About Me

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I have been an elementary and secondary school teacher and administrator. Currently, I am a faculty member in the Faculty of Education at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. My M.Ed. and Ph.D. had a focus on the educational and linguistic experiences of children who moved from other countries to Canada.

Monday, January 23, 2012

8th Fire ... from Canada to Haiti and back again

Much of my work and focus has been with Haiti but I'm regularly reminded of local issues which share so many similarities to the global (remember glocal perspective building?!). These can include issues of socio-economic disparity, community-building, power(lessness), innovation, discrimination, etc. Although all of these themes intersect with many different communities in Canada, I'm particularly atuned to their intersection with First Nations peoples.

One of our goals at the faculty of education has been to increase our own awareness of aboriginal ways of knowing. I have participated in multiple meetings and presentations that have involved the WLU Office of Aboriginal Initiatives. Last week, we hosted and watched the documentary: Canada: Apartheid Nation - see the trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFSj7QZb6qM

These have been tremendously helpful in situating my own teaching. A recent CBC series (8th Fire) is another good place for resources:

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/8thfire//2011/11/its-time.html

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