I've just started a new course about Decolonizing Education for First Nations students in Canada. I wanted my first blog post to be about my experiences so far and my opinions and knowledge where I started.
When I went to university years ago, I was 27 years old and had been a waitress almost since high school. I grew up right next to a First Nations reserve in British Columbia and walked to the school bus with the kids from the families there. I am telling you this because I had no idea about why things were the way they were. I went to high school completely oblivious to the challenges that faced my friends from the reserve and I had no idea why those challenges were there. BC has a rather large population of FN (First Nations) people who are fairly vocal about their rights. Throughout my time as a teenager I saw multiple road blocks. I felt bad for them but I didn't know why. I am surprised now that we weren't taught any of this in school. Fast forward to my first year in university at the age of 27. I had decided to get a history degree and when I took my first course that dealt with the FN history in depth, I was shocked. How did I not know this? Now things started to make sense. The sense of defeat I saw in my neighbour friends, the road blocks that were erected to make a point, the country-wide struggle that I sensed but didn't really know. In teacher's college I decided to focus on aboriginal education as much as I could because I felt like I might be a good person to enter that world. I took courses, I volunteered at the school I was student teaching in and after that year was over, I headed north to an Inuit community where I spent 2 years. As mentioned on my "About" page, I have worked in several aboriginal schools. I am aware of the vast differences in culture, even amongst the Inuit communities (Nunavut is different than Nunavik in northern Quebec, for example). From my history education I was aware of the residential school system and the arrogance that the government and members of our society continually displays towards the aboriginal peoples of this country. From reading and listening to Thomas King (a professor in the USA that is an amazing writer, speaker and aboriginal activist) I learned how the atrocities of the residential school system were not the beginning nor are they the end. The abuse of power, the ignoring of treaties, the paternalism continues even today. I have witnessed first hand how aboriginal students are treated in public schools. I have heard white teachers talk about aboriginal students when they thought no one around them would disagree. There is latent and blatant racism that is dealt out everyday. So this is where I start my journey into this course. I have done research in other courses about the things that administrators of schools can do to change things for the vulnerable sector of our community that are facing discrimination and barriers to success in the school system. Lewthwaite has written several great papers about the subject and I look forward to incorporating my other research into this course.
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AuthorMasters in Education student at the University of New Brunswick, I am avidly interested in the future of education, especially for First Nation, Metis and Inuit students in Canada. I believe change is going to come from these sectors who have the most room for growth and the most interest in seeing the status quo changed. Archives
March 2016
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