Shasta Hanna

From Curiosity to Clarity: My Learning Journey

Day: March 17, 2025

Week 9: My First Inclusions Loaf… At my Parents house!

March 17, 2025 / / 1 Comment

This past weekend, I found myself back at my parents’ house—not for a visit, but because my husband had some horses to trim in their area. Instead of making multiple trips back and forth, I packed up everything I needed for the weekend, including my ever-faithful sourdough starter, Dough-na-tella.

Knowing I wanted to bake while I was there, I prepped Dough-na-tella the night before, feeding her and making sure she was good and bubbly by the time morning rolled around. When I woke up on Saturday, I wasted no time putting her to good use. First on the agenda was our household staple: sourdough pancakes. There’s something special about starting the day with a warm, fluffy stack, and at this point, they’ve become a tradition in our home. Even my parents, who are usually skeptical of sourdough anything, couldn’t resist. It was my dad’s birthday so it was a great way to kick off the day for him to enjoy a nice stack of plain, choc. chip and blueberry pancakes, along with a side of bacon, and eggs! Yummy!

But the real adventure came with my first-ever inclusions loaf. I had been wanting to experiment with adding ingredients to my sourdough, and I figured this was the perfect opportunity. I followed Amy Bakes Bread’s Three Cheese Sourdough Bread recipe (link here) but with a small tweak. While Amy’s recipe calls for three types of cheese, my mom’s fridge only had mozzarella and sharp cheddar, so I rolled with it.

What I didn’t anticipate, though, were the little challenges that came with tackling a new recipe. While I’ve gotten comfortable with the basics of sourdough, shaping an inclusion loaf was a different story. Unlike my usual loaves, this one had chunks of cheese that made it harder to handle. I also hadn’t shaped a loaf for quite some time and even then when I did shape it last time I totally flew by the seat of my pants with it, this time I wanted to do it right. Amy’s recipe didn’t include video instructions, so when I reached the shaping step, I found myself second-guessing my technique. That’s when I turned to Baker Bettie’s YouTube tutorial (link here). Watching her step-by-step guide helped me gain the confidence to shape my dough properly, making sure the cheese was evenly distributed without overworking the gluten.

I really appreciate these type of Open Education tools at my finger tips. Videos and resources like this, literally get me through this learning journey. Without them I would be making so many mistakes and not knowing if what the recipe is describing is truly what I need to be looking for.

A few lessons I took away from this bake:

  1. Trust the dough – Even when it feels sticky and challenging, patience and gentle handling make all the difference. This was a higher moisture dough, making it difficult to work with so I had to be super patient with the shaping and folding and the general working with it. But it turned out great!
  2. Adjust based on what you have – I only had two types of cheese, but the bread still turned out delicious. Sometimes, you just have to work with what’s available.
  3. Visual learning is a game-changer – Having a video tutorial to follow made the shaping process so much easier. Next time, I’ll probably look up videos beforehand to be better prepared.

By the time I got home and put her in the fridge and  dough-na-tella came out of the oven, my kitchen smelled amazing. The bread had a beautiful golden crust, and the pockets of melted cheese inside made every bite worth the effort.

All in all, it was a great weekend of baking and learning, and Dough-na-tella proved once again that she’s up for any adventure. I can’t wait to try my next inclusions loaf—my coworkers have been cashing in on my learning journey and they have requested a lemon blueberry loaf next, if I can pull that off I may be the star of the office! Hold onto your hats, everyone!

Have you ever tried an inclusion loaf? What are your favourite add-ins?

My Teaching Philosophy Rooted in First Nations and Literacy: Honouring Storytelling, Relationships, and Growth

March 17, 2025 / / 2 Comments

Honouring Storytelling, Relationships, and Growth: My Teaching Philosophy Rooted in First Nations ways of knowing and Literacy

I believe teaching is more than the transmission of knowledge—it is an act of relationship-building, nurturing curiosity, honouring the voices of our learners and building teacher’s knowledge base in literacy. As a First Nations educator and literacy consultant, my teaching philosophy is deeply rooted in the traditions of my people, where learning happens through storytelling, shared experiences, and a deep respect for the interconnectedness of all things, as well as promoting the excellence of teachers.

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Storytelling as a Foundation for Learning

In First Nations cultures, storytelling has always been a powerful way to pass down knowledge, history, and values. Stories are not just entertainment; they are lessons woven with wisdom, offering guidance on how to live, how to relate to others, and how to understand the world. In my teaching, I integrate storytelling as a tool to help students connect with content on a personal and cultural level. Whether through oral narratives, picture books, or student-created stories, literacy becomes an avenue for self-expression and identity formation.

Literacy as a Path to Empowerment for Lifelong Learning

Literacy is more than the ability to read and write—it is the key to critical thinking, self-determination, and lifelong learning. In my role as a literacy consultant, I advocate for culturally responsive teaching practices that honour Indigenous (FNMI) perspectives, languages, and literacies. This means ensuring that Indigenous students see themselves reflected in the texts they read, the stories they hear, and the learning experiences they engage in. It also means aligning our teaching practices to meet the needs of our Indigenous learners first and foremost through understanding how the brain learns to read. (Science of Reading)

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It also means recognizing that literacy goes beyond conventional definitions; it includes the ability to interpret symbols, oral traditions, land-based knowledge, and digital literacies. My goal is to foster a love of literacy that extends beyond the classroom and empowers students to use their voices in meaningful ways.

Relationships and Holistic Growth

One of the core values in First Nations education is the belief that learning is relational. We do not learn in isolation; we learn through our connections to others—our families, our communities, and our ancestors. In my teaching, I prioritize building strong, respectful relationships with students, colleagues, and families. By fostering a sense of belonging, I create learning environments where students feel safe, valued, and encouraged to take risks in their learning. Through risk-taking and failure, that is where the learning occurs, their ability to get up and try again is what I wish for all the students I work with. My role as a literacy consultant means being a constant cheerleader to the students I work with.

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Holistic education means nurturing not just the mind, but the heart, body, and spirit. I strive to incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing and being into my practice, whether through land-based learning, experiential education, or social-emotional teaching strategies that recognize the whole learner.

Moving Forward: Decolonizing Education

Education has historically been a tool of colonization, but it also has the power to be a tool of resistance and healing. As an educator, I am committed to decolonizing literacy by centring Indigenous voices, challenging dominant narratives, and advocating for policies that support Indigenous students and educators. I believe that by embedding Indigenous perspectives into teaching and learning, we can create an educational system that honours the knowledge, resilience, and contributions of First Nations peoples.

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Conclusion

My teaching philosophy is a reflection of my identity as a First Nations educator and literacy advocate. It is rooted in storytelling, in the power of literacy, in the strength of relationships, and a vision for a more inclusive and just education system. By weaving together Indigenous traditions and contemporary literacy practices, I strive to create learning spaces where all students feel seen, heard, and empowered to reach their full potential.

My overall goal for any First Nation students I work with is for them to be able to walk in two worlds or “walk on both sides of the river”. I want to leave this video here for anyone to watch. It emphasizes the idea that “walking in two worlds” is possible but requires a lot of balancing and code-switching between their First Nation culture as well as the non-indigenous world where they also need to thrive.

Take a watch, and leave a comment below on what are you doing for reconciliation within your classroom. Are you allowing your FNMI students to thrive and “walk in two worlds”?

 

Hiy Hiy, 

kinanâskomitin (thank you) 

© 2025 Shasta Hanna

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