A Haudenosaunee Story

Michael Lovechild and Allen Sapp are two of Saskatchewan's most popular artists. I am privileged to have collaborated with them both.

In this sweet book, Michael and I share the Haudenosaunee story of the Three Sisters.  

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day always brings this project/book to mind. 

This was to be a fundraiser for African children inflicted with AIDS. Sadly, politics got in the way and I am left with ...this...from what would have been a wonderful resource. In spite of the disappointment, I loved the journey that got us this far. 

Robbie Burns (Scottish of course) said that not reading poetry aloud is like playing tennis without a net. So please, in your best Irish accent, give it a read.

Mission Accomplished

Mission Accomplished 

Calgary...Edmonton...and today, home from Vancouver. 

Mine is the most satisfying work you can possibly imagine. If you've yet to witness one of my presentations and are considering inviting me to speak to your students or staff or parents, this post should serve you well. 

My most recent presentation was to the eight hundred angels at Minnekhada Middle School in Port Coquitlam. The feedback I received was nothing less than humbling. Thank you Mustangs (and staff). What I set out to do, I did. I can proudly say "mission accomplished". 

What was my mission?

1. To Entertain – to make our time together enjoyable and fun - for students, staff and parents...by playing fun, uplifting music (Unstoppable by Sia) as we gathered...then a song on my flutes as an introduction to my heritage and my upcoming message.

Mission accomplished. 

2. To be meaningful to all students, including those with Special Gifts – 

To include everyone by focussing on the reality that we all have a special gift. It is unfortunate that we refer to some students as having "special needs". The truth is, some of us have special gifts. I repeatedly spoke in terms of Different Abilities in contrast to Disabilities. 

It took me 45 years to realize that my gift is that of a "story teller". It then took the courage of Bear for me to take a huge step away from my safe profession as a school principal to the unknown world of a touring story teller/author. 

I asked students to become involved:...Raise your arm if you can draw/paint. Good. Thank you. Raise your arm if you cannot draw/paint. Good. Thank you. Now raise your arm if you can dance...and then if you are good with numbers...good with animals...athletic...etc... Students know what they love as it is often directly related to what they are good at: their gift.  Mission accomplished. 

3. Poetry – the spoken word - I read from...(rapped from) one of my books. I lightened things up all the while sharing the power of rap - poetry. I shared Voices from the Wild and gave a copy of the book to a student. 

Mission accomplished.

4. Indigenous learning – Meet your Family - Seven Sacred Teachings - 

Most schools, if not every school, are making Indigenous studies a school focus. It is past the time that Canadian students understand that we are all one family. We are all related. This reality is but one of many Indigenous teachings that can be shared with our youth. My book Meet Your Family tells that story.

We are one family. We all share the same Mother, Father, Grandfather... 

And of course the Teachings...a natural way to see the world and how best to live our lives. 

Some First Nations refer to the Teachings as the Grandfather Teachings. Others speak of the Teachings of White Buffalo Calf Woman. The Haudenosaunee subscribe to the Great Law in which the Teachings are deeply rooted. 

Nations should never go to war over the belief that one religion is better than another.

The natural way at achieving peace and harmony lies in the teachings.  

I shared the Teachings in a manner that is easy to understand and to remember. I gifted two books during this sharing, one to the student who is gifted with a memory that allows them to recall them and another book to a student whose gift is not that memory recall but something else that they can identify. 

"Wow! Thank you so much for the presentations. You lit a fire under the teachers to reteach the 7 sacred teachings!"

Mission accomplished.

5. Mental Health

Students heard me say that mental health is as real as a broken arm or the need for glasses. Thos message should not be talked about on one day of the year but as often as possible by those of us in a position of influence. 

Mission accomplished. 

Is Alberta really redneck

Teachers 1 - Rednecks 0

The politics of "education" in Alberta is interesting. It is also challenging.

Many families have a "black sheep". Alberta is looking more and more as if it is Canada's.

In a family, there’s often one child that’s quicker or more pleasant or bigger and stronger than it’s siblings. In Canada, Alberta might be that child. Let's face it, Alberta has prairies galore, an abundance of forests and lakes and it has those spectacular mountains. And oh, let's not forget, it has oil.

Add to all this, there exists a passageway between Alberta and the United States, a doorway that doesn’t exist among other provinces. If there are any problems between Alberta and the rest of Canada, these will surely be magnified by the influence of the USA. Canada and the USA are very different as countries and as people. 

In spite of all its many blessings, Alberta has in the past, elected governments that are similar to those of the other two prairie provinces. They have chosen a government that is uniquely socially minded by nature. The most recent of these was ten years ago when the NDP formed a majority government. Today however, much of what's taking place in Alberta seems to be driven by economics and a whole series of programmes and policies promoted by the US.

However, when it comes to my personal experiences in Alberta, all which are in the field of education, things couldn’t be more different.

Over the past thirty years, I have worked extensively with teachers, administrators and trustees, parents and students. 

Alberta teachers are as professional and dedicated as teachers anywhere in the world. They work as hard and harder than most given the restrictions and directives of a government whose primary focus might not be education, health and other socially related fields.

