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LUCID expands in Haida Gwaii
Author: Mark Fettes....An innovative pilot high school program and a focus on connecting with land and community are helping LUCID reach more students and teachers in Haida Gwaii (School District 50). The new program in Queen Charlotte Secondary School, called Taay.yaan.nuhl ("cluster of stars" in southern Haida), is designed for students in Grades 8-11 who for a variety of reasons are not flourishing in the regular high school system.
By integrating the provincial curriculum with learning on the land, and with the past, present and future of the island communities, LUCID aims to make school a more engaging and successful experience for these adolescents. The program is taught by a young and energetic teacher, Kim Kyba, with a background in marine biology and outdoor education. Working with Kim to develop the program's curriculum and make it available at the district level are LUCID director Mark Fettes (currently on leave from his position at SFU), environmental/drama educator Josina Davis, and LUCID Project Leader Vonnie Hutchingson.
The Taay.yaan.nuhl curriculum is divided into a number of phases that are shaped, in part, by the on-the-land activities that different seasons allow. The initial months of the program are largely focused on learning about health and survival, land and forests, identity and environment, and on developing a classroom culture that fosters effective learning. Over the winter months, the curriculum will shift toward the physical sciences (energy, matter) and the representation of the world in mathematics, mapping, and art; then, as the weather improves, to the ecology of the oceans and the cultures and economies of coastal societies.
It is already clear, from the first few weeks of the program, that it is making a difference for many of the 20 students, in terms of their self-confidence, motivation, and engagement. Channeling that energy into the development of their academic skills will provide an ongoing challenge, and an invaluable test of LUCID as both an educational and a research project.
District-wide, more than 20 teachers and administrators have expressed an interest in being part of an expanded LUCID group. Through monthly dinner meetings and regular e-mail communication, group members will support one another to develop and teach curriculum units, classroom strategies, and assessment tools that incorporate principles of imaginative education and connect students with land and community.