A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM:

MOVING TO A MORE COHERENT CURRICULUM

by

Ana Cristina Neves

A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements

for the degree of Master of Arts
Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
University of Toronto

© Copyright by Ana Cristina Neves (2009)

 A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM:
MOVING TO A MORE COHERENT CURRICULUM
Master of Arts, 2009
Ana Cristina Neves
Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning
University of Toronto

Abstract

This study is an interpretive form of qualitative research that is founded in

educational connoisseurship and criticism, which uses the author’s personal

experiences as a holistic educator in a public school to connect theory and

practice. Key research questions include: How do I, as a teacher, work with the

Ontario curriculum to make it more holistic? What strategies have I developed in

order to teach a more holistic curriculum? What kinds of difficulties interfere with

my practice as I attempt to implement my holistic philosophy of education? This

dissertation seeks to articulate a methodology for developing holistic curriculum

that is in conformity with Ontario Ministry guidelines and is also responsive to the

multifaceted needs of the whole student. The research findings will serve to

inform teachers who wish to engage in holistic education in public schools and

adopt a curriculum that is transformative while still being adaptable within

mainstream education.

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 Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to thank my husband and eternal soul
mate who is the most spiritual person I know and expresses his spirituality
through his creative writing and soulful poetry. Thank you for all the love,
guidance and support you give me through every moment of my life. Your love is
like a sanctuary and renews me everyday.

Thank you to my children who are my most precious gifts. You have
taught me about living in the eternal present. As a teacher, I seek to recreate in
my classroom the joy of discovery that I see when I watch you play and learn.
You have made me grow as a parent and an educator through the many
challenges you’ve brought into my life.

Thank you to my parents for always believing in me and pushing me to do

my best throughout my life.

Thank you to Professor John Miller for supervising this project. Your work
has been an inspiration for me. Thank you for illuminating me and teaching me
about true education which seeks to elevate the spirit and transform one’s
existence.

Thank you to Professor Rina Cohen for her efforts in acting as a second
reader of my thesis. Thanks especially for helping me to distinguish between
using things in the world around us to do math, and using math to understand the
world around us. It was through Holistic education approaches in elementary
school mathematics that I understood that one is an artificial approach to
mathematics while the other can provoke people to think, and possibly, to act.

Thank you to Professor Daphne Heywood for encouraging me to research

the topic of my thesis further and seeing its potential. Thank you for your
direction and contagious sense of humour.

Thank you to the students, colleagues and parents of my school who

taught me about caring and transformative education every day. Without you,
this thesis would not have been possible. You are my hope that the world can
change for the better.

Thank you to Mr. Ivor Sinfield, the principal of my school at the time of my
research, and, as fate would have it, a former OISE professor as well. Thank
you for always making time in your busy schedule to discuss my thesis. Our
talks helped me frame my research questions and define my research
methodology.

Thank you to all my professors at OISE who inspired me to learn more as

I pursued my Master of Arts degree and gave me pride and satisfaction in the

iii
work I did every day with children.

Finally, thank you to Aruna Santokh, my yoga teacher, who taught me how
to let go. Thank you for bringing Kundalini Yoga into my life and all the mental,
emotional, spiritual and physical benefits and blessings it has brought me. Sat
Nam.

iv
 Dedication

For my husband, Brian and my children, Sean and Matthew

You are a source of inspiration and joy
In every moment of my life

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 Table of Contents

Abstract ii

Acknowledgements iii

Dedication v

Chapter One: A Study in Holistic Education 1

Context of the Study 3
Background of the Study 4

Chapter Two: A Review of the Literature 8

Holistic Education 8
Curriculum Movements 17

Chapter Three: Research Methodology 22

Selecting my Research Methodology 22
Research Methods 23
Educational Connoisseurship and Criticism 24
Using Stories and Personal Experiences 25
Data Sources and Analysis 30
Significance of the Research 33

Chapter Four: Becoming a Holistic Teacher:

Processes and Practices 35
Working on Myself through Meditation and Yoga 36
Developing Presence in the Classroom 40
Developing Authenticity and Caring in Schools 46
Personal Development and Professional Development in Teaching 48

Chapter Five: Educating the Whole Student:

Discussion and Analysis 52
Creating a Caring Learning Community 53
Meditation 62
Visualization 66
Yoga 69
Journal Writing 77

Chapter Six: Implementing a Holistic Curriculum:

Personal Accounts and Reflections 80
Holistic Curriculum through a Focus on Relationships 82
Roots of Empathy 88
Global Education 92
Who is Nobody? 98
Integrating Curriculum and Approaching Mathematics Holistically 101

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 Reflections on Designing and Implementing my own Math Trail 105

Chapter Seven: The Challenges of Implementing a Holistic

Curriculum: Reflections on the Tensions between
Holistic Education and the Ontario Curriculum 120
Some “Problems” with Holistic Education 121
The Ontario Curriculum’s Limited Vision of Education 122
Tensions between Holistic Education and the Ontario Curriculum 126
Pressures faced by Holistic Teachers 128

Chapter Eight: Conclusion and Implications 136

Conclusion 136
Implications 139
Directions for Future Research 140

References 142

List of Appendixes

Appendix A: Putting the Pain Behind Them 147

Appendix B: Autobiography 155

Appendix C: Getting to Know Your Child and Your Family 157

Appendix D: European Celebrity or Canadian Contributor to

Space Science 158

Appendix E: Classic Kundalini Yoga Poses 159

Appendix F: Math Trail 161

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 Chapter One

A Study in Holistic Education

There is no keener revelation of society’s soul than the way

it treats its children.
-Nelson Mandela

This statement from Mandela has been attached to my inquiry from the

beginning. I have felt the restlessness of the need to understand how to teach

children in a meaningful way and to explore different teaching approaches in

order to teach children well and treat each child as a unique individual with his /

her own special gifts that he / she brings. It is in holistic education that I, as an

educator, have found my home. I was first introduced to holistic education during

my graduate studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) and

quickly realized that I had always been a holistic educator, even before I was

familiar with the term. I had intuitively always taught children in a holistic manner

using an integrated approach to curriculum and cooperative learning techniques.

The focus of this study is to examine my teaching practice and my work with the

Ontario curriculum over the last five years when I taught in a public alternative

elementary school in Toronto, Ontario. My study focuses mainly on a group of

students that I taught for four years from Grades 3 to 6.

As a teacher in an alternative school with the Toronto District School

Board (TDSB), I have enjoyed a fair amount of flexibility and freedom in how I

implement and deliver the Ontario curriculum. As a result of not being in a

mainstream school, I have had the opportunity to incorporate many of the

principles of holistic education into my teaching practice. Furthermore, in

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September of 2007, I joined an advisory board, consisting of Professor John

Miller from OISE, other holistic educators like myself, and interested community

members that successfully petitioned the TDSB to establish a new public

alternative elementary school informed by a holistic philosophy. The advisory

board met once a month to establish standards with respect to holistic

curriculum, holistic teaching and holistic teacher development for the prospective

holistic public school. The advisory board is a functioning board that provides

ongoing advice and guidance to the school’s executive committee with respect to

establishing authoritative standards for holistic curriculum, teaching and teacher

development. This landmark holistic school, Whole Child School (n.d.), inscribed

in public education will open its doors in September 2009 and it is committed to

nurture and educate children through an arts-integrated, experiential-learning,

holistic curriculum with a focus on subject connections, body-mind connections,

community and earth connections. Therefore, these two main practices that I

was involved in: the work I did in my classroom to make it holistic and my

collaboration with others sharing in the vision of wholeness in order to establish

the first holistic school in public education in Toronto led me to contemplate and

reflect on what it means to be a holistic teacher and how it is possible to integrate

mainstream public education policies and holistic education ideas so that the two

can complement each other and coexist in harmony. Broadly, this dissertation is

an inquiry into how holistic teaching and learning can be introduced into the

normative boundaries of traditional education and transform that learning

environment into one that can be categorized as holistic.

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Context of the Study

The school where this study takes place is an alternative, bilingual,

elementary public school in Toronto. The original school began as a private

school where teachers were paid with donations made by parents. It first opened

in September 1977 with thirty students. Parents and staff at the school are

committed to French language instruction and ensuring that students realize that

French is a living language. Students begin work in their mother tongue and

gradually more and more French is used in the classroom until Grade 6 when

students spend half their day learning through the French language medium and

the other half of the day is spent learning curriculum in English. The school was

formed on the principles of bilingualism, multiculturalism, child-centred,

experiential learning experiences and social justice issues. This school is

successful due to the high level of commitment by the parents. There is a strong

focus on community and cooperation in the classroom. Collaboration among

students is nurtured rather than competition. The parents are highly committed

to issues of social justice, peaceful schools as well as Ecoschools and often run

many extracurricular activities for students such as the Green Club that plants

flowers and vegetables in the Spring and teaches students about gardening. The

parents have also created an outdoor classroom for teachers where they can

teach students about ecological issues. In addition, parents also organize many

fundraisers in order to bring in visiting artists and performances that add a lot of

soul to the school.

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It is clear from the abovementioned description of the school where this

study takes place that there are many commonalities between the guiding

philosophy that underpins this alternative school and the principles upon which

holistic education is based: strong community connections, commitment to

experiential learning and ecological issues, focus on cooperation and attention to

social justice. This is perhaps one of the reasons why the introduction of a

customized holistic curriculum specific to the needs of this community that

synthesized the best practices of holistic education and was in accordance with

Ontario Ministry guidelines meshed so seamlessly with the standardized

curriculum and only caused a few noteworthy tensions that I will address in

chapter seven. Everyone was on board with holistic education: parents,

principals (over the five years that I taught at this school, we had three different

principals all of whom supported my holistic vision of education), staff, and

students and there was not as much resistance as there might be in a more

conventional public school.

Background of the Study

I come to this study as both a participant and researcher seeking to

understand how it is possible to teach and learn within the unique context of

holistic education in the public sector. This inquiry follows from an interest in

first, applying holistic methodologies in the public school system and secondly,

understanding and articulating my own journey of professional development in

implementing a public holistic model of education. For the most part, the

implementation of holistic education has been primarily instituted in the private

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sector. There are a handful of highly successful examples of private holistic

pedagogies including Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio Emilia. Their collective

success is inspiring. On the other hand, the application of holistic methodologies

in the public system is still relatively limited and, as a result, there is a slim body

of research related to holistic education in the public educational system.

Perhaps I can be described as a hopeless romantic or a social idealist since I

believe that the outstanding results that holistic education brings about in the

private sector should be accessible to all children, irrespective of social or

economic status. It is this unyielding optimism that led me to incorporate

elements of holistic education into the standardized curriculum that I taught as a

public school teacher. This dissertation is the story of my practical experiences

with holistic education in my public school setting and in relationship to my

students, my colleagues and my community. In reflecting and writing about the

unique demands of my personal context, I have gained some significant insights

into holistic education and curriculum development. I believe that this inquiry into

my unique situation can benefit other educators who share in the vision of

wholeness and seek to implement holistic theory into public education contexts.

It is my hope that my holistic teaching experiences have potential to open

dialogue, raise questions and spark further reflection and research into holistic

education in the public sector.

This inquiry stems from a vision for education that embraces every aspect

of each student’s capacity for learning. As a result of my constant reworking of

the Ontario curriculum in order to reconcile my holistic vision of education with

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the Ontario Ministry guidelines, in an effort to better meet the needs of the

students whom I teach, and due to my affiliation with a new proposal for a holistic

elementary school inscribed within public education, I was driven to examine the

Ontario curriculum more closely and consider its potential to be a more holistic

document. My exploration of holistic teaching and learning within the confines of

public policy is recorded in the following way. Following this outline of the

purpose, potential contribution and context of my dissertation, I contextualize this

study relative to the related literature on holistic education in chapter two. In

chapter three, I discuss the rationale for my choice of research methodology and

describe my inquiry process. In my research, I show that the current Ontario

curriculum demonstrates numerous contradictions and lacks coherence. On the

other hand, I demonstrate that a holistic approach to education is far more

coherent and enables students along their learning journey. In this inquiry, I

show that the contradictions present in the Ontario curriculum document allow

teachers to create a space within the Ontario curriculum to teach a holistic

curriculum. I examine three main aspects that facilitate holistic learning in this

study derived from a critical analysis of holistic theories, integrated with and

distilled through my own practical experiences. These are:

1. Aspects of the teacher which I examine in chapter four

2. Aspects of the students which I examine in chapter five and

3. Aspects of the curriculum which I examine in chapter six

In chapter seven, I further examine holistic education and the Ontario curriculum

in light of the tensions that exist between the two and the ensuing challenges that
 7

this poses for the holistically minded teacher. Finally, the thesis concludes in

chapter eight with a discussion about the implications of the research and its

findings, and considers directions for further research.

 Chapter Two

A Review of the Literature

This chapter is designed to contextualize this study relative to the related

literature in holistic education. While there appears to be a relatively large body

of literature, which explores the theoretical framework underlying holistic

education, there is relatively less research that directly examines the work of

educators implementing holistic education theory into practice in school settings,

particularly in the domain of public education.

Holistic Education

Before examining the literature related to this approach to pedagogy, it is

important to first define the term holistic education. What is holistic education?

John Miller (2006) states that:

Holistic education is an approach aimed at teaching the whole

person. Holistic educators reject educational approaches that limit

learning solely to the intellect or that train students so that they can

compete in a global economy. They believe that we must see the

student as a complete human being, which includes a mysterious,

timeless quality (e.g., the soul). Holistic educators argue that

schooling limited to preparing students to compete in a global

economy is lacking in this respect. (p. 101)

According to J.P. Miller (2005),

Holistic education attempts to nurture the development of the whole

person. This includes the intellectual, emotional, physical, social,

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aesthetic, and spiritual. Perhaps the defining aspect of holistic

education is the spiritual. (p. 2)

Therefore, as John Miller (2005) points out, what distinguishes holistic education

from traditional educational practices is the spiritual dimension. Holistic

education seeks to nurture children in educational settings as fully as possible

and is not limited to developing only the rational intellect.

Ron Miller (1992) also places an emphasis on the wholeness of the

human experience in his writing about holistic education. R. Miller (1992) tells

us:

Holistic educators recognize that all aspects of human life are

fundamentally interconnected. They contend that education must

be concerned with the physical, emotional, social, aesthetic /

creative, and spiritual qualities of every person, as well as the

traditionally emphasized intellectual and vocational skills. They

argue that our present culture’s emphasis on rational intellect,

economic development, competition, and the uncomplaining

performance of social roles is lopsided. To be ‘well educated’ in

the modern industrial world, means to be well disciplined; it is to be

alienated from one’s own spontaneous, creative, self-actualizing

impulses. Holistic education calls for a new recognition of the

organic, subconscious, subjective, intuitive, artistic, mythological,

and spiritual dimensions of our lives. (p. 153)

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Another author, Scott Forbes (2003), has written that:

Holistic education frequently claims that it wants to, 1) educate the

whole child (all parts of the child), 2) educate the student as a

whole (not an assemblage of parts), and 3) see the child as part of

a whole (society, humanity, the environment, some spiritual whole,

etc.) from which it is not meaningful to extract the student. (p. 2)

From examining the literature, a key theme of holistic education that

emerges is that the purpose of education is to develop the whole child – all

aspects of his / her being -- in order that he / she may live life to its fullest in

society.

Holistic educators are concerned with the whole child, the whole human

being, or the whole person. Ron Miller (1991) interviewed 60 holistic educators

and concluded that the concept of whole person contains six essential elements:

intellectual, emotional or affective, physical, social, aesthetic, and spiritual (pp.

25-26). John Miller (2005) considers that the development of the whole person in

holistic education also relates to the same elements discussed by Ron Miller

(1991). Traditional education has dealt with the intellectual element. John Miller

(2005) tells us that progressive and humanistic educations have dealt with the

first five elements, but generally ignored the last, and perhaps most significant

element: the spiritual element.

Another key theme that emerges from the literature is that holistic

education recognizes the importance of nurturing the spiritual development of

children in educational settings. Ron Miller (1991) summarizes this idea clearly
 11

when he states, “Holistic educators recognize that there is a part of every person

that is ‘immutable and mysterious’ – an inner core that lies beyond the physical,

social, and other sources of personality” (p. 26). The attention that holistic

educators give to developing the spiritual dimension of children’s personality is

one of its most essential characteristics and it also sets holistic education apart

from mainstream education.

In his writing, Ron Miller (1991) describes levels of wholeness that are

important to holistic education. He proposes five levels: the person, the

community, the society, the planet, and the cosmos (R. Miller, 1991, p. 25). Ron

Miller (1991) contends that there needs to be human wholeness, but also

wholeness in the community. He tells us that holistic education is concerned with

“the quality of human relationships within a community” (R. Miller, 1991, p. 26).

Ron Miller (1991) also advocates that there should be holism in society, which

should empower the person and the community. Another level of wholeness is

the planet. Holistic educators are concerned with global and ecological issues.

Finally, there is the wholeness of the cosmos. This again relates to the spiritual

dimension of human existence that I discussed earlier.

Ron Miller (1991) summarizes the levels of wholeness that are

characteristic of holistic education in the following passage:

An individual person is a whole system, but is contained in

community, which is a more inclusive (more whole) system. But

then community is surrounded by, and infused with, and given

meaning by, the affairs of the larger society; and any given society
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is but one member of the global family of humanity; and finally,

even the human species as a whole, along with its host planet, is

contained in the all-embracing wholeness of the cosmos, the

Absolute, the scope of which we cannot fathom. (p. 28)

Holistic theory emphasizes the essential oneness of creation and that the

universe resides within every human being. Holistic education attempts to

provide teaching and learning that is broadly conceived and inspires reverence

for life.

John Miller (1996) describes three basic principles of holistic education:

connectedness, inclusion, and balance. Connectedness refers to facilitating

connections at every level of learning. Some of the connections that John Miller

(2005) discusses are “integrating analytic and intuitive thinking, linking body and

mind, integrating subjects, connecting to the community, providing links to the

earth and connecting to soul and spirit” (p. 2).

Inclusion refers to including students of differing cultural backgrounds and

varying levels of ability in one’s teaching practices without labelling them and

applying a wide range of pedagogical tools and approaches to teach these

students. In a holistic classroom, the teacher is able to use different teaching

methodologies to promote student learning and links together three educational

orientations: transmission, transaction and transformation. Transmission

learning is concerned with passing on knowledge from the teacher to the student,

mastery of content and basic skills. Transactional learning is more interactive,

although that interaction is mainly at the rational level. It is concerned with the
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development of problem solving and decision making skills. Finally,

transformational learning recognizes the wholeness of human beings and aims to

provide personal integration with the curriculum as well as social awareness.

The transformative position recognizes the importance of all ways of knowing

and it is inclusive of the other two positions (J.P. Miller, 1996). As one can see,

inclusiveness is another important factor in holistic education. In a holistic

classroom, all three types of instruction have their place. In fact, John Miller

(1996) has said that, “As long as the form of learning does not discriminate or

diminish the individual in any way then it should be included” (pp. 7-8).

Lastly, balance refers to the complementary forces and energies of the

universe that need to be recognized (J.P. Miller, 2005). Some of the polarities in

need of balance in the classroom that John Miller (1996) describes are, for

example, rational thought and intuition, individual competition and group

collaboration, quantitative assessment and qualitative assessment, focus on

content and focus on the learning process.

John Miller (1996) offers a definition of holistic education that explores a

variety of relationships. He states that:

The focus of holistic education is on relationships: the relationship

between linear thinking and intuition, the relationship between mind

and body, the relationships among various domains of knowledge,

the relationship between the individual and community, the

relationship to the earth, and the relationship between self and Self.

In the holistic curriculum the student examines these relationships

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so that he or she gains both an awareness of them and the skills

necessary to transform the relationships where it is appropriate.

(J.P. Miller, 1996, p. 8)

Holistic education is a student-centred approach to teaching and learning

in which students learn to see relationships between themselves and their

environment, and between themselves and all areas of the curriculum. The

emphasis is on the whole student as the teacher recognizes that intellectual

development cannot be isolated from emotional, social, physical, and moral

development.

Traditional education has focussed on rational thinking and learning at the

intellectual level. Holistic education is concerned with the whole person and

recognizes that all aspects of life are interconnected and that human experience

is integrated. In order to ensure the healthy development of each child, the

holistic educator does not isolate any aspect of students’ lives. Holistic

educators recognize that students do not simply learn through their intellects, but

through their feelings and concerns, their imaginations and their bodies. In

planning and implementing curriculum, holistic educators attend to all aspects of

each student’s development, such as his / her:

Spiritual growth

Emotional well-being

Artistic creativity

Moral decision making

Social competency
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Intellectual growth, and

Physical wellness

(Waterloo Region Roman Catholic Separate School

Board, 1993, p. 4)

Traditional education has focussed mainly on preparing students for

competing in the global economy and society. Students have typically learned

skills and competencies to help them survive or thrive in the workforce and

society at large. Holistic education, on the other hand, contends that education

should not focus on the narrow, final product of learning, e.g., one’s ability to

graduate from school and find a job, but rather on the broader-scoped, process

of learning, e.g. one’s engagement and commitment to learning, and thus

develop students’ potential for becoming lifelong learners. Ron Miller (1992)

rightly states “education, as John Dewey so eloquently argued, must not be seen

as ‘preparation’ for life – it is life. Education is growth, discovery, and a widening

of horizons” (p. 57).

Holistic education is not a new age concept, but has been around for

some time. Similar to holistic education, in Dewey’s (2004) My pedagogic creed,

he alludes to the need to develop the whole child. Dewey (2004) states,

I believe that the subject-matter of the school curriculum should

mark a gradual differentiation out of the primitive unconscious unity

of social life…The true centre of correlation of the school subjects

is not science, nor literature, nor history, nor geography, but the

child’s own social activities. (p. 20)

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In his book, Democracy and education, Dewey (1916) also underscores

the importance of teaching school subjects in an interdisciplinary manner, which

is at the heart of holistic education. He argues that man and nature are

intimately connected and advocates for the importance of teaching science and

literature in a cohesive, interconnected fashion. According to Dewey (1916), it is

more realistic to teach these subjects in connection with each other. Dewey’s

(1916) comments from nearly a century ago articulate one of the main premises

of holistic education, that teaching and learning must be integrated across the

school curricula. Dewey (1916) argued that it was not realistic to teach

naturalistic studies, associated with nature and the physical sciences, separately

from humanistic studies, associated with man, language and literature. He

strongly believed that it was artificial to create this separation. This view is

present in holistic education, which seeks to educate the whole learner and to

integrate knowledge and learning across all subjects rather than

compartmentalize knowledge into fragments and isolated subjects. Dewey

(1916) argued that teaching the sciences and the humanities separately resulted

in superficial learning. I would add here that isolating subjects in the curriculum

results in a very narrow type of learning that makes it difficult for learners to

effectively integrate their understanding and apply their knowledge to a real world

context.

The “intellectual precedents” of holistic education can also be “traced

through the works of Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Frobel, Jung, Maslow, and Rogers,

however, holistic education, as a movement, emerged in the late 1970’s in

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response to the predominant ideologies of modern educational policies and

practices” (Forbes, 2003, p. 5). More recently, brain based research and Howard

Gardner’s (1993) theory of multiple intelligences support holistic education. It

has become more obvious that “human beings, children as well as adults, learn

in a variety of ways, involving physical activity, imagination, emotional concern,

and implicit connections to their physical and social (and spiritual) environments”

(R. Miller, 1992, p. 157).

Curriculum Movements

If we examine the work of curriculum writers, it is possible to see that, in

general, they all seem to agree that schools serve specific social purposes and

that the curriculum should reflect this. Furthermore, some curriculum movements

have characteristics of a holistic program. Similar to the proponents of holistic

education, Beane (1995), the curriculum writer, proposed a coherent curriculum

while Kincheloe (2003) argued for interconnectedness. Beane (1995) writes that,

A “coherent” curriculum is one that holds together, that makes

sense of the whole; and its parts, whatever they are, are unified

and connected by that sense of the whole…. It is not simply a

collection of disparate parts or pieces that accumulate in student

experiences and on transcripts. A coherent curriculum has a sense

of the forest as well as the trees, a sense of unity and

connectedness, of relevance and pertinence. Parts or pieces are

connected or integrated in ways that are visible and explicit. (p. 3)

He further states that,

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When the curriculum offers a sense of purpose, unity, relevance,

and pertinence – when it is coherent – young people are more

likely to integrate educational experiences into their schemes of

meaning, which in turn broadens and deepens their understanding

of themselves and the world. In that sense, we might say that a

coherent curriculum is one that offers unforgettable experiences to

young people. (Beane, 1995, p. 4)

Beane’s (1995) writing on the curriculum is analogous to the principle of creating

conditions for timeless learning which John Miller (2006) describes in his book,

Educating for wisdom and compassion. These conditions are fundamental in

holistic learning and I shall analyze some of them in greater depth later on in my

study. Similar to holistic education that focuses on the whole child, Beane (1995)

recommends connecting the curriculum to students’ experiences, taking into

account who young people are and recognizing and honouring diversity. Beane

(1995) and Kincheloe (2003) both raise the issue of the importance of connecting

the learning experiences of learners within the curriculum. This notion is at the

heart of holistic education and can be seen in the writing of John Miller (1996,

2000, 2005, 2006) in relation to holistic learning.

