Exploring Boundaries
Honoring the people who first cared for our land
Teacher Experience
A contemplative invitation for educators to reflect on before teaching.Consider the boundaries you create around yourself as an educator. How do you balance focusing on the tasks at hand with being approachable for questions? What rules or expectations do you establish for when and how students may approach you? Reflect on the importance of being self-aware enough to balance your own need to conserve and nourish your own sources of energy and inspiration with your wish to give generously of your energy when students request it.
Student Experience
A contemplative invitation for students to connect with this learning goal.Notice the different boundaries you encounter walking from your home to school and consider which ones feel helpful versus restrictive. Reflect on what it means to say “thank you” to people who took care of something before you had it.
Understanding
Students will understand...Learning about the people who first lived on our land and practicing land care helps us understand our responsibility to be respectful and grateful for the places where we live and learn.
Action
Students are able to...Create simple diagrams showing your school within larger community areas, identify authority figures and map school buildings, compare when boundaries are helpful versus problematic, practice setting healthy boundaries through classroom rituals, and co-write a land acknowledgment that honors the people who first cared for this land.
Content Knowledge
Students will know...Boundaries help us understand how to share space respectfully with others. Some boundaries we can see, like fences, doors, and playground edges. Other boundaries are invisible but still important, like personal space, family rules, and asking permission before using someone’s things. Learning about boundaries helps us know when to ask “May I?” and how to respect what belongs to others.
The land we live on has been home to many different people throughout time. Before our schools and houses were built, indigenous peoples lived here and took care of the land for thousands of years. These first peoples had their own ways of living with the land and with each other. They respected boundaries, they knew which areas belonged to which families or groups, where animals needed space to live, and where to walk gently so plants could grow. These boundaries helped everyone share the land in a kind and respectful way.
Learning about the original peoples who lived where we now live helps us understand and appreciate the land we share. We can also learn how to respect boundaries by giving others space, asking before taking, and noticing when something doesn’t belong to us.
We can show respect and gratitude for the land and for the people who cared for it before us. Taking care of the land means being gentle with plants and animals, not littering, and appreciating the gifts the earth gives us, like clean water, fresh air, and food. When we learn about the first peoples and practice caring for the land, we are learning to be good neighbors to all living things. When we take care of the land and respect the boundaries of others, we help create a kind and peaceful place for everyone.
Guiding Questions
Implementation Possibilities
Create concentric circle diagrams starting with the classroom and expanding through community levels. Practice authority figure identification from the head of school to the president through research activities. Facilitate campus mapping where students draw and label buildings and boundaries. Implement discussions comparing helpful versus problematic boundaries through guided scenarios. Support collaborative land acknowledgment writing, honoring indigenous peoples who first cared for the school land.
Assessment Ideas
Movement games showing boundary concepts, sharing circles about helpful boundaries, collaborative drawing of campus map, and verbal explanations during walks. Hand-made picture book about the school’s indigenous history, simple puppet show using socks or paper bags, class participation in a land acknowledgment ceremony, poster showing community helpers and authority figures, demonstration of boundary-setting rituals through movement and song.
