Written and submitted by Kate Coleman, Grade 12 Student at Rideau District High School.
June 18, 2025 – Students at RDHS in Elgin, ON have been spending time learning more about their local history through a new Real-World Learning (RWL) innovation at their local Red Brick Schoolhouse.
In 2023, Governor General Mary Simon made a speech that began the course of a project that would greatly impact small communities in the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB):
“[Our Veterans] are entrusting us—all of us—with their stories. We must all shoulder that responsibility and share what they went through. Our country also has a responsibility to look after our veterans, to ensure that they have safe spaces and the resources to stay healthy in both mind and body. And let us never forget: we all have a duty to remember.
This duty also falls to young people, who will learn from our past to create a bright and positive future. If each of us remembers one story, shares that one story, passes on that one story to someone else, we will have fulfilled our responsibility.”
During their work on the We Were Here Project, Blake Seward and Mason Black from Big Ideas Group Consulting realized that small history museums and organizations lacked a way to effectively preserve their files and artefacts.
Due to a variety of factors, including lack of space, resources, funding, and equipment, collections at small museums such as the Red Brick Schoolhouse were at risk of damage and loss of their local history. Local volunteers, who have dedicated great time and care to the schoolhouse, were concerned about what may happen to the artefacts in the future if preservation efforts were not made.
The digital cataloguing of artefacts soon emerged as the best way to overcome these obstacles. Spearheaded by the UCDSB, the school board greenlit the project and purchased state-of-the-art, modern digitizing equipment. All scanned items can then be uploaded on an app, keeping vast collections of photos organized.
Young high school students—who are often more technologically literate than their elders—were invited to their local museums to scan the items themselves, engaging with their community and making family connections along the way. Many students have been able to find photos and writing samples from their ancestors through this initiative, providing additional depth and insight into the artefacts.
Within the same room, students discovered that their grandfather and a classmate’s grandmother both worked at the same store, and as a result, their children went to school together and chose to stay in the area. Years later, their grandchildren met and became friends in this history class.
To the local community, this experience shows how interconnected our world can be, how little we may know about the intricacies of history, and how this project helps bridge gaps in knowledge for small communities.
Mason Black, co-founder of this initiative, stated that this collaboration of knowledge is important for several reasons: students are inspired to continue their involvement in local history; assistance is provided for those who have difficulty using technology; and these precious pieces are preserved online for all to enjoy.
This RWL initiative has had a wide impact on Eastern Ontario communities, leading the Upper Canada District School Board to amass six mobile labs.
Many regions of the school board can benefit from the Mobile Digital Archive Labs (MAD Labs) at a time. For the students participating in the project, these visits to the schoolhouse have been an opportunity to reflect on the advancements in education and the differences in how schools approach learning today.
By analyzing primary sources, students get to observe the nuances of writing styles and language used throughout the 1800s and 1900s, as well as what subjects were considered important to be taught at the time. Many were surprised to see that disciplines such as Latin, botany, and cursive writing were taught to students from a young age.
Students were separated into groups to choose a historical artefact, fill out documentation, and record the size, condition, medium, and facts of the object. One such group studied the diaries, report cards, and play scripts of Janice Jarrett-Cross, the former owner and operator of The Opinicon Hotel at Chaffey’s Lock, a prominent local business.
Students were able to see that a person of high regard in the local community was once a young student like themselves—participating in school plays, struggling to balance her studies, and unsure of what the future would hold—serving as a reminder of all the great achievements they can someday accomplish.
In the future, volunteers of the Red Brick Schoolhouse hope that students who have visited are inspired to pursue their interest in history through potential careers, university, and volunteer work. With a new exhibit soon to be displayed featuring the Rideau Canal and lock system, the schoolhouse will be busy with visitors this summer—all hoping to recapture what life was like for those who attended a school first opened 138 years ago in 1887.
This project aims to open the door to students for many different opportunities. Whether it be through the Lest We Forget research assignment—which encourages Grade 10 students to learn about the lives of soldiers who were lost in World War I—or by taking a trip with a group of peers to Europe, there are countless opportunities to enrich one’s love of history.
By the end of the semester, the five Grade 10 and 11 RDHS students who have applied to take part in the We Were Here trip departing October 2025 to France will know if they have been selected to take part in this incredible opportunity.
For students, a large part of the reason this project was created was to help them engage more deeply with their learning and local heritage. Mr. Seward stated that many of the practices schools use to evaluate students' learning—such as memorization, multiple choice tests, and worksheets—are outdated.
These methods do not engage students and are not memorable to them, as they do not feel a stake or connection in what they are participating in.
The analysis of primary documents is, in fact, what the Ontario Curriculum states should be taught in Grade 10 history—but schools seldom have the initiative or resources to include it. That is one of the primary goals this project aims to address.
About the Author:
Kate Coleman is a Grade 12 student at Rideau District High School in Elgin, Ontario. She is a peer tutor and student in an IDC4U Thesis Writing course. This article has been written in collaboration with the help of the Red Brick Schoolhouse volunteers, Mr. Black, Ms. Gilbert, and Mr. Seward. Next year, Kate plans to attend Queen’s University to study History and Sociology.