Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Celebrating 20 Years of Black History Month in Canada

NAMC montessori black history month prominent canadians

I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me ... all I ask is that you respect me as a human being.
— Jackie Robinson (1946 Montreal Royals, the first professional Black baseball player in the major leagues)

February is Black History Month in Canada and the United States. This year marks Canada’s 20th anniversary of celebrating Black History Month. (In the United States, Black History Month has been officially recognized since 1976.) This year, another milestone has been reached as Ontario passed legislation on February 16, 2016 to “formally recognize February as Black History Month on an annual basis.” This makes Ontario the third Canadian province, along with Quebec and British Columbia, to officially recognize the achievements and contributions of people who have defined Canada’s Black history.

NAMC montessori black history month canada poster
Black History Month 2016 poster, courtesy of the Government of Canada

Black History Month in the Montessori Classroom: An Important Part of Canada, The US, and the World


In the Montessori classroom, discussing Black History Month is a significant way of introducing the many and continuing accomplishments of Canada’s Black community. From Mathieu Da Costa, who worked as a translator for Samuel de Champlain in 1605 and is recognized as the first Black person to come to Canada; to Willie O'Ree, the first Black player in the National Hockey League; to Anne Cools, the first Black person to become a Canadian senator, the substantial and diverse historical contributions of individuals lend themselves to rich and fulfilling exploration by the students across every area of curriculum.

For ideas of how you can present Black History Month in your Montessori classroom, we offer the following suggestions:


— NAMC Staff
As much as possible, NAMC’s web blog reflects the Montessori curriculum as provided in its teacher training programs. We realize and respect that Montessori schools are unique and may vary their schedules and offerings in accordance with the needs of their individual communities. We hope that our readers will find our articles useful and inspiring as a contribution to the global Montessori community.
© North American Montessori Center - originally posted in its entirety at Montessori Teacher Training on Tuesday, February 23, 2016.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Have questions or comments? Let us know what you thought about this article!

We appreciate feedback and love to discuss with our readers further.

NAMC Blog Inquiries Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Search the NAMC Montessori Teacher Training Blog

Are you interested in reading back through NAMC's blog articles from years gone by, or for more information on a specific topic?

Browse a select list of our most popular categories below; by clicking on one, you will see every article posted under that topic since 2007. You may also use the lower archive menu to select a year and month, displaying all blog posts in the chosen time frame.

If you are seeking a range of information on a certain topic or idea, try this search box for site-wide keyword results.

Choose From a List of Popular Article Topics

NAMC Montessori Series

Montessori Philosophy and Methodology

Montessori Classroom Management

The School Year

Montessori Materials

Montessori Curriculum

Montessori Infant/Toddler (0–3) Program

Montessori Early Childhood (3–6) Program

Montessori Elementary (6–12) Programs

What is Montessori?

Search Archives for Montessori Blog Posts by Date


Thank you to the NAMC Montessori community!

NAMC has been providing quality Montessori distance training and curriculum development to Montessorians around the globe for more than 25 years. Since beginning in 1996, we have grown to build a fantastic community of students, graduates, and schools in over 160 countries. We are grateful for your continued support and dedication to furthering the reach and success of the Montessori method.