School Interrupted

Honouring Parents as Educational Partners

When you think about education, whose job is it to teach the child? This question can cause a bit of contention when people view teaching as only the teacher’s job. This week's host is Jessica Wall, a Kindergarten teacher in rural Saskatchewan. Jess welcomes Kelsi, a middle years teacher, also from rural Saskatchewan. Throughout the episode, Jess and Kelsi unpack what it means to honour parents as partners in their child's education.  The notion of "Looking Out vs Looking In" is a crucial understanding and an essential element of honouring parents as partners in education. Jess and Kelsi use their own experiences with families to demonstrate the impact honouring parents can have and what can happen when families don't feel that they matter. This podcast is brought to you by Debbie Pushor Engagement Group Inc.  Resources Noddings, Nel. (2004). Happiness and education. Cambridge University Press. Pushor, D. (2011). Looking out, looking in. Educational Leadership, 69, (1), 65-68. Pushor, D. & Amendt, T. (2018). Leading an examination of beliefs and assumptions about parents. School Leadership and Management, 38(2), 202-221.

Co-Creating Nature Experiences from Parent Funds of Knowledge

“It takes a village to raise a child” - Proverb What possibilities await when we tap into one of our greatest resources and engage in meaningful conversations? Join host, Haylee Olver, and parent guest, Lance Zacharias, in a meaningful conversation about nature and learning.  Haylee Olver, BEd & MEd, is an early years teacher with Prairie Spirit School Division. Parent guest, Lance Zacharias, CPA, CMA, is a father of four, CFO of Zak’s Home Hardware in Hague & Warman, SK and a nature enthusiast.  The two explore how learning happens everywhere through sharing experiences, stories, and values about learning outdoors from both home and school. They explore how honouring parent voices and funds of knowledge can lead to co-created learning experiences and a shared vision. This podcast is funded by Debbie Pushor Engagement Group Inc.  Resources Hanscom, A. (2016). Balanced and barefoot: How unrestricted outdoor play makes for strong, confident, and capable children. New Harbinger Publications. Links: * Saskatchewan WIldlife Federation: https://swf.sk.ca/  * Sask Outdoors: https://saskoutdoors.org/  * Timbernook tips podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/timbernook-tips/id1491940075 Balanced and Barefoot Blog: https://www.timbernook.com/blog/ * Zak’s Home Hardware and Building center: https://www.homehardware.ca/en/store/51645

Welcoming Parent Engagement Through Technology

“The technology you use impresses no one. The experience you create with it is everything.” Sean Gerety.  For years, technology was something new that many teachers resisted. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, technology became part of their job description, and family engagement was more relevant for all students. Join our host, Rebecca Fisher, and her guest, Chandrée Gudmundson. Rebecca is an elementary school teacher. Meanwhile, Chandrée is a technology consultant with the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Division and has brought forward a new way of introducing technology into the classroom. Today’s podcast focuses on technology for educators, students, and families to collectively work together to engage everyone more meaningfully. When educators encourage connection between school and home environments, more authentic conversations begin to form.  Resources: Using Technology to Support Family Engagement https://blog.kaplanco.com/ii/using-technology-to-support-family-engagement Schools Can Maintain Parent Engagement With Technology https://www.govtech.com/education/k-12/schools-can-maintain-parent-engagement-with-technology This podcast is sponsored by Debbie Pushor Engagement Group Inc.

Parent Indigenous Knowledge in the Public-School Curriculum

How can indigenous parent knowledge be incorporated into the school curriculum? Can we infuse the curriculum with Indigenous knowledge from parents and others and fold it into a curriculum that is westernized by nature? Join host Tom Claxton as he unpacks his conversation with Linda Young and forays into the world of the public school curriculum. Tom Claxton is an Education Instructor at Northwest College, and Linda Young is a Traditional Knowledge Keeper and Sessional Lecturer. The two discuss the challenges of grafting parents’ Indigenous ways of knowing onto westernized school curriculums. This exploration delves into how we, as parents and teachers, will walk alongside and create new understanding and a more inclusive curriculum.  Resources: Learn more about Linda Young: https://www.debbiepushor.ca/grad-students/hylq12p55v57z0zzxov3ptnc4pom66 [https://www.debbiepushor.ca/grad-students/hylq12p55v57z0zzxov3ptnc4pom66] Young, L. (2020). Acimowin. Telling and retelling my residential school story. What was lost? What replaced it? What is needed to heal, reconcile, and reclaim Indigenous education for the benefit of students, families, & communities? https://vimeo.com/543353638 [https://vimeo.com/543353638] In-depth video https://vimeo.com/543372833 [https://vimeo.com/543372833] Overview video For both videos, the download password is acimowin. Pushor, D. (2015). Mapping parent knowledge. In D. Pushor and the Parent Engagement Collaborative II, Living as mapmakers: Charting a course with children guided by parent knowledge (pp. 20-41).Sense Publishers.

Embracing Culture in Schools

Imagine a school community where all parents and children feel included and accepted, where cultural knowledge and diversity are embraced. Our host for this week’s episode is Katelyn Hopkins, a passionate Kindergarten teacher who works in rural Saskatchewan. Katelyn welcomes Shannon, former school community coordinator at Howard Coad School, as well as Ayesha, a parent in the Howard Coad community. They discuss the importance of developing an inclusive school community through the use of language, culture, and family funds of knowledge. This discussion provides ideas for integrating family knowledge into the classroom and school community to develop authentic relationships and empower families, students, and teachers.  Resources Khan, M. & Cottrell, M. (2017). Oh Canada, whose home and native land? Negotiating multicultural, Aboriginal, and Canadian identity narratives. Education Matters: The Journal of Teaching and Learning, 5(1). Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D., González, N. (1992.) Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31, 132-141. http://www.jstor.org.cyber.usask.ca/stable/1476399 [http://www.jstor.org.cyber.usask.ca/stable/1476399] Pushor, D. (2019). Using parent knowledge to enhance teaching and learning experiences in schools for children and youth. In T.A. Turner-Vorbeck & S. Sheldon (Eds.), Handbook of Family, School, Community Partnerships in Education (pp. 243-263). John Wiley & Sons. This podcast is funded by Debbie Pushor Engagement Group Inc.