Blogger, Artist, Social Media, Web Designer, Photographer- I blog about nouns-people, places and things, even when it's negative I try to put a positive spin on it. @tinawinterlikfb https://tinawinterlik.blogspot.com
It has definitely been a while. I have contemplated shutting down this blog, so much has changed since I started it. We can discuss that later but for now here is the reason I felt compelled to ACT!
One of the things I hear is a lot of talk but see very little ACTION! Yesterday I saw action. I witnessed a wonderful inspiring ceremony of de-colonization and a small step in the right direction.
I am not going to say much more please look at the photos and watch the video. Sorry it is lacking a lot of credits but I wanted to share it while it is fresh.
For Information about the Legacy Project please visit this link
In honour of truth and reconciliation, the District partnered with
local Indigenous artists to bring one 44-foot Reconciliation Pole and
two Welcome Figures to the Education Centre. A collection of three
poles together is a national first for a public school.
Recognizing that the District is on the traditional unceded territory
of Indigenous land, we wanted to acknowledge the important role the
Indigenous culture plays by installing these three poles. Carved out of
300 to 500 year-old cedar logs, the poles are a reminder of the
District’s connection to the First peoples, the Musqueam nation whose
unceded lands the Education Centre resides as well as, the surrounding
nations of the Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish Coast Salish peoples and the
urban indigenous community.
On June 21, 2019, on National Indigenous Peoples Day, the District
will publicly unveil the Reconciliation Pole and two Welcome Figures.
Please join us from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Education Centre (1580 West
Broadway, Vancouver) or stream the ceremony live at Legacy - Live Broadcast Part 1 and Part 2. Witness the unveiling ceremony and cultural teachings of Indigenous drummers and singers. We’re carving a legacy for current and future VSB students #VSBLegacy
I am so tired, yesterday, well for the last two days I was been building a website, with social media an photography for my new friend Maggie. We met at Langara College, she was in the lobby selling hand-made soaps. I love hand made soap and seeing the name of the soap I felt an instant connection. Angel Silk and Suds and my kid's name is Angel. http://angelsilknsuds.blogspot.ca/
I just felt the universe was telling me something...so I listened.
And the universe was obviously telling that Supreme Court something and thank goodness for the sake of all the kids, teachers, parents they listened.
What's been going on in this province for the entire life of my child has been insanity.
"After 14 years of acrimony, after 14 years of disrespecting classrooms, the end of the road is here for Christy Clark and her disrespecting classrooms," said Horgan.
"The ongoing dispute dates back to 2002, when the province used legislation to strip teachers of their right to bargain class size and composition. The union says the province will now have to provide resources for class size and composition that date back to levels from when the legal dispute began"
It was obvious in the first year my kid attended, in Kindergarten she had 4 teachers, we moved but still 4, 2 in Nelson, 2 in Vancouver.
I home-schooled her for Grades 1, 2, 3, half of Grade 4 and half or grade 5
When I put her back in she had some great teachers for grades 4, 5, and 6 but...
In the 7th grade she had 16 teachers.
NO! I can hear you say! WHAT! It's true, one teacher was off sick, she never came back and they kept putting in substitutes, teacher would stay, leave, more substitutes, teacher would come, move, more substitutes. We counted. I do you think my kid learned good things that year. She saw a lot of misbehaviour I will tell you and she saw the stress on the teachers and well it was enough to want me to pull her out and never put her back.
But she insisted she wanted to go to Grade 8....now she's in Grade 9. But I don't think she's learning the stuff she needs, a lot is really dated and they don't even cover First Nations Issues until Grade 10 I am told. They are not teaching important things about Unceded Territories and Treaties and the truth about Canada's origins and truth of what has happened in the last 150 years.
It's all one sided because the text books are old and there had been no money for so long. The system is really a mess and Christy Clark is to blame for that. She is a big bully and she caused so much of this grief.
This was my daughter's experience after the first day of Grade 1. I pulled her out. I had been planning to take her to Mexico but this was the catalyst, who gives a kid a time out on the first day of Grade one. Obviously a super stressed out teacher that shouldn't be teaching.
I let Angel do the video to sort of de-brief her and help her express what she wanted to tell that teacher. My video battery was low so the second doesn't say everything...but you get the drift. The teacher asked "Anyone have any news " and from outside the door I heard silence. I knew something was really wrong because Angel would definitely have spoken up.
