is a membership organization in which the general public and teachers become members and pay an annual fee.

Other organizations it works with – the association sponsors professional development for teachers with different school districts, municipalities, teacher associations, and other educational organizations etc.

Website - http://www.pagebc.ca/

2) In the Winter 2009 issue of The Global Educator there is an article entitled, “NGOs Provide Global Education Resources: Recommendations from the BCCIC”. This article provides information on global education initiatives, projects, workshops and resources that have been created by non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) for BC schools and educators. The umbrella organization named the BC Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC), is a coalition made up of these ngo's who also operate locally to “reduce global poverty and achieve sustainable development”. Incorporating global education into the classroom is the main focus of BC Teachers for Peace and Global Education, and this article provides information on various ngo’s within the BCCIC, and their efforts to engage students in global education.

An example of one of the ngo's in the BCCIC from the article is the Victoria International Development Education Association (VIDA) who has been involved in educating youth, students, and teachers about global issues and empowering them to get involved outside of the classroom setting for over thirty years. VIDA is currently offering free interactive workshops on issues such as, “Migrant Labour, Ethical Consumption and the Chocolate Trade, and Colonialism, Power and the Global Economy”. VIDA's website also offers other learning resources on topics related to “community development, the environment, and free trade”.

3) For a grade 5 social studies class, while teaching the Prescribed Learning Outcome, E3 “explain why sustainability is important” which is in the section “Human and the Physical Environment” I would use a Problem Based Learning (PBL) strategy approach to introduce the topic of “why sustainability is important”. I would take a global perspective (as is discussed in the article) and provide students with an example of human's negative impact on the planet (eg) destruction of Borneo's rainforests and the impending extinction of the Orangutan from extensive palm oil plantations. I would use different methods to communicate this “problem” to the students (eg) lecture, films, documentaries, books, news headings etc. and design certain activities and/or projects around this topic which would encourage students to critically think about humans relationship with other species and with the planet in general. The problem-based learning strategy could also be incorporated into other subjects such as Language Arts where student could read stories about Orangutans and the destruction of their habitat, or Science where discussion around the topic of “describe potential environmental impacts of using BC’s living and non-living resources” (Grade 5 science PLO) could allow students to connect the problems associated with rainforest destruction in Borneo to their home rainforests in BC.

BC Teachers for Peace and Global Education

Gregory Chan

Professional Organization: PAGE BC (BC teachers for peace and global education).

Mandate: To promote global awareness and non-violent multilateral approaches to international conflict.

Projects: The organization publishes a journal, hosts conferences, advocacy, and collaborates with national and local groups to further its goals awareness raising, professional development, and activism. It also supports both local and international initiatives that are in accord with its objectives.

Funding source: BCTF, members, conference fees.

Link to teaching: PAGE BC is an organization that is very relevant to my future career in education because the issues the organization address are important for building socially responsible and well informed students.

Other organizations that Page BC works with: National and local groups such as the Sierra Club.

The social issue at heart is the desensitization of children to violence and war.

In today’s society, violence in the media, on children’s’ TV, and violent toys are prevalent throughout society. Many studies have shown a link between TV violence and violent play and aggression in children. By having violent toys such as guns readily available for children to play with leads to their desensitization to war and violence. Playing war games disconnects children with the realities of war. It is important for educators to have discussions about what war is and to show children that the consequences are very real and tragic. I found this to be an issue of great pertinence to schools within Coquitlam which has a large refugee and immigrant population who have fled from war torn countries such Afghanistan. For them, the violence is very real. Students need to learn that war is not just a video game or something you watch on TV. They should realise that war and violence can have deadly consequences and should be avoided. The article in the PAGE BC journal summer 2009 edition discusses how a teacher incorporated a war toys for peace program into her curriculum. This program involved children turning their toys into works of art for peace.

The war toys for peace program addresses this social issue by first getting children to think about the toys they play with. The article suggests that the war toys for peace project is an important step for children to consciously think about a culture of peace versus a culture of violence. Having children choose on the toys they believe to be violent and then bringing them into school for the art project is a deliberate mindful act which is essential for children to begin self regulating their own play. It makes them understand that war is in fact very real and that violence does have serious consequences. The article also discussed that the project had a larger impact on the school community as a whole. Other classes were able to see the art and begin to think about these issues. The activity served as a springboard for follow on activities about peace.

The journal article references a document created by the BCTF as a curriculum guide of how to infuse peace education in the classroom. Some of activities suggested by this guide were followed by the teacher in the journal article and were showed to be an effective way to tackle the social issue of the desensitization of children to violence and war. As an aspiring intermediate grade 4-5 teacher, my pedagogical approach to this social issue would be through a variety of different methods that could be infused within the existing curriculum. Incorporating meaningful literature such as the “bread winner” (a book about the experiences of an Afghan girl under Taliban rule) and the use of magazines and news articles about the effects of war/violence. I would try to have pertinent reading materials that deal with this social issue in the class reading center so that students are able to explore and discover more information during reading periods. By having “real” media available, students should be able connect more meaningfully with the topic. Within the classroom, if there were any refugees or students who have experience with the effects of war, I would try to encourage them to tell their stories to the other students. I believe that hearing the results of war and conflict from a peer would be very powerful. I would also try to show a video which explores conflict and war and its effects so that children can see visually the effects of war (from a non Hollywood perspective). The war toys for peace activity described in the PAGE BC journal would be an excellent ending or beginning activity. Having it in the beginning would spark discussion and interest and having it at the end would allow children to reflect more on their toy choices. I believe either method would work successfully. Throughout the unit, I would continuously draw on some of my own personal experiences of war and conflict during my time as a soldier in Afghanistan. I truly believe and agree with the statement made by the grade 5 teacher that “War is not a game; it is something that is real, and real people are involved in these conflicts. Although not always easy, and sometimes uncomfortable, these discussions are necessary to create a better world than the one we currently live in.” (Myriam Dumont grade 5 teacher page 15 PAGE BC Journal summer 2009)

In addition to the war toys for peace art project to cover tackle this social issue, I would use an entry activity before conducting any instruction such as a mind map exercise. Students will map out their beliefs of war and violence. After a few months of having this social issue infused within the curriculum, I would have the students complete another mind map followed by a reflection activity which contrasts their current beliefs with their original beliefs. The goal would be for students to realise that they had in fact changed their views. I want students to internalize peace in place of war. I found PAGE BC to be a good resource to draw on and a pertinent organization based on today’s world events, I will seriously consider membership when I become a teacher.