The Advisory Circle of Educators (ACOE) advises Elections Canada on best practices in the development of educational resources, future directions for its civic education program, and ways to ensure uptake by educators. In this series, we interview ACOE members to showcase their experience and expertise in civic education. Meet Connie Wyatt Anderson.
Connie is a longtime high school History and Geography teacher from The Pas, Manitoba. Outside of teaching, she has been involved in several student learning initiatives at the provincial, national and international levels. She was the instructional designer for Manitoba’s Treaty Education initiative and remains lead teacher-trainer and facilitator. She is a vice-president of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and was the Chair of Canadian Geographic Education for eight years. She is currently the Chair of the Geographical Names Board of Canada.
Connie has written for the Globe and Mail, Canada’s History, Canadian Geographic and the Canadian Encyclopedia. She is the recipient of the 2014 Governor General’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History and the 2017 Manitoba Metis Federation’s Distinguished Leader in Education.
Elections Canada: How do you see your role in civic education?
Connie: When I was in class, I felt my role was to help create an engaged, informed and active body of students who were ready to participate in Canada’s democracy at all levels. I am currently not in the classroom and spend much of my time leading professional development sessions for Manitoba’s K-12 teachers centred on Treaty Education. There is a definite dovetailing between the skills of democratic education and those associated with Treaty Education pedagogy. Both seek to create learners with critical thinking skills, which entails asking meaningful questions, gathering relevant information to make informed decisions, having the ability to communicate effectively and respectfully, listening with an open mind, looking for gaps in evidence and giving youth the permission and encouragement to have agency to participate in government at all levels.
A key part of my job as Treaty Education Lead is to remind (and support) teachers that they’re building the next generation of enfranchised Canadians.
Elections Canada: Tell us about a memorable moment in civic education.
Connie: There have been several over the course of my 22-year career in class, but one does float to the top. I taught on the adjacent Opaskwayak Cree Nation, a progressive First Nation community across the Saskatchewan River from The Pas. My students were studying civics and democracy as part of our Social Studies and History program (Manitoba does not have a standalone civics course). We covered the history of voting with a special emphasis on the fight for women’s right to vote, as well as First Nations peoples, who were not afforded full voting rights until 1960 (1960!).
Sometime during that week, I got a phone call at home from one of my students. Rarely, if ever, was I contacted outside of school hours.
A voice came on the phone, with no introduction or pause and said, “Miss Wyatt, where and how do I vote?”
One of the students in my class had just turned 18 while we were in the midst of a provincial election in Manitoba. She wanted to know how to vote.
I was both gobsmacked and heartened... And proud of her.
Elections Canada: Why did you choose to join ACOE?
Connie: I was a member of ACOE from 2017 to 2022 and was able to participate in the outstanding work the Civic Education team at Elections Canada does. The committee represented a range of K-12 educators from all of Canada’s provinces as well as key education stakeholders from post-secondary institutions. There was a real frisson being part of the team knowing that, not only were we learning from each other, but we were also emboldening educators across the nation to deliver top-notch civic education to their students. That’s why I am here again for a second term on the committee.
Elections Canada: What have you enjoyed most about ACOE meetings?
Connie: There are many things I enjoy about the ACOE. The collegiality, the sharing sessions and the common purpose all the members have are particularly enjoyable. I also feel a bit like I am standing on platform 9 ¾ when Elections Canada’s Education team shares their newest educational resources. It’s a sneak-peak at the outstanding pedagogical materials they create.
Elections Canada: What recommendations do you have for educators who would like to improve their practice in civic education?
Connie: First, find a way to embed Elections Canada’s learning resources into your units and lesson plans. Second, leave the students with a sense of agency and praxis. At the risk of sounding trite, a democracy is as good as its citizens.