Fun Fun on YouTube! Sharing Teacher Tips and Tricks for Truth and Reconciliation Lessons in Multicultural Classrooms

Yes, I’m still on YouTube and Tik Tok and all that jazz ranting away LOL.... but I’m also starting a new Youtube playlist specifically for anyone interested in learning or thinking about Truth and Reconciliation - AKA the TRC....which let's be real, should be every Canadian and human in Canada, and I'd go further to say every American as well, but that is a whole further story that I would like to not address right now, because I am trying to focus on where I can make change, and that for now, is in the northern part of Turtle Island.

https://www.youtube.com/@LavenderLibraryPress

This playlist ideally will resonate with Canadian teachers, citizens and newcomers, who are genuinely trying to engage with Truth and Reconciliation, but who might be feeling unsure, overwhelmed, or afraid of “getting it wrong.” If that’s you, you’re not alone, and I’d sincerely like to help (even though I can be saucy at times, LOL).

In my latest video, I talk about how I blended Eastern and Western creation stories in my English Literature classes while teaching predominantly ESL/ELL/EFL students in a BC offshore school in China. The goal wasn’t to be perfect. The goal was to practice listening, practice non-judgmental comparison, engage in respectful community building, and perspective-taking... skills that, in my opinion, sit at the heart of Truth and Reconciliation work and need to be shared and practiced more freely.

I spent ten years teaching abroad and recently returned to Canada with serious culture shock (more on that elsewhere, LOL). Coming home has made me reflect deeply on education, identity, responsibility, and the gaps we still need to address... especially in how we teach history, stories, and whose voices we centre when we talk about them inside and outside of the classroom.

So here’s what I’m doing: I’m sharing everything I can... freely and without gatekeeping (because holy moly, the gatekeeping over here is real too! More on that elsewhere too, LOL) I am sharing everything and anything: My strategies. My classroom approaches. My curriculum thinking. My resources (even the imperfect ones).

Because right now, I believe openness, transparency, and 'realness; serve our communities better than 'perfection' and one-sided stories.

For context, my name is Ashley, and I’ve spent my career working across classrooms, countries, and curricula. I’ve been an English, Drama, French, and substitute teacher; a department head; a curriculum writer and editor; an assessment and evaluation coordinator; and a quality-assurance reviewer across international school systems. I’ve worked with curricula from Canada, Australia, the UK, and the United States, and I’m certified to teach in both Alberta and BC. I care deeply about thoughtful curriculum design, ethical teaching, and lifelong learning... including my own.

This new Youtube playlist is an extension of that work. It’s not about having all the answers. It’s about modelling a growth mindset, asking better questions, and giving teachers and all people on Turtle Island the permission to learn alongside each other.

I’ve also linked the creation-story videos I reference in the episode... and full transparency: I didn’t deeply vet every source beforehand. That, too, can be part of the lesson. Whose point of view is this? Who is telling the story? Who benefits? What’s missing?

Those questions matter.

You’re welcome to watch, adapt, remix, share, and use anything I post in ways that serve your classroom, your community, your whoever, LOL. And if you have questions, concerns, or ideas, please share them. Sharing really is caring.

However, please do not take my kindness for weakness ;) You have been pre-warned. I am a survivor. I have my own trauma. I try to keep it healed, but triggers are real and so are bullies, so rather than bully...let's agree to disagree and move on ;)

Cheers to curiosity! Cheers to growth mindsets! And cheers to doing the work of Truth and Reconciliation together here on Turtle Island.

Link to all my videos

https://www.youtube.com/@LavenderLibraryPress