The Natural Connections Project is a multi-media education-based series showcasing the very best of aboriginal schools, challenging adversity through innovative teaching practices.
When students face real world problems they must search for methods, skills and knowledge to help them overcome these challenges. In project based work the students can develop their own sense of responsibility, organize and manage their time accordingly and take real pride in a finished product. By adopting this approach in certain areas of the curriculum, schools instill a unique set of skills into their students that will serve them for life.
On location, we aim to give back to the school community in our own way, as well as to create a bond with the students and facility. Through the use of new technology, the Natural Connections Project will collaborate with the students and staff to form an introductory course in multimedia creation. We will interact with the students to plan projects, develop their own visions and use photography, video, & storytelling to document their own world through the lens.
Over the course of a pre-determined time the students will work with our team learning fieldwork practises, shooting stories, building slideshows and watching short presentations by our instructors.This will culminate in a final projection of the best student work from the workshop and discussions.

Problema

Currently, the community demographic indicates that Bella Bella has more than 50% of its population under the age of 25. This is mirrored on a national scale as First Nations youth are now the fastest growing demographic in Canada. Studies in 2006 state 61 per cent of on-reserve First Nations from the ages of 20 to 24 hadn't graduated from high school. If you are a student on a reserve, finishing school and breaking out of the poverty trap, does not look promising. However, the woodworking class of Bella Bella Community School is challenging threats by doing something new. The school not only excelled in offering literacy support programs, such as long-distance learning, but they also took a practical approach to creative education. A Hand To Stand is a short film that documents the story of a group of teenagers as they craft their own Stand Up Paddleboards. Made out of locally- sourced red and yellow cedar, the boards allow students to propel themselves through their traditional territory in a contemporary experience. We see this changing community as an inspiring case study within the Natural Connections Project. In this story, by allowing a flexible curriculum, Bella Bella Community School creates an inspirational learning approach, where the children are energized to connect with their environment and take pride in themselves and their education and culture. We believe that if First Nations students can see themselves in the workforce, they will succeed.

Solução

Bringing this engaging story to light through new media, training and outreach, we seek to inspire schools across the province to take up a modern and practical attitude to creativity in an educational setting. In this story, by allowing a flexible curriculum, Bella Bella Community School creates an inspirational learning approach, where the children are energized to connect with their environment. This in turn contributes to overall class attendance, a more positive attitude in the educational setting, and allows the kids to get a better understanding of their traditional territory and expand their horizons. We will work closely with school communities to both document and inspire kids to create their own stories. This will empower them and connect youth with the lands and waters of their traditional territories through an active lifestyle. We also seek to engage a new generation of teachers with the challenges and rewards of progressive learning.

Exemplo

Bringing this engaging story to light through new media, training and outreach, we seek to inspire schools across the province to take up a modern and practical attitude to creativity in an educational setting. In this story, by allowing a flexible curriculum, Bella Bella Community School creates an inspirational learning approach, where the children are energized to connect with their environment. This in turn contributes to overall class attendance, a more positive attitude in the educational setting, and allows the kids to get a better understanding of their traditional territory and expand their horizons. We will work closely with school communities to both document and inspire kids to create their own stories. This will empower them and connect youth with the lands and waters of their traditional territories through an active lifestyle. We also seek to engage a new generation of teachers with the challenges and rewards of progressive learning.

Ofertas e demandas

Bringing this engaging story to light through new media, training and outreach, we seek to inspire schools across the province to take up a modern and practical attitude to creativity in an educational setting. In this story, by allowing a flexible curriculum, Bella Bella Community School creates an inspirational learning approach, where the children are energized to connect with their environment. This in turn contributes to overall class attendance, a more positive attitude in the educational setting, and allows the kids to get a better understanding of their traditional territory and expand their horizons. We will work closely with school communities to both document and inspire kids to create their own stories. This will empower them and connect youth with the lands and waters of their traditional territories through an active lifestyle. We also seek to engage a new generation of teachers with the challenges and rewards of progressive learning.