Alberta parents, not unlike parents anywhere in the world, love their children unconditionally and would do anything for them. Parents simply need to be given the facts (told the truth) and given the direction they need to play their role in educating their children. 

Trustees and board members are equally as caring and dedicated. The challenge they face is that they have been elected into an educational system that has taken on a life of its own, one that has been fed and nurtured by the US. This speaks to 
extensive testing at younger and younger ages, labelling kids, believing in levelled readers to teach reading, as opposed good wholesome books. When given the chance, I talk to trustees about the successful, wholesome educational realities that they do not see before them. It wasn’t long ago that I was invited to speak at at their annual conference. My Lois E. Hole keynote detailed the beliefs of Maria Montessori, beliefs that are consistent with those of Lois E. Hole. I was rewarded with a standing ovation. These folks truly do care.

In a world where teachers do not feel appreciated or supported, Alberta educators should stand tall and proud in their fight at providing Alberta’s youth with the very best education possible. I am among their greatest fans. I am among their greatest supporters. 

It's just so Canadian

The ultimate tool is just so easy...and so Canadian

This thing that I speak of, the tool that I speak of is Canadian, for sure (are we Canadians not known the world over for our niceness). 

This thing I speak of is definitely something we prairie kids have in spades; common sense (was Medicare not our common sense brainchild?).

And the thing I speak of is not a strategy, not something that can be taught. 

It is acting as we should act. It is being kind. It is being "nice".

Most don't think of kindness as something we could and should be sharing on a monthly, weekly or even on a daily basis. But it is. 

I can hardly believe it took me so long to realize the power that lay in simple acts of kindness and then to finally practice these in my everyday work; recognizing and celebrating the gifts and strengths in all people. 

Whether or not our individual gifts or contributions are recognized and celebrated, they do exist. 

Everyone has a gift...something that could and should be celebrated from our childhood until our death.

Whether you are a teacher, a TA, a school administrator or...think on this. 

As a school principal, I decided to write a letter, every day, recognizing and celebrating the gifts of those in my sphere of influence. We recorded the names of those to whom I wrote. We also recorded the names of any who responded (and there were many), though it was not by any means my objective to receive feedback. 

Everyday over the course of a year, I wrote a letter to staff members, students and parents. (In retrospect, the only thing I failed to do was to cc these letters to people who cared. I could have cc'ed letters I wrote to staff to senior office supervisors. I could have cc'ed letters I had sent to parents to their children and vice-versa) 

The results were uncanny. I can't even start to tell you how often I heard something to the effect of, "I have never received this kind of recognition. And I am so grateful - and humbled." 

Can you think of a better way to bring out the best in children and in adults than recognize and celebrate their gifts? 

This is how we should teach our children, by focussing on each child's gift. And this is how we should treat those with whom we work and live. 

And yet, as I look back on my life...as a student or as a teacher or... I can't think of many occasions where this type of feedback was afforded to me. 

And yet, I know I had amazing teachers and colleagues. I guess no one told them to be nice.   

A Comeback Tour

A Comeback Tour

For many reasons, the most obvious being pre and post COVID, I have not been speaking to students or educators or to parents as I have in past years - as I should be.

Meanwhile, I have had several books published, books that I have not addressed as I once did, as I might have.

Add to that, there are many new teachers and teaching assistants, new administrators and parents who might look at my name and imagine a surging old hockey player. 

So to take a step back...

My career is that of a teacher/administrator, first on the prairie, then in British Columbia. Somewhat unintentionally, about 30 years ago, I started writing. I have never been a strong reader but I have always lavished stories. Writing has allowed me to access the world of story telling, of story tellers. 

I lived through my school years struggling with disabilities and expectations that created unforgiving stress. If this reflects your experience, I hope you are fortunate enough to have Raven as your guide, as I do. I learned to adapt. I learned to offset my weaknesses with my gifts. 

I was and remain creative.  

That creativity has allowed me to author several books with my Grandmothers as my guides. My Grandmothers live in my DNA, as yours, dear reader, live in yours. I have authored a significant number of books on Prairie life, on Chinese cultural events, on succeeding in spite of  overwhelming challenges and on animals and on Indigenous traditions and values and the list is long.

My creativity has also allowed me to question educational practices, specifically those attributed to the teaching of reading. My learnings led to my writing the Gift of Reading and For the Love of Reading. 

Promoting literacy should be our collective focus from before our children are born until they leave secondary school. Teaching children to read and to love reading is the shared responsibility of every teacher, administrator and parent. My two books focus on how to turn our homes and our schools into environments rich in literature and how we can model the love of reading for our children and our students.

To complement my writing, I began speaking. I started sharing my learning with students, educators and parents. I spent 28 years speaking the world over to over a million people. Here is a link to some feedback: https://davidbouchard.com/speaking/testimonials

Today, I am speaking. I am writing. I am anxiously awaiting three new books as I travel, inspiring kids and adults as it pertains to reading, to their many unique gifts and to the importance of stories, both hearing and writing them.