FINAL REFLECTION

 Reflection

I believe one important aspect I have learned overall throughout this inquiry project is how to distance myself from the ideology of always incorporating cross-curricular expectations for assessment, and instead focus on where the learning needs to be then. I began noticing this before this project, where in my last placement it became evident that although I would try and plan a cross-curricular lesson to incorporate a social justice theme of global citizenship from the social studies curriculum with language, it became evident that there were rich conversations and learning that needed to take place. I saw in my Grade 1 classroom how the students were curious and naturally involved in the inquiry process. I found when I attempted to make a lesson cross-curricular to achieve both subjects' expectations, there were too many tasks and transitions that the critical learning opportunities were missed. The students wanted to learn more when we talked about celebrations around the world, and I wish to have provided an opportunity to have students reflect on their own celebrations and understandings, discussing how some people celebrate with what could be considered less or more, or some do not celebrate some holidays at all, gaining cultural awareness. Instead, I was focused on the different roles, relationships, responsibilities, and various situations in their daily lives and missed providing this valuable opportunity for social justice integration. 

Now that the inquiry process has been engaged in and placement is over has allowed time to reflect, I can understand where I went wrong, and could have simplified this integration through daily incorporations through all subjects instead of only teaching global citizenship in social studies. Due to my struggles with incorporating a cross-curricular approach, further inquiry should investigate this area of confusion. This process has helped shape my belief that when engaging in classroom experiences, it is crucial to facilitate this inclusive space where students are engaged in critical, vulnerable conversations with peers, and the educator, and through self-reflection tools. This opportunity needs to be created carefully and needs to be built on a foundation of trust, care, empathy, and activism to induce change. It is not enough to know about social justice topics, instead, we need to engage students in discussion resolutions and effects of the injustices that may be caused to different groups of people, therefore sparking creativity through processes towards creating change to create a more just society.

I believe others will find it useful to utilize children's literature to help create a space for discussions and provide opportunities for children to be represented and understood within a classroom. Children's literature provides a practical addition for teachers to implement strategically decided upon social justice topics. These topics can be used to facilitate discussions, deepen critical thinking skills, and have students reflect on their own experiences and the citizens around them. As educators, read-aloud is also cost-effective, as schools are equipped with a library in Ontario along with technology to acquire free digital read-aloud. This practical implementation strategy provides a great opportunity to engage in social justice and activism topics to therefore reflect and see themselves in the global world and make connections to others' life experiences; leading students to be social justice warriors.