According to John Miller and Drake (1990), “A holistic approach can

be incorporated into public school practice. The necessary ingredients

are a holistic vision of education, a recognition of the intrinsic connections

in experience, and a staff working together to nurture the healthy

development of young people” (J.P. Miller & Drake, 1990, p. 27). John
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Miller (1996) emphasizes the importance of relationships in holistic

education. He describes six connections that may be explored in the

curriculum, which ultimately drive the curriculum in a holistic school.

These connections or relationships are as follows:

1. Relationship between linear thinking and intuition

2. Relationship between mind and body

3. Relationships among domains of knowledge

4. Relationship between self and community

5. Relationship with the Earth

6. Relationship between self and Self

(J. P. Miller, 1996, pp. 86-87)

The above-mentioned relationships or connections can be used as a

pedagogical orientation or method to approach the Ontario curriculum in order to

make it more holistic.

John Miller (1996) writes “The holistic curriculum has its roots in the

consciousness of teachers who are authentic and caring” (p. 174). In his work,

John Miller (1996) describes different ways in which teachers can become in

touch with their “center” and teach “from the Self” (p. 178). According to John

Miller (1996), the authentic presence of the teacher is fundamental to holistic

education.

Holistic education is an educational movement that is growing. It is not a

neat curriculum package nor can it be summed up by a specific technique but

rather, it draws from various educational trends, theories and practices. As

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Forbes (1996) remarks, “The Holistic Education movement does not have a

single source, a predominant proponent, or major form of expression.

Consequently, it is difficult to define holistic education” (p. 1).

Similarly, John Miller (2005) states, “Holistic education cannot be reduced

to a set of techniques or ideologies. Ultimately holistic education rests in the

hearts and minds of the teachers and students” (p. 3). In chapter four, I will

examine what makes a teacher holistic and I will examine my own journey as a

holistic educator. In chapter five, I will examine how teachers can educate the

whole student in school settings and how I did this in my teaching practice.

A review of the literature leads one to conclude that holistic education

cannot be readily reduced to a set of principles and practices. Ron Miller (2000)

has repeatedly asserted, “There is no one correct method of holistic education.

By definition, an education for spiritual evolution is a creative, transformative, self

transcending engagement between person and world” (p. 14).

A review of the literature also reveals that there is little research on the

empirical aspects of holistic education and that there is a need for further

research on how teachers actually implement holistic education ideas into

practice. The goal of this dissertation is precisely that: to share my personal

reflections as I attempted to implement holistic theory in education into practice in

the public school where I taught. This dissertation is the story of how I put the

ideas behind holistic education into practice in my classroom. I believe that

educators need to reclaim their authority with respect to educational theory and

one way to do this is to tell their stories and document their reflections.
 21

As an educator, I acted on my beliefs about holistic education and

changed my teaching practice. Although my experience does not exemplify all of

the holistic characteristics described above, I took a holistic approach towards

the Ontario Ministry guidelines and transformed my classroom into a more

holistic setting by viewing teaching and learning with a mind open to all ways of

learning, free from fragmented lists of competencies and crippling bureaucracies.

My project is personal and local. It was developed as a result of my very

personal need to feel fulfilled in the work that I did every day with children. It

came about as a result of the deep care, commitment, love and trust I have

always felt towards children and the care-givers who entrust their education to

me. It is holistic in nature because it took action to bring about changes at three

main levels: the teacher, the students and the curriculum and these changes

were interconnected and occurred simultaneously.

As a teacher, I worked on myself to become more holistic. I approached

and implemented the Ontario curriculum using the principles of holistic theory in

education by integrating subjects in the curriculum, promoting greater interaction

between students and the curriculum as well as students and the school

community, the local community, the global community and the earth. I also

encouraged students to work on themselves so that they could become more

holistic and I gave them many opportunities in the classroom setting to develop

the multiple aspects of their humanity, including the spiritual dimension. I will

have more to say about these three main holistic practices in the following

chapters.
 Chapter Three

Research Methodology

We shall not cease from exploring

And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
(Eliot, 1944, p. 48)

Selecting my Research Methodology

I feel that Eliot’s (1944) poem captures the essence of my feelings about

educational research. It is a cyclical and spiral process. As a learner of holistic

education, I began to explore myself. Through this exploration, I learned more

about the teacher within and this led me to explore new ways of knowing and

learning with my students in the classroom which inevitably led me to reflect on

the curriculum that I taught, how I taught it and why. And, as the poem so

eloquently tells us, I came full circle to where I started: a teacher faced with the

task of teaching a prescribed curriculum, but I approached it in a completely

different manner. By this I mean that as I learned more about holistic education,

I learned more about myself and it became evident to me what was important to

teach and how to do this. This renewed me as an educator and it renewed my

teaching practice.

I believe that theoretical understanding is strengthened by connection to

action in the practical work of professionals in schools. My hope is that this

research can bridge theory in holistic education and its practical application in a

public school setting. In this dissertation, I attempt to connect practical

experience and research to articulate a responsive model of holistic education

that is not defined by a prescribed set of pedagogical strategies or list of

22
 23

expectations to achieve, but rather a diversity of activities based in openness,

trust, learning, balance, inclusiveness, connections, relationships and reflexivity.

In this chapter, I begin by describing the process through which I came to

select a methodological approach for this study. I searched for a way to

incorporate my professional experience and learning. I was exposed to many

different research methodologies, and finally found one that allowed me to use

my personal practical knowledge to explore the theoretical framework underlying

holistic education. I discovered an interpretive, qualitative form of inquiry that is

founded in educational connoisseurship and criticism, and uses the data

provided by my experiences as a holistic teacher working with the Ontario

curriculum. In this chapter, I outline my research methods, my data sources, my

data analysis and interpretation, as well as the significance of my research.

Research Methods

The methodological approach for this study that I use is a qualitative

research methodology since this study focuses on my own holistic philosophy of

education and how I implement my conception of holistic education in my

practice as a teacher. My study focuses on my practice as a holistic teacher in a

public alternative elementary school working within the boundaries of the Ontario

curriculum. I endeavour to utilize and analyze my own experiences and

knowledge through a self-reflexive, interpretive inquiry. The research method

that I use is educational connoisseurship and criticism, using personal

experiences and stories of my educational practice as data. I perform a case

study on myself and demonstrate that there is indeed a space to teach a holistic
 24

curriculum within the Ontario Ministry guidelines. I reflect on some of the

strategies I developed and implemented in order to deliver the Ontario curriculum

in a more holistic manner and examine some of the challenges that I faced as a

holistic educator working in a public school. In this section, key elements of

educational criticism and personal experience are presented in order to show

their relevance for my study.

Educational Connoisseurship and Criticism

Educational connoisseurship and criticism is a research method that is

based in practice. It is naturalistic, interpretive, descriptive, detailed and uses the

researcher as “instrument” (Eisner, 1991, p. 33). Eisner (1991) tells us “The

primary function of the critic is educational. By ‘educational’ I mean providing the

material through which perception is increased and understanding deepened. To

do this the critic must be able to function as a connoisseur (p. 86). This type of

qualitative research is inscribed within the perspective of the individual and, as in

all interpretive research designs, subjectivity is acknowledged throughout the

research process. Subjectivity is “the quality of the investigator that affects the

results of observational investigation” (Peshkin, 1988, p. 17). When researchers

engage in educational criticism, they study educational contexts and issues

through the lens of their own personal knowledge, experience, and expertise,

which guides and informs their study. They recognize their personal subjectivity

and value their connoisseurship. This is the process that I intend to undertake in

this study, which focuses on my holistic teaching experiences working with the

Ontario curriculum in a public school.

 25

The educational connoisseur works within a framework of personal

experience and understanding. I hope that I am equipped to serve as a

connoisseur and critic in this study by the perspective and knowledge drawn from

ten years as an educator in a variety of educational settings, five of those years

in a public alternative school, along with extensive study and reading in the area

of holistic education.

Eisner (1991) describes four stages in educational criticism: description,

interpretation, evaluation, and thematics. These phases are interconnected and

constitute a holistic form of research that gives unity to the inquiry and offers

openness to the complex nature of studying schools and teaching. Educational

connoisseurs and critics must be able to select what is significant in their

experience and knowledge, offer evidence and reasons for their selection of what

is significant and their interpretations that result from these informed selections.

In my study, I use my reading on holistic education and analysis of my

experience in delivering a holistic curriculum to students to guide my discussion.

I draw attention to key aspects of holistic education in order to encourage further

appreciation, thought, discussion and action around delivering a more holistic

curriculum. I serve as a medium for the description and interpretation of the data

and fully recognize the strength as well as the limitations of using my self as

research instrument.

Using Stories and Personal Experiences

Narrative inquiry has a long history in studies of educational experience.

As Connelly and Clandinin (1990) indicate, “The main claim for the use of
 26

narrative in educational research is that humans are storytelling organisms who,

individually and socially, lead storied lives” (p. 2). As Carter (1993) rightly notes,

over the past several years, more and more educational researchers

Have been telling stories about teaching and teacher education

rather than simply reporting correlation coefficients or generating

lists of findings…these stories capture, more than scores or

mathematical formulae ever can, the richness and indeterminacy of

our experiences as teachers and the complexity of our

understandings of what teaching is. (p. 5)

Mary Beattie (2004) explains that:

Narrative inquiry provides a holistic and unified orientation to

professional learning, curriculum development, educational reform,

and educational research: a way of studying and representing

practitioners’ knowledge, a way for researchers and practitioners to

learn from and with each other, and ways to bring the voices from

inside schools into the arenas of educational research and policy

making. (p. 134)

Connelly and Clandinin (1988) use the term “personal practical

knowledge” (p. 25) to give value to a teacher’s knowledge of a classroom. These

researchers define “personal practical knowledge” as “a term designed to capture

the idea of experience in a way that allows us to talk about teachers as

knowledgeable and knowing persons” (Connelly & Clandinin, 1988, p. 25). They

add that personal practical knowledge is in the teacher’s past experience, in the
 27

teacher’s present mind and body, and in the future plans and actions. Personal

practical knowledge is found in the teacher’s practice. It is, for any teacher, a

particular way of reconstructing the past and the intentions of the future to deal

with the exigencies of a present situation (Connelly & Clandinin, 1988, p. 25).

Both methodologies: Connelly and Clandinin’s (1988) personal practical

knowledge and Eisner’s (1991) educational connoisseurship, value the

participant as reflective and equipped with meaningful knowledge, stories,

experiences and expertise.

In this dissertation, I study my own experiences in delivering a holistic

curriculum inscribed within the boundaries of the Ontario curriculum, believing

that the general may be seen in the particular. As an educational critic, I fully

recognize the personal nature of my knowledge and I consciously and explicitly

share my context and my individual viewpoint as I draw upon my own

experiences and life as sources of data. By reflecting upon my own experiences

in this study, I believe that my understanding may be communicated to others

who may also come to better understand not only my experiences, but their own

experiences as well. I believe that there is merit in close reflection of one’s own

experience and context.

There are several studies where researchers focus their inquiry on one

teacher. In her book, Constructing professional knowledge in teaching, Mary

Beattie (1995) uses narrative inquiry to study the professional development of a

single teacher – Anne Courtney. Beattie’s (1995) study focuses on the

professional growth and development in this individual teacher’s teaching as a

 28

result of her changing teaching assignment. Anne Courtney spent 26 years as a

physical education teacher and, six years before her planned retirement, she

requested a change to a Grade 8 classroom. Beattie (1995) examines Anne’s

story of this major change in her teaching career and life. Beattie (1995) reflects

that this shared collaborative research process, allowed her not only to make

meaning of Anne’s story but it also gave her the opportunity to reconstruct her

“own understanding of teaching, learning, professional relationships”, and helped

her gain “new insights into research as professional development” (p. 136).

Connelly and Clandinin (1988, 1990) have written extensively about

teachers’ stories, of the experiences of teachers and teaching in schools.

Teachers’ stories are “personal accounts by teachers of their own personal

classroom experiences…teachers’ stories have been extensively reported to

capture the lives of teachers as professionals and to examine learning in

classrooms” (Creswell, 2002, p. 524).

Connelly and Clandinin (1988) have used the stories of individual teachers

as data sources in narrative inquiry. In their book, Teachers as curriculum

planners: Narratives of experience, Connelly and Clandinin (1988) use teacher

narratives as a tool to reflect on curriculum, teaching and what goes on at

schools. In one chapter, they worked with a Grade 1 teacher, Stephanie, and

examined her classroom planning from a narrative perspective. They gave an

account of the way in which Stephanie’s “rhythm is grounded in her past and is

embedded within cultural and historical narratives” (Connelly & Clandinin, 1988,

p. 169). Connelly and Clandinin (1988) use Stephanie’s stories in order to better
 29

understand classroom planning and how teachers learn to plan. In another

chapter, the same authors work with the same teacher to study curriculum

planning as curriculum inquiry. They focus on Stephanie’s planning in language

arts and the ways in which her planning is a kind of inquiry that leads to

curriculum reform. Connelly and Clandinin (1988) examine accounts of

Stephanie’s process of planning and note that this inquiry extends into the past,

present and future since Stephanie began to question the ways she was teaching

reading, had always taught reading in the past and examined possible ways that

she might teach reading in the future. Using a narrative approach, Connelly and

Clandinin (1988) work with Stephanie to show how the process of planning as

inquiry is linked to her personal practical knowledge. The same authors work

with a school principal, Phil Bingham and examine his stories as a way of

understanding the way he administers an inner-city school, Bay Street School.

Connelly and Clandinin (1988) found that “Phil’s personal narrative is embedded

within the cultural and historical narratives of his immigration to Toronto as the

son of Irish parents, the Toronto School Board, inner-city Toronto schools, and

more generally Ontario education” (p. 76).

Kathryn Broad (2004), in her doctoral dissertation, Leading to learning:

Towards a model of transformative leadership in schools, did an intensive study

of her own personal practice and experiences as an elementary school principal

and vice-principal. She reflects on the continual learning that she engaged in

while working as a principal. Her work combines educational connoisseurship

and criticism with narrative inquiry to develop a model of transformative

 30

educational leadership. This doctoral dissertation is an example of the work of

one individual whose experiences and reflections can have meaning and value

for others.

In my own study, I examine my professional development as a teacher

when I embraced a holistic view of education and the ways in which I worked

with the Ontario curriculum in order to develop a holistic curriculum for the

students whom I taught. Similarly to Broad’s (2004) study, I believe that my own

experiences in working with the Ontario curriculum to deliver a holistic curriculum

may have meaning and value to others, particularly those who espouse a holistic

vision of education.

Data Sources and Analysis

My personal experiences as a teacher in an alternative, elementary public

school in the Toronto District School Board are sources of data. I glean evidence

from my planning and teaching practice, stories and reflections written for

courses and this thesis, from personal journal entries, from papers that I wrote for

courses in my Master’s program and critical incidents that demonstrate the

challenges that I faced as a teacher practitioner with a holistic vision of education

and how I worked with the Ontario curriculum in order to deliver a program that

was consistent with my holistic philosophy of education as well as the policies

mandated by the Ontario Ministry of Education. I will move between my personal

stories and theory in holistic education in my description and analysis. And I will

discuss my learning and professional development in light of the related literature

in holistic education.
 31

In my study, I examine how I as a teacher worked on my “self” in order to

become more mindful, present and caring. Palmer (1998) and John Miller (1996,

2000, 2005, 2006) have written extensively about the role of the teacher in

teaching with a holistic approach. Both underscore the importance of certain

qualities that can be nurtured and developed. John Miller (2006) believes that in

order to bring timeless learning into public school classrooms, then it is

necessary for teachers to explore various practices to help them become more

“present, mindful, and caring” (p. 135). In this study, I examine the practices I

embraced and reflect on how they impacted my teaching.

Another important aspect of holistic education is to develop contemplation

and mindfulness in classrooms. In this dissertation, I examine some of the

practices that I developed with my students to help them become more present,

mindful, contemplative and caring. I examine in detail how to create a caring

learning community, how to introduce meditation and yoga into a public school

classroom as well as journal writing in order to nourish the inner life of children. I

reflect on how these practices develop students’ spirituality and promote holistic

values in education that seek to educate children’s body, mind and spirit.

I discuss specific programs that I introduced into my classroom such as

Roots of Empathy and Who is Nobody? that engender compassion, caring and

kindness among children. Developing values is another important aspect of

holistic education and, in my study, I reflect on how these programs are

examples of soulful, awe-inspiring curriculum that nurture students’ development

 32

and engage them in a service activity that is a form of spiritual practice which is

at the heart of holistic education.

As John Miller’s (1996, 2000) writing indicates, holistic education centres

on relationships or connections. In my study, I examine the six relationships that

John Miller (1996, 2000) describes and analyze how I developed these

connections in relation to the Ontario curriculum by linking forms of thinking,

connecting body and mind, integrating subjects, nurturing a sense of community,

making connections to the earth and connecting the curriculum in a meaningful

way to the student’s soul.

Connecting learning in the curriculum to the learner as well as to the world

at large is another way of rendering the curriculum more holistic. A soulful

approach to education allows education to become deeply relevant to the lives of

children. In my study, I reflect on how Global education is an example of

teaching from a spiritual perspective and can help students become more deeply

connected with each other, the curriculum and the earth. The Ontario curriculum

is inspired by a holistic philosophy and, if implemented appropriately, has the

potential to educate children with learning that is more broadly conceived and

more personally and socially meaningful.

Finally, I examine the environment of teaching and the role of the school.

John Miller (1996) writes “Holistic education views the school as an organism

and change as organic…. The school can be seen as a complex, living organism

that is evolving” (p. 182). In my study, I reflect on the public alternative school

where I teach and I discuss how it is an example of a soulful school. Therefore,

 33

my study focuses on the role of the teacher and how it is possible for her to work

on herself over time and rework the Ontario curriculum in order to develop a

more holistic curriculum, which is ultimately far more coherent and promotes

more effective learning. I further discuss the importance of developing a holistic

approach to learning in students as well as parents, the learning community and

ultimately the school.

Significance of the Research

There is a great deal of literature on holistic education and a growing body

of qualitative research has emerged which describes the work of teachers within

holistic education. This study aims to focus specifically on delivering a holistic

approach to education to children in public schools by teachers who are

governed by specific government policy as outlined in the Ontario curriculum.

There is an absence of literature or research in this field. This study seeks to

show how it is possible to bring about holistic practices in public schools based

on a sound grounding in holistic education theory, but also mediated by

government policy and documents, which public school teachers must adhere to.

I believe this study can help develop more meaningful teacher training programs

as more and more pre-service teachers learn about holistic education principles

as well as how they might develop holistic programs within their public school

classrooms. I believe that holistic education has the potential to be elitist if it is

solely implemented in the private sector and believe it is worthwhile to introduce

it into mainstream education so that every child has the opportunity to develop all

aspects of his / her being: intellectual, emotional, social, physical, creative,

 34

intuitive, artistic and spiritual. Education should encompass growth of mind, body

and spirit to help learners realize their full potential in life.

The goal of this study is to show that a holistic approach to education can

indeed be inscribed within the boundaries of the Ontario curriculum and to reflect

on the strategies that can be developed to achieve this as well as the challenges

and limitations that arise. This type of systematic, relevant and in-depth study

has the potential to further the field of holistic education. Furthermore, by

introducing holistic education principles and practices into mainstream education,

this research should also enable otherwise marginal subcultures of teaching and

learning to receive necessary exposure and legitimization from the broader

educational research community.

 Chapter Four

Becoming a Holistic Teacher: Processes and Practices

The implementation of a holistic curriculum is dependent upon the teacher

who is committed to educating the whole student. Holistic education can only

become a reality through teachers who are willing to work to improve

themselves. A holistic approach to the curriculum is possible when the teacher is

self-aware and deeply engaged with students. Curriculum writers often touch on

the learner, the subject matter, the techniques, and the environment of teaching,

but little attention is given to the teacher, who is, in my opinion, a central feature

of the curriculum. The teacher is a medium and a filter of the curriculum. In

holistic education, the teacher is the backbone and the implementation of a

holistic curriculum is dependent upon her. John Miller (2006) writes “Teachers

need to work on themselves through various practices to become more present,

mindful, and caring…. If we can be more centred and caring, then we can create

a space where students may also share in these qualities” (p. 136). He further

states that the work teachers do on themselves, begins to make a significant

difference in their teaching and that they are able “to connect more deeply to

students and their learning” (J.P. Miller, 2006, p. 137). The term holistic means

that you are responsive to the whole situation. As a teacher, one can only be

responsive the whole situation when one is completely present and mindful.

These qualities must be nurtured and developed in teachers. By cultivating one’s

own presence, then teachers will better know how to implement a holistic

35
 36

approach to the curriculum while attending to the multi-dimensional needs and

interests of students.

In order to be more present, mindful and caring, teachers need to make

time to nurture their own soul and wellness by developing one or more spiritual

practices such as practising meditation, tai chi, yoga, making a pilgrimage to a

place of spiritual significance, engaging in a service activity such as helping a

sick person, or going on a retreat.

Working on Myself through Meditation and Yoga

I was first introduced to the concept of holistic education in July 2005

when I took a course offered by Professor John Miller at OISE, the Holistic

Curriculum. One of the course requirements was that students practise a

transpersonal growth method (meditation or visualization) and keep a journal

describing and reflecting on their experience. I decided to embark on the

challenging task of meditating, focusing on the breath, and I discovered many

things about myself as a result. At about the same time, I also decided to try

yoga and so I registered for a Kundalini yoga class at the recreation center in my

neighbourhood. The Kundalini yoga class lasted one and a half hours and the

last thirty minutes were spent meditating. I was afraid that I was not meditating

properly when I did it on my own initially and so the instruction I received on how

to focus on the breath helped me learn to meditate more effectively. I found that

the two practices: meditation and yoga complemented each other. I derived

immeasurable benefits (both physiological and psychological) from practising

meditation and yoga such as improved sleep, greater concentration, heightened

 37

awareness, increased energy, greater joy, physical and mental wellness, a

feeling of calmness and peace. In my reflection journal that documented how the

process of meditation went (e.g., how my concentration and focus went, how my

body felt, and how meditation affected me) I wrote:

July 11, 2005

I find that it is progressively easier to concentrate in my meditation.

I have fewer and fewer thoughts coming into my mind. I can see in

my mind’s eye just blank, dark space. It is comfortable to be in this

“nothingness” state. At times, I can “see” a bit of brightness, but,

for the most part, it is dark. I feel cool and relaxed. My body also

feels lighter. It is as if I can’t feel the weight of my limbs. This is a

pleasant sensation. I can still hear some sounds such as the rustle

of the leaves in the blowing wind and the chirping of the birds. I

can smell the sand and it smells dusty. (Author’s journal, 2005)

July 20, 2005

During my meditation, I find myself concentrating more and more

on my breath as well as my body. The inhaling and exhaling is

long and powerful. I am aware of what my body is doing as I

breathe. I can feel the air flare in through my nostrils, the rising of

my lower abdomen and the opening up of my diaphragm. Then, as

I exhale the air from my nostrils, I feel the air leaving my chest and

finally, my stomach is flat and completely empty of all air. It is as if

I am a balloon that was filled with air and has been unknotted and
 38

flies around freely until all the air is released. My body feels cool

and relaxed. I feel tranquil and at peace with my surroundings and

myself. My mind is at ease and clear. The meditation makes me

feel happy and calm. I look forward to my meditation each day. It

provides a break for my mind, which is both inviting and restful.

(Author’s journal, 2005)

August 3, 2005

My concentration during the meditation today was good. As I

focussed on my breathing, I could feel the tension in my neck,

shoulders and back. The longer I focussed on my breathing, the

less I noticed the tension in my muscles. My body felt calm,

relaxed and at ease. I could hear the waterfall, as the water from

the jet fell into the small pool of water. This sound was pleasant

and comforting. Although the plants and flowers that surrounded

me in the garden where I meditated today were at a distance, I

smelled the flowers very distinctly and they had a lovely, intense

smell. Their fragrance just seemed to invade my nostrils and the

intense perfume surprised me, for it was as if the flowers were right

under my nose. I found this rather amazing: how strong my sense

of smell seemed to be during the meditation, or, perhaps, it was

simply due to the fact that I was more aware of my body and my

senses. (Author’s journal, 2005)

 39

August 8, 2005

I saw each meditation session as a journey, a journey into my Self

where I found an oasis of peace and tranquility. It was hard for me

to believe that I could actually find such peace and tranquility within

myself. I think the media conditions us to believe that we can only

find what we need outside of ourselves – love, wealth, happiness,

etc. and that is why many of us are forever yearning and

dissatisfied. It was truly a revelation to find that the peace of mind

I’d been looking for for so long in my life was at the very core of my

being, it was inside me and I could channel it at will through

meditation by simply turning my attention inward.

