Restructuring the Historical Framework

The current Alberta Social Studies curriculum places a strong emphasis on recognizing the importance of multiple perspectives in the interpretation of Canada's past.With the limited time and the multitude of historical perspectives that are vying for acknowledgement and attention, teachers have to deal with incorporating various historical interpretations, stories, and social issues which are all equally significant into their lessons.In order for teachers to deal with multiple perspectives, it is not enough for teachers to merely "add on" the alternative perspectives to the grand narrative, doing so will not "escape the framework of the grand narrative" (Stanley, 2006, p. 41).The main focus still remains on the Europeans, but with attempts to "multiculturalize" the story (Stanley, 2006, p. 40).Social Studies teachers should approach dealing with the various perspectives that compete for veracity by restructuring the historical framework in which multiple perspectives become embedded.Add-ons only allow for enrichment of historical content, but the embedding of multiple perspectives creates the tension of disrupted common sense thinking (Tupper & Cappello, 2008, p. 566) as a requirement for the possibility of "narrative competence"the ability to weave and learn from multiple story-ings of Canada's past (Rsen, c.f. in den Heyer, 2005, p. 2)The three drawings that I have created represent the progression from the overall arching grand narrative of Canadian history to the introduction and embedding of the multiple perspectives to aid the possible narrative competence of the student.The silencing of the "others" and their interpretations of the past are represented by the components of the first drawing which takes place in a study hall.This setting is important because it instils a sense of silence that prevails over the perspectives that struggle to be heard.The room is suitably named the "Hall of Collective Memories" because it represents what "we" have chosen to remember and what "we" have chosen to forget (Francis, 1997, p. 11).The Eurocentric perspective, characterized by the eye, maintains the focus of the drawing as the Canadian Pacific Railway, symbolizing the creation of myths, runs through the partitioned wall.The CPR creates the "invented image" of who is defined as a Canadian (Francis, 1997, p. 27), thus creating the insiders and outsiders of history.Outside the wall the voices of the others have become faint echoes that go unheard and are kept enclosed in the books, which are told through the perspective the "white man."The others' interpretations remain only as "side bars" (Stanley, 2006, p. 42) of the page, perpetuating the notion that, although incorporated in the grand narrative, they will always be outside and never included within the text of the grand narrative.

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