Governor General Honours Finest Canadian History Teachers

Governor General Honours Finest Canadian History Teachers

by
EB Lapointe

On Tuesday, November 29, 2005, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, presented—at Rideau Hall in Ottawa—nine teachers with the Governor General's Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History.

The prize was established in 1996 by Canada's National History Society. Every year, the award recognizes a teacher "who has inspired and challenged students about Canadian history, be it through social studies, economics, political studies, contemporary studies or geography."

This year's teachers are:

Jean-François Bélanger - Teaches at École Primaire King George in Calgary, Alberta. He took his students along a Japanese Arctic expedition via the Internet.

Linda-Rae Carson - Teaches at the Harry Ainlay High School in Edmonton, Alberta. She, along with her students, explored the connections between family history and Canadian history.

Paul Gifford - Teaches at Sedbergh High School in Montebello, Quebec. His students learned the virtues of solidarity by embarking on a snowshoe expedition and building log cabins.

Sheila Hetherington and Jerry Berridge - Teach history at Unionville High School in Unionville, Ontario. Their students created documentaries of people in their communities.

Valérie Rivard and Caroline Ricard - They teach at École Wilfrid-Pelletier in Anjou, Quebec and helped the students increase their knowledge of New France by acting out historical figures and putting on a large period banquet at the school gymnasium.

Loretta Stabler and Patti Thorne - Teaching at Millarville Community School in Millarville, Alberta, their students designed a web site and produced an operetta celebrating Alberta's centennial.

The Governor General concluded her remarks by saying, "I salute your students and thank you most sincerely for the energy, determination and originally with which you have sought to awaken an interest in history in our youth. Through your dynamic, personalized approach to teaching history, you have shown your students the history begins with each individual and continues as each of us adds our own story."

03 December, 2005