Aboriginal Education

     According article 28 in the United Nations Conventions ofthe Rights of the Child (UNCRC), all children have a right to quality education with state parties making primary education compulsory and freely available. As well, state parties are to take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and to reduce dropout rates. Education is a federal responsibility regardless if it is public or aboriginal education (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014).

          

     Many First Nation communities across Canada are still struggling as a result of the residential schools (Blackstock, 2006; Morcom, 2014). Since the closing of residential schools in 1996, the Canadian government has made attempts to work towards creating an accessible education system on reserves that is comparable with provincial and territorial schools across the country, however there has been severe underfunding issues (Canadian Government, 2015; Morcom, 2014). The 2014 Canadian economic action plan states that providing necessary funding allows First Nations to be in charge of their education, and they will be able to establish structures and standards necessary to create stronger education systems. A total of $1.9 billion are being contributed to support the reformation of the education system during the 2015-2016 school year (Canadian Government, 2015). Although this appears to be a large sum of money, I feel the government is slapping on a Band-Aid and giving the indigenous people money to fix their own problem.

     I agree with Morcom (2014) who states that the federal policies have not generally been supportive for creating adequate education experiences and opportunities for First Nation children. In Western schools, the formula for success is considered to be an individual’s potential times their effort (potential x effort) (Garner, 2011). Chris Garner (2011) states that First Nation people have different learning styles; for those individuals to be successful, their formula for success is: potential times effort plus relevance to their context (potential x effort + context). Morcom (2014) found that in First Nation elementary and secondary schools have 2 to 3 times more identified special needs than provincial schools.

     From my previous teaching experience and working with children at various camps and after-school programs, every child has something special and unique needs. Whether that is help with their individual identified special need or learning culturally relevant material that interests the student. Blackstock (2006) suggests the cultural relevancy is integral to fulfill the education right of children.

     Education, according article 29 in UNCRC, is supposed to give children the right to have education help them develop their personality while still respecting the development of their cultural identity, language, and values. I have personally been in a class where bringing cultural relevancy was very difficult. This past summer, I had the opportunity to take a science and engineering camp on the road, delivering different activities that were taught through an inquiry teaching method. One of the places I was able to bring the camp to was Nawash, Ontario. Before going, I had all the activities, many great ideas of how camp should run, and what the campers should learn during the day. Little did I know, the campers were not going to be very interested in what I had to say. Their attitude was, “So what? Why are you telling me this? Why would I ever have to know what the molecule in slime is called?” It took me all week to realize and make the conclusion that the only activity the campers excelled in and enjoyed doing was the marshmallowchallenge. In this challenge campers used 20 pieces of spaghetti, a meter of string, a meter of tape, and one large marshmallow. The object was to get the marshmallow as high off the table as possible as a freestanding structure in 18 minutes. All the campers for the first time that week were able to work in groups, with everyone participating. It was not until reflecting back, on the drive home after camp when I realized why the campers were able to succeed in this activity. Building this structure was actually something they thought was relevant to their lifestyle and culture; many built teepees.

C Image courtesy of WE-Connect on Flickr

     

     When I found the article by Morcom (2014), I couldn’t agree more with the statement that the teachers who are coming to reserves from Western schools are not able to fully provide adequate aboriginal culture-based education. Western teachers are not able to consistently incorporate the indigenous knowledge into the curriculum. Morcom (2014) suggests that it is necessary to create and fund programs that increase high school graduation rates for current students, and increase the opportunities for post-secondary education to train those students to become Aboriginal teachers.

            

     I believe that the 2014 Canadian Action Plan has the right idea about putting money into the aboriginal education system so they can develop and establish education structures and standards to support strong and accountable education systems on reserves. However, I think the western funding also needs to be reorganized so that new teachers gain appropriate experience and knowledge about aboriginal culture in the curriculum. This will allow new teachers to be adequately trained to teach on a reserve with culturally relevant material. These new teachers will have the appropriate skills to teach on a reserve, and will be able to provide future generations with the skill set to graduate high school and be able to bring their own culture into the classroom as future teachers. This is similar to the rebuilding from the ground up that the Toronto MapleLeafs hockey team is starting this year. I think this will allow equitable education across Canada, and help foster the development and reformation of the Aboriginal education system.

References

Blackstock, C. (2006). Indigenous children: Rights and reality. A report on indigenous children and the U.N. Convention on the rights of the child. 1-23.

Canadian Government (2014). First nations education act. Retrieved from http://actionplan.gc.ca/en/initiative/first-nations-education-act

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21^st-century learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press

Garner, C. (2011). Transforming the teacher in indigenous education [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMfBeotD8gc

Google Maps. (2015). Nawash, Ontario. Retrieved from            https://www.google.ca/maps/search/Nawash/@44.4134617,-80.8396399,7.4z

Morcom, L. A. (2014). Determining the role of language and culture in first nations schools: A comparison of the first nations education act with the policy of the assembly of first nations. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy. 163. 1-27.