(Author’s journal, 2005)

These reflections show the power of meditation. The most significant

aspect that meditation brought to my life was the awareness that I developed of

my inner Self. Up until this point in my education and upbringing, I had never

been fully aware of the importance of developing all aspects of oneself: the

spiritual, emotional, social, physical as well as intellectual. By engaging in

meditation, I was able to learn more about my Self and I realized that my

contemporary education and upbringing had never allowed me to learn about my

Self, nor had I ever learned how to calm my mind and body and listen to my

intuition. I realized also how unfortunate this is for students in today’s

classrooms where spiritual growth, emotional well-being, artistic creativity, social

competencies and physical wellness are all secondary to their intellectual

 40

development. This awareness of the importance of meditation to one’s mental,

emotional and physical well-being led me to introduce meditation to my students.

I firmly believe that teachers need to nurture all aspects of students’ being

not only their intellectual development. If students are suffering emotionally

because their parents are divorcing, for example, or they are suffering from

insomnia, or someone at school is bullying them, then they cannot concentrate

on their schoolwork and they need help in order to deal with their emotional

needs. The holistically authentic teacher is in touch with her inner Self and

realizes that there is a connection between one’s consciousness or inner life and

other people. Therefore, the teacher’s awareness of her inner Self leads to a

better connection with the inner Selves of her students. Furthermore, the holistic

teacher is fully aware of the fact that the body, mind and soul are mutually

dependent and that all aspects of students must be nurtured in order for them to

reach their full potential academically in school as well as their full potential as

human beings in the universe.

Developing Presence in the Classroom

As a result of meditating, I became a more caring teacher. I began to

spend more time building positive relationships with my students by getting to

know them and their families well. I became more empathetic and sensitive to

the needs and interests of my students and showed my caring by relating their

needs and interests to the subject matter we studied. I accepted, valued and

respected each student as a unique human being and fostered his or her
 41

personal growth. I allowed for students’ sense of wonder, curiosity and personal

need for learning to take place.

I continued to practise meditation and yoga on a fairly regular basis for

nearly two years when I took another course with Professor John Miller at OISE,

Spirituality in Education. Again, one of the requirements for this course was to

investigate various forms of spiritual practice in order to realize our deeper

nature, engage in one practice, and write a reflective paper on that practice. For

my spiritual practice, I decided to deepen my experience with meditation and I

began to meditate daily once more. Initially, I meditated for fifteen minutes and

was gradually able to meditate for thirty to forty minutes daily. Again, I began to

experience numerous benefits. One of the most noteworthy benefits was the

ability to settle my body and quiet my mind. Furthermore, I was able to bring this

quietness and mindfulness into my daily life and practice as a teacher. Here are

some reflections I wrote in a journal that I kept which documented how

meditation was affecting me:

January 19, 2007

Today, I sat and meditated in my living room at home on a cushion.

I sat in the dark with three candles lit. I found it took some time to

settle my mind. Thoughts kept coming into my mind and it was

hard to let them go. I had to keep reminding myself to let them

pass, to simply acknowledge them. I had a difficult day at work and

was frustrated before I began meditating. When I was finally able

to stop “thinking,” I noticed some tension in my face muscles. I

 42

tried to relax them. I was able to clear my mind and began to feel

less frustrated. Once I came out of my meditation, I noticed that

my face was no longer tense and I did not feel frustrated anymore.

I am astonished at how something apparently so simple as

focussing on the breath can help relieve my feelings of frustration.

I feel happy that I gave my Self some time to relax. (Author’s

journal, 2007)

January 22, 2007

Today, I felt it seemed to take a long time to clear my mind. I had

many thoughts going through my mind, mostly about school and

my students. One of my students had a serious accident on the

weekend while tobogganing. He ruptured his spleen and I found it

difficult to get him off my mind. When I finally managed to clear my

mind of thoughts, I could see what seemed like a tunnel and it was

orange in colour due to the light coming from its center. It sort of

spiralled and as I meditated I seemed to be travelling deeper into

this tunnel. As I meditated, I noticed that the muscles in my back

and in my neck seemed less tense. (Author’s journal, 2007)

January 30, 2007

Today during my meditation session, I had an incredible feeling.

Firstly, I settled my mind quite effectively after some “dialogue” with

my Self. Once I cleared my mind and it became a vacant, dark

space, I noticed that I could not feel where my fingers met. It was
 43

as if they were one. I also felt as if my buttocks were part of the

cushion on which I sat. It was as if the floor, the rug, my cushion

and my body were all one. I felt completely connected with my Self

and my surroundings. I felt deeply grounded, solid and strong.

(Author’s journal, 2007)

April 16, 2007

I found that as I set aside time each day to meditate this

became a special time for myself. I could let go of all my worries

and concerns and focus on nothing but my Self. I found that I

looked forward to sitting very still each evening and quieting my

mind after rushing through yet another day. I firmly believe that

everyone should be encouraged to meditate in order to maintain

his or her mental health and peace of mind. For me, meditation is

the only tool that counterbalances the absurd rhythm of modern

life. To my amazement, I was able to bring this quietness and

stillness into my day to day. At school, I began introducing my

students to meditation, visualization as well as yoga. I encouraged

them to quiet their minds and settle their bodies. We would walk

mindfully to the gym in total silence. Remarkably, the noise level in

the classroom was noticeably lower. The children seemed calmer,

more relaxed. At home, I also introduced my own children to some

basic yogic exercises to develop concentration and I played

spiritual music from my yoga class as well as positive affirmations

 44

for them to sing. I noticed that, even at home, my own family was

quieter and the pace of life was markedly slower.

I noticed that the mindful state that I achieved during

meditation manifested itself in my daily life. I listened more

attentively to my students. I responded more caringly to their

needs. At home, I was more present. When I played with my

children, I actually engaged with them. I did not play with them

while carrying on a conversation with my mother on the phone or

attempting to wash the dishes. In short, I attended to situations

and let myself become absorbed in the moment rather than racing

ahead to what I would be doing in a few minutes or hours.

(Author’s journal, 2007)

These reflections show that meditation is a powerful tool that has helped

me to channel my inner power and access the wisdom that lies within me.

Meditation has allowed me to slow down and live in the moment. Life today is

very hurried. Children are rushed to school, extracurricular activities, through

meals and bedtime. I catch myself saying: “Hurry up!” to my children all the

time. We are creating a society where people feel the need to multitask and

hurry through everything in order to get things done. At school, teachers feel

pressured to cover an ever-growing number of expectations set forth in the

Ontario curriculum. There seem to be more and more demands placed on

teachers and students, however, the amount of hours in a school day has not

increased. Meditation can be a very useful tool to help teachers learn how to
 45

slow down. It is most important for teachers to learn how to do this since the

overwhelming number of expectations to cover in the curriculum and the constant

interruptions in a busy classroom can be very destabilizing and it is important to

learn to focus, live in the present moment and appreciate the sacredness of life.

Through meditation, I have been able to develop mindfulness and presence and I

have been able to apply this mindfulness and presence to the classroom. When

a student comes to me with a problem, I give him / her my complete presence

and attention. By making time to listen to students and respecting their feelings, I

believe I am creating a psychologically safe environment where they feel more

willing to share their thoughts, concerns and feelings. Below is an example from

my classroom that moved me deeply.

One of the Social Studies topics in the Grade 6 Ontario curriculum is

Aboriginal Peoples and European Explorers. Throughout the unit, I encourage

students to collect newspaper articles about current issues relevant to Aboriginal

peoples. Students present and summarize an article that interests them and the

whole class discusses the issues raised in the article. These articles provide

students with valuable background knowledge and help them develop a better

understanding of the dominant issues for the Aboriginal peoples today such as

land claims and self-government. One of my students brought in an article from

the Canadian Press that criticized the Indian Affairs Minister at the time, Jim

Prentice, when he gave the First Nations community a 2-billion dollar

compensation package for the physical and sexual abuse suffered by children

who attended Native residential schools of the last century which were meant to
 46

educate native children. The government offered the compensation package in

2007 that specifically had no apology. The article mentioned the “unspeakable

acts” (Bailey, 2007, p. 1) that were committed upon these children. The student

who brought in this article to share with the rest of the class turned red as he

spoke in front of the class, his voice began to quiver and finally, he broke down

into uncontrollable sobs as he expressed his concern and outrage at the

situation. His emotional response to this news item caused an emotional

reaction in other children whose eyes welled up with tears as they began to

understand the nature of the atrocities committed against Native children of the

past. And, as I sat at my desk and listened attentively to my student, I was also

moved by his tears and could not hold back my own. Together, we wept at the

unspeakable horror these children had endured and the cowardly action that the

Canadian government continued to engage in as it denied them a much-

deserved apology.

Developing Authenticity and Caring in Schools

I believe that this student was able to speak so earnestly from his heart

and reveal his emotions so transparently because firstly, I created in my

classroom an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect. Secondly, I, as the

teacher, am not afraid to show my emotions in class. I laugh when I am happy

and cry when I am sad. In essence, I allow students to see my humanity and I

do not hide behind the mask of “the teacher,” but rather am authentic. This is

another very important quality to develop as a teacher: authenticity. Students

readily notice when there is a contradiction between what teachers say and what
 47

they do. The holistic teacher is authentic and strives for congruence in her

thoughts, words, and actions, and lives her own truth. She embodies her

teaching philosophy. As a result of his presentation, this young boy in Grade 6

decided to start a petition requesting that the government offer the First Nations

community a sincere apology in order to recognize the social havoc that the live-

in schools caused. As chance would have it, a year later, the historic apology

was finally delivered by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and I had the honour and

privilege to share an article with my students that my husband, Brian Kemp, who

is a journalist, wrote for the CBC. The students in my class were eager to read

the article and were fully aware of its historic significance. As we read the article

aloud together, tears rolled down many of their cheeks as well as mine. This

time, the tears were not brought on by anger or frustration. The students were

proud that Canada had finally recognized that Native people have been wronged

and that the Canadian government was, at last, beginning to take some

measures to right the wrong. The tears were tears of joy and hope for a better

future for Aboriginal Canadians. The Grade 6 boy who was so upset over the

non-apology of the government a year earlier had graduated and was attending

another school. His siblings still attended the school and one day, I met his

mother in the hallway and gave her a copy of the article, Putting the pain behind

them (see Appendix A), which my husband, Kemp (2008), wrote about the

historic apology, and asked her to give it to her son. I did not need to explain to

her why as she recalled how much it had pained him that the government had

refused the First Nations an apology. Although he was no longer my student, I

 48

wanted him to have a copy of this article. He had been so moved by the

government’s lack of caring and responsibility that I felt it was important for me to

share with him this historic change of attitude and public apology.

Personal Development and Professional Development in Teaching

I believe that my spiritual practices have made me more attuned to the

needs of my students, not only academic but also social and emotional. As a

result, I am better able to find creative ways that allow me to teach the curriculum

in such a way that it addresses the whole student and honours my students’

humanity, diverse interests and wide needs: social, emotional, moral, spiritual,

creative, physical and intellectual. Teaching cannot be reduced to a set of skills,

techniques or recipe for success. Good teaching comes from the heart.

Teaching, like learning, is a highly creative act that engages all the senses and

aspects of one’s being: mind, body and soul. Teachers develop new

understandings, skills and approaches by interacting with each student and the

curriculum in a meaningful way. Professional development in teachers cannot be

disassociated from their personal development. They are inextricably and

organically linked. I believe that a great deal of my professional development as

a holistic educator was the result of being in a public alternative school where the

community shared in the vision of wholeness and as a result of my personal

development and all the work I did on myself such as yoga and meditation.

Furthermore, I view teaching like learning: it is a lifelong process. I fully

anticipate that I will continue to evolve and develop as a teacher as I grow and

develop as a person. There is wisdom that comes with age and experience. As
 49

my years of teaching increase, I feel an inner strength and wisdom develop in

regards to what I do everyday with children in the classroom.

Palmer eloquently sums this up in one sentence: “Technique is what

teachers use until the real teacher arrives” (Palmer, 1998, p. 5). Teachers can

certainly teach using good techniques, but education and learning does not truly

begin until the teacher is able to connect with her inner Self that teaches and the

transpersonal growth methods I described above: meditation and yoga helped

me to connect with that inner Self and helped me find the “real teacher” which

Palmer describes (Palmer, 1998, p. 5). I believe that in order to be a good

teacher, it is fundamental to know who you are as a teacher. For this reason, it is

vitally important that teachers explore their inner life and consciousness. This

approach in holistic education has been widely neglected by most curriculum

writers and yet it seems obvious that teachers teach who they are. Therefore, it

is important for teachers to nurture and cultivate the teacher within, to connect

with that part of themselves and teach from the heart, not just from the intellect or

from a series of well-established techniques. If teachers are to connect deeply

with their students, then they must first connect with themselves. For myself, I

have nurtured this connection through yoga and meditation, but each teacher

must find the method that best suits him or her. One might find it through

keeping a journal, walking in the woods, maintaining solitude and silence, making

a pilgrimage, or doing something mindfully. Whatever method teachers choose

will depend on the teacher, the important thing is that teachers allow themselves

the time to explore this aspect of their being. Knowing your inner Self and your
 50

inner teaching Self is fundamental to good teaching and must not be overlooked.

Through meditation, I have been able to develop that inner teaching Self and this

has allowed me to listen to the voice of the inner teacher which has made it

possible for me to engage more deeply with my students and the curriculum I

teach. It has allowed me to reclaim my identity, my integrity and my sense of

vocation. Teaching comes from a deeper part of my Self and speaks to that part

of my students. For the holistic educator, teaching cannot be reduced to a set of

instructional techniques, assessment, and evaluation tools; it comes from the

core of his / her being and requires him / her to channel that inner wisdom by

nurturing his / her spiritual dimension.

Reclaiming my sense of identity, integrity and vocation has revitalized my

teaching and is likely to do the same for many teachers who may feel dissatisfied

and demoralized in the current educational climate of Ontario. The job of

teachers is becoming more and more challenging with an inadequate amount of

time being given for them to plan for provincially mandated changes in the

curriculum; large class sizes which do not allow for an adequate amount of time

to work with students; high demands; and heavy workloads that require a great

deal of time to manage. Teaching is a highly taxing, stressful job and more and

more teachers leave this profession because they simply “burn out.” I believe

that if teachers are encouraged to work on themselves, this will do a great deal to

promote their well-being, revitalize classrooms and ensure that fewer teachers

suffer from professional “burn out.” Of course, smaller class sizes, more time to

implement provincially mandated changes, and giving teachers greater autonomy

 51

will also go a long way to make the job of teaching more satisfying and

rewarding.

In conclusion, many Ministry of Education documents, school board

initiatives and curriculum resources often overlook the personal nature of

teaching and learning and the role personal development plays in a teacher’s

professional development. Holistic education, on the other hand, honours and

values the work that the teacher does on herself and sees this as a vehicle to

develop curriculum that is responsive to all the needs and interests of students

because it comes from teachers who teach from the heart and are completely in

tune with their students’ multidimensional aspects since they see each student as

a unique, whole child.

 Chapter Five

Educating the Whole Student: Discussion and Analysis

The highest function of education is

to bring about an integrated individual who is
capable of dealing with life as a whole.
(Krishnamurti, 1953, p. 24)

John Miller (2006) writes “So much of schooling is focused narrowly on

achievement in school subjects rather than on nurturing the whole human being”

(p. 142). This is true of public education today. Students’ achievement is seen

merely in relation to academic subjects and education has been reduced to

students’ performance on standardized tests. Furthermore, the sole purpose that

schooling seems to serve nowadays is to prepare children to compete in the

global economy. This is a very narrow vision of education and, in order to better

meet the needs of students, we desperately need to expand this limited vision of

education.

Holistic education, on the other hand, seeks to educate the whole student

and reflects the integrated nature of learning which involves the mind, body and

soul. In planning and implementing curriculum, holistic educators attend to all

aspects of students’ development such as their spiritual growth, emotional

wellness, creativity, moral development, social competency, physical well-being,

and intellectual growth (Waterloo Region Roman Catholic Separate School

Board, 1993). Holistic education nurtures the inner life of the student and

connects it to the outer life of the school, the local and global community. A

holistic approach to the curriculum attempts to restore the balance between the

inner and outer life of children by introducing into the curriculum activities that

52
 53

stimulate the learner’s imagination, creativity and intuition such as meditation,

visualization, guided imagery and journal writing. In this high-tech age of hyper

parenting where children and adolescents’ lives are filled with television,

computers, gaming platforms, video games and structured time in programmed

activities, youngsters’ imagination and intuition have little opportunity to develop.

Therefore, it is more important than ever before that schooling help children

develop their imagination, intuition and creativity.

Once teachers have worked on themselves through various practices to

become more present, mindful, contemplative and caring, they can begin to

introduce their students to a variety of spiritual practices in order to nurture the

student’s inner life and help him / her with his / her own spiritual journey. As

stated by London and his co-authors (2004), “Ultimately, teachers ‘teach’ who

they are. The degree to which they have developed their ‘inner’ (spiritual or

contemplative) selves determines the degree to which they can truly awaken this

in their students” (London et al., 2004, p. 30).

Creating a Caring Learning Community

In order to awaken students’ spirit or soul, I believe it is important to first

create a caring learning community. This takes some time to develop but the

rewards are immeasurable. In my own teaching, I was very fortunate at the

school where I taught as I moved along with my students and taught the same

group of students for four years. I first started to teach them in Grade 3 and

taught them until Grade 6 when they graduated to middle school. Over those

four years, I was able to develop long-term relationships with my students and
 54

their families. The relationships teachers develop with students are key to

creating a caring learning community built on trust, commitment, communication

and collaboration. As a result of the development of personal relationships

between the students and I, their learning became more personal. They saw my

commitment towards them and assumed greater responsibility for their actions

and learning. Parents also reciprocated in kindness and commitment to helping

in school events and fundraising. Learning and teaching together over this four

year period allowed my students to take more time to express themselves and to

listen to each other. They became more deeply connected with each other and

felt a sense of belonging.

In most public schools, students rarely have the same teacher for more

than two years. In my experience, it can be very beneficial to teach the same

group of students for an extended period of time. It is easier to get to know your

students and their families well and to care for their needs and interests when, as

a teacher, one is given the opportunity to build long-term relationships with

students and their families. When one teaches the same group of students for a

longer period of time, one becomes more attached to them and that attachment

leads one to care more deeply for them, much like a parent who cares deeply for

her own child. This form of attachment can only take place when relationships

are nurtured over time. Dewey (1902) was right when he wrote, “What the best

and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all

its children. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it

destroys our democracy” (p. 3). As a teacher as well as a mother, I have to

 55

agree with Dewey (1902) that education and schools should be more akin to

good parenting. As a parent, one seeks to help her child develop as fully as

possible whether it is caring for her physical well-being, emotional health or

introducing her to music, art and / or sports so that the child develops to her full

potential. A parent is responsible for caring for all the needs of her child. So it is

in holistic education. The holistic teacher seeks to nurture all aspects of the

student. She is responsive to the needs of the whole child. Caring and

developing healthy relationships, built on mutual respect and open

communication, must play a far greater role in educating the young, so that we

can create more caring and compassionate human beings.

One of the ways that I enjoy getting to know students at the beginning of

the year is by having them write an autobiography. The autobiography (see

Appendix B) gives students the opportunity to tell me about themselves through

their writing and visual art. The assignment, which I developed, based on a

worksheet I obtained from a project leader, who provides support for beginning

teachers in the TDSB, asks students to write about their childhood, the present

and the future. Students describe the circumstances around their birth and their

name. They describe their family and what they do, a vivid early memory from

their childhood, their favourite toy or object, their most proud or embarrassing

moments. Students discuss their personality now, their virtues and vices, who

are the people they care most about and why, their favourite activities or interests

and something they strongly believe. Students also describe their aspirations by

naming a possible career or education they might follow in the future. Students
 56

are encouraged to include a creative piece in their autobiography, which can

include poetry or prose, a collage that reflects who they are, other artwork or a

photo story of their life.

The autobiographies I collect from students at the beginning of the year

give me an opportunity to learn a lot about my students. They tell me about their

personal and family story. I come to see them as more than just students in my

classroom, and gain an understanding of who they are as people, what is

important to them and learn a great deal about their life outside school. In short,

through the use of autobiographies, I am able to see each student as a whole

person. I learn about how they have been affected by important events in their

family history such as the divorce of their parents, the sickness of a loved one, or

the loss of their favourite pet. I also learn about their dreams of the future and

fears. These autobiographic stories paint for me each student’s inner landscape.

After reading them, I feel more deeply connected to my students. I also share

my own autobiography with my students so that they, in turn, can also come to

know me better and see me as more than just a teacher, but as a real human

being. I share personal information about myself such as where I was born and

my most embarrassing moment as a child in school when I got gum all over my

hair because I was chewing gum in class even though it was not allowed. I

describe to them some of my virtues as well as my vices and share some of my

strongest beliefs, which echo the words of Dr. Martin Luther King and his vision

of the “beloved community” (The King Center, 2004) where peace and equality

reign. I find that students welcome hearing my own personal story and are more
 57

apt to write theirs with a greater sense of purpose and interest once they hear

mine. By sharing my own personal story with my students, I also aim to let them

see a glimpse of who I am not only as the teacher who stands in front of the

classroom, but also as the caring mother of two energetic boys, the busy

homemaker, the loving wife of an accomplished journalist, the hard working

graduate student, the hopeless social idealist and the many other hats that I

wear. I use my story to help my students learn more about me and see me as a

whole person too. In this way, I become more human to them, more real and this

helps us connect more deeply with each other. I also give parents the

opportunity to share information with me about their child, their goals for their

child as well as how they would like to be involved in their child’s education. I

send home an information sheet called, Getting to know your child and family

(see Appendix C), which every family fills out and, in this way, I learn a great

deal about the children in my class, their interests and needs as well as what

parents see as important for their child’s learning and development. I got the

idea for this survey from a colleague and I adapted it to suit my students. I have

found this information very helpful at the beginning of the school year and it is

also a useful way to engage parents in their child’s education and give them a

voice. It helps me to see what I can do in the classroom to complement

children’s learning at home, helps make parents feel welcome in the school,

encourages them to become involved in the classroom, volunteer to help

supervise during field trips, and lead school clubs, committees and activities.
 58

Over the years, I have had a great deal of support from parents. They

have volunteered in the classroom to develop art projects, conduct pottery

workshops, science experiments, read with children, lead music and drama

lessons, organize a yearbook, and one parent, who was a massage therapist,

even came in to teach the students relaxation techniques! I have found that

when I reach out to parents and invite them into the classroom, they act as

wonderful partners in educating all the children in the class. It is important to

develop caring relationships with students, but it is equally important to develop

caring relationships with students’ parents and / or caregivers. To do this one

need only maintain an open door policy, communicate openly and informally with

parents on a regular basis, and welcome them when they come to drop off or

pick up their child so that they feel free to participate in their child’s education. In

my own experience, education works best when teachers and parents work

collaboratively to educate the whole child and one reinforces the other at home

and at school.

One of the ways that I developed a caring learning community in my

classroom was to cultivate caring and compassion in my students. I began to do

a loving-kindness practice with my students every day that I had experienced in

both of my courses at OISE with Professor John Miller. This practice allows one

to connect with the heart and share the warmth and compassion in our heart with

others (J.P. Miller, 2006). For example, I used the following two approaches:

May I be well, happy, and peaceful.

May my family be well, happy, and peaceful.

 59

May my friends be well, happy, and peaceful.

May my neighbours be well, happy, and peaceful.

May my colleagues be well, happy, and peaceful.

May all people whom I meet be well, happy, and peaceful.

May all people who may have injured me by deed, speech,

or thought be well, happy, and peaceful.

May all beings on this planet be well, happy, and peaceful.

May all beings in the universe be well, happy, and peaceful.

And,

May I be well, happy, and peaceful.

May all beings in this room be well, happy, and peaceful.

May all beings in this building be well, happy, and peaceful.

May all beings in this neighbourhood be well, happy, and

peaceful.

May all beings in this city be well, happy, and peaceful.

May all beings in this province be well, happy, and peaceful.

May all beings in this country be well, happy, and peaceful.

May all beings on this continent be well, happy, and

peaceful.

May all beings on this planet be well, happy, and peaceful.

May all beings everywhere be well, happy, and peaceful.

(J.P. Miller, 2006, p.62)

 60

The first approach starts with those who are closest to us emotionally and

then extends to others. The second approach starts with oneself and moves

outward geographically (J.P. Miller, 2006).

After the morning announcements, I started each day with this practice

and I found that it added immensely to the tone and feel of my class. I noticed

that my students were kinder and more loving to each other since we started this

practice three years earlier. Furthermore, students looked forward to the practice

each morning. Parents would comment to me that their child expressed concern

about being late for school in the morning because they did not like to miss the

loving-kindness practice. It is a wonderful way of centering ourselves and

starting each day in a calm and positive manner. It allows students to settle

down and let go of any negative feelings or stresses that might otherwise hinder

them from concentrating on their schoolwork and, therefore, promotes better

learning. The loving-kindness practice also allows students to see how we are all

interconnected since the practice starts with people who are emotionally closest

to us and then moves out or, starts with ourselves and then moves out

geographically (J.P. Miller, 2006).

