Tonja Armstrong-MacInnis – Care and Social Justice

Some footage used in this video was filmed prior to the pandemic and may not depict social distancing measures.

Transcription – Tonja Armstrong-MacInnis – 2021 Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Education

[Photo, with voice over. Photo: A teacher and her students outside. Music playing.]

"Every student, every child that I've ever worked with has something that is key to who they are."

[Fade to white with a medium shot of woman, smiling, on the right side of the screen, with the following words appearing, line by line, on the left: Tonja Armstrong-MacInnis, The Linden School, Toronto, Ontario. Music playing.]

[Cut to Tonja in the interview setting.]

"So whether that be them learning through you know, movement, through music, through oral you know presentations or something like that. I always try to find that balance and really zone into who they are and their sharing as a unique, whole individual."

[Fade to black and then up to Tonja in the interview setting.]

"I think the biggest challenge that I've had to overcome is not being with the students in person. I'm very much a relationships-driven person. And working with younger students we are quite loving, and caring, and physical. So it's been really hard to move through the different experiences with the pandemic. And that has really put some strain on our relationships, and our building, and our sense of community."

[Cut to a photo with voice over. Photo: Tonja and students walking along a river in the winter.]

I really value hands-on teaching, and hands-on learning. So for example with this huge snowfall that we've just had…"

[Cut to Tonja in the interview setting.]

"…there's been salt down in front of our school. What is this? What is it doing? Why is it here? So instead of just easily saying oh that's salt to help us to be safe, and to melt sort of the ice around us. We explored that. We you know had them scoop it up a little bit. We brought it inside. We talked about what it could be, how it got there, why it was there."

[Fade to black and then up to a photo with voice over. Photo: A student looking at model buildings; Tonja and students examining a birds nest.]

"It's really important not to give them a really quick answer and allow them to really have that hands-on exploring themselves. And then come to their own understanding of whatever it is that they're questioning in the world around them. Because that's really where the true learning happens."

[Fade to black and then to Tonja in the interview setting]

"The one thing that I would think about and try to share with new teachers is to just enjoy the learning process…"

[Fade to black and then up to a photo with voice over. Photo: Tonja sitting on the floor talking to a student; Tonja sitting a desk teaching with her students around her; Tonja and a student sitting outside reading a book.]

"… with your students. Learning is a journey, and we're all on this road of learning together. Don't be afraid to make mistakes and actually say hey, I've tried this a different way. Because we are modelling for our students. Knowledge shouldn't be just coming from the teacher. It should be going both ways.

[Fade to black, with the Government of Canada FIP and then the Canada Wordmark appearing in white.]

Year: 2021 — Province: Ontario
Certificate of Excellence Recipient

The Linden School
Designated early childhood educator in a Kindergarten classroom for children ages 3 to 6 years
Toronto, Ontario

Quote

“In working with my daughter, who was a recipient of acute bullying, Tonja engaged through an approach of empathy, knowledgeable digital strategies/ practices, and character building. My daughter slowly moved from hating being at school or any educational institution to thriving.”

Parent

Philosophy of care

Tonja approaches those first few school years with the premise that they profoundly influence how children learn to be learners and how they perceive themselves going forward.

Support of child development

Tonja is an innovator, developing programs and using limited resources in ingenious ways. Although she knows the provincial curriculum and delivers an engaging imaginative play-based program for her students, she looks for ways to improve, especially when it comes to finding answers to her students’ questions. One of her students was curious about the differences between materials like metal, paper, and plastic. Tonja designed a safe and exciting lab activity in which she helped students burn different materials under the exhaust fan to see what happened. She connected this to a lesson on fire safety at home, and with her class visits to the nearby fire station - just one example of integrating experience and learning.

Her methods prepare her students for life long curiosity, confidence, and commitment to the world around them. This is core to her focus on supporting student success and skills development. She encourages without pressuring, she celebrates big and small achievements in a way that makes children feel honored, and she creates opportunities for children to feel independent, capable, and connected to each other and the community.

Involvement with parents, families and the community

Tonja brings together care and commitment. Her activist work including support of Greenpeace and involvement with the Community of Black Early Childhood Educators has led to improvements in her community. She finds ways to empower her students to take meaningful action like raising funds for the World Wildlife Federation, collecting supplies for the Daily Bread Food Bank, and raking leaves at a nearby women’s shelter. Not only do her students embrace the importance of actively caring for their communities, but they develop the pride and self-confidence that comes from contributing in important ways.

Tonja has been instrumental in helping her school strengthen its anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices. Working with students, she started an affiliate club for racialized students in all grades, creating a space to talk about ways to navigate the world as a racialized student, to act for meaningful change, and to help non-racialized students be effective allies. Tonja has led anti-racism workshops for parents, teachers, and administrators. And she has been doing the challenging work of guiding colleagues through difficult but necessary conversations. Her courage has led the school forward at a crucial time.

Get in touch!

The Linden School
10 Rosehill Avenue
Toronto ON  M4T 1G5
416-966-4406
Facebook: @lindenschool
Twitter: @TheLindenSchool