i)Normative Narratives
I found similar normative narratives within the topic of being Canadian. In my blog post, Olivia’s blog post and Kori’s blog post we all talked about hockey as a part of our Canadian identity. We all spoke about a moment that took place in a small town arena in Saskatchewan. In small towns the hockey arena is the building that unites most people together that live in the community. The hockey players and the fans feel connected through the game of hockey. We all talked about a moment that the team we were cheering for won an important game. Winning a game like provincials, the league, or a gold medal game are great accomplishments for a team. The memorable hockey wins that we experience are remembered forever. This winter there were probably many people who were watching the Canadian World Juniors on TV cheering on team Canada. Canada has the normative narrative of being filled with hockey lovers. In Olivia and Kori’s post they both talked about Tim Hortons as being a part of what makes Canada home to them. Many people connect Tim Hortons with Canada because it is a franchise we take pride in as it was founded in Canada. Tim Hortons is famous for their coffee, which you see most people holding at all hours of the day. In my small town we do not have a local Tim Hortons but when we travel to surrounding communities with a Tim’s we usually stop for a treat. Tim Hortons is a normative narrative people connect to Canada. In all of our blog post about being Canadian we mentioned we were around other people. Canadians are friendly is another thing people think of when referring to Canada. We all talked about celebrating the hockey win with our friends and other fans. People come together for many occasions, especially in a small town. In small towns you know mostly everyone so it is easy to talk to people you see you the street or at the hockey rink. The people with the same interests as you become your family in the sense you spend many hours together so you know them very well. Canadians being friendly and enjoying being around other people is another normative narrative of Canada. All of these normative narratives are mentioned in this video “In Canada” along with many others. ii)Creating Counter-Stories: Disrupting Normative Narratives In Olivia and Kori’s blog post I noticed that they both played hockey for many years. I personally didn’t play hockey because in my small town I would have had to play with the boys’ team. At a young age I could have played because it was a non-contact sport, but I was not interested in playing with boys when I was younger. All my girlfriends were in dance so that’s what I did as a sport. If I would have lived in a bigger center that offered me the opportunity to play hockey on a girls’ hockey team I probably would have joined the team. My dad thought of putting together a girls’ team in our community but there was not enough interest. Depending on where you live and your gender allows you to have a different experience. Boys are more likely to play hockey and girls are more likely to dance because of gender norms. I feel very connected with hockey but probably would have felt more of as connection if I would have played the sport. All three of us did not have this issue that we mentioned in our blog posts but hockey costs a lot of money. Some children may never have the opportunity to try the sport because their parents do not have the funds to put them in the sport. Just because a person didn’t play or is not a hockey lover does not mean they are not Canadian. Classism would also effects people’s experiences of what they feel makes them Canadian. For example, people who do not have the money to purchase unnecessary treats from Tim Hortons would not take their family there. Tim Hortons is not an expensive place to eat, but if it is not in their budget they will not go there. If people do not go to Tim Hortons might not this of it as a part that makes up their Canadian identity. I do not have Tim Hortons in my blog post because it was not a business in my community. It was not something I looked forward to so it is not that important to me. People in Canada are known to be friendly and polite. People that say sorry and hold doors open for each other are not the only people in Canada. Generalizing people is not the right thought because not every Canadian can be labelled the same. Some people are the opposite of friendly but because they are Canadian they are thought of as friendly. People from other countries think this normative narrative of Canadians, but there are still crimes in Canada. As much as I want the world to be a perfect place, it is not, there is still fighting, bullying, and war. The normative narratives are not always the right way to think about our country because there are many scenarios that make every person a unique individual.
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There was a moment I realized that I was the son and the daughter to my parents. I am an only child, so I did a wide variety of activities. My dad encouraged me to do things that he liked because he never had a son to hang out with. I learned how to quad, fish, and snowmobile with my dad. My mom and I did things like scrapbooking, baking and crafting.
I was taught that it did not matter what I did or played with I was still a girl, and girls can do anything boys can do. My imagination let play with barbies on the floor with my mom and play with farm toys on the floor with my dad. I enjoyed playing with both girls and boys toys. As a young child, I participated in dance wearing ballet shoes and skating wearing hockey skates for many years. To this day, I still do many activities with both of my parents. I help my mom at the flower shop and also help dad on the farm. At my mom’s flower shop I help her with customers flower designs, and whenever she needs an extra hand. I also help my dad on the farm where I operate big machinery and help with jobs that need to get done around the farm. When I was first born my dad was unsure about what to do with a girl because he grew up in a family with all brothers. He encouraged me to do many things, but sometimes I was too stubborn to enjoy the activity. He has done most things with me as he would have done with a son. He did not want me to be the girl that did nothing or was too scared to try anything. He is proud that I can do most things he has taught me. Even though I did both girl things and boy things I knew I was a girl. I was a girl who did everything. Some of my friends that were boys were jealous that I could do the things they could not. From the moment I realized how lucky I was to have the opportunity to do all of these activities I was happy to be the son and the daughter to my parents. Most probably would think I was too young when I got my first cell phone. It was for this reason I got a phone at the age of 12. I was babysitting at a new family’s house one evening. They had no landline phone in the house for me to use if I had any problems while babysitting. Later that evening the husband came home intoxicated before his spouse. His wife texted my mom and asked her to pick me up from their house. The husband told me were coming for me, but he didn’t know when. I was patiently waiting for them. My mom and dad were on their way, but they were out of town at a friend’s place. They had no way to contact me. That was the moment my mom said I needed a phone.