In my third year teaching this group of students, one of my students was

seriously injured in a tobogganing accident. He ruptured his spleen and spent

several weeks in the hospital. Although this boy was not at school, I found

myself constantly thinking about him. While he was ill, I would often visualize

him and send him thoughts of healing and well-being. When my students and I

performed our loving-kindness practice each morning, I encouraged students to

 61

also visualize this classmate who was ill and send him healing thoughts. After

six weeks in the hospital, this boy returned to class completely healed and with

only a few precautions to observe. I sincerely believe that this student recovered

so successfully as a result of the thoughts of good health being sent to him daily

from all of his classmates as well as myself.

Nel Noddings (1992) has written extensively about the importance of

developing caring in schools. She has argued, “Education should be organized

around themes of care rather than the traditional disciplines” (Noddings, 1992,

p. 173). She has suggested that students should learn to care for themselves,

others (people close to them as well as people across the globe), plants,

animals, the environment, the man-made world, as well as ideas (Noddings,

1992). I am in complete agreement with her when she states, “The main aim of

education should be to produce competent, caring, loving and lovable people”

(Noddings, 1992, p. 174). Teaching children to care for other people, plants,

animals and the earth is important to nurturing their souls and it is an approach

that is fundamental in holistic education. In my classroom, I have found that

performing the loving-kindness practice daily, has promoted greater kindness,

caring and compassion among students. As Noddings (1992) recommends, I

have found many ways for my students to care for other people, plants, animals,

the environment and the earth, which I will discuss later on when I describe

curriculum connections and holistic education.

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Meditation

Another way to nourish students’ soul in the classroom is to introduce

them to meditation or visualization. There are many different types of meditation

that teachers can introduce in schools. Levete (1995) recommends, for example:

following the breath; connecting to the body as in body scans by focussing one’s

attention through the entire body slowly; movement meditations such as walking

meditation, yoga, or tai chi; mantra meditation which focuses on a sound, a word

or a phrase; visualization; and observing the mind where the meditator notes

each passing thought (cited in J.P. Miller, 2006, p. 52).

After I had been meditating for a while on my own, I began meditating with

my students in the classroom twice a week. I introduced them to stationary

meditation practice that focused on the breath. I encouraged them to sit on a

chair with their legs relaxed and their hands on their thighs or sit on the floor with

their legs crossed, keep their head, neck, and chest in a straight line, close their

eyes, relax and allow thoughts and outside noises to drift away gently by

focusing only on their breathing. We began by meditating for about three

minutes per session and gradually increased to fifteen minutes each time. I

noticed that the majority of my students engaged in meditation with enthusiasm.

At first, some students had difficulty sitting still and were silly, but, after a few

weeks, everyone was able to concentrate better during the meditations and the

tone in the class was noticeably quieter and far calmer. One important aspect

about the meditation I did with my students is that I always allowed for debriefing

at the end of each session. I gave students the opportunity to share what they
 63

noticed about their concentration; how they felt during the meditation and any

other comments they wished to share about what they noticed. My students

enjoyed sharing their meditation experiences with each other. They welcomed

the opportunity to sit still and focus inwardly on the breath. They realized how

difficult it was to maintain their attention solely on their breath and commented

that the most challenging aspect of meditation was to refrain from entertaining

the thoughts that entered their mind, but to simply be aware of them and let them

go. Many students reported to me that, since we started meditating in class

together, they were able to sleep better at night. This came as quite a shock to

me, but it is amazing to learn how many young children suffer from sleep

disorders and insomnia. Many of them said that it helped them calm down and

relax. More than half of my students started to practise meditation at home on

their own because they enjoyed this quiet time and it helped them calm down. I

noticed that many of my students became more aware of their posture and

breathing and far fewer students sat with their backs slouched. One of my

colleagues even asked me if I could teach his class how to meditate since they

had heard their friends were doing it in my class and they wanted to practise

meditation too.

I realize that in some schools parents would object to these practices.

However, in public schools, it is important to present meditation in a nonreligious

framework. I have practised meditation with children for four years now and I

have never had a single complaint. On the contrary, parents have told me how

much their children enjoy meditating at school. They have told me that their
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children seem calmer and more focussed. I believe meditation in public schools

can be approached in a less controversial manner by giving students the choice

to participate in the activity, and integrating it with other activities such as art,

drama or physical education. Meditation can be approached as a centering

activity to help students learn to relax, focus their attention and concentrate. It

seems that more and more children suffer from attention deficit disorder and

hyperactivity. These children who have a short attention span would likely

benefit from exercises that help them focus and maintain attention. In my

opinion, meditation can help children learn how to calm themselves and it can

help improve their concentration in an unobtrusive manner. Many of my students

insist on meditating before a test because they tell me that it helps them feel less

stressed. I noticed that after meditating for several months, my students seemed

generally calmer, more tolerant of and patient towards each other. Occasional

teachers who visited my class always commented on the students’

thoughtfulness and respectful manner. In fact, in 2007, our school was named

the “Excellent school award winner” as it was voted by the Elementary Teachers’

Federation of Ontario (ETFO) as the school where occasional teachers from the

TDSB most preferred to teach. Of course, this is not only due to meditation, but I

believe meditation does a great deal to engender a calm, respectful disposition

among students. It teaches them to be in communion with themselves and

others in a thoughtful, peaceful manner. Through meditation, I feel that I have

become more authentic and present as a teacher. Meditation has infused my

teaching. I bring the same attention and groundedness of my meditation practice

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to my teaching practice. Similarly, I feel that meditation also brings out students’

authenticity. Meditation helps every student develop his / her sense of identity

and uniqueness. It grounds them, helps them to connect with their heart and, as

a result, they connect better with each other as friends and classmates as well as

with me, the teacher. Through meditation I have been able to connect with my

students more deeply and this connection helps me when I am planning and

developing curriculum for them. It has brought me greater clarity and awareness

of the types of learning they need and deserve.

In this way, education is not merely the acquisition of knowledge and

skills; instead, it becomes an enriching exploration of the world and one’s

meaningful, personal connections to it. This type of education begins with

developing every learner’s consciousness through spiritual practices such as

meditation and honours learners’ diverse needs and interests which include, but

are not limited to: physical activity, intellectual development, stimulating curiosity

and imagination, appreciation of the arts, connections to ecological, community

and global issues. John Miller (1996) has stated that, “If the teacher is not

engaged in some effort to connect with the Self, then any attempt at holistic

education will indeed be hollow” (p. 171). I would add that if the teacher does not

engage her students in an effort to connect with their Self as well, then holistic

education will be equally hollow, because it will not come from the core of

students’ beings.
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Visualization

Another type of spiritual practice that I introduced my students to is

visualization. Visualization is another method for allowing students to

contemplate. It can be used in public schools with less controversy than

meditation since its primary focus is imagery and it is not associated with any

religion. Children learn through contemplation. Visualizations allow children to

become what they encounter and so can be a powerful tool for learning new

concepts in Science or Social Studies for example. After learning about the

water cycle students can be led through Jack Sequist’ s visualization, “The Water

Cycle” (cited in J.P. Miller, 2000, pp. 58-59). Guided imagery activities allow

students to connect abstract subject matter with their own inner experience (J.P.

Miller, 2000). I used this visualization with my students in Grades 3 and 4 when

we studied the water cycle in connection with the Science and Technology

curriculum and found that it helped many of them understand the different states

of matter as well as the process of evaporation and condensation. John Miller

(2000) states that visualizations allow “abstract subject matter” to “become part

of the student’s inner life” (p. 60). The visualization about the water cycle helped

my students understand some rather abstract notions in Science such as matter

and changes in states of matter. The use of this visualization or guided imagery

placed them in the natural world and allowed them to become the water of a

large, calm lake and experience what happens as water evaporates and

becomes absorbed in the clouds, moves across the sky and eventually returns

full circle to join the lake where it started. This imagery complemented the
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Science curriculum and made it far more accessible to my young students. In

holistic education, this is a key principle: for learners to engage with learning to

the point where they become the object of study. Through contemplation

exercises such as visualization, children can be encouraged to become the

object that they study (J.P. Miller, 2000, p. 60).

I have also encouraged students to visualize themselves in a variety of

contexts in order to promote learning in Science and Social Studies. I have used

this type of visualization with students in Grades 5 and 6. I invited students to

research a European explorer or a Canadian astronaut and I asked them to

imagine they were that historical or space figure. Students then dressed up as

the character and told their classmates about one of their historical expeditions,

significant space travels or important scientific discoveries using a first person

narrative. (See Appendix D for a description of the activity) Students thoroughly

enjoy this type of activity that actively engages their intellect, physical body and

imagination. It integrates a variety of subjects such reading, writing, art and

drama, and it allows children to integrate their imaginative inner world with the

outer world of school subjects. As a teacher, I am always impressed at how

much information students gather and are able to share with fellow classmates in

this engaging, interactive manner.

Visualizations can help students relax before an important test or

performance. I have used Piero Ferrucci’s visualization, “The Sky” (cited in J.P.

Miller, 2006, pp. 83-84) with my students in Grades 5 and 6 to help calm them

down before a test or before a presentation. After doing this visualization with
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students, they become far calmer and I find they are able to concentrate better.

Many times, students who are quite capable perform poorly on tests because

they feel anxious or do poorly in an oral presentation or dramatic role-play

because they are nervous. Visualizations can be used by teachers to help

reduce students’ anxiety and nervousness. As anyone who teaches in schools

today is well aware, anxiety among children and adolescents is rampant.

Therefore, it can be very beneficial for educators to help students learn how to

manage and reduce their anxiety.

Visualizations can also promote greater self-confidence and help students

achieve goals. I often encourage my students to imagine themselves doing well

on a test or in a sports competition. I encourage them to imagine themselves

accomplishing a specific goal and imagine how it feels to succeed. Many of them

have incorporated this technique into their daily practice and I find it amusing

when I notice them teaching other students how to use this type of visualization

to realize their specific goals. My elder son practises it regularly. He imagines

his soccer team winning a soccer match against a skilled opposing team or

envisions himself doing well on a challenging Math test and he tells me that it

always works when he does it. This simple technique can promote a healthy,

positive attitude towards life and can help students become more confident.

More and more, I see children who suffer from a low self-esteem. As teachers

and parents, I believe we need to provide children with tools to help them

improve their self-awareness, self-esteem and confidence. Guided imagery and

visualizations can help students deal with many aspects of their life. They can be
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used to help students develop spelling skills, writing skills, and interpersonal

skills (J.P. Miller, 2000). Students can promote a variety of skills by imagining

themselves dealing successfully with that specific skill such as successfully

spelling a challenging word, successfully writing a research paper, or

successfully dealing with a potentially troublesome student and handling these

situations in a relaxed, calm manner.

In my experience, meditation and visualization can help students relax and

connect with themselves. They are tools that help students come to know

themselves. Meditation and visualization help students tap into their intuition.

These practices help them develop concentration, mindfulness and self-

discipline. Since I introduced my students to meditation and visualization, I

noticed that they seemed much calmer, more relaxed, appeared more focused

during lessons and were better able to stay on task. Furthermore, students

seemed kinder towards and more tolerant of each other.

Meditation and visualization can also help students listen to their inner

voice which can help them make morally right decisions and guide them in

making important choices in their life. Meditation helps students become more

contemplative and contemplation can lead to actions that empower them.

Yoga

As stated earlier, I began attending yoga classes when I started my

graduate studies. Initially, I began to practise yoga in an effort to learn to breathe

consciously (slower and deeper) and meditate more effectively since the mind

follows the breath and the body follows the mind. Within weeks, I began to feel
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more peaceful, relaxed and content. I became interested in the spiritual

framework that underpinned the yoga and began reading about the philosophy

and ideals behind this ancient practice. My yoga practice led me to develop

greater knowledge of my physical self, my inner self, my strengths and my areas

for growth. Through the learning inherent in both yoga practice and reflective

writing where I documented my meditation and yoga practice, I became more

self-aware, more self-composed and stronger physically, mentally and

emotionally. I began to see many parallels between my yoga practice and my

teaching practice. Both yoga and teaching practice require that the practitioner

focus on the present moment, be intensely aware of experiences and sensations

and respond to these feelings and needs. There is endless opportunity for

growth and improvement in yoga and teaching practice, as both are human

activities in pursuit of an ideal. In both, improvement can only occur with

increased awareness, concentrated effort and continual practice.

After I practised yoga for a number of months, read extensively about the

philosophy behind yoga, and learned more about yoga for children through

literature and workshops, I decided to introduce yoga to my students at school.

Although I was not an expert by any means and believe that I still have a great

deal to learn about yoga practice, I felt an overwhelming desire to share this

remarkable practice with my students. It is said that yoga illuminates your life. If

you practise sincerely, with conviction and honesty, its light will spread to all

aspects of your life. Perhaps that is what led me to feel so strongly that yoga

should be included in the daily school curriculum.

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Yoga literally means “union.” Yoga is a practice that integrates the mind,

body and soul. I believe that yoga should have a place in the health and physical

education curriculum of public schools. Yoga helps develop spirituality in

education along with other subjects such as music, visual arts, drama and dance.

In my opinion, by teaching yoga in schools, it is possible to lay a foundation for

lasting mind, body and spiritual health.

I provided my students with two yoga classes a week as part of the daily

physical activity (DPA) program introduced by the Ontario Ministry of Education

in 2005. The Ministry (1998) introduced a resource guide that recommended a

minimum of twenty minutes of moderate to vigorous daily physical activity each

school day during instructional time for students in elementary schools from

Grades 1-8. The Ontario curriculum clearly supports and, in fact, demands daily

physical activity in schools. It states:

Health and physical education are essential to the entire school

curriculum. Studies show that students who participate in physical

activity each day exhibit improved memory, concentration, and

communication, problem-solving, and leadership abilities, which

improve their learning in other subject areas. Such students also

display more positive attitudes towards themselves, improved

interpersonal behaviour, and a willingness to meet and deal with

the challenges of daily life. (Ontario Ministry of Education and

Training, 1998, p. 5)
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The Ontario Ministry of Education (2006a) recognizes the positive impact of daily

physical activity on students’ physical, mental, and social well-being. It indicates

that, “Positive experiences with physical activity at a young age also helps lay the

foundation for healthy, productive lives” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2006a,

p. 5).

In accordance with this document, on the days when my students did not

have a scheduled physical education class, I introduced them to a variety of

forms of physical education. Sometimes, I led them through a cardiovascular

workout, other times, we practised muscle building and strength training, went for

a vigorous walk, ran, played cooperative games, or practised sports such as floor

hockey or soccer baseball and, finally, one day, I led them through a yoga set. I

introduced my students to yoga, which is a form of health and physical education

that is regrettably absent from most public school programs and, as time passed,

they began to ask me if we could do it more and more often until it became part

of our regular daily physical activity. What is worth noting is the fact that,

although I introduced my students to yoga, it was at their insistence that it

became part of our regular DPA. Firstly, I introduced them to long deep

breathing. We practised long deep inhalations and exhalations as students sat

with their spine very straight. The slower the rate of breathing, the calmer the

mind becomes. I taught students to inhale and exhale as long, full and complete

as possible while making them aware of their lung capacity, their abdominal

muscles and their diaphragm. Next, I taught them a variety of classic yoga poses

or asanas, such as, for example: Bow Pose, Camel Pose, Child Pose, Cat / Cow
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Pose, Cobra Pose, Corpse Pose, Locust Pose, and Shoulder Stand (for a

description of these poses see Appendix E). We practised these regularly. I

taught them to sit up tall and straight with their head, neck and back aligned in

Easy Pose (see Appendix E). Students sat comfortably on a mat. I

encouraged them to breathe deeply in the posture and notice the breath coming

into the body and going out. I encouraged them to close their eyes, to be aware

of their body and notice how they felt as they went through each posture. Later

on, when they were familiar with the postures, I taught them to practise a series

of asanas in a prescribed order not only to enhance the effectiveness of the

asanas, but also to benefit specific parts of the body such as the spine, the

respiratory system, or the digestive system. Present day physical education

programs in schools create a deeper mind-body division as they only develop the

physical body. Yoga, on the other hand, allows children to explore the mind-

body connection. The poses develop children’s body image and help connect

the body to their consciousness. Unlike traditional physical education programs,

yoga does not only develop muscular or cardiovascular strength. Yogic

exercises develop the whole body including metabolism, lymphatic circulation,

hormonal secretions, and bring about a chemical balance in the body. In yoga,

the music that accompanies the movements is uplifting and positive. The songs

are affirmations and can have a subtle, positive influence on young children’s

minds. Yoga’s meditation and breathing techniques help children learn to relax

and helps improve their self-esteem. Yoga allows children to express

themselves in a non-threatening, non-competitive environment, which contrasts

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markedly with the excessively competitive nature of most team sports. The overt

competitiveness of sports engenders animosity among players and sports fans,

which can lead to hatred and violence and only serves to bolster the ego. Too

many times, sports competitions end in violence. One need only remember the

violence in soccer stadiums worldwide. I am reminded of the violent nature of

sports every time I hear a coach yell to his team, “Attack!” when he wants the

players to be more aggressive on the field. Yoga, on the other hand, is non-

competitive. Students are encouraged to strive to do their personal best and

become aware of their physical body in the movements. There is no competition

in yoga, just self-expression and individual, personal growth. Yoga offers a more

balanced approach to health and physical education than traditional sports where

competition dominates. Of course, competition is a part of life, but it need not

dominate our lives and yoga offers an inclusive, non-competitive, balanced

approach to physical activity. Yoga allows children a “time out” from their busy

day and allows them to learn how to relax. Yoga develops mindfulness and

helps connect mind and body through the awareness that it brings to breathing,

the outer movement of the body as well as inner feelings. The ultimate goal of

yoga is for us to join and be one with our Sat Nam “true name” or inner self. I

believe that yoga has an important role to play in developing spirituality in

education as it helps nourish the soul and facilitates human wholeness. Yoga

can bring about balance and harmony to physical education programs since it

develops more than just the physical body, but rather integrates the mind, body

and spirit. Since I introduced my students to yoga, I noticed that their hand-eye
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coordination as well as their concentration improved. They seemed more

relaxed and happier. It helped some students improve their physical strength

and self-esteem. I also noticed that students who were regularly involved in

conflicts with other students showed improved behaviour. Furthermore, I noticed

that, in general, girls seemed to be more interested in practising yoga than boys.

However, even the most athletic and competitive boys were easily motivated to

do yoga when I introduced them to more advanced poses. For example, boys

enjoyed challenging yoga poses like the Bow Pose and the Bridge Pose (see

Appendix E for a description). And, in general, all the children enjoyed any type

of partner yoga. Partner yoga exercises use the buddy system. In poses,

partners rely on each other’s support to keep the body correctly aligned, maintain

good balance, flexibility and concentration. In partner yoga poses, children learn

to develop greater trust with peers and they learn how to support each other in a

safe environment. My students found partner yoga fun and it helped them to

develop stronger connections with each other and build greater cooperation.

Furthermore, partner yoga used the power of the partner dynamic to allow them

to rely on each other’s support to achieve more than they could on their own.

I believe that the self-awareness, which can be developed through yoga

practice, is strongly linked to self-assessment in student learning. Effective self-

assessment skills are critical to learners’ development and self-efficacy. As

educators, we need to work diligently with students to nurture these abilities and

promote students’ ability to assess their own learning and to set specific goals.

By involving students in the assessment process, they gain an understanding of

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how assessment works, why it is useful and it becomes an integral part of the

learning process for students. Similarly, yoga practice requires the practitioner to

develop increased self-awareness and concentration. One must focus one’s

attention on the breath, survey the mind and the body and make adjustments as

necessary so that the pose is most effective. Yoga practice can help students

develop increased self-awareness. Self-awareness is a critical skill, which can

be associated with self-assessment. Self-assessment is a highly valuable skill

for students to develop in order for them to become independent, self-directed

learners. Like self-awareness in yoga, self-assessment in learning, helps

students judge how much effort they need to put into their school work, how

much time they need to spend on a project, how much they need to elaborate on

a description of a character in a story, and so on. It also gives them the ability to

judge the quality of their work, recognize the areas where they need to improve

and decide what next steps they need to take in order to improve. If learners are

better attuned to their learning needs, monitor their own learning through

increased self-awareness and self-assessment strategies, and put forth a

concentrated effort and continual practice, then this reflective state will lead them

to work in the areas where they require more growth and this will lead them to

greater learning and academic growth. In this way, the self-awareness that one

develops through yoga practice can be likened to the development of self-

assessment skills which educators must help nurture in learners in order to

promote self-efficacy as learners. By practising yoga students can gain greater

self-awareness, which can lead to personal growth, and this increased self-
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awareness will also help them build self-assessment skills that are critical to

effective learning and academic growth. Self-awareness is to yoga practice what

self-assessment is to learning: both can lead to growth if one continually

practises with honesty and integrity.

Journal Writing

The above-mentioned activities: meditation, visualization and yoga can be

combined with journal writing. Having students write about their meditations,

visualizations, yoga sessions or even just about themselves can be a soulful

experience. As students share stories about their family, their life experiences,

their hopes and dreams, their feelings, thoughts and intuitions, it is possible to

see every student as a whole person and it helps teachers connect with students

on a deeper level, from one soul to another. I recall keeping this type of journal

when I was in Grade 7. My teacher read the pages that students marked giving

her permission to read only some sections of students’ journals. As I look back

now, I recall how comforting it felt to give my thoughts and feelings a voice and a

space where they could express themselves. I do this for my own students as

well. Journal writing allows them to connect with their inner self and it allows me

to connect with them on a deeper level. It has made me more aware of them as

thinking, feeling human beings and not just bodies in the classroom.

Other ways for students to connect with their inner life is through the arts.

Music, visual arts, drama and dance, and literature are excellent ways to develop

this deeper connection. I find that as a teacher I am deeply connected to my

students. They are a part of me. I talk about them at home with my family and,
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at night, when I retire to bed, they are often in my dreams. Teaching for me is

more than just a job or a profession; it is a way of life. I believe that in teaching I

have found a way to express my true self or my soul and that is why I am able to

connect with my students on such a deep level and make relevant connections

with the curriculum in such a way that all subjects are taught in an integrated,

holistic framework. Through the abovementioned spiritual practices (meditation,

visualization, yoga, and journal writing) that I practised to work on myself and

encouraged students to practise so that they could also work on themselves, I

have gained greater self-awareness in my personal and professional life. I am

able to teach from the heart and feel as if I have found a home in holistic

education since it encompasses a broad, inclusive approach towards teaching

and learning that helps students develop all aspects of their being: physical,

emotional, spiritual, moral, social, creative and intellectual.

I see more and more students as well as parents aching for this type of

education that values and nurtures all aspects of the child. In an ever-changing

world, where information grows rapidly and changes constantly, it is more

important than ever to develop a deeper connection with the inner self, find a

deeper meaning to life and a purpose that guides us to discover information that

is worthwhile for us to acquire in order to improve the quality of our existence and

that of life across the globe.

Rapid and continuous change in education can lead to fragmented,

ineffective implementation of school reform policies. Holistic educators, with their

broad vision of education and attention to the whole situation, will be in a better
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position to adapt new directives and policies in education and implement these in

such a way that they will benefit the whole student. A holistic approach to the

curriculum recognizes the richness and wholeness of the human experience.

This type of curriculum recognizes that the student cannot be reduced to a set of

expectations that must be demonstrated by the end of each grade, instead, it

respects the whole child and his / her natural growth and development over time.
 Chapter Six

Implementing a Holistic Curriculum: Personal Accounts and Reflections

In this chapter, I will outline the essential features of a holistic curriculum

and then share my personal experiences as I implemented this conception in the

public alternative elementary school where I taught.

Firstly, it is important to understand that holistic education seeks to

maintain a balance between the whole and the part. Generally, traditional

education has focussed on the part by dividing the school curriculum into

subjects, units of study and individual lessons. The problem is that often times

teachers fail to link the lessons and subjects taught to broader concepts.

Similarly, students are often unable to contextualize what they learn in individual

lessons. As a result, they are unable to connect their learning and see the “big

picture”. Consequently, their learning becomes fragmented and students fail to

apply their learning adequately in real world situations. In holistic education,

teachers connect learning between lessons, units of study and subjects so that

students can clearly see the connections among the curricula. This helps to

make the curricula far more coherent to students and it helps them to integrate

their learning with their life experiences, which ultimately makes learning more

personal and meaningful to students. John Miller (1996) describes factors in the

curriculum that need to be kept in balance in a holistic curriculum. These are as

follows:

• Individual competition and group collaboration

• Memorization of content and processing skills

80
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• Knowledge and imagination

• Rational knowledge and intuitive knowledge

• Quantitative assessment and qualitative assessment

• Teaching techniques and a vision of the development of the whole

child

• Assessment and learning

• Technology and broader programming (J.P. Miller, 1996)

Before examining the features of a holistic curriculum, it is important to recall

the definition of holistic education that John Miller (1996) gives us:

The focus of holistic education is on relationships – the relationship

between linear thinking and intuition, the relationship between mind

and body, the relationship between various domains of knowledge,

the relationship between the individual and community, the

relationship to the earth, and the relationship between self and Self.

