Providing an Online Smudge/Cleansing. Can we do this? ~ PME 810 My e-Journal - Entry #12

Following up on our attempts to Smudge in an Online Virtual Learning Environment

My ISS teachers have hosted 4 smudges, at 2:15 p.m. each day. They have incorporated a moment of silence and then went through and shared a beautiful smudge opportunity with staff and students. 

On the first day, we have over 300 Middle Years and Senior Years staff/student participants and over 150 Early Years staff/students. 

On the second day, we once again had over 300 Middle Years and Senior Years staff/student participants and closer to 200 Early Years staff/students.

This was all in a remote learning context and it was such a powerful and beautiful opportunity. 

Overall, the virtual smudge has been a resounding success and we have received numerous notes of gratitude for the acknowledgement and collective response. I have reached out to my online PLC to see what suggestions, tips, hints they might share to host an online smudge. I notice that this might also be an opportunity to me to contribute the success of this experience to the Higher Ed Learning Collective.

In addition to the smudge opportunities, we also created opportunities for shared readings/read alouds with Early Years, Middle Years and Senior Years students. Each of these readings were very well received and again happened fully online through the TEAMS platform.

The readings offered:

Senior Years Reading

Stolen Children, Stolen Souls by Elder Duke Redbird

 Middle Years Reading

 Stolen Words by by Melanie Florence

 Reconciliation by Rebecca Tabododung

Early Years Reading

When We Were Alone by David Robertson 

Phyliss’ Orange Shirt by Phyllis Webstad

All students ~ K to 12 – I Sang You Down From the Stars by Tasha Spillet

It was a challenge to offer such beautiful experiences for students during this pandemic in a remote learning context, but we did it and it turned out to be extremely successful and well received by all members of our community. This work is directly connected to the social-reconstructionist curriculum conception. "The focus of this curriculum design is on social action as well as the reconstruction of society through social, political and economic development" (Ornstein and Hunkins, 2013, p. 171). It is connected to a problem centered design where "curriculum is often based on social problems in the community" (Sowell, 2005).

Orange Shirt Day Honour Song

References:

Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2013). Curriculum: Foundations, principles, and issues (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Read part of Chapter 1, pp. 1-8.

Sowell, E. J. (2005). Curriculum: An integrative introduction (3rd ed., pp. 37-51). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.