Officials with Saskatchewan Education are preparing to embark on an ambitious new project.
This fall, they will be collaborating with the other western provinces and northern territories on a new teaching resource springing from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process.
The idea was initiated after TRC commissioners called on regional bodies to make sure the legacy of the residential schools was included in provincial curricula.
Tim Calavel is the executive director of the government’s Student Achievement and Supports Branch.
He says the hope is the resource will give students a better understanding of residential schools and their effects:
“We’re going to be ensuring this resource is something teachers are going to be accessing and using at different grade levels, from K to 12, in the province to support the teaching of the Truth and Reconciliation process in Canada.”
He says one of the challenges facing them right now is that the curriculum for social sciences is in the midst of a renewal.
Despite that, he says they hope to complete the project before the end of this year.
Calavel stresses First Nations teachers and elders are involved with the creation of the resource.