In the holistic curriculum the student examines these relationships

so that he or she gains both an awareness of them and the skills

necessary to transform the relationships where it is appropriate.

(p. 8)

This definition focuses on “relationships” or “connections” which can be

explored in the curriculum in a variety of ways. Ultimately, these “relationships”

or “connections” help make learning personally and socially meaningful for

students.
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Holistic Curriculum through a Focus on Relationships

Before I discuss my own teaching experiences in focussing the Ontario

curriculum on these types of connections, I will give a brief outline of the six

relationships that John Miller (1996) describes in his work, The holistic

curriculum. They are as follows:

1. Relationship between linear thinking and intuition

"The holistic curriculum attempts to restore a balance between

linear thinking and intuition” (J.P. Miller, 1996, p. 86). Schools have

traditionally emphasized linear, analytic problem solving thinking skills.

Holistic educators believe that there are other ways of knowing such as

physical, emotional, and spiritual. They respect students' feelings and

creativity. In a holistic curriculum, these forms of knowing can be explored

through techniques such as meditation, visualizations, guided imagery,

exploring metaphors, creative writing, developing students' multiple

intelligences and critical thinking skills.

2. Relationship between mind and body

"The holistic curriculum explores the relationship between mind and

body so the student senses the connection between the two" (J.P. Miller,

1996, p. 86). The relationship can be explored by developing

mindfulness, by focussing on moment-to-moment awareness; movement,

dance, and drama are other vehicles for connecting body and mind; and

centering exercises such as yoga that connect the body to our

consciousness.
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3. Relationship among domains of knowledge

A holistic curriculum connects academic disciplines and school

subjects through an interdisciplinary approach to thinking and theme-

based approaches to link subjects (J. P. Miller & Drake, 1990). Subjects

can be connected to learners (self-subject connections); subject-subject

connections where several subjects can be integrated across a broad

theme; and subject-community where subjects may be studied in relation

to the local and global community as, for example, environmental issues

(J.P. Miller, 1996).

4. Relationship between self and community

"The holistic curriculum sees the student in relation to community"

(J.P. Miller, 1996, p. 87). Community refers to the school community, the

community of the town and country one lives in, and the global

community. Students are encouraged to develop interpersonal skills,

community service skills and social action skills. Teachers develop these

skills through cooperative learning techniques; creating a warm, caring,

inclusive, nurturing environment in school settings where students'

personal growth is encouraged and each student's cultural and linguistic

background is validated and respected; students are encouraged to

participate in the life of the community through community service work

and social action projects that allow students to effect some positive

change in the life of the community, such as cleaning up a local

playground where children play or collecting food in the community to

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donate to the local food bank to help less fortunate families; and global

education.

5. Relationship with the Earth

A holistic curriculum seeks to reconnect students with the earth and

its organic processes (J.P. Miller, 1996). Education has traditionally

focussed on preparing students for the competitive global market to the

detriment of developing a deep care and concern for the planet that we

inhabit. Indigenous values that show a reverence for Nature and the

natural world have been notably absent in traditional schools dominated

by the values of Western civilization. Holistic education seeks to

reawaken students to the natural processes of life and encourage them to

show reverence and awe for Nature. Teachers can develop strong

connections to the earth through environmental education, ecological

literacy, indigenous peoples’ literature, raising awareness about ecological

issues and social responsibility so that students acknowledge the impact

of technology and environmental issues on communities.

6. Relationship between self and Self

"A holistic curriculum lets us connect with the deepest part of

ourselves" (J.P. Miller & Drake, 1990, p. 27). Teachers can help learners

connect with the Self through the arts. Music, Visual Arts, Dance and

Drama are all excellent ways to develop this deeper connection. Another

way is through literature, for example, poetry and mythologies, which deal

with the universal concerns of human beings (J.P. Miller & Drake, 1990).
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Journal writing is another excellent vehicle to discover the Self. In

addition, it can be a powerful way for teachers to get to know students and

respond to their needs. Meditation is another way of getting to know

oneself. Meditation can be explored in the classroom as a relaxation

exercise to quiet the body and the mind. Through relaxation, the student

can connect with his / her center. Over time, meditation can bring about a

deep sense of connectedness with others (J.P. Miller, 1996).

The elements discussed in chapter five that relate to developing the whole

child such as meditation, visualization, yoga and journal writing are all part of a

curriculum of the inner life. They address the abovementioned three

connections: the relationship between linear thinking and intuition, the

relationship between mind and body, and the relationship between self and Self.

In this chapter, I will discuss how I addressed the remaining three connections:

relationships among domains of knowledge, relationship between self and

community, and relationship with the Earth. The latter three connections can be

associated with a curriculum of the outer life of the student while the former three

focus on a curriculum of the inner life. In this section, I will discuss how I worked

with the Ontario curriculum and incorporated these intrinsic connections into

developing and implementing a holistic curriculum.

A holistic approach to education is compatible with the Ontario curriculum.

One can see a holistic vision of education in the Ontario Ministry of Education

(2006b) language document where it articulates the subject-subject connection

that John Miller (1996) describes in the relationship among domains of

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knowledge. The document aptly tells us, “Opportunities to relate knowledge and

skills in language learning to wider contexts, both across the curriculum and in

the world beyond the school, motivate students to learn and to become lifelong

learners” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2006b, p. 7). The document also seems

to support the development of the whole child and articulates the relationships

between self and community and between self and Self: “In implementing this

curriculum, teachers can help students – particularly students in Grades 7 and 8

– to see that language skills are lifelong learning skills that will enable them to

better understand themselves and others, unlock their potential as human

beings, find fulfilling careers, and become responsible world citizens” (Ontario

Ministry of Education, 2006b, p. 7).

I believe that a holistic approach to education is indeed compatible with

the Ontario curriculum. It is possible for teachers who share this vision of

education to develop and implement curriculum around this framework of

relationships or connections that John Miller (1996) describes in his work, The

holistic curriculum. This concept of making connections among school subjects,

to the community, and to the Self is clearly articulated in the Ontario curriculum

document.

In my own teaching practice, three factors were critical as I incorporated

my holistic vision of education in the public school where I taught. These were

firstly, the work I did on myself to become more mindful and present as a

teacher. Secondly, the work I encouraged my students to do on themselves in

order to connect with their Self, develop greater mind-body awareness, and
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promote the development of their multiple intelligences. I have discussed how I

addressed these factors in the preceding chapters. In this chapter, I will analyze

the third important factor, which focuses on the concept of connections or

relationships. The benefits of developing and implementing curriculum around

this conception of balance and connections is that schools do not place such an

emphasis on literacy and numeracy that other subject areas, in particular, the

arts, receive less emphasis. An emphasis on developing the whole child and a

balanced and integrated curriculum encourages the development of every

student’s capacity for learning in all areas of the curriculum, not just in language

and mathematics. If we are to help students become contributing citizens of a

rapidly changing world, then it is clear that in schools teachers need to focus on

such things as a healthy body image, arts education, environmental education,

global education, information and communication technology. Education must be

far-reaching, broad and address the needs of all students. It cannot be narrowly

focussed on literacy and numeracy. Furthermore, education must be centered

on student learning and not be narrowly focussed on assessment and evaluation.

Unfortunately, more and more attention in education is given to assessment and

evaluation, which is not the same as learning. Although assessment and

evaluation can promote effective learning, it seems that the current trend in

education gives assessment and evaluation too high a priority and this ultimately

drives the curriculum. If as educators we concentrate solely on academics and

on narrowly measured academic achievement, we fail to educate the whole child.

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We deprive young people and limit their potential if we do not create places of

learning that attend to every aspect of each student’s capacity for learning.

As a teacher, when I develop curriculum for my students around

connections, I select broad topics that address values in education, encourage

children to help people and other living things in their local and global community,

have social significance, and an ecological impact which fosters students’

connection with the earth. I choose broad, fertile themes where it is possible to

weave many subjects, incorporate many different types of learning, and develop

students’ multiple intelligences. In this section, I will discuss a few examples of

how I have developed curriculum for students that integrates a variety of

subjects, relies on multiple intelligences, cultivates all aspects of learners—

physical wellness, intellectual growth, emotional well-being, spiritual growth,

social competency, and artistic creativity. (Waterloo Region Roman Catholic

Separate School Board, 1993) A curriculum that allows students’ soul to thrive in

the classroom brings life and vitality back into the classroom and gives students

a sense of purpose in their learning and in their lives.

Roots of Empathy

About five years ago, I was fortunate enough to be the first teacher at my

school to do the Roots of Empathy program with my students. This came about

due to the fact that the parent of one of my students worked as a coordinator for

the Roots of Empathy program and managed to convince the principal at that

time to pilot the program in our school to see how it worked. I volunteered to try

out the program in my classroom and found that it benefited my students in many
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positive ways. Since then, the popularity of the program has grown and other

colleagues at my school and in neighbouring schools have also introduced the

program to their students.

The Roots of Empathy program was developed in 1996 by Mary Gordon

(2007), a former classroom teacher in Toronto. It is a program designed to build

caring, peaceful societies through the development of empathy in children and

adults. A neighbourhood infant and parent visit the classroom once a month for

the entire school year. A certified instructor helps coach students in observing

the baby’s growth and development. Students interact with the baby and

develop a relationship with her. The program engenders compassion and

kindness among children. My class of Grades 3 and 4 students looked forward

to the Roots of Empathy instructor’s weekly visits because it allowed them time to

sit in a circle and openly discuss their feelings and opinions on a variety of topics

that were of personal interest to them. They especially loved the Roots of

Empathy baby’s monthly visits. I was amazed to see the bond that this young

baby was able to develop with each and every student in my class. The children

eagerly looked forward to the baby’s monthly visits. When she entered the

classroom, they all greeted her lovingly and warmly. They were protective of her

and displayed great joy and amazement in her development as she first learned

to crawl and later started to take her first steps. With every visit, I noticed how

the students became closer to the instructor and more connected with the baby

as well as her parents. They wanted to know everything about her and asked

many questions about what she did at home and what type of progress she had
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made since her last visit. They drew pictures for her, made cards for her, wrote

her nursery rhymes and story books, sang her songs, knitted her hats and

scarves, brought her shakers and toys. It was incredible to see this small baby

and the affection my students felt towards her grow with each passing month. I

believe that programs such as these can truly create more caring,

compassionate and empathetic children. By bringing a small infant into a

classroom full of children and nurturing the bond that develops naturally between

older students and this young, defenceless child, it allows many children to

experience love and compassion. The bond they develop with the baby helps

them extend this love and compassion to others. Many children in today’s

society where divorce and single families are rampant are deprived of love and I

believe that this is one of the roots of violence in our society. All the children in

my class, even those with behavioural problems, were able to reciprocate the

love that the Roots of Empathy baby gave them. The students were able to

identify with the baby and this is key to the development of empathy. I noticed

that my students seemed to get along better with each other and there were far

fewer instances of bullying among the children. For me, it was an awe-inspiring

experience to witness the kind of love that grew in my classroom between my

students and this little baby. This program is an example of soulful curriculum. It

centers on the connection between self and community. It increases students’

social understanding and emotional knowledge. It helps decrease bullying

among children and helps create a more caring classroom environment. If

empathy and caring were nurtured in all educational settings then we would be
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able to create a more caring world where everyone would be respected and

valued. In this type of setting, peace and justice might prevail and conflicts might

be resolved in a more peaceful, non-violent manner. These values echo the

words of Dr. Martin Luther King who believed that in the “beloved community,”

the values of caring and compassion would drive policy toward the worldwide

elimination of poverty and hunger, racism and all forms of bigotry and violence

(The King Center, 2004). The Roots of Empathy program is an integrated form of

education that focuses on the whole child: spiritual growth, emotional well-being,

artistic creativity, moral decision-making, social competency, intellectual growth

and physical wellness (Waterloo Region Roman Catholic Separate School

Board, 1993). It is cross-curricular in its approach since students simultaneously

use the arts to stimulate the baby through drawings and paintings that they

make; stories, rhymes and poems that they write and read to the baby; songs

that they sing to her; skits that they write and perform to entertain her;

information that they read about the development of infants; growth charts and

graphs which they examine, etc., etc. The Roots of Empathy program helps to

develop empathy in young children. I saw how effectively it worked with the

students in my classroom and believe it has the potential to create more caring,

loving and lovable human beings, which should be a central goal of education.

As Nel Noddings (1992) argues, “We must take public responsibility for raising

healthy, competent, and happy children … and school must play a major role in

this task” (p. 14). Simply put, students cannot achieve their academic goals if

they do not feel as if others care for them or if they themselves do not show
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caring for others. I agree with Nel Noddings (1992) and feel that schools need to

fill the affective void that some students face. In my experience, the Roots of

Empathy program is an example of holistic education since it addresses the

multiple needs of children and it nurtures caring and compassion. In my opinion,

it is highly important to develop these qualities in young people. In fact, I believe

that through this program, students can learn to relate better to themselves and

others. It helps students realize that human beings are all interconnected. This

idea of an interconnected reality and a fundamental unity in the universe is a

basic principle of the philosophy of holism. The Roots of Empathy program helps

students realize that there is unity among human beings and this awareness can

lead to social action to eliminate injustice and suffering.

Global Education

Soulful learning can help children develop into more responsible citizens

of the world. I believe that teaching from a spiritual perspective should help

students develop a deep caring for other people, animals as well as the

environment. In my teaching, I strive to create a deep love and respect in my

students for the earth.

In my class, I try to help students become more aware of global issues

that affect the environment. Gradually, students come to the realization that

everything on earth is interconnected. About four years ago, I challenged my

students to launch an idle-free campaign at our school. This came about

because I noticed that school buses tended to leave their engines idling for

several minutes while waiting for students to load the buses. I invited an
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organization called Clean Air Partnership to speak to students about the

environment. Students quickly targeted “idling” as an environmental problem at

our school and posted the hallways and classrooms of the school with idle-free

signs asking parents to “Stop Idling!” and reminded them that idling harms

everyone’s lungs. I used the enthusiasm of my students to come up with idle-

free activities as part of the Social Studies and Science curriculum. My students

designed surveys on idling and then interviewed parents outside the school who

drove to drop off and / or pick up their child. The students became junior social

scientists and created tally charts to see how many people were idling. They

also shared the results in the morning announcements as well as in the school

newspaper. The school purchased an outdoor banner declaring, “Stop Idling –

You have entered an Idle-free Zone” to greet motorists. The number of idling

vehicles in front of the school dropped dramatically over the school year. This

campaign helped my students learn more about the negative effects of carbon

dioxide emissions. It gave them a goal and a sense of purpose: to reduce the

number of idling vehicles at our school. As a result of their actions, they felt

empowered because they were able to successfully reduce the amount of idling

in our school community and that helped reduce the overall carbon dioxide levels

in our global community.

Furthermore, the actions at our school created a ripple effect and other

schools in Toronto and Windsor also began spreading the idle-free message.

The idle-free campaign that my students and I launched at our school and its

effectiveness is evidence to me that 8 and 9 year olds are up for a challenge and
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will give back far more than you’d expect if you let them. In time, children in

schools all across Canada could contribute significantly to reducing carbon

dioxide levels in the air and thereby reducing pollution and the effects of global

warming if we let them. Children are incredible social advocates and they are

very eager to help the environment.

Three years ago, I viewed the documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,”

produced by Bender, Burns and David (2006) and directed by Guggenheim

(2006) in which the former vice-president of the United States, Al Gore,

discusses the current climate crisis. In the documentary, Gore (2006) explains

the facts of global warming, presents arguments that the dangers of global

warming have reached the level of crisis, and addresses the efforts of certain

interests to discredit the anti-global warming cause. Between lecture segments,

Gore (2006) discusses his personal commitment to the environment, sharing

anecdotes from his experiences. I was so moved by this film that I had to show it

to my Grade 5 and 6 students so that we as a class could brainstorm ways to do

more to help the environment. Once again, I hoped to raise my students’

awareness of the global implications of local ecological problems. My class

decided that we would start to attack the ecological problems in our school and

then spread our attention outward geographically. One morning, we went out

into the schoolyard equipped with latex gloves and garbage bags and began to

clean up the schoolyard, both inside as well as all around the perimeter of the

fenced yard. There were 24 students and every single one of them was highly

committed to cleaning up the schoolyard. In one hour, we were able to fill 15

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bags full of litter from candy wrappers, coffee cups and lids, napkins, and doggie

doo to broken glass and containers with used motor oil. Later that day, as a

class, we reflected on our experience. The students noticed that a lot of the

garbage they found came from kids who ate their lunch outside in the schoolyard

and did not put their garbage in proper receptacles. They also noted that there

were fewer garbage cans outside than there were the previous years and, they

noted the complete absence of recycling bins outside the school. This

experience and students’ reflections led them to develop an action plan. They

filled the school hallways with signs encouraging students to keep our school

beautiful by not littering; had our principal order recycling bins as well as more

garbage bins for the school grounds, and prepared short skits to play over the

announcements to raise awareness among the whole school community with

regards to keeping our school beautiful and helping to keep our planet clean and

healthy. Students were encouraged to pack environmentally friendly lunches and

return whatever waste was left over to their homes where they could recycle and

compost it. Students who took part in the cleaning of the school and designing

an eco-friendly lunch program felt a sense of self-empowerment as the amount of

waste at the school was significantly reduced.

Two years ago, primary, junior and intermediate students at our school

participated in the Gulu Walk for the first time and this tradition has continued

annually. The Gulu Walk is a grassroots movement that aims to bring awareness

to a generation of children in northern Uganda, many of whom have had to walk

about 10 km each day to find a safe place to sleep in order to avoid being
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kidnapped and inducted into the Lord’s Resistance Army as child soldiers in the

country’s 20-year war. I became involved with this movement because a

colleague with whom I teach attended a film screening of the award winning

Canadian documentary, “Uganda Rising” produced by Alison Lawton (2006),

which brings awareness to the humanitarian crisis that has devastated northern

Uganda for nearly two decades. A resident of Toronto, Adrian Bradbury,

presented the screening of this documentary at a workshop sponsored by the

Elementary Teachers of Toronto (ETT). Adrian Bradbury and another Canadian,

Kieran Hayward, learned about the children in northern Uganda who walked from

their rural villages into the town of Gulu and other urban centres to sleep in

relative safety. The ordeal of these children sparked the idea for Gulu Walk. In

July of 2005, Adrian and Kieran initiated Gulu Walk when they walked every

evening and every morning for 31 days. Every evening, these two men walked

12.5 kilometres into downtown Toronto to sleep in front of City Hall. At sunrise,

they walked back to their home. Both men continued to work full-time and

maintained their daily routine. They did this in order to mimic the struggles

endured by the unprotected Acholi children of northern Uganda and in order to

draw much needed media attention to their plight. As a result of my colleague’s

reaction to this film screening, he engaged other teachers on staff to participate

in the TDSB student Gulu Walk. Several teachers at my school practised

walking with students every week, gradually increasing the length of the walks.

Participating in the Gulu Walk taught students a great deal about compassion

and global citizenship. My students felt a great sense of accomplishment and

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pride as a result of their involvement in this worthwhile project to help innocent

children in another part of the globe. As a teacher, it filled me with pride and awe

to watch students who struggled to walk only a few kilometres when we first

started our Gulu Walk training accomplish the 10 km walk down Yonge Street to

Metro Hall. Through participating with their feet and their minds in this

worthwhile initiative to show support for the abandoned children of northern

Uganda, my students learned a great deal about respect, responsibility, empathy,

kindness, caring, cooperation, integrity and perseverance, character traits they

can take with them into adulthood. Although Gulu Walk started with the footsteps

of just two people, it has grown into an impassioned worldwide movement for

peace in northern Uganda that supports a generation of children being left

behind. Gulu Walk is a practical way for teachers to engage students in a

significant global issue that helps build character traits that will help children grow

into responsible citizens and caring adults.

Global education is an example of teaching from a spiritual perspective.

By acknowledging soul, we can ponder the big questions in life. A soulful

approach to education allows education to become deeply relevant to the lives of

children. I cannot imagine anything more relevant right now than saving the

planet that billions of people call home. A soulful approach to education can help

bring vitality and a deeper sense of purpose and meaning to the classroom. As a

result of launching the idle-free campaign, the schoolyard cleanup at our school,

and participating in the Gulu Walk, my students became more deeply connected

with each other, the curriculum and the earth. They discovered a purpose for
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their learning and felt empowered because the actions they undertook changed

the attitudes and behaviours of the community at large. I believe that the reason

global education can be such a powerful learning tool, and the examples

discussed above illustrate this, is that learning in this way is a dynamic process in

which the whole personality of the child becomes engaged. In the examples

cited above, learning is not limited to passive absorption of facts or information,

but involves intelligent action to real problems and situations faced in the local

and global community. This type of learning is authentic and has a purpose. My

students and I are hopeful that we can make this world a better place to live in

and we are committed to this goal.

Who is Nobody?

Finally, I would like to discuss one other classroom program that I

discovered which I believe embodies many of the principles of spiritual

education. This program is called Who is Nobody? It was developed by Kelly

Clark (2006), a classroom teacher in Toronto. It is a program based on character

education that is designed to help students learn to respect themselves and

others which develops personal and social responsibility. The classroom teacher

receives a Who is Nobody? kit which consists of a denim doll (“Nobody”), a

student manual, a teacher’s manual, a binder, a scrapbook and a duffle bag.

Over the school year, “Nobody,” a genderless, featureless doll with no identity

goes from being “Nobody”, a doll with no character, to somebody who has lots of

character as a result of the students’ actions. Each week, one student takes the
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Who is Nobody? bag home and follows the five Who is Nobody? steps. These

are:

1. Choose a living thing (people, animals, the environment).

2. Use your interests and abilities to help living things.

3. Add a creative attachment to Nobody that represents your kind act.

4. Write a story and draw a picture about your Who is Nobody?

experience.

5. Bring Nobody back to school to present to your class. (K. Clark, 2006,

p. 57)

Each student shows “Nobody” how to become a “Somebody” by picking a living

thing in the community to help: a person, animal or the environment. Depending

on the student’s talents, skills or interests, he / she decides where, what, when

and how to teach “Nobody” one of the many traits in this character education

program such as courage, perseverance, or compassion by doing a good deed

and taking action to help others. Once the students have had the opportunity to

help “Nobody”, they attach a memento to the doll that represents what they have

accomplished. As “Nobody” travels from household to household in the class,

“Nobody” gradually becomes a doll with lots of character as a result of all the

lessons the children teach “Nobody”.

The Who is Nobody? experience demonstrates to students how easy it is

to help others. It is an example of holistic learning as well as spirituality in

education since it encourages students to care about others as well as the

environment and gives them a sense of purpose. My students picked from a

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wide variety of experiences. Some volunteered their time helping to lay out beds

and serve food to abused women at a women’s shelter, others collected money

to give to charities such as Raise the Roof which helps homeless people. Other

students organized a bake sale at school to raise money for the Liver Disease

foundation, Oxfam, and the World Wildlife Foundation. Other students collected

books, toys and clothes around the community and donated these to the

Salvation Army. Still other students decided to help animals in shelters by

collecting old towels to bathe animals and wool and yarn for animal blanket

knitters. Others helped the environment by cleaning up a local park and planting

trees. In addition to their Who is Nobody? experience, students also create a

one-page visual of what they did, which is compiled into a scrapbook that

documents every child’s experience. The children draw a picture, write about

their experience, take a photo of themselves with “Nobody”, reflect on and share

their experiences with their peers. When the children in my class reflected on

their Who is Nobody? experience, almost every single child in my class reported

that it made them feel good to help people or animals in need and the

environment. This program is an excellent way to help students find something

that speaks to their heart and develop a plan to raise awareness in the

community with regards to their topic. It engages students at all levels: their

heart, mind, body and soul.

I strongly believe that this program should be adopted in schools

everywhere in order to help students foster a love of others and the environment.

It helps students engage in a service activity that is a form of spiritual practice,

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which is at the heart of spirituality in education and holistic education.

Furthermore, it helps students look inside themselves and figure out what their

passions are. This can help them discover their calling and help them realize

their full potential in life. I believe it also helps students develop a sense of their

own individual relationship to society. It helps them realize that there are shared

values, despite religious and cultural differences. The Who is Nobody? program

can, therefore, be used to promote holistic learning, spirituality in education,

character education as well as career counselling. It is a multifaceted program

that is also very easy to implement in the classroom by the teacher. It places

much of the responsibility on students and so it is neither too taxing nor too time

consuming for the teacher. It is a wonderful, practical way to bring a spiritual

perspective into the classroom while addressing a variety of expectations in the

Ontario curriculum.

