Ken Stanski

Indigenous Knowledges

Ken makes regular efforts to include Indigenous histories, knowledges, and perspectives in his teaching, with many Indigenous students at the school coming from the nearby reserve. Ken explained that he tries to “weave into my curriculum, both in social studies and military studies, whenever possible, topics relevant to Indigenous culture, language and history.”

In his program of military studies, Ken emphasizes Indigenous Canadians’ contributions to World War I and World War II, saying, “I have talked about and will continue to talk about Indigenous Canadians who volunteered and fought within World War One and fought within World War Two.” He talks about the lack of recognition these veterans received after the war, stating, “the recognition of their contribution to their country was basically discarded by Canada.”

Ken has worked independently to to learn more about the field of Indigenous Studies. He explained that when he went to university, Indigenous Studies were not taught much at the post-secondary level. As such, his learning has been through “professional reading” to supplement his knowledge.

Historical Thinking

Ken first encountered historical thinking in his graduate studies. He explained that learning about the “Big Six” historical thinking concepts was important for shaping his teaching practice. One of Ken’s favourite historical thinking lessons is teaching Canadian nationalism in grade 11, using World War I as a case study. He has an assignment called the “trench project” where students are asked to create a product – a diorama, a video game, a diary – to show their learning about trench warfare. “They then have to explain to me in a written piece how trench warfare and national interest affected soldiers and citizens and related to their nationalism after the war,” Ken explained.

Ken also pointed out that the history outcomes in the curriculum tends to have strong European bias which usually means “old white men” with a lack of attention to Indigenous peoples and people of colour. As a result Ken supplements the curriculum to include histories of marginalized groups saying “If any of those histories are touched on, it’s because I draw them out from history or from current events.” Ken also works to include women and gender issues in military studies. He said, “Within military studies, I focus on womens’ role in World War One and the growing change of society’s reaction to women before, during and after World War Two.” 

Curriculum & Resources

Ken said the outdatedness of the curriculum is a significant challenge he faces, explaining that “the problem is the curriculum is old. It’s ancient. written around 2010 or 2009.” As such, he said the resources are equally outdated. Still, he acknowledged a strength of the curriculum, as it  “does attempt to cover and include minority groups,” including Indigenous peoples, people of color, and women. He noted that although European history has traditionally neglected these groups, the curriculum has made an effort to include them.

Ken explained that the best resource for teaching history has been his own experiences, especially through student trips to Europe. He stressed the importance of going to actual historical sites, explaining that “students tend to understand and remember history if they live it.” He has gone with students to places such as Dieppe and concentration camps in Germany, and he plans to go back next spring. These trips, he said, make “a huge impact on students and their learning and their memory of history.”

Co-created by Ken Stanski and Christine Cheng