First Nations Only School
It was brought up in one of my classes that Manitoba is considering creating schools that will only be for First Nations students. I was a little shocked to hear this, I was not in history class and we weren't discussing back in the day, we were discussing a possible future event, it didn't make sense to me.
Is this not madness? I understand that there are issues, that we are struggling to keep our First Nations in school and we are struggling to make a connection for First Nations to see the importance of education. I don't think that creating a school for only First Nations is the way to solve this issue; this will only further other issues that we are currently trying to solve.
If we support creating schools for only certain races, how will we learn to interact with different races? Will this not further the cultural barrier that we are trying to break down? Does this not take us back decades? Why will this work better now than it did back in the day?
I think we need to do some homework and try to find ways to make connections with these students to keep them in school and have the priority of education. James Fuller, who is currently doing PS3, has taken steps in the right direction. He is currently doing a study to see where First Nations students feel they are (in many different categories), and then comparing that with where the teachers think these students are. I think this is the type of work that needs to be done, the creation of different schools is not the right direction.
A peer in my class proposed that this was a good idea, yet I am reluctant to see the merit of this idea. I don't think races need to be separated...
Canada isn't a melting pot; it is a stew- with lots of great elements that makes it delicious. A stew is a combination of things, it isn't like a 3 course meal where everything is served separately. Part of the appeal of the stew is the mixing of flavours! I don't want a 3 course meal, I want the STEW!!! :)
Do you like stew?
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That is messed up! This does seem like a step backwards. I think that there maybe needs to be a focus on programs for First Nations people, which many schools have already started to develop. I do appreciate that their ways of life are very different from what we are familiar with, but perhaps isolating them altogether is not the answer. However, I wonder what are we teaching these kids? We are trying to inflict the "white" beliefs and culture on them sometimes, which is far removed from many of their beliefs.
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