"Acknowledge the stories of the past to inform decisions that will shape the future.
Take ownership and become stewards of the land.
Exercise their rights and responsibilities as global citizens.
Listen, hear and internalize stories of others.
Be empowered to become citizens committed to making a difference.
Recognize that they are an important part of a bigger story.
Impact, change and make a difference in the world. "
- Eric Harvie Teachers, 2020
'Coulee School' is the name we have given to all the multi-disciplinary work our students do through the learning lens of studying Twelve Mile Coulee, located right here in our community of Tuscany. We deliberately selected this name for several reasons - it's simplicity of meaning (a place of learning), the Indigenous history that is entwined in the Coulee, the implication of school as a place we return to often for learning, the presence of 'wild' - as in wildlife, native plants growing wild, the wild yet predictable passage of seasons in the Coulee, the juxtaposition of learning in place with the presence of a place of wide open wild existence. 'Coulee School' embraces our goals to connect this place where we live with every segment of our existence as we learn about our place, our existence within the history and future of our place, uncover, recover and discover stories of our place, recognize we have a role to play in assuring this place continues vibrant and dynamic under our stewardship.
These are huge life lessons for young children.
They are completely capable of learning every lesson from their hearts.
They are completely capable of learning every lesson through the lens of the Coulee and all the life that teems there, resides there, promises to continue there.
"One of the least noticed harms of the standards-and-testing movement is that the focus on individual subjects (ELA, Math, History) discourages interdisciplinary teaching, which begins with broad questions and problems so students can draw from whichever disciplines are relevant." - Alfie Kohn (Educator/Author/Researcher)
Life does not happen in compartmentalized areas of content, and learning does not either. We do not read only to know stories; reading takes us into multiple areas of information, research, history, geography, philosophy.
We do not apply mathematical thinking only in mathematical contexts - we measure, estimate, design, calculate, formulate, project possibilities about everything from the weather to building structures to sending Rovers to Mars.
We do not use maps only to find our way to new places - we also build maps of possible pathways, uncover old sites and map historical walks, revision maps to embrace future possibilities, use maps to explain events, possibilities, places for finding new resources or regenerating old growth areas.
And in the Coulee we find enormous, virtually endless possibilities for applying multidisciplinary thinking in a natural environment where stories both call to be remembered and offer possibilities for future living.
We come to understand ourselves as part of a whole; a small, meaningful component of a tremendous, interconnected web of living and non-living relationships in the Coulee. As we make sense of small components of knowledge within a whole, we cannot lose sight of other connections and relationships for they are all around us. When we encounter problems elsewhere in our lives, it is awareness of these connections and relationships within the Coulee that offer us possibilities for envisioning different pathways forward as we creatively and critically assess, extrapolate, ponder, innovate and pose possibilities for change. We know the connections exist. When we problem solve, we also know we need to follow the patterns and connections and then re-vision them in new ways.
The Coulee is a place for connecting, for questioning, for applying. We consider and document what our senses are telling us. We listen to, and uncover, stories. We notice, ponder, reflect, question, offer theories, reframe theories, apply and assess new ideas. There is no division of subjects to be studied in the Coulee. Biology intertwines with chemistry intertwines with physics and connects fully all at the same time with history, geography, math, art, music. Language exists everywhere as we identify, describe, question, theorize, strategize, design, test, re-design, share stories and possibilities.
Teaching our children that the world is compartmentalized into specific subject areas diminishes their capacities to make sense of the intricacies of the world and their place in it. Encouraging them to use their senses, observe and apply those observations, question and predict, infer and synthesize information offers them new lenses for seeing the world with clarity and authenticity as it exists rather than trying to pull pieces together at a later time and out of context. Learning in a holistic way affords children opportunities to see the world as interconnected relationships using a wide variety of learning skills and strategies to make sense of their role as part of a complex set of interrelationships.
Environment. Living and non-living. Wildlife. Indigenous plants. Historical stories. Geographical features and geological records. Ecosystems. Designs. Patterns. Interrelationships. Measurement. Dimension. Connections and relationships.
Children are always learning. Disciplinary boundaries require a blending of understanding at some point - for our young learners, exploring the Coulee through multiple lenses of learning offers endless opportunities for students to make sense of the whole world rather than needing to piece the world together later.
The Coulee offers a rich and varied learning landscape where children thrive and move in fresh air with multiple opportunities to make sense of a complex and vastly interesting world. We call it 'Coulee School' because Twelve Mile Coulee offers endless learning opportunities regardless of subject area.
Lorraine Kinsman, Principal
Eric Harvie School
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