In this thesis, Jacythia England explores "roles that oral histories can play in questioning and transforming dominant cultural narratives in senior secondary humanities education".
She focussed on 2 classes (Social Studies 11), First Nations 12) in a secondary school in Langley, B.C. in collaboration with the regular classroom teacher who had been a mentor to her during her practise teaching days. england designed 2 eight-week study units; one for each course that would provide a different method of how history and geography are taught. She included oral testimonies from marginalized communities, segregated communities in Vancouver, residential schooling of First Nations students and the interment of Japanese-Canadians. I initially read the introduction to page 42.
Equally important to me as the information she presented was the way in which the thesis was presented to the readers. Many papers are page after page of academic material. The mind sometimes wanders and refuses to comprehend what is being presented. England obviously had encountered the same over her course of studies because her paper provided rests and stops and time for reflection within her writing. In her introduction she set out personalized italicized comments prior to the academic quote. This was done a number of times.
I was "stopped" by the quote of James Baldwin. "THE PURPOSE OF ART IS TO LAY BARE THE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN HIDDEN BY THE ANSWER.".
Throughout her paper she used different fonts, italics, bold print, single-spacing for quotations, double-spacing for discussion of the quote, and bold capitalized print for curriculum mandates. She also "boxed" the quotes of living people, for example Ray Culos, an Italian-Canadian who characterized himself and others as a member of a segregated East Side Vancouver community.
***Here is my diversion from the paper. Ray was correct. Ray went to Strathcona Elementary School and then to Britannia High School where he was school president when he was in Grade 12 and I was 2 years behind him in the same school. I lived farther east than Ray and our neighbourhoods although mainly white were a mixture of many different ethnic groups as well as those folk whose ancestors had been in Canada a long time, but it was mainly a working-class neighbourhood. Ray's neighbourhood was largely Italian with Chinatown nearby. Britannia was a mixture of kids from Caucasian and Chinese backgrounds who seemed to me to get along quite well as s student body.***
***England's writing mother and I were on the bus going passed Hastings Park at the corner of Renfrew and Hastings Streets. Many people were standing behind a barbed-wire fence. I asked my mother why they were there. She said that the people in power who ran the government decided that these people were a danger to Canada because we were at war with Japan. She said the government was wrong because these people were as much Canadians as she and I were and were being unjustly treated. She certainly hated the Japanese government for their entry into World War II but these Canadians were not responsible for their ancestral country's behaviour. I can still see their despairing faces!***
England's work reminded me of how we need to listen and hear what the "hard"stories are and give students the opportunities to grow in the knowledge of how history evolves through the stories told and the people who tell them as well as the events that take place. Her passion and commitment to her work is obvious throughout the paper.
What surprised me was:
- how jargon-free the paper was
- how much passion was radiated throughout the paper
Three ideas I have taken away:
- Clarity of purpose should be paramount
- personal narrative is acceptable
- Physical layout of the paper is important for readership
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