Indigenous education focuses on the balance between the physical, spiritual, intellectual, and emotional. In this session, the always-engaging Dr. Pamela Rose Toulouse led a lively discussion exploring how these four aspects align with key learning in areas such as health, citizenship, creativity, and social-emotional learning, how they could be incorporated into learning skills on report cards, and how we could be using Indigenous teachings to support well-being throughout our schools.

Speaker:

Pamela Toulouse

Dr. Pamela Rose Toulouse is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Laurentian University. She is a National 3M Teaching Excellence Award Fellow and has been cited in Maclean’s magazine as one of LU’s favourite professors. Originally from the community of Sagamok First Nation, Dr. Toulouse is a proud Ojibwe/Odawa woman that comes from a long line of educators. She is well known for her contributions in Indigenous Education, and has published well over 50 resources, including books, curriculum pieces, articles, and videos. Dr. Toulouse is known for her dynamic teaching, commitment to equity, and passion for education. She works with a variety of school boards, presents regularly, and is active in her areas of research. Dr. Toulouse continues her life journey in the field of education by representing her Nation and profession in a respectful and meaningful way.

Pamela on public education:

“Public education is a microcosm of our society. It is where the politics of truth and reconciliation play out in real time in our classrooms, staff lounges and on the schoolyard. These are the spaces where Indigenous children, youth and communities experience first hand the personal and professional interpretations/opinions about First Peoples lives, worldviews and rights.”

Special thanks to Scholastic Education for sponsoring this workshop.