Foundation- Aboriginal education
Why is it important that as educators we understand the critical importance of the tragic history of Aboriginal children in Canada?
Educators have an unique role to educate and inspire the next generations. The tragic history of the Aboriginal children is an important part of Canadian history and there are many lessons to be learnt from it. Many of the affects of the residential schools are still present in the current Canada.
As educators we need to be aware of the history of Canada that so we can inspire the future Canadians to learn from the past and do better. Also it possible that we may have students in our class that has been effected by the emotional and social effects of the residential schools and as their teachers we need to understand and plan lessons to help them succeed.
Why must you know about Ontario’s Aboriginal Education Strategy even if you and your students are non-Aboriginal?
Aboriginals are the native people of Canada and an important part of the Canadian identity. As Canadian teachers we have to teachers we have the role to educate tomorrows Canadian citizens. I believe as teachers and as students all citizens of Canada need to know about the Aboriginals past and present. We need to be aware of the measures in place to bridge the gab between different members of our community.
What are YOU going to do about it? What is YOUR plan of action for teaching and learning?
I only know the basic knowledge of the Canadian history. To be a better Canadian educator I aim to broaden my knowledge about the past. I aim to find out why it happened and what is being done now to help. I also want to find out all the different emotional and social effects that are still present and how best to address this. UOIT’s Aboriginal center has a wealth of information. I have used information from them to plan lesson for FE1 and I aim to go talk to them more and go to the various event they have and connect with aboriginal people to hear their experience first hand.
As an educator, I understand the tragic history of Aboriginal in Canada can be a controversial topic but I believe that it is a vital part of Canadian identity. As a teach I would encourage my students to enquire about the Canadian past. This will allow the students to explore as much in depth as they are comfortable. I would also encourage community involvement and organisation of assembles and community events to educate the wider community.