I was in grade 6 when my parents took me to get my very first phone. Opening the door to the phone store and walking in I was filled with excitement. We were greeted by the saleslady. She was asking my dad many questions about the phone type and the plan he wanted for me. As I was sitting at the counter patiently, I was looking at all the phone cases on the far wall that were brightly colored and sparkly. As the lady at the store was getting my phone set up, my dad let me pick a case to protect me phone. I got a purple lifeproof case because dad said then it would not smash when I dropped it. My phone was finally ready. The sales lady handed me my very first cell phone, it was a black 4s iPhone. When we got in the vehicle and headed back home my parents told me about the rules of having my phone. Rule 1: this is only for emergencies. Rule 2: you are the first one in your class to get a phone, so you aren’t allowed to take it to school. Rule 3: you can’t brag to your friends that you got a phone because you only got it for specific reasons. Rule 4: dad owns the phone so he can take it away whenever he wants. I was excited I got a phone, but I knew I had to listen to the rules if I wanted to keep it. Many other kids did not have cell phones at this age, but that didn’t make me any different than them. When we think of where we live we think of Canada. Canada was divided into Treaty territories after European contact. All people that live in our country are treaty people because we all live on the land that was once the Aboriginal people’s land. We are all treaty people because we all live in Canada. We share the land that we are living on today with the first people to the land which makes everyone who lives in Canada treaty people.
I grew up on Treaty 4 territory; the same treaty as Regina, Saskatchewan. Treaty 4 territory covers the south end of Saskatchewan and crosses the border into Manitoba and Alberta a little bit. Treaty 4 was signed in 1874 (Treaty Timeline). For treaty 4, the people were very concerned about the livelihood of their people (Treaty Backgrounder). The future was important to these people. They wanted to make sure education, economics, agriculture was part of the treaty agreement (Treaty Backgrounder). The elders tried to negotiate an agreement First Nations people would benefit from. In elementary school I didn’t learn about the treaty I lived on. In high school I learnt about treaties and the treaty I lived on. Being a leader at my high school, when I spoke at school events I made land acknowledgements about the treaty were on. I think everyone should learn about the treaty they live on from a young age and the people that were on the land before them. In society, it is more common today to recognize the treaty territory you live on. I think announcing which treaty territory an event is held is helping people to understand everyone in Canada is a part of the treaty negotiations. Many years ago, treaty territories were not mentioned making people unaware of which treaty they were on (About the Treaties). You should learn about the treaty you live on to get a better understanding of Canadian history and our First Nations people that were on this amazing land before us. As a child, did you know as what treaty you lived on? At what age should treaties be taught in school? Sitting on the couch under a warm blanket staring up at the television. I was all cuddled up with my blankie beside me and wearing my fuzzy pajamas. It was routine when I woke up to watch the Disney Channel every Saturday morning when I woke up. My mom was cooking breakfast in the kitchen and I could smell the bacon wafting into the living room. I knew she would call me when it was ready.
As I was watching ‘The Suite Life of Zach and Cody’ I noticed that not all the people in the show had the same skin color. The setting of this show was in a hotel. One character that had a different skin tone was Mr.Moseby, who was the hotel manager. Mr.Moseby had very dark skin, but that did not make me think he was ant different. As a child, I did not think anything about people with different skin tones because I grew up seeing them on television. Television characters in the shows I watched were usually treated the same as the white characters. Growing up in a very small community, there were not many different skin tones than I was. As a child, I was exposed to a variety of people on television. I think watching kid-friendly shows was a great way to learn about people who had different skin tones because they were treated like everyone else in the show. To this day many shows include all tones of skin and people with different backgrounds, and everyone is treated equally. Mom called me to the kitchen to eat breakfast. I could taste it from the delicious smell as I ran to the kitchen table. As I was enjoying the meal my mom made for me I asked her “why there were no people like Mr.Moseby in our town?” She told me there was one younger boy that was just born a couple of years ago. She added we do not have many because we are a small town that hasn’t had many people from other places move here. I understood and continued to eat my breakfast. When I was done I heading back to the living room to finish watching my show. When it was over I knew I would watch another show next Saturday when I woke up. I believe that the variety of skin tones was learned by experience for myself. It’s the third period, all tied up at three. One minute and twenty seconds to go on the clock. The clock is ticking down and every second counts. All we need is one more goal to capture the provincial title for our community. The puck is passed back and forth from one end of the ice to the other. The clock buzzes and the score is a tie. There is a short break before overtime starts. The players skate to the bench to clench their thirst and strategize with their coaches. The fans and players are nervous. The five strongest players head to center ice to take the face-off. The next goal wins!
The crowd is cheering loud with noisemakers shaking in their hands to encourage the home town boys in the local arena. The stands are packed with people from the community and the opposition’s fans. This game brings people of all ages together to enjoy a sport that is important to Canada. The community comes together to support the bantam hockey team. It is truly amazing to everyone come together support the team’s playing for the banner. Feeling the pressure, the team captain lines up to take a shot from the offensive blue line. The crowed and players from the bench have all eyes on him as he takes a shot and scores. The rink is bursting with excitement. The moment is surreal to everyone in the arena. The Langenburg Bantam Warriors have won the provincial title. The team all dashes out of the bench and jumps on the captain who scored the goal! Sticks and gloves are flying in the air behind them as they skate across the ice. The crowed in the stands are crying and hugging with pride. The team respectfully shakes hands with the other team, and proceeded to skate laps in a group to show their fans the banner they won. Every Warrior fan has a smile on their face and was excited about the team’s win. Family and close friends went to join the team on the ice to take team and family pictures proudly with the banner. The happiness and pride was shared among the team members and fans. The excitement in the arena was unexplainable. |
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March 2020
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