Integrating Curriculum and Approaching Mathematics Holistically

One of the most significant changes in my teaching occurred when I

moved from a traditional mathematics textbook program to an integrated

approach to Mathematics. This approach allowed me to integrate almost the

entire curriculum around mathematical concepts. I decided to meet the subject-

subject connection that is characteristic of holistic education with a subject that

seemed, to me at least, to resist integration and cross-curricular teaching. I used

an approach called a Math trail because it allows children the opportunity to

explore mathematical concepts in their school community which allows them to

develop a deeper understanding of mathematics and its applications in the real

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world while, at the same time, it also helps develop their connection with the

surrounding community and the world at large. After researching a variety of

Math trails, I designed a Math trail myself for my school community where I

integrated all five Math strands of the Ontario curriculum: Number sense and

numeration, measurement, geometry and spatial sense, patterning and algebra,

and, finally, data management and probability. In addition to Mathematics, the

Math trail integrated such curricular activities as reading, writing, oral speaking

and listening, media literacy, visual arts, science, social studies, and physical

education. Furthermore, students had to work collaboratively in small groups to

solve a variety of open-ended problems. This allowed them to practise and

develop their interpersonal skills with peers while communicating about

Mathematics in the community.

Before discussing the Math trail that I created any further, I would like to

provide an explanation for the reader. A Math trail is like a nature trail that

encourages students to seek out the math in their environment or community.

Math trails give students the opportunity to explore things around them and guide

them to see the mathematical concepts in their surroundings. Math trails are

holistic in nature in the sense that they connect students with the subject matter

they are learning as well as with the community and the world around them.

Math trails are excursions during which participants stop at predetermined points

to work on solving mathematical problems in the environment. Questions may

relate to the architecture of a building, shapes and shadows, numbers on

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buildings, products in grocery stores, arrangement of tables, angles of hands on

a clock…the possibilities are endless.

Math trails are about problem solving and making connections across

mathematical topics or strands in the curriculum and between mathematics and

other areas of the curriculum such as history, art, science, and language arts.

Math trails offer concrete learning experiences for the mathematics concepts

taught in the school curriculum. A Math trail can function as an ongoing tool for

exploring different topics in mathematics, how they are interconnected, and how

mathematics connects to other disciplines.

Math trails have many benefits. One of the great appeals of a Math trail is

that it takes mathematical learning outside the classroom. To students,

mathematics is usually seen as a sterile subject with little to do with the outside

world. Many students fail to see the application of mathematics. They constantly

challenge teachers by asking the age-old question “When are we ever going to

use this math?” The truth is that math is everywhere and it is responsible for

many of the things we take for granted. Math trails are designed to acknowledge

the many contributions that mathematics has given to our modern world and they

allow students to answer the age-old question for themselves.

Furthermore, because it takes place outside the classroom, a Math trail

creates an atmosphere of adventure and exploration. This shared sense of

anticipation and discovery naturally leads to communication of mathematical

ideas. Students observe, measure, collect, and record data in order to

manipulate and interpret it back in the classroom. While completing activities on

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the trail, children use mathematics concepts they learned in the classroom and

discover the varied uses of mathematics in everyday life. Above all, Math trails

connect math to real-life. Math trails give students real reasons for learning

mathematical concepts. Students collaborate in groups to discover solutions to

problems and engage in creative thinking and problem solving. Math trails are

an active way to engage students in a meaningful interaction with mathematical

concepts.

Math trails can be very versatile and, as a result, it is possible to develop

Math trails at any grade level and for any age. The mathematical questions on

Math trails can easily cover all of the strands in the Ontario Mathematics

Curriculum as well as the overall and many of the specific expectations found

therein.

Math trails are a valuable, multi-faceted learning opportunity for students.

They are also in keeping with current educational reform on mathematics

teaching and the recommendations given in the Curriculum and Evaluation

Standards for School Mathematics, published by the National Council of

Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 1989). Math trails focus on developing

students’ creative thinking and approaches to solving problems. Students collect

and sort data. They take measurements, make observations, estimate, guess,

hypothesize, develop their own strategies and build upon their own and each

other’s knowledge to make sense of the mathematical world around them. They

are not limited to following a standard procedure or memorized algorithm. Math

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trails promote the development of inquiry, creative problem solving, high-level

thinking, and understanding and build conceptual knowledge.

Reflections on Designing and Implementing my own Math Trail

As a holistic educator as well as someone who is entirely convinced of the

merit of reform curriculum in mathematics teaching and also someone who loves

being active and enjoys nature and the great outdoors, I believed that a Math trail

would be an effective, holistic approach to deliver mathematical instruction and I

eagerly developed one for the local community where I taught.

Firstly, I decided to develop a Math trail that addressed the expectations of

the Grades 4 and 5 Ontario Math curricula. Since I would be teaching my four-

year group of students in Grades 5 and 6 in the fall, I thought that a Math trail at

the beginning of the year would be a perfect way to launch the Math curriculum in

a very positive, interactive, student-centred and experiential manner. However,

in order for students to be able to complete the trail in mid to late September then

the questions would need to be based on the previous year’s expectations.

Hence, that is what I did. Therefore, the Math trail I developed for my class was

a review of the mathematics they learned in Grades 4 and 5. To my surprise, it

was relatively easy to cover all the major concepts taught with a few high-level

math tasks that required students to show their mathematical understanding in a

variety of different ways and to varying degrees.

I went to the school armed with my digital camera; a copy of the Ontario

Ministry of Education (2005) Mathematics curriculum; the Nelson Mathematics

textbooks for Grades 4, 5 and 6 (Kestell, M.L. et al., 2004, 2005, 2006) that
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teachers used at our school; a pen and clipboard and scouted the area for

potential sites rich in mathematics. As I considered a potential site, I tried to

think about all the different strands in the math curriculum: Number sense and

numeration, measurement, geometry and spatial sense, patterning and algebra,

data management and probability. I looked around for patterns, shapes, things

to measure, count, graph, clocks, and other things that presented mathematical

challenges. To my delight, there were plenty of mathematical questions to be

pondered in and around the school. I was careful to observe the area

surrounding the school at eye level, ground level and above students’ heads.

I took photographs of each site and recorded preliminary ideas on

questions to develop. I loaded the photographs in my computer and sized them

down to the appropriate dimensions for a word processing document. I wrote

directions for getting to the sites and developed questions for my students to

solve that would encourage them to discuss mathematical concepts, build on

each other’s knowledge and engage in creative problem solving strategies. I was

determined to develop fun, interesting, challenging, high-level tasks. To ensure

adequate time management, many questions also had further follow-up in the

classroom. They led to more complex problem solving, classroom discussion

and possibly even research. After completing the Math trail questions I created

for my students, I asked them to create a mini Math trail in their group consisting

of five questions. This was to stimulate their own creativity and form a basis for

discussion when we returned to the classroom.

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Creating this Math trail was indeed a major undertaking, but it was truly a

labour of love. I designed this trail during the months of July and August of 2006.

Yes, during my “time off”. Like so many dedicated teachers, I use this time for

professional development and often take on larger projects during these longer

periods of “time off” when I can slow down and actually think about what I do in

the classroom, how I do it and why. Having two months “off,” is for me an

invaluable amount of time to learn more about teaching and reflect on what I do

as a professional. I still recall my principal’s look of bewilderment when he saw

me scouting the schoolyard for potential mathematical problems. Later on, when

I explained to him what I was doing, he was thrilled, but he admitted that, at first,

he simply thought I really needed some time off. As I developed my questions, I

delighted when I saw how seamlessly holistic theory and mathematical reform

interwove in them and I was amazed at how the questions seemed to spring to

my mind so effortlessly. I believe that when one is immersed in a task and is

committed to it, it seems to emerge or flow almost effortlessly. I recall how

pleasantly surprised I was with the eighteen interesting, real-life and meaningful

problems related to students’ everyday life and the school neighbourhood that I

designed. The problems touched on every strand in the mathematics curriculum

as well as a variety of other subjects and in so doing, provided not only a superb

review of the math curriculum from the previous year, but also, an excellent

introduction to the math curriculum to be taught in the current academic year. I

will examine a few questions in order for the reader to gain an understanding of

how the Math trail is an example of holistic learning and demonstrate how each
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question covered a variety of learning outcomes not only in Math but in other

curricular areas. (For the complete Math trail, please refer to Appendix F).

For example, Question 2 is about joining picnic tables and I was inspired

to write this question based on an article I read by Soares, Blanton and Kaput

(2005/06), Thinking algebraically across the elementary school curriculum. In

this article, Soares, Blanton and Kaput (2005/06) describe many “algebrafied”

problems, that is, algebraic problems that are integrated with literacy and other

subject areas (p. 229). They discuss the benefits of developing children’s

algebraic thinking skills while integrating algebrafied tasks across the curriculum.

They write, “Mathematics is everywhere. The teacher’s challenge is to build a

habit of mind whereby students naturally think and see mathematically,

especially outside of “math class” (Soares, Blanton & Kaput, 2005/06, p. 233).

This is precisely what Question 2 does. It is an algebrafied picnic table problem

that helps students develop a mathematical generalization using everyday

language and objects. Hence mathematics is connected to students’ everyday

lives and the school picnic tables provided a rich context for mathematical

problem solving.

Another question, Question 6, is meant to educate students to become

intelligent consumers. In this question, students need to be able to read food

labels – a challenging task for many adults! -- and judge which cereal offers the

most nutritional value while still having a low sugar and fat content. This is media

literacy and mathematics being applied in everyday, real-world problems. As

consumers, we are faced with hundreds of products on the market. We need to

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be able to select the healthiest choices at the best price in order to survive in

today’s society, which is driven by the economy. In this question, students also

estimate cost using money. Hence it is a question, which truly allows students to

see the application of math in their daily lives.

Question 8 is related to data management. Students are required to take

a survey of the motorists that idle their vehicles outside the neighbourhood

grocery store, Happy Farms. This question was inspired by Ronau and Karp’s

(2001) article Power over trash: Integrating mathematics, science, and children’s

literature. A year earlier, at my school, as I mentioned above, my students and I

conducted a data-supported campaign against motorists who idled their vehicles.

My students took surveys of idling motorists in mid-November, before we

launched the Idle-free campaign at our school. They also surveyed the idling

motorists during our campaign and again after our prolonged Idle-free campaign

in the community. The students plotted the results on graphs labelled Before and

After to measure the success of the campaign. That sort of thought inspires this

question. It is designed to help students learn how to manipulate real data. As

Ronau and Karp (2001) note in their article, “Using real data is one way to help

students move beyond concrete understanding of mathematical ideas to more

abstract notions” (p. 30). This question permits students to make sense of their

world by observing, collecting data and analyzing it. If students are able to

collect and analyze actual data then they are in a better position to take action

against idling or garbage problems in the environment.

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Question 12 is a probability problem that integrates another subject from

the curriculum, physical education. In this problem, students need to predict the

probability of scoring baskets as a fraction. They also need to conduct an

experiment that tests their predictions and calculate the average number of

baskets scored for each group member. I wanted to integrate some physical

activity into my Math trail to make it more fun, but also to show students that

math is in everything, even sports which they love. I also wanted to encourage

them to calculate the average score using their own, invented methods. Again,

this is an example of how math can be integrated with other subjects to make the

context richer as well as more appealing to students.

As one can see from examining a few of the questions above, a Math trail

naturally integrates mathematics and other subjects in a meaningful, purposeful

way. A Math trail allows students to see the bigger picture and how they fit into

it. They begin to recognize patterns, make connections, experience

relationships, and focus on understandings of a broader, deeper sense. Giving

children the opportunity to explore mathematical concepts in their school

community allows them to develop not only a deeper understanding of

mathematics and its applications in the real world but also helps develop their

connection with the surrounding community and the world at large.

In this holistic approach to teaching mathematics, there is another key

objective in mathematics that is met: improved discourse in mathematics. A

Math trail naturally creates a need for students to communicate mathematical

ideas along the trail as they travel in small groups and look for solutions to the
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questions. What is more, the mathematical discussions that arise when the Math

trail questions are debriefed in the classroom are yet another good example of

genuine mathematical discussions. As Van Zoest and Enyart (1998) remark, “A

carefully planned question or a short, well-developed task can stimulate rich

discourse that leads to greater mathematical understanding” (p. 155). Van Zoest

and Enyart (1998) point out that “A few carefully worded questions or problems

that lead to good discussion can be more mathematically productive and

reinforcing than pages of repetitive problems done in isolation” (p. 155). The

Math trail is a perfect example of this. It naturally leads to improved classroom

discourse in mathematics.

In the fall of that year, I implemented the Math trail that I created over the

summer with Grades 4, 5, and 6 students. I invited several parent volunteers to

help supervise students during the Math trail. Their role was mainly to escort

students from one site to another. I met with parents prior to the day of the Math

trail to ensure that they were familiar with the route and would facilitate the

learning process without giving too much help. The parent community at my

school was very supportive and they were thrilled to participate in such an

interesting activity. One parent questioned why we don’t have more of these

types of learning activities created by teachers. I found her question rather

interesting and agree that these types of meaningful learning activities created by

teachers for their students are a more personalized way of approaching

curriculum that also makes learning far more relevant and purposeful.
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I grouped students into heterogeneous groups of 3 to 4 students. They

travelled through a predetermined set of questions on the route accompanied by

a parent volunteer. By having students work in small groups, I hoped to

encourage them to problem solve together and communicate mathematical ideas

along the trail. Since I had many parent volunteers, I was able to float from

group to group and observe their interactions. I noticed students worked

collaboratively to find solutions to the math questions and that the Math trail

questions engaged students in meaningful mathematical discussions as well as

reasoning and reflection. Each group worked on a different problem and

completed the question set in a particular order. This rotation allowed each

group to work independently. Furthermore, each student in the group was

assigned a different cooperative role such as recorder, facilitator, time keeper

and encourager. These roles were rotated every three questions in order to

allow every student the opportunity to experience each role in the group.

As a teacher I found it very rewarding to see how well my students took to

the Math trail I created. Even some of my more reluctant Math students who

insisted they did not like Math admitted they really enjoyed the Math trail. Here is

an e-mail I sent to my OISE professor with whom I had taken a course, Holistic

Approaches in Elementary School Mathematics, in regards to the Math trail that I

implemented:

November 16, 2006

I just wanted to let you know that I tried out my Math trail yesterday

with two classes, my Grades 5 / 6 class and another class of

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Grades 4 / 5. We had 12 parent volunteers and 2 teachers. It was

awesome! The kids had fun and the parents thought it was such a

great idea. I will be sharing the Math trail with other junior teachers

who want to use it. The number of problems was just right for a

morning. It was a beautiful day and the kids loved doing Math

outdoors. Hope you are well. I really enjoyed your course. It gave

me lots of insights into Math and I explored some things that

interested me in holistic education.

Many thanks,

Ana

She wrote back:

Hi Ana:

Just wanted to let you know that I put your paper in the mailbox

only this morning rather than last night due to unexpected events

yesterday, hope it's OK with you.

Before I sent your papers I glanced at it once again and got

reminded of your highly attractive and well thought out math trail

and the excellent accompanying paper. I am glad you are planning

to share this trail with other junior teachers, this is a real treasure! I

really hope one day you will become a leader in math education

and/or a teacher trainer and will write for you an excellent

recommendation letter if you ever need one for any job or program

of studies.

All the best.

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The feedback I got from students, parent volunteers, the school

administrators, other teachers and my OISE professor with regards to the Math

trail I created was all very positive. As a teacher, I found it very empowering and

rewarding to act as a curriculum planner and reflect on how I used the Ontario

curriculum in my classroom.

This discussion leads me back to the Ontario Ministry of Education (2005)

Mathematics document. This document supports a holistic vision of education. It

underscores the importance of cross-curricular learning:

Experiences that allow students to make connections – to see, for

example, how concepts and skills from one strand of mathematics

are related to those from another – will help them to grasp general

mathematical principles. As they continue to make such

connections, students begin to see that mathematics is more than

a series of isolated skills and concepts and that they can use their

learning in one area of mathematics to understand another.

Seeing the relationships among procedures and concepts also

helps develop mathematical understanding. The more connections

students make, the deeper their understanding. In addition,

making connections between the mathematics they learn at school

and its applications in their everyday lives not only helps students

understand mathematics but also allows them to see how useful

and relevant it is in the world beyond the classroom. (Ontario

Ministry of Education, 2005, p. 16)

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The quotation above is clearly in harmony with a holistic vision of

education. It underscores the importance of developing “connections” between

subject matter and stresses the importance of developing the “relationships”

among procedures and concepts. These “connections” and “relationships” are

one of the founding principles of holistic education.

Another important idea that the Mathematics curriculum document above

supports is the use of “rich problems” in order to provide students with a variety

of opportunities to develop mathematical understanding through problem solving.

(Ontario Ministry of Education, 2005, p. 24). The Math trail discussed above is a

good example of how teachers can create a variety of rich problems that cover a

wide range of mathematical concepts.

Finally, the Ontario Ministry of Education (2005) Mathematics curriculum

document also encourages teachers to explore a variety of teaching strategies to

promote learning.

Effective instructional approaches and learning activities draw on

students’ prior knowledge, capture their interest, and encourage

meaningful practice both inside and outside the classroom.

Students’ interest will be engaged when they are able to see the

connections between the mathematical concepts they are learning

and their application in the world around them and in real-life

situations. (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2005, p. 25)

In his book, The schools our children deserve, Alfie Kohn (1999),

challenges traditional schooling based on rote learning of facts and acts as an

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advocate for education that promotes critical, creative thinkers. Similar to the

Ontario Ministry of Education (2005) Mathematics curriculum document which

supports learning that is based in “real-life situations” (Ontario Ministry of

Education, 2005, p. 25), Kohn (1999) also insists on the use of a realistic context

for learning. He states that, “This idea of using skills in a realistic context offers a

refreshing alternative to the conventional high school or middle school

curriculum, too” (Kohn, 1999, p. 148). Kohn (1999) further states that, “This

approach to learning isn’t a matter of gluing an occasional activity onto the

regular curriculum. It replaces the regular curriculum, turns it inside out,

incorporates facts and skills in the service of doing something that is as real and

practical as it is intellectual and scholarly” (p. 148). The Ontario Ministry of

Education (2005) Mathematics curriculum document, holistic education and Alfie

Kohn (1999) all seem to support education that leads students to see the “big

picture”, is experiential, problem based and leads to social action.

Furthermore, allowing teachers the opportunity to plan and implement

their own curriculum allows teachers to share a greater responsibility in the

learning process. It allows teachers to feel more engaged with the curriculum as

well as their students’ learning. I have shown that the guiding principles

underlying the Ontario Ministry of Education curriculum documents (1998, 2004,

2005, 2006a, 2006b) for program planning are holistic in nature and, for me, as

an educator they are far more relevant than the long list of overall and specific

curriculum expectations that accompanies each grade and that every child is
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expected to meet no matter what and in spite of ability, aptitude, cognitive

development, linguistic and cultural background, motivation and special needs.

The teaching and learning experiences that I described in this chapter are

a model for holistic practice in public education. All areas of holistic learning

were touched: intellectual, physical, emotional, and spiritual. My own

experiences in reworking the Ontario curriculum to make it more holistic

demonstrate that the expectations of a standardized curriculum, which can be

rather prescriptive, can nonetheless be addressed in a creative and soulful way if

the teacher is truly committed to the principles of holistic education.

A holistic curriculum seeks a balance in education between the inner world

of the student and the outer world of school subjects. By honouring each child as

a unique individual possessing his / her own special qualities, introducing the

community into the school and extending the school into the community, it is

possible to deliver a holistic curriculum where there is a balance between student

inquiry into important issues – both personal and social. My own personal

experiences outlined in this chapter demonstrate that holistic education can be

brought more directly into public education by teachers who share a holistic

vision of education and endeavour to give the mainstream Ontario curriculum a

deeper dimension by bringing attention, caring, compassion, and social action

into current pedagogical practices.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate what John Miller and Drake (1990)

have said about implementing a holistic curriculum,

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A holistic approach can be incorporated into public school practice.

The necessary ingredients are a holistic vision of education, a

recognition of the intrinsic connections in experience, and a staff

working together to nurture the healthy development of young

people. (p. 27)

As an educator committed to a holistic vision of education, it has been my

experience that there is sufficient flexibility within the Ontario curriculum to

allow for a holistic, spiritual and soulful curriculum to emerge. As a teacher

trying to deliver a holistic curriculum, I have focused my attention more on

the processes of learning rather than on the content. I have found that the

overall and specific Ontario curriculum expectations for each grade can be

woven into broad, fertile themes and learning goals that allow for big

questions related to all aspects of the curriculum and deep connections –

personal and social -- to emerge.

Finally, implementing a holistic curriculum is more than just integrating

school subjects or disciplines across the curriculum. It is about developing caring

learning communities where students feel safe to ask questions of a personal

and social nature, where students are encouraged to discover who they are and

what their unique contribution to society might be. My teaching experiences with

the Roots of Empathy program, Global education, the Gulu Walk, Who is

Nobody?, and the Math trail are all examples of holistic learning that integrate the

Ministry of Education guidelines and the Ontario curriculum expectations.

Relevant, meaningful curriculum leads students to learn at a deeper level that

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touches not only their intellect, but also their body and spirit. In my opinion, it is

this type of soulful curriculum that is needed today more than ever before in order

to prepare students to meet the personal and social challenges that they will face

throughout their life and help them develop to their fullest human potential in

order to lead happy, healthy lives.

 Chapter Seven

The Challenges of Implementing a Holistic Curriculum: Reflections on the

Tensions between Holistic Education and the Ontario Curriculum

Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time

when the quo has lost its status.
-L.J. Peter

The curriculum that is delivered in schools can help nurture students’

development and educate children in a more broadly conceived notion of

teaching and learning if educators adopt a holistic vision of education and focus

less on overly prescriptive, outcome-based education. The current Ontario

curriculum is an example of performance-based pedagogy. It focuses far too

much on the narrow product of learning. Lists of set curriculum expectations,

reporting on student achievement, competition and standardized tests drive the

Ontario curriculum. The fragmented lists of expectations to be achieved in each

subject for every grade render the curriculum rigid and thus allow teachers far

fewer opportunities to integrate subjects across the curriculum and teach using a

holistic approach. This recipe list of expectations to cover in every grade is a

piecemeal approach to curriculum, which thwarts creativity, spontaneity, and

ultimately learning. The focus of the Ontario curriculum on over planning,

content, achievement of provincially mandated expectations, and standardized

testing does not allow children to consider the wholeness of the human

experience and desperately needs to be revised if educators are to teach from a

holistic perspective where all aspects of human life, which are fundamentally

interconnected, are respected and valued. Education must be concerned with

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the physical, emotional, social, aesthetic / creative, and spiritual aspect of every

person, in addition to the traditionally stressed intellectual or rational dimension.

Holistic educators do not seek to eliminate the need to teach the basics, or

important knowledge. They simply recognize that education needs to be more

broadly conceived in order to help the children in our schools develop into

mentally, physically, and emotionally healthy, well rounded individuals with a

reverence for life and who are sensitive to the needs of others in society, the

state of our local community, the global community, and our planet.

Some “Problems” with Holistic Education

The holistic view of education poses two main problems within the context

of public education. Firstly, many wrongly equate spirituality with religion. While

spirituality can be interpreted as the soul by some, it can also refer to the inner

Self or, more generally, as that mysterious quality at the core of our being that

gives us life which some believe to be finite while others believe to be immutable.

To discover one’s spirituality is to connect with that life force and acknowledge

the strength and wisdom that it affords us as human beings.

Secondly, many would argue that schools are not a suitable place to

address issues of a spiritual, emotional or moral nature. They would argue that

such education is the responsibility of parents or the Church. This is where I

would strongly disagree. I believe that school curricula must serve the needs of

the children that we teach. If schooling is solely for the purpose of increasing

students’ intellect then that is a very narrow vision of education that only values

the rational intellect of human beings and denies all other aspects of our
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humanity. Furthermore, children spend much of their time in school. Many

families live in distress with financial burdens, emotional upheavals and

unrealistic demands of their time. For many children, schools may be the only

place where all their developmental needs can be addressed whether spiritual,

emotional, artistic, moral, social, physical or intellectual. I believe that schools

are indeed a suitable place to address spiritual, emotional and moral issues since

the children that we teach are human beings with a variety of needs that are not

limited to their intellect. In fact, I would go so far as to argue that this may be one

reason why there is so much violence in our mainstream public schools today. I

believe that many students feel frustrated and angry because, often times, the

curriculum does not reflect who they are: their culture, ethnic background, socio-

economic position, religion, first language, or sexual orientation. When students’

needs are not carefully considered, educators take away students’ voice and, as

a result, students feel disempowered. I believe that holistic education, with its

fundamental commitment to human growth, has the potential to address every

student’s needs including minority students, homosexual students or otherwise

disadvantaged and oppressed groups. Holistic education values diversity and

cultural pluralism. I believe that holistic educators must have the courage to

bring harmony and balance into the mainstream curriculum.