I have been blogging about this stuff for such a long time, it will
be nice to see something happen for my kid's last years of high school and
for other people's children and for the Teachers, and Teacher's Aids
this is huge!! https://tinawinterlik.blogspot.ca/2011/04/change-education-system.html?m=0
Because our children are our future and when you send your kid off to be taught by strangers for 7 hours a day, you want that person to be happy and well-adjusted, that they have slept well and and that they are not super over stressed, tired and cranky or not with it and not caring because they are overwhelmed because there are just too many kids and to many problems to deal with.
The education system of BC has some really evil beginnings with the Residential Schools and the legacy is living on and the only way to counter act it is to have great teachers with smaller class sizes where children can really be heard and learn in a healthy situation.
It hasn't been easy, I will admit and sometimes I wondered why in the world am I putting myself through it, but I am getting through and I believe I will do something good. That something really wonderful will come from it. I have a super kind instructor Aaron Nelson Moody and there's Dr. Justin Wilson and he really cares about us all so much, there's a wonderful elder Shane Pointe that hates to be called elder...so I will call him Wise One and they all care about us so much, they care about all the indigenous and non-indigenous and together we are going through and Apocalypse. Ha! Ha!
That's Shane's word. "Apocalypse" Do you know what that really means, everyone thinks it means war or the end of the world but it actually means the "disclosure of knowledge"
Wow, so grateful to have found this video today. We are not in our Reconciliation Carving Class today because it's Remembrance Day so to find this video brought great comfort to me. We are so blessed to have Shane Pointe come to our class each week. He is so kind and his wisdom had brought us great strength and while we deal with very serious issues he sheds light on so many things but always encourages to "have fun!! " Love this man!!
“My goal,” says Pointe “Is to build cultural awareness through teachable moments, using language, culture and ceremony to enhance the life of students.”
Shane Pointe is from the Point family and is a proud member of the Musqueam and Coast Salish people. He is a highly respected Musqueam community member, ceremonial traditional speaker and cultural educator. He provides protocol and ceremonial guidance for many cultural events – locally, nationally and internationally.
He has worked in various capacities such as: Aboriginal Support Worker (AEEW VSB), Trial Support Coordinator for the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, Native Alcohol and Drug Awareness Program worker with the Musqueam Indian Band, in the Longhouse Leadership Program at the First Nations House of Learning (University of British Columbia), and most recently providing support to the Aboriginal Mothers Centre.
The Apocalypse is upon us, what opportunities we incur is up to us. The world is our oyster. The children are our future.
The time of transformation is upon us. How will the education system be transform we must wait and see. I believe there must be a lot of art
Title: Tail of Tears Media: Oil on Canvas Size: 30" × 40" Artist: Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
The water drops represent the tears of all Residential School
Children, their parent's tears and my tears having read and learned
their terrible fate. I was reading The Survivors Speak and crying while I painted them.
One thing I hope that they encourage is for everyone to learn the truth and to learn about their ancestry. So much has been hidden and if we find out who we are and who our relations are, we will find we are all related and that in itself will bring us together. I have learned so much since I started this course about who my family was and I have alot more to discover. https://mylangaratrccarvingjourney.blogspot.ca/2016/11/enos-poirier-ancestry-kalapuya-iroquois.html
And we need to teach the children to find their voices and speak up for the environment like in Standing Rock and to protect our Coast. #SaveMyCoast http://savemycoast.blogspot.ca/
and like this
The Survivor's Totem Pole - Pigeon Park- DTES
A Survivor's Totem Pole raised by communities struggling for justice and dignity in the Downtown Eastside since colonization, it honours First Nations, LGBTQ, Japanese, Chinese and South Asian survivors of racism and injustice
On Nov 5 2016, a historic moment in time occurred. Here are some of the interviews and photos and videos I created to document this, so that it can live on and never be forgotten.
I hope that the education will encourage this. Now we will have to wait and see what happens but I am hopeful. This is all great news. I had a sign the other day. It was double rainbows. I believe in signs.
And this Win for the BCTF in the Supreme Court is a sign of great things to come.
Lululemon has agreed
to fund the development of a school garden at Henry Hudson Elementary.
The next step is to put together an application for the VSB to approve
the design. They are looking among the Hudson parent community for a
professional landscaper or landscape designer to help with render the
ideas in a way that will really capture the attention of the school
board.
If anyone has this skill and can volunteer a few hours to help
create the living laboratory in the cycle of life, please contact B.
Loughney at bloughney@gmail.com
