Saskatchewan’s popular teaching treaties in the classroom training program has gone online.
This training program is a relatively new one which splits teaching treaties to educators into two phases of in-depth instruction of four days each.
After putting the program on hold for close to a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, phase one was delivered via four Zoom sessions last month.
Saskatchewan Treaty Commissioner Mary Culbertson said they were pleasantly surprised by the take up.
“February came and in each session we had over 100 participants,” she said. “So, every Saturday in February participants were able to have the entire phase one of teaching treaties in the classroom.”
Participants were from all over Canada including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
Culbertson added part of the process of expanding the teaching treaties in the classroom program is to make it more accessible and ensure not just teachers are getting the training but anyone associated with the K-12 education system.
“It should not just be on the educators, the focus of teaching treaties in the classroom. Every person who is employed in the education sector and who has contact with students should have some basic knowledge of teaching treaties in the classroom. They should have that cultural awareness. They should have that awareness of systemic racism, discrimination and how that affects all of us.”
Culbertson said the most preferred method to offer the program continues to be in person but this is simply not possible at present because of the pandemic.
The online version of the teaching treaties in the classroom will continue with more dates in April.
(PHOTO: Saskatchewan Treaty Commissioner Mary Culbertson, left, shown here with Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty. Photo courtesy of Office of the Treaty Commissioner Facebook page.)