The Ontario Curriculum’s Limited Vision of Education

The Ontario curriculum is driven by lists of overall and specific

expectations for each subject and for each grade. This outcomes-based

approach to learning that focuses on measuring learning outcomes and global

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standardized tests to measure success or failure of education presents a very

limited view of education in my opinion. As Wien and Dudley-Marling (1998)

note, the Ontario curriculum fails to acknowledge the experiences of either

learners or teachers and it treats diversity and ecology in a superficial manner.

Furthermore, it is inscribed in contradiction. On one hand, the document

professes to be integrative and holistic in nature. For example, the Ontario

Ministry of Education (2004) Social Studies document advocates for the following

teaching approach:

To make their program interesting and relevant, [teachers] must

relate the knowledge and skills gained to wider issues and

problems… It is essential to emphasize the relationship of social

studies, history, and geography to the world outside the school so

that students recognize that these areas of study are not just

school subjects but fields of knowledge that affect their lives, their

communities, and the world. (p. 14)

On the other hand, the long lists of endless expectations to cover makes

implementing a truly integrative curriculum a daunting task for any well-

intentioned, holistic minded teacher. While the preamble in the Ontario

curriculum documents seems to support an integrated approach to teaching and

learning, the exhaustive lists of overall and specific expectations that students

“will” achieve at the end of each grade are excessively prescriptive and make it

virtually impossible to truly integrate knowledge or learning across all subjects. I

would agree with Wien and Dudley-Marling (1998) when they reflect that “the
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implementation of outcomes-based learning as fragmented lists of discrete items

paralyzes broader, more integrative directions in education” (p. 408).

Furthermore, the preamble in the Ontario Ministry of Education (2004)

curriculum document also apparently values diversity, multiculturalism, a plurality

of literatures and histories, but, again, this is superficial since, in reality, the

document focuses on the literature, history and issues that relate to the dominant

Western culture. If we examine the Ontario Ministry of Education (2004) Social

Studies document, for example, it is clear that the majority of what is to be

studied relates to Western and European cultures. While the document

professes to be inclusive, there is, again, an inherent contradiction when one

examines the lists of expectations to be covered which “privileges the knowledge

of those already privileged” (Wien & Dudley-Marling, 1998, p. 413).

Cardiero-Kaplan (2002) reflects that “In elementary school, children are

exposed to the functional, cultural, and progressive literacy ideologies” (p. 378).

A functional literacy ideology is seen in a curriculum that teaches students the

necessary skills to become productive members of the workforce. A cultural

literacy ideology is seen in a curriculum that validates the dominant Western

culture and only legitimates knowledge that is associated with being a well-

educated citizen. This type of literacy prepares students who belong to the

dominant Western culture to become the future leaders of society and, therefore,

reproduces the privilege of the already privileged class. A progressive literacy

ideology engages learners in the reading and writing process from a personal

perspective, however, this type of literacy fails to address the plurality of

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students' culture or critically engage them with socially constructed literacies

(Cardiero-Kaplan, 2002). I would argue that in the Ontario curriculum, it is

possible to note the presence of all three of these types of literacies and that,

depending on schools' socio-economic status, they adopt one or another

ideology. For example, low socio-economic schools will adopt a functional

literacy ideology in order to prepare their students for the job market while middle

to high socio-economic schools will adopt a cultural literacy ideology in order to

prepare students of the dominant Western culture for positions of leadership and

thus promote the status quo. Cardiero-Kaplan (2002) advocates for a critical

literacy ideology. In a curriculum informed by this ideology, teachers promote

classrooms that value student voices, experiences, and histories. "Teachers are

no longer dispensers of knowledge, promoting only one canon or belief, but

agents of change, assisting students in seeing themselves within the larger

historical, political, cultural, and economic structures where student voices exist”

(Cardiero-Kaplan, 2002, p. 379). Such a curriculum engages students critically in

meaningful dialogue and reflection. In my opinion, holistic education addresses

the needs of the language arts curriculum in a coherent manner since it includes

all four of these literacies. Holistic education supports a balanced approach to

literacy where skills and drills; multiple literacies as well as critical thinking skills

are all validated. Holistic educators believe there is a place for different types of

learning and teaching and the holistic model of education adopts transmission

learning, transactional learning as well as transformational learning which can be

directly related to a functional literacy ideology, a progressive literacy ideology,

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and a critical literacy ideology. Furthermore, holistic education, does not seek to

maintain the status quo but rather to improve the quality of every students’ life

through a responsive curriculum that nurtures every student’s needs and

interests.

Tensions between Holistic Education and the Ontario Curriculum

Another criticism to the Ontario curriculum is that the lists of observable,

measurable expectations override the goals of learning. I have often felt some

tension between my holistic vision of education and the Ontario curriculum when

I am obligated to cover expectations in the curriculum in order to report on them.

Often times, mostly because of the lengthy lists of expectations, compared to the

time the school day actually affords teachers to address them, I have selected

outcomes and connected these to activities or tests but, not necessarily to deep

learning. The Ontario curriculum focuses too heavily on the product of learning,

e.g., the learning outcomes, to the detriment of the process of learning, e.g.,

deep learning activities. This is a mechanistic view of learning, which is in clear

opposition with holistic learning; however, teachers, like myself, are often forced

to teach in this manner in order to report on student achievement. I will have

more to say about the provincial report card later on.

Wien and Dudley-Marling (1998) argue that the Ontario curriculum

presents the learner as an active learner engaged in enquiry, however, the lists

of what “students will” do at specific grade levels, creates a shift in the learner

“from active participant to passive recipient” (p. 408). The learner who is

expected to achieve the expectations of the Ontario curriculum is not engaged in

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inquiry-based learning but is rather, a receptacle for knowledge. This is yet

another tension felt by holistic teachers since a holistic vision of education

advocates for a varied approach to learning where all three models of teaching:

transmission, transaction, and transformational are interconnected. On the other

hand, the skills sets outlined in the Ontario curriculum for every student to

achieve favour the traditional transmission approach to learning where there is a

one-way flow of skills and knowledge from the teacher to the student. In this type

of learning situation, there is little opportunity for students to interact with the

curriculum, reflect on or analyze the value of information.

The Ontario curriculum, because of its endless expectations,

dehumanizes and demoralizes students and teachers alike. Following lists

eliminates creative thinking and reflection. Therefore, the art of teaching is lost

and teachers merely follow the Ontario curriculum’s recipe for learning with all its

inherent contradictions and flaws.

Another tension between holistic education and a standardized curriculum

is that the Ontario curriculum treats issues related to the earth and the

environment in a very superficial manner while holistic educators seek to teach

students to respect the earth and revere life. In order to remedy this, the Toronto

District School Board (2004) has published a number of resources related to

EcoSchools around topics such as ecological literacy, waste minimization,

energy conservation, and school ground greening. These are guides designed to

support schools in the implementation of the TDSB EcoSchool program. The

TDSB (2004) Ecological literacy guide for waste minimization states

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“expectations have been selected and clustered to uncover the potential [italics

added] in the curriculum for teaching with the environment in mind” (Toronto

District School Board, 2004, p. 3). This guide is one in a series of ecological

literacy guides that make up the classroom component of EcoSchools. They

offer teachers a new lens for seeing the environmental learning possibilities in

the Ontario Ministry of Education (2004) curriculum document. Clearly, the

Ontario curriculum is rather obscure with respect to ecological issues and treats

them in such a superficial manner that school boards like the TDSB felt the need

to develop guides to uncover the potential within the curriculum to address these

issues. In my opinion, the Ontario curriculum’s lack of focus on the Earth and

ecological issues is shameful since the document fails to adequately address

what is, in my opinion, one of the most important topics in the Social Studies and

Science curriculum of our time if we consider the present state of our ecosystem.

Pressures Faced by Holistic Teachers

Writing report cards and administering large-scale standardized tests such

as those developed by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO)

agency within Ontario’s education system are perhaps the two greatest obstacles

to implementing a holistic vision of education for the holistic teacher.

Standardized tests are not a true measure of learning. They are used to

measure only a narrow product of learning: the acquisition of basic skills and

information. They are based on a consumer model of education that emphasizes

global competition, economic and political power rather than cooperation,

personal and social growth. The current obsession in education with testing and
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test scores is counterproductive to learning. Holistic education is concerned with

true learning involving the whole person, deep connections and contemplation.

As a holistic teacher who has taught students in both Grades 3 and 6 and

prepared them for EQAO tests in both grades, I have found that standardized

tests are in complete contradiction with a holistic vision of education. It is one

aspect of the Ontario curriculum that holistic educators cannot be flexible with. In

my own personal experience, I have not been able to integrate holistic education

principles with preparing students for EQAO tests or while administering such

tests. This is one aspect of the Ontario curriculum that completely resists a

holistic vision of education and where there is no space to teach holistically.

Furthermore, a great deal of class time is spent by teachers helping to

prepare students for this global test in Grades 3, 6 and 9. When I first started

administering EQAO tests, helping students prepare for the EQAO test was

considered to be teaching to the test, however, nowadays, preparing students for

EQAO tests is considered to be an integral part of the curriculum. EQAO data

and scores drive the curriculum in schools because many elementary schools

plan curriculum around the EQAO data scores in Grades 3 and 6 from the

previous year. For example, in the school where I taught, the EQAO data scores

in the language test indicated that many students had lower scores in questions

that related to making inferences about a text. As a result, there was a

significant amount of in-school professional development dedicated to improving

student performance on these types of questions. Teachers were instructed on

how to teach students to write appropriate responses to these types of inference

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questions. Teachers were encouraged to provide students with a one-size fits all

model for writing responses to literature, both fiction as well as non-fiction. It was

called the RASER model and looked like this:

Rephrase the question

Answer the question

Support with evidence from the text

Extend with personal examples

Reflect on the big idea in the text

(Adapted by the TDSB, 2008)

In order to help students achieve better results on the EQAO test, I was

expected to teach this type of writing, which only teaches students how to

respond to one type of question. It does not teach them how to think critically or,

more importantly, how to ask the right questions in order to analyze the value of

information. By focussing student learning on improving EQAO test scores,

schools are limiting students’ learning to acquiring basic skills and information.

This is a very restricted vision of education that is in complete contradiction with

holistic education, which holds a broader conception of teaching and learning. It

is not that learning how to answer questions on a test is not a good skill to learn

in school, the problem is essentially that that is really all that EQAO tests actually

prepare students to do: answer questions. EQAO tests do not promote real in-

depth learning or help students learn how to ask critical questions which, in my

opinion, is far more important than learning how to answer questions on a test.

Not to mention what EQAO testing does to student morale and how effectively it
 131

stamps out any joy or excitement towards learning, which, again, is in opposition

with a holistic vision of education, which encourages students to connect with the

curriculum in a personally and socially meaningful way. The current trend in

education which affords an undue amount of attention to EQAO data and scores

drives the curriculum in schools and it is a great source of tension and pressure

for holistic teachers since this focus on testing and test scores is not in line with

holistic principles in education which value a much broader conception of

teaching and learning. Furthermore, preparing students for the narrow skills sets

that EQAO tests measure takes away valuable class time that teachers could

spend teaching more valuable knowledge that would lead to more coherent

understanding and broader learning aims.

Finally, another source of tension for a holistic teacher is the student

evaluation process and the provincial report card. In a holistic classroom, report

card marks would be replaced with anecdotal comments that describe students’

growth and development throughout each term. Assessment would focus on

students’ individual growth and progress. For example, teachers would compare

where a student starts out in Grade 4 with respect to reading or writing to where

that student ends up at the end of a term and measure his / her individual

progress as well as his / her effort. Currently, the evaluation process involves

measuring students’ performance using marks on tasks or scores on tests and

comparing those to a provincial standard that has no relevance to the individual

student. This type of assessment, which measures students’ achievement in

relation to standards set by the province, is very arbitrary and relatively

 132

meaningless. It is not a measure of learning; it only rates student performance

and serves to rank learners. This type of evaluation promotes unnecessary

competition, which should not have a place in educating the young and it cripples

the learning process. This is yet another example of where the Ontario

curriculum is not flexible since whether or not one holds a holistic vision of

education, one is still legally obliged to grade students and report marks to

parents. In a holistic classroom, learning portfolios would be used as an

assessment tool. These would include key pieces of student work in a variety of

curricular domains (literacy, numeracy, the arts, social studies, history,

geography, science) selected by the student as well as the teacher in order to

effectively demonstrate the personal growth, effort and progress of each student.

As a holistic teacher, I believe that this sort of assessment would paint a far

better picture of student achievement than test scores and marks. This type of

assessment is far more personal and would be far clearer for parents to

understand than the current trend in reporting to parents, which is to use rather

vague modifiers and descriptors in order to describe student achievement. The

current report card writing system is not personalized and the student evaluation

process does not adequately reflect the progress of individual students in the

classroom nor does it value their efforts. It is a generic approach to reporting to

parents and, in my opinion as a parent, it tells me very little about how my child is

actually doing in school. Furthermore, when learning is viewed solely as student

performance then some high achieving students will not need to make much of

an effort in order to obtain high grades while others, despite a great deal of hard
 133

work, will always fall short of the provincial standard and they will eventually

become unmotivated learners. Education that only values performance not effort

or growth will not drive students to do their personal best and can be punitive for

students who do not excel in academic subjects such as language arts and

mathematics.

In a holistic school, traditional parent-teacher interviews would be replaced

by a more holistic approach to reporting to parents. Students could lead

conferences about their personal growth where they could discuss their learning

and / or personal goals and how critical pieces of work from their learning

portfolio show how they are meeting these goals. Students would also have the

opportunity to consider new goals at the student – parent – teacher conferences

in collaboration with the teacher and their parent(s) and reflect on some

strategies that might help them meet these new goals. In such a conference,

teachers, parents and students would all have the opportunity to discuss the

student’s overall growth, not just his / her intellectual successes or shortcomings

and behaviour in the classroom. This type of student – parent – teacher

conference would allow students to participate in the evaluation process, give

them the opportunity to reflect on their work and set new goals. Furthermore, it

would allow parents to gain a better global understanding of their child’s progress

at school and give them the opportunity to help identify some goals for their child.

Finally, another tension between holistic education and a holistic vision of

education is the hurried approach to learning seen in schools today. More and

more competencies are added to the already long lists of expectations to cover in
 134

an overburdened curriculum. With extra demands being placed on the

curriculum by standardized tests and reporting marks, teachers have less and

less time to devote to studying topics in-depth and learning becomes superficial

and ultimately meaningless. What is needed is a focus on broad, rich themes so

that more time can be devoted to studying important topics in depth. This hurried

approach to learning is another source of tension since a holistic vision of

education values timeless learning and extols the virtues of slow learning. John

Miller (2006) tells us that like holistic education, “Slow education encourages

students to pursue questions in depth and not skip quickly through a curriculum

of unrelated facts” (p. 108). By cramming the curriculum in schools, we are

sacrificing students’ understanding. Holistic teachers believe students can get

more out of their education by focussing on less.

In the previous chapters, I examined the practices and strategies that I

developed as a holistic teacher while working with the Ontario curriculum in order

to make it more holistic. These are examples of where there is enough flexibility

in the standardized curriculum to create a space to teach holistically. The

changes included developing spirituality in the teacher and the students,

establishing integrated curriculum, and promoting community connections. In

this chapter, I have examined the tensions and pressures of implementing a

holistic curriculum in mainstream education. Standardized tests such as the

EQAO and the provincial report card are two examples from the Ontario

curriculum wherein there is not a great deal of flexibility and consequently, no

space to teach a holistic curriculum. In a truly holistic school, these two practices
 135

would need to be examined further and likely changed. That being the case, it is,

however, noteworthy that over the four years that I have taught students in Grade

6, the EQAO scores at my school have steadily increased in reading, writing and

mathematics. Although this is a qualitative study not a quantitative one, it is,

nonetheless, interesting to note that teaching my students holistically has brought

about improved test scores on the standardized EQAO test year after year. In

fact, in the Spring EQAO test of 2009, my Grade 6 students achieved a

remarkable 100% on the EQAO Mathematics test, which means that every

student in my class was deemed to be at the provincial standard in Mathematics.

Based on my own success in improving my students’ EQAO test scores in

Language and Mathematics, I believe that further research on the benefits of

teaching curriculum holistically would be of great interest to educational

researchers, educators and policy makers alike.

While it is undoubtedly true that many teachers, schools and school

boards manage the Ontario curriculum effectively and successfully afford their

students a broader view of teaching and learning, I will argue here that,

unfortunately, this is not always the case and that our children deserve far better.

It is time that educational theory is brought into the mainstream of education and

that the fundamental principles of holistic education such as respecting diversity,

the integrated nature of the universe, the human experience and learning, and

developing critical thinking skills be consistently addressed throughout the

curriculum documents not just in their preamble.

 Chapter Eight

Conclusion and Implications

Conclusion

The world’s largest professional association of educators, the Association

for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) known throughout the

profession for identifying educational trends, has identified a vision for education

reform that identifies the whole child as its priority for educational change. When

the ASCD (2007) issued the report of the Commission on the Whole Child, the

following words resonated:

Our current well-intentioned focus on academics is essential.

Global economics require that each citizen be prepared to live in

and contribute to a worldwide community of shrinking size and

growing complexity. If, however, we concentrate solely on

academics and on narrowly measured academic achievement, we

fail to educate the whole child. We shortchange our young people

and limit their future if we do not create places of learning that

encourage and celebrate every aspect of each student’s capacity

for learning. We can do more and we can do better. (p. 6)

Based on this report, the ASCD (2007) initiated a campaign focusing on the

need to broaden the idea of what it means to be well educated. The

campaign is based on five principles:

Each student enters school healthy and learns about and practices

a healthy lifestyle.

136
 137

Each student learns in an intellectually challenging environment

that is physically and emotionally safe for students and adults.

Each student is actively engaged in learning and is connected to

the school and broader community

Each student has access to personalized learning and is supported

by qualified, caring adults.

Each graduate is challenged by a well-balanced curriculum and is

prepared for success in college or further study and for

employment in a global environment. (ASCD, 2007, p.9)

Although many professionals agree that education must include and go

well beyond teaching students to read, write and do math, it takes action on the

part of educators in order for academic settings to develop whole children or

whole adults. This is precisely the topic of my thesis. I felt the need to act in a

fundamentally different way in order to address every aspect of my students’

potential for learning. I was able to find a vehicle that facilitated this journey in

breaking new ground in public education and that was through the medium of

holistic education. This qualitative inquiry sought to articulate and understand my

professional development as a holistic teacher when I designed and

implemented a holistic curriculum for the public school students whom I taught

that focussed on nurturing all aspects of the child: intellectual, emotional or

affective, physical, social, aesthetic, and spiritual in a caring learning

environment. This study further sought to articulate how holistic educational

 138

practices can be introduced in mainstream, public education and it also analyzed

the tensions and challenges that marrying the two educational practices causes.

In the end, this inquiry showed that the Ontario curriculum and holistic

education share many commonalities and are, therefore, entirely compatible. A

customized holistic curriculum for public education is quite possible and it has the

potential to fulfill a child’s wholeness by allowing students to discover their

relatedness and connection to nature, others, and to the spirit.

This study found that a holistic curriculum is possible when the teacher is

authentic and engaged. This inquiry revealed that as I learned to educate for the

growth of the whole child, I too evolved as both a person and professional in the

process and eventually reshaped the ways in which I and my students

experienced teaching and learning.

By adopting a holistic vision of the Ontario curriculum, it is possible to

better meet the needs of all students, not just students who belong to the

dominant group and possess cultural capital as well as economic privilege, but

students who belong to different cultural, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds and

are culturally as well as economically disfavoured. I believe holistic education

with its deep concern for developing the whole learner has the potential to

address individual student’s needs and give education back to students so that

education and schools can refocus on meeting the needs of students rather than

the needs of the economy or society. Education should not be reduced to merely

an intellectual journey, but must engage the entire being. This type of

engagement is at the heart of holistic learning and this type of learning is more
 139

likely to produce students with a broader vision of education. In a world

increasingly in need of creative solutions to a wide array of global challenges, it is

more important than ever for students to receive a well-rounded education that

engages their entire being: mind, body and spirit, where they will gain not only

knowledge, understanding and skills, but also develop their imagination and learn

about compassion and self-empowerment.

Implications

This research addressed my own questions about my professional

development as a holistic teacher in my particular educational context. But more

importantly, it has allowed me to construct research, which facilitated much

needed professional dialogue about holistic teaching and holistic teacher

development within the parameters of public education. The findings from this

study may be meaningful for informing teacher education programs seeking to

train teachers in holistic education or for holistic teacher development programs

for future holistic public schools like the one opening in September 2009 in the

Toronto District School Board. Broadly, this inquiry contributes to a relatively thin

body of research about educators working within holistic frameworks in

mainstream education. Finally, this research reinforces the idea described by

both John Miller (1996) and Palmer (1998), which is that the development of

authenticity is an integral part of good teaching.

This research has implications for policy makers too. It shows that

teaching cannot be reduced to a set of skills or techniques, nor can curriculum be

reduced to a laundry list of expectations for students to achieve, nor can learning
 140

be narrowly measured by students’ academic performance. Holistic education

can certainly be achieved in the public sector, but, in order for it to become less

marginalized and so that schools can truly educate to transform, policy makers

should trust teachers’ professionalism far more and give school boards,

administrators and teachers greater autonomy in developing and implementing

curriculum. Holistic education recognizes that teaching and learning cannot be

packaged, but are responsive to every child’s diverse needs. As a final note, I

would like to reiterate the words of John Miller (2005) since I believe that they

very eloquently capture the potential that all educators have to develop teaching

methodologies and curriculum to address human growth which I believe should

be the ultimate goal of education:

Perhaps most important, as teachers, we can honour the quest of

all students to find what gives their life meaning and integrity, and

what allows them to feel connected to what is most precious for

them. In the search itself, in loving the questions, in the deep

yearning they let themselves feel, young people will discover what

is sacred in life, what is sacred in their own lives, and what allows

them to bring their most sacred gift to nourish the world. (p. 106)

Directions for Future Research

This research was primarily interested in exploring my professional

development as a holistic teacher within the normative boundaries of public

education and examining the development of holistic educational practices within

my particular context. Future research might benefit from examining the

 141

development of other holistic educators in public school settings or within a public

holistic school. This research might be of interest to readers wanting to learn

more about how to implement holistic teaching practices in the public school

system. Furthermore, conducting relevant and responsibly documented research

will add to the thin body of literature in this field and it will likely help assist in the

expansion of holistic educational practices in mainstream education.

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 Appendix A

IN DEPTH

Apology reaction

Putting the pain behind them

Last Updated: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 | 7:28 PM ET
Comments22Recommend47

By Brian Kemp, CBC News

Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially apologizes in the House of Commons for more
than a century of abuse and cultural loss involving residential schools on Wednesday.
(Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

Aboriginal Canadians flew to Ottawa from thousands of kilometres away, they

gathered by the hundreds around the country and watched TVs at schools and

community centres, and they listened closely as Prime Minister Stephen Harper

prepared to deliver an apology on Wednesday for the horrible treatment of

aboriginal children at residential schools.

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 148

And then the historic apology was spoken. The reaction came shortly after from

aboriginal leaders who had gathered in the House of Commons. They spoke

earnestly and directly to Harper and to other politicians.

"The memories of residential schools sometimes cuts like merciless knives at our

souls. This day will help us to put that pain behind us," said Phil Fontaine,

national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

Hundreds waited on the lawn at Parliament Hill to listen to the tone of Harper's

voice and search for sincerity, as 11 aboriginal leaders, some in traditional

clothing like Fontaine, sat in a circle in front of the Speaker in the House of

Commons, a rare happening during what CBC-TV called simply "The Apology"

on its broadcast headline.

Harper called the schools a "sad chapter" in the country's history. The

government, he said, recognizes that the assimilation of aboriginal children was

wrong and "has caused great harm and has no place in our country." The policy

was profoundly damaging to the language and heritage of Aboriginal Peoples,

said Harper, who added that the schools' legacy includes social problems that

persist in communities today.

"We apologize for having done this," he said, later asking for forgiveness.

After Harper said he was sorry, some people outside the Parliament Buildings

began to cry and wiped tears from their eyes.

"Today, Canada comes face to face with one of the darkest chapters of its

history," said Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion just moments after Harper finished
 149

his speech, as each federal political leader got a chance to speak. "Parents and

children were made to feel worthless."

For too long, governments refused to recognize the tragedy, Dion said, adding

that the Liberals were in power for much of the time the schools were in

existence and offering, too, an apology for a system that he said was built to

punish aboriginal Canadians.

Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe said it was impossible to erase the scars

but the apology was necessary. He urged the government to follow it with

concrete action.

It's been a "Canadian disgrace" that the government has not backed the United

Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Duceppe said, getting

a loud ovation.

