Canada's Sports Hall of Fame

he Alberta school board has introduced a new aspect to their curriculum involving Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Not only will students have their day-to-day physical education but also the schools have initiated a program in September 2011 that involves a two-hour visit to the institute where the students are given the opportunity to explore a part of Canadian history, experience a stories of iconic athletes and participate in work shops aimed at different learning programs
.  It aims to show the students a more hands on approach to different types of learning and how all aspects of learning can be related to one another.

            This type of alternative schooling is becoming popular in the ever-changing world of education. Students seem to have less of an attention span for in class learning and are increasingly more interested in experiencing things hands on. This program gives students an interactive look at Canada’s sports history in a way they would not be able to experience in the classroom. One may wonder how something like this would fit into the Canadian curriculum as field trips become less and less frequent but they claim that it is applicable to areas of study such as language arts, fine arts, social studies and science trained programs. Each of the different programs is aimed at a different age group, from primary to grade 12, making this a somewhat unique experience for students of all ages. The programs offered by Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame are innovative in the sense that they get students out of the classroom and learning in a different manner, while still adhering to the traditional lesson groups of the standard curriculum

            In the theme of George Dei’s work, where he examines underprivileged schools that lack the funding for such programs, the Hall of Fame offers funding for schools that cannot afford to send their students on such outings. All the teacher has to do is fill out an application form for assistance and wait to see if they are approved. This becomes an example of his concept, community schooling, where the community takes on responsibility for their students and the education they are receiving. He states that the community is not expected to educate their youth but it is responsible for contributing a positive experience. With positive reinforcement from the community and accessible resources for all of the students, an overall more positive schooling experience can be had. Students given equal opportunities both in and outside of the classroom are more apt to succeed, thus these types of programs can be vital for those students who may not have such an opportunity based on their individual cultural capital.  

http://www.sportshall.ca/get-involved/education-programs/