Journey to Reconciliation
For my ECS 101 course, we were asked to make an aesthetic piece to represent our knowledge and what we have learned while exploring many indigenous topics. I chose to focus on the history or residential schools, and how the trauma has left large rifts in the indigenous culture today.
Explanation of My Aesthetic Representation: My Journey to Reconciliation
When thinking about this project, I made the decision to do visual art as I find it easier to express myself, my feelings, and my respect for the culture. I chose to draw a little girl with a First Nations background, dressed in traditional clothing. However, about halfway through I decided to change my storyline. This piece shows the two sides to her story: on the left side, she is free, able to speak her language and be her true self. Whereas on the right side, her hair is cut, she's changed into bland clothing and looks like an average Joe. The rip in the paper signifies the two different lives she has lived and the tear in her identity, losing her given name, to being renamed with a Euro-Canadian name and referred to as a number. The framing around the illustration is complementary to the circle of courage; the colour red is associated with the value of belonging, I chose this colour because she and every other child that went to residential schools were abused until they understood that speaking their language, wearing their traditional clothing, and being different from the Euro-Canadians was wrong. I wanted to show that their ancestors belonged, they belong, and their children and grandchildren belong.
When thinking about this project, I made the decision to do visual art as I find it easier to express myself, my feelings, and my respect for the culture. I chose to draw a little girl with a First Nations background, dressed in traditional clothing. However, about halfway through I decided to change my storyline. This piece shows the two sides to her story: on the left side, she is free, able to speak her language and be her true self. Whereas on the right side, her hair is cut, she's changed into bland clothing and looks like an average Joe. The rip in the paper signifies the two different lives she has lived and the tear in her identity, losing her given name, to being renamed with a Euro-Canadian name and referred to as a number. The framing around the illustration is complementary to the circle of courage; the colour red is associated with the value of belonging, I chose this colour because she and every other child that went to residential schools were abused until they understood that speaking their language, wearing their traditional clothing, and being different from the Euro-Canadians was wrong. I wanted to show that their ancestors belonged, they belong, and their children and grandchildren belong.
My Autobiographical Paper
For ECS 101, we were asked to write a reflective piece on our story, analyzing our past to understand how we have made it here today, and how it might influence the teacher we will be come.
A sample of my paper: [When] grade ten came around. I realized it was time to start thinking about what I wanted to do, I went back and forth for a while. It was clear to me that with my experiences and the skills I learned throughout the years, I could help others. I debated between nursing and teaching but figured there are plenty of people capable of being a nurse, and far fewer teachers who are experienced with anxiety, and know how to assist when needed. Children tend to their worries without realizing, and what may have started as small worry, can grow to become a mess of problems that they don't know how to resolve.
When I reflect on my experiences in school, I think of the teachers. Those who encouraged and supported me, and the ones who said “don’t worry about it,” and continued to watch as I battled against my worries. Although anxiety does not affect most children as it affected me, that does not mean they live free of worry. I would like to believe that when I become an educator, I will have learned from prior teachers' negligence of what is happening in and around the classroom. I will get to know each and every one of them, be their number one supporter, and offer guidance throughout their journey.
When I reflect on my experiences in school, I think of the teachers. Those who encouraged and supported me, and the ones who said “don’t worry about it,” and continued to watch as I battled against my worries. Although anxiety does not affect most children as it affected me, that does not mean they live free of worry. I would like to believe that when I become an educator, I will have learned from prior teachers' negligence of what is happening in and around the classroom. I will get to know each and every one of them, be their number one supporter, and offer guidance throughout their journey.