New Democratic Leader Jack Layton, who was clearly emotional, said that he

was sorry for one of the most shameful parts of Canadian history and that it was

a time now to live together on an equal footing. He said that each survivor of the

residential schools should receive the recognition that they deserve.

'Achievement of the impossible'

And then it was time for the aboriginal leaders gathered at the House of

Commons to speak. Initially, they were not going to speak in the House, but

politicians decided to allow them at the last minute.

"This day testifies to nothing less than the achievement of the impossible,"

Fontaine said.
 150

"Never again will the House consider us the 'Indian problem' just for us being

who we are," he said. "Finally we heard Canada say it was sorry."

He acknowledged much more is to be done but that it was a "new dawn." It is

now possible, he said, to end the "racial nightmare" together.

Patrick Brazeau, of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, called it a historic day

and a positive step forward and thanked Harper for doing something his

predecessors had not. He said he was proud to be an aboriginal Canadian.

Mary Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national Inuit organization,

spoke in Inuktitut to show that the language and culture are still strong, she said.

Simon said that she dreamed of the day an apology would come and thought it

might never happen, and that the pain and scars will still be there, but a new era

has begun. Dignity, confidence and respect must be at the forefront of future

efforts, she said.

Beverley Jacobs, president of Native Women's Association of Canada, told the

House that residential schools took away the matriarchal system but it is coming

back. She thanked the government for its apology.

"But in return, the Native Women's Association wants respect," she said, getting

a standing ovation in the House.

A day to remember
Hundreds gathered to watch the apology at the University of Winnipeg, including

Kelly Houle, who listened closely as the prime minister spoke.

She didn't attend residential school, but her late mother did. Houle said she

accepts the apology, but it does not erase painful memories.

 151

"The full story of the residential school system's impact on our people has yet to

be told," said Grand Chief Edward John of the First Nations Summit, an umbrella

group of B.C. First Nations.

"The responses to the apology are both individual and collective. It is extremely

important that we respect the many survivors who, in their own discretion and

time, will consider the prime minister's apology and determine how, in their own

interest, each of them will deal with it. Collectively, we celebrate and stand on the

dignity of who we are and celebrate our survival," John said in a release issued

by the First Nations Leadership Council, which includes a number of aboriginal

groups in B.C.

"Our first thoughts today are for our elders," said Anishinabek Nation Grand

Council Chief John Beaucage of Ontario. "Many of them have suffered lifelong

physical and emotional pain because of their residential school experiences.

"We are so proud that many Anishinabek lived long enough to hear Canada's

apology to them. But the true test of Mr. Harper's words will be his government's

actions to help our children have a better future than their parents and

grandparents."

Each of the thousands who waited to hear the apology has her or his individual

story.

Diane Louis, from the Okanagan Indian Band near Vernon, B.C., spent five years

at the residential school in Kamloops, B.C., and most of her life recovering from

what happened there. Louis said it started on the first day, when she was taken

from her grandmother in a cattle truck.

 152

She spent decades trying to relearn her language because she wasn't allowed to

speak it.

Herman Alpine, who spent his childhood at the St. Eugene residential school

near Cranbrook, B.C., said the abuse started the day he arrived, when a priest

yanked his long hair and cut it off, causing him to live in constant fear after that.

He was strapped after speaking his own language, and said he suffered sexual

abuse at the hands of other students, abuse that was overlooked by the priest. In

Nova Scotia, First Nations people retraced the steps to the site of a residential

school in Shubenacadie, which 2,000 Mi'kmaq and Maliseet children from around

Atlantic Canada were forced to attend until 1968.

In St. John's, they gathered at the Native Friendship Centre to watch Harper

speak. Aboriginal Canadians also gathered in Iqaluit and Yellowknife.

In Winnipeg, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs hosted an event that featured

performers who are children or grandchildren of residential school students.

Outside of Edmonton at the River Cree Resort, people gathered to watch the

apology at an event that featured an aboriginal comedian, singing and hoop

dancing, as well as grief counsellors.

The residential schools were overseen by the Department of Indian Affairs and

looked to force aboriginal children to learn English and adopt Christianity and

Canadian customs as part of a government policy called "aggressive

assimilation."
 153

From as early as the 19th century to 1996, there were about 130 schools in

Canada, in every territory and province except Newfoundland, Prince Edward

Island and New Brunswick.

The Inuit in Labrador were represented by three members who flew to Ottawa to

hear the apology in person at Parliament. They were in a unique situation,

though, as a boarding school in North West River, in central Labrador, has not

been recognized by Ottawa as a residential school because it was not operated

by the Canadian government. And they were not formally invited to Ottawa for

the apology.

"We're probably not feeling the same as the other people. The apology is not

intended for us," Nora Ford said in Happy Valley-Goose Bay on Tuesday, as she

prepared to board the flight to Ottawa.

Politics of an apology
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said an apology was needed in order for the

country to move on. He told the Canadian Press that "this is an important way for

us to make some of that right."

Reaction from commentators in the national media varied, with much of it

focusing on the political aspect of the apology.

Don Martin, writing in the National Post on Monday, before the apology, said:

"Compared to the Chinese head tax or Japanese internment camp apologies,

this will elevate grovelling to an art form by a Parliament that has already had

plenty of experience pleading for forgiveness on this file."

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Jeffrey Simpson, a columnist with the Globe and Mail, pointed out Wednesday it

was the Harper government that "killed the multibillion-dollar Kelowna Accord

that would have helped natives cope with real problems."

He added that "it will be a curious event for those who remember that the

antecedents of the Conservative Party never spilled their guts" for Canada's

Aboriginal Peoples.

A Toronto Star editorial said: "Harper's apology ought to compel Canadians to

look critically and unflinchingly at their past and help set the relationship between

aboriginals and non-aboriginals on a better path."

The editorial later said: "This unspeakable legacy is still playing out in aboriginal

communities across the country in the form of suicide, substance abuse, family

breakdown and despair."

 Appendix B

Autobiography

The main purpose of this assignment is to provide an opportunity for self-

expression in writing and art.

Collage

Use pictures from magazines and other print media to create a collage that
reflects you. It could include your interests, hobbies and other aspects of your
personality.

Childhood

Write a paragraph about each of the following topics:

• Birth Information Where and when were you born? How did your
parents choose your name?
• Family Information Describe your family. How many people? What do
they do at work or school or home?
• Earliest Memories Describe a vivid memory you have of a time when
you were very young.
• Favourite Things What was your favourite toy or object to play with?
Why was it so special?
• Proud/Embarrassing Describe something you did as a young child that you
Moments are either really proud of or really embarrassed about.

Now

• Personality List 5 adjectives that describe your personality.

Explain why you chose each one.
• Virtues and Vices Explain your best characteristic (virtue) and your
worst characteristic (vice).
• Friends Who are the people in your life you care about?
Why are these people your friends?
• Activities/Interests Describe your 3 favourite things to do in your spare
time.
• I believe statement What do you think? Start your statement with I
believe…

Future

If I were to see you in 20 years, what would you be like?

• Appearance Describe what you think you will look like as an adult.
• Career/Education What will your job be? If you will still be in school,

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what will you be studying?

• Living where? What city will you live in? What type of house /
apartment will you have?
• Changes from now How else will you be different? Will your personality
change? How about your interests? Will you still like
the same things you like now?

Creative

This is your personal page where you can express yourself in any way you
choose. Some ideas include writing poetry or a piece of fiction. You can
also include artwork of any kind and / or photos that tell the story of your
life.

(Adapted from a worksheet created by J. Strachan, 2006)

 Appendix C

Getting to know your child and family

Student’s Name:__________________________________________________________

Something I would like to tell you about my child:

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

What I would like my child to learn this year:

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Things that my child finds difficult or challenging:

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

How I would like to be involved in my child’s education this year:

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

Suggestions for field trips, guest speakers, topics, activities, school clubs:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire. Please have your child
return it to me as soon as possible.
(Adapted from a worksheet created by M. Richard, 2004)

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 Appendix D

European Explorer Celebrity or Canadian Contributor to Space Science

For this project, you will need to choose an important historical figure from
among the European explorers. For example, Christopher Columbus, John
Cabot, Jacques Cartier, Samuel de Champlain, Martin Frobisher, Henry Hudson,
Thomas Button, William Baffin, Thomas James Pierre Esprit Radisson, Médart
Chouart, Sieurs des Groseilliers, Henry Hudson, Alexander Mackenzie, Simon
Fraser, David Thompson or any other that may interest you.
You will need to research your explorer and find personal information such
as his date and place of birth, when he died, what were his skills, what voyages
he made, what were some of his most significant accomplishments and any other
interesting facts about him.
The goal of this project is for you to “become” this famous historical figure
and dress and act the part. You will need to present your historical figure to the
rest of the class in role. You can tell the class about an important adventure,
voyage or discovery you made. For example, if you choose John Cabot, you
might recreate your return to England and your conversation with the King about
what you discovered.
For this project, you may prefer to research Canadians who have
contributed to space exploration. You may select from among Marc Garneau,
Roberta Bondar, Chris Hatfield, David Levy, Helen Hogg, Bjarni Tryggvason or
someone else whom you are interested in.
Similarly, you will need to research a Canadian who has contributed to
space science. You need to find out background information about the person.
For example, gather information about his/her education, how he or she became
involved in space science and technology. You will need to find information
about the major contribution(s) he / she made to space science and technology.
You should also discuss what technological advances have resulted as well as
the impact these have made. You may also add any additional or interesting
information.
Your presentation should be about 5-10 minutes in length.
You will also need to submit a two-page, double spaced written summary
of your
1. Historical figure’s life, adventures, voyages, etc. with a short
biography. Include a hand drawn and coloured illustration of him or a
picture as well as a map that shows his travels.
OR
2. Canadian space contributor’s life, education, space explorations,
major contributions to space science, etc. with a short biography. You
should also provide a hand drawn and coloured illustration of him / her or
a picture as well as an illustration or picture of his / her technological
contributions to space exploration.
(Developed by A. Neves, 2007)

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 Appendix E

Classic Kundalini Yoga Poses

1. Bow Pose. Lie on your stomach, hold your ankles and pull up, raising
your thighs and head as high as possible, creating an arch in your spine.
Hold this position with long, deep breathing for 2 to 3 minutes. This
posture brings peace to the mind.

2. Bridge Pose. Place your palms and feet firmly on the floor and keep your
arms and legs at right angles to the floor without bending the elbows.
Ensure that your body (from your knees to your shoulders) forms a
straight line parallel to the floor. Hands are shoulder width apart; knees
and feet are also the same distance apart. Hold this pose for 1 to 3
minutes, then breathe long and deep for another 1 to 3 minutes. This
pose works on the nervous system.

3. Camel Pose. Come up onto your knees with your thighs perpendicular to
the floor. Arch your back and hold onto your heels. Let your head fall
back, let your hips move forward and hold this pose with long, deep
breathing. Camel pose adjusts the reproductive organs.

4. Cat Pose / Cow Pose. Place your arms and legs firmly on the ground so
that you are on all fours, with your hands directly under your shoulders
and your fingers pointing forward. The body is positioned like a table, with
everything at right angles. Heels are together; knees are shoulder width
apart. The arms (from shoulders to wrists) are kept straight. The legs
(from knees to hips) are also kept straight and do not move. Inhale as you
lift your head up into cow; exhale when your head goes down into cat.
Inhale and think SAT, exhale and think NAM. Sat is “truth”, Nam is
“name” or “identity”; Sat Nam means that we are one in spirit. Linking the
breath to Sat Nam is an easy way to focus one’s attention and become
more self-aware. Start slowly and increase the pace until you can
alternate rapidly between a slumped spine (cow) and a raised spine (like
an angry cat). Continue this sequence for 1 to 3 minutes. These
exercises support the vertebrae in your spine.

5. Child Pose. Sit on your heels. Bring your forehead to the floor in front of
you. Arms are relaxed at your sides with palms facing up, near your feet.
Relax in this pose for 2 to 5 minutes. Child pose brings circulation to the
eyes, ears, nose, and throat.

6. Cobra Pose. Place hands under shoulders. Point your fingers forward.
Use your arms to press your upper body up and lock your elbows straight.
Stare at a point on the ceiling without blinking. Hold for 1 minute with

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long, deep breathing. This pose loosens up the spine and improves
posture. It also works on your eyesight.

7. Corpse Pose. Lie flat on your back with your body is in a straight line (do
not cross your ankles) and your palms turned upward. Lying in corpse
pose helps to relax the body completely. To relax the mind as well, it is
important to focus on your breathing thinking Sat as you inhale and Nam
as you exhale. Hold this position for 5 to 10 minutes.

8. Easy Pose. Sit with your spine straight and legs crossed on a mat. Place
the palms of your hands together at the center of your chest, fingers
pointing upwards and slightly away from you. Press the sides of your
thumbs lightly into the center of your sternum. Keep your palms pressed
firmly together. Pull your chin slightly back to help straighten your spine.
This pose is used to help improve concentration.

9. Locust Pose. Lie on your stomach. Clench your fists and place them
under your hips, above the leg-joints. Hold your heels together. Keep
your chin on the floor, raise your legs up off the floor and hold this position
using long, deep breathing for 1 to 2 minutes. This pose helps loosen the
lower spine, relieves tension in the lower back and brings circulation to the
brain.

10. Shoulder Stand. Lie on your back. Raise your legs up to 90 degrees
and then lift the entire torso up to 90 degrees so that the body forms a
straight line from shoulders to toes. Support the weight of your body on
your elbows and shoulders using your hands to support your lower spine.
Press your chin into your chest. Hold this position for 5 minutes. This
pose releases pressure on all the organs and stimulates the thyroid gland.
(Khalsa, 1996)
 Appendix F

Math Trail

Come and explore the school community by foot

And do so mathematically!
What should be in your travelling Math kit
Clipboard / notebook (surface for writing)
Pencils (few colours)
Ruler (in cm)
Measuring tape (in cm)
Watch
Graph paper
Trundle wheel

* = Further work required in the classroom

(Developed by A. Neves, 2006)

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Introduction
Welcome! I hope you enjoy the mathematical tour of our community.

The activity that you will be participating in today is commonly called a

Math Trail. Think of it as a guided walk with mathematics questions and you will
have a good idea of what to expect today. At each stop on the Trail, you will be
presented with math problems related to products in stores, to art, design and
architecture, urban planning and other things encountered along the route.
Some of the questions are meant to be answered today while others are to be
worked on after the Trail. Questions that are to be completed later on in the
classroom are preceded by an *. For the questions that are to be done later, be
sure to record any requested measurements or observations. Without this
information you will have trouble coming back to the questions after the Trail.

You will probably encounter questions where it is not clear what you are
supposed to do and I urge you to discuss possible strategies with members of
your group and with your Leader. Give every question a good try, but if you find
that you are getting bogged down and getting nowhere, the best thing to do is to
move on to the next question. The unanswered questions will get done at a later
date so don’t spend too much time spinning your wheels. Move on!

One of the main goals of this project is to give you an opportunity to see,
do and appreciate mathematics in a setting outside of the classroom and away
from your textbook. The Trail has been designed to help you look at things
differently and to think in a more creative manner. By the end of the Trail you will
have seen many examples of how mathematics is used in the world around us.
The practical nature of this project should provide you with additional reasons for
why mathematics is important and for why you need to learn as much as you can
about this beautiful subject.

Math Trails are a novel approach to teaching and learning mathematics.

Many students all across America are going off on a number of Trails set in a
variety of locations all across Canada and the United States. Students really
enjoy the outings and learn a great deal of mathematics as a result. It is my
hope that you will too. I believe that through this kind of activity you will change
your attitude towards mathematics and that you will derive many benefits from
this Trail.

I have developed this Math Trail as a review of all the major concepts
taught in the Grade 4 and 5 Math curricula. I have decided to take Mathematics
outside into the community to show you how mathematics is all around us and is
connected to our world. I hope you enjoy this opportunity to explore
mathematical concepts in and around our school community. Remember to have
fun, think creatively and work together to solve the questions. Also remember to
behave responsibly and remember that your behaviour is a reflection on our
school in the community. Enjoy!!!
 163

The Trail
For all the questions in this Math trail it is expected that you will include some
work to show how you arrived at your answers. As you walk with this booklet
in your hands, it is going to be rather difficult for you to write your notes in an
organized and coherent manner. One suggestion is for you to use the back
of the pages for your preliminary work today and then at a later date you can
use the space given for each question for your final answers.

Question 1. How old is our school?

Walk down the stairs to the main floor. Walk outside the building through the
main entrance. Low to the ground, on the brick wall facing the west side, you will
find the date when the school was erected.

Using only your mental math skills, calculate how old the school is. Explain how
you found your answer.
 164

Question 2. Life is a Picnic

Continue the Math trail by walking east along East St. and enter the
fenced in area where the picnic tables are located. Although life is a picnic, this
question certainly is not, so take your time and use a T-chart or diagram to help
you.

Eight people can sit at each table using stools from the storage room. Refer to
the one-table configuration below.

When two of these tables are put together, they can seat 14 people.
a) How many people can you seat if you put three picnic tables together end to
end?
b) Four?
c) All five tables?
 165

d) What about 100 tables?

*Explain how you were able to find your answers. How does the number of
people change as the number of tables increases?
Question 3. Fire away!
Just outside the picnic area, beside the sidewalk, there is a fire hydrant.

a) Estimate the distance between this fire hydrant and the next fire hydrant.
b) Predict how many fire hydrants you would expect to find if you walked all
around the block (east along East St., north along North St., west along
West St., and south along South St.)
c) Check your group’s predictions by walking around the block once and
counting the number of fire hydrants you see (on either side of each
street.)
d) *Why are there fire hydrants at regular intervals?
e) *Do you feel that the interval between fire hydrants is a safe one? Why or
why not?
 166

Question 4. Happy Garden

Walk east along East St. Cross the street and enter the Happy Garden
Centre.

Sarah went to shop for flowers at Happy Garden. She bought 2

carnations.
In the same centre, Nathan bought 9 roses and paid $36.00.
If the prices for roses and carnations are the same, how much did Sarah
pay for the carnations?
Explain how you found your answer.
 167

Question 5. Happy farms - Juice up your life

Go into Happy Farms. Once you have passed the entrance stalls, turn
right and head for the JUICE section.

Examine the cost of Tropicana Juice. There are a variety of flavours and
different sizes of containers. Which of the juices offers you the most value for
your money? That is, in terms of the volume content and cost, which juice jug,
carton or box offers you more juice for the least amount of money? Explain how
you found your answer.
 168

Question 6. Happy farms - Snap, Crackle, Pop …

Numbers!

In Happy Farms, find the aisle that has cereals.

a) On the shelves, locate the three cereals: Froot Loops, Nesquik and
Lucky charms. Of these three, which is the best source of protein and
has the least amount of fat?

b) Select 5 other cereals on the shelf and examine their nutrition facts.
Which cereal is the healthiest choice in terms of protein, mineral and
vitamin content with a low percentage of sugar and fat?

c) How were you able to compare your cereal choices and how did you
select the healthiest choice for your family?

d) *If your family ate one box of the cereal you selected in (b) every 2
weeks, estimate the cost of buying that cereal for your family over a
period of one year.
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Question 7. O’Canada

Exit Happy Farms. Walk east to the end of East St. On the northwest
corner of East St., along Happy Farms’ wall, high above your head, you will see a
number of flags with a maple leaf.

a) How many lines of symmetry can you find? Draw them above.

b) Which shapes are congruent?

c) *Below design your own flag where there are lines of symmetry,
congruent as well as similar shapes.

d) *Draw the reflection of your flag.

e) *Draw your flag after a 90˚ clockwise rotation.

 170

Question 8. Stop Idling

Go to the northwest corner of East St. and Carnation St. Stand just outside
Happy Farms.

a) Stand there for several minutes and record the number of vehicles that
you observe idling.
1. Record how long the vehicle idles in minutes.
2. Note the make and model of the idling vehicles.
3. Note the gender of the driver.

Record the data in a tally chart.

b) *Draw a graph to record the data you collected. Be sure to include all the
elements of a graph such as
Title
Appropriate scale
Labels for both axes

**Be sure to select the most appropriate graph.

c) *Write some statements about what the data tells you.

d) *From the data you collected and analyzed, is idling a problem outside of
Happy Farms? Please support your answer with information from your graph.
 171

Question 9. What a pane!

Walk to the back of the school and stand in front of the windows that face
the primary play structure. This question is going to be a “pane” so take your
time.

Stand back and look at the arrangement of panes of glass. Count the
number of rectangles that can be found in each window.

a) Suppose that you have eight windows with a similar design. How many
rectangular windows do you need to purchase?
b) *Now imagine that a new school is being built with 100 of these windows.
How many rectangles would be in the arrangements?
c) *Develop a general rule for counting the total number of rectangles in this
type of window design? Explain how you found your answer.
 172

Question 10. Sand pit

Go to the school yard. Walk towards the sand pit. Above your head, look
at the design on the wooden hut that covers the pit.

a) Draw the next five elements of the pattern.

b) Describe the pattern using your own words.

c) *Draw and describe a pattern that you might like to see in the schoolyard.
 173

Question 11. Parking Lot

Walk towards the school parking lot at the rear of the school facing
Daffodil Ave.

a) Estimate the perimeter of the parking lot. Is your answer reasonable?

Why or why not?
b) Calculate the perimeter of the parking lot. Explain how you found your
answer.
c) Estimate the area of the parking lot.
d) Calculate the area of the parking lot. Explain how you found your
answer.
e) *If the student population increased significantly and ten new teachers
had to be hired, how much larger would the parking lot need to be?
Explain how you arrived at your answer.
 174

Question 12. Take your best shot!

Go to the basketball court located in the schoolyard, facing Daffodil Ave.
Each member of your group will throw a basketball into the hoop 12 times.

a) Predict the probability that he / she will score as a fraction. For example,
3/12; 4/12; 5/12; 7/12 etc

b) Carry out an experiment to test your prediction. Record your results in a

table.

Name of student Prediction of number of Number of baskets

baskets scored actually scored (record as
n/12 a fraction) n/12

c) *What is the average number of baskets scored by your group members.

Explain how you calculated this answer.
 175

Question 13. School Apparatus

Walk to the junior playscape in the west side of the school yard.

a) Estimate what would be a safe number of students to play on the school

apparatus at the same time.
b) What fraction of the school population in grades 4-6 can play on the
apparatus at recess time?
c) *Explain what factors you considered before arriving at your answer as
well as how you obtained your answer.
 176

Question 14. United we stand!

Walk back towards East St. under the beautiful bridge that joins both
schools.

Without actually measuring, estimate the height of the bridge in metres. Explain
how you found your answer.
 177

Question 15. Our Grads

Walk back inside the school, through the main entrance. In front of the
Principal’s office, there are several photos. (Remember to be especially quiet so
as not to disturb anyone in the office. SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!)
 178

a) Suppose that it is necessary to take down all of these photos and separate
them for cleaning. Imagine they had to be placed back on only one wall,
the wall opposite the main office which has a mural drawn on it. How
many different ways could you arrange the photos? Draw all the possible
arrays.

b) Considering the space available, what is the best way to arrange the
photos? Explain your answer.
 179

Question 16. Time is ticking

In the main office, just through the door, there is a clock above the
receptionist’s desk. Without opening the door or disturbing the office staff in any
way, look at the time.

a) What time is it using the 12-hour system? Using the 24-hour system?
b) Estimate the size of the angle between the minute and the hour hands?
c) At what time will the minute and the hour hands form
1. an acute angle
2. a right angle
3. an obtuse angle
4. a straight angle

d) When was the last time the minute and hour hands overlapped? At what
other times will both hands of the clock overlap?
e) *If you eat supper at 6:30 p.m. How much longer is it until dinner time?
 180

*Question 17. Tell me the time

In the puzzle given below, each letter represents a digit from 0 to 9. Any
given letter stands for just one digit. In other words, the value of T cannot be
say 3 in one place and 9 in another place. Two different letters cannot stand
for the same digit. So E and L can’t both be say 7. Also the first letter of any
word cannot be 0. There are 65 solutions to this puzzle. Find as many of
them as you can. Explain your solution(s).

T E L L
ME
T H E
T I M E

(Adapted from a question created by R. Lancaster, 2001)

 181

Question 18. Pal of mine

Travel (very, very quietly) around the school (both East and West
buildings).

a) Which room numbers are palindromes?

b) What is the percentage or ratio of numbers that are palindromes to

numbers that are not? Explain how you found your answer.
 182

*Question 19. More questions to ponder

This marks the end of the prepared questions for this Trail. However, this
is not the end of the Trail. It is now your turn to develop Math trail questions that
can be used by other groups in the class or even other classes in the school.
The experience of having done some or all of these questions should make it
easier for you to come up with questions of your own.

Create five mathematical questions related to any strand in the

mathematics curriculum or any location covered in the Math trail.

With your group, you will need to develop your mathematical questions as
well as solutions. Try to be as specific and clear as possible.

Later on, you will be asked to share your questions with the rest of the class
in a brief oral presentation.

Be creative and challenge your

mathematical mind!!!