Education
Here is what I wrote last year and the year before. My feelings on this still stand:
“I firmly believe in a strong education system with good programs and curriculum. A strong educational background makes a good foundation for dealing with the problems and issues that our children and community members face out in the world. We must not short change them. Our teachers and others in the education system are doing the best they can with the resources they have and it is a credit to them that we have put so many people through College and University. However, the building blocks for a good education starts in elementary school. Our elementary school system is underfunded by the Federal Govt. We do not get the same amount of funding that the Province provides to the Provincial School Boards. So our educators have less resources to work with. We need to continue to pound the Federal Govt to increase the funding so that our children receive as much or better than the children who attend Provincial Run Schools.
Right now we have put a lot of our own money, from Rama and elsewhere, into the Elementary School system to ensure that the shortfalls are covered off.
When I look at what the AFN ( Assembly of First Nations ) is doing in Ottawa I see no drive to try to secure additional funding for First Nation elementary schools. We have to start with them to ensure they are doing the work they have been sent to Ottawa to do.
There are 3 basic elements of where I think we need to go to get our children to understand where they came from and to develop them for the future.
These are:
1-Curriculum Development
2-Land Based Learning Activities
3-A New School Building
Curriculum Development
We do have a good Elementary School staff but lack of resources restricts the ability to do more. The staff are now looking at developing our own curriculum. I support that. This new curriculum will be based on Anishnabek beliefs and values and will ensure that our children achieve the necessary learning skills to enable them to go on to College and University. Although the curriculum is in its infancy there is a good foundation and a general consensus about how it should look. I will continue to be involved in its development and will provide as much encouragement and advice as I can. But in the end it will be the competent staff who will be the backbone of its development. The move by the Federal Government to create the First Nations Education Act will also have an impact on curriculum development. We must ensure that we are involved totally in the creation of this Act.
Land Based Learning Activities
As part of the overall restructuring of the curriculum there needs to be a focus on our history and ancestry to enable our children to understand who they are and where they came from. Present Ontario curriculum does not give them an understanding of who they are. The basics of math, science and technology must be kept strong but an emphasis on learning on the land must be adopted.
A New School
As in the past I have strongly advocated for a new school. The present school is outdated and does not meet codes. I believe that a new school will give the children a sense of pride in themselves and the community. The staff will also have an increased pride in the work they do in a building which is healthy and meets all building codes. This can be constructed without the Federal Government but we must ensure that they pay their fair share of the costs.
“I firmly believe in a strong education system with good programs and curriculum. A strong educational background makes a good foundation for dealing with the problems and issues that our children and community members face out in the world. We must not short change them. Our teachers and others in the education system are doing the best they can with the resources they have and it is a credit to them that we have put so many people through College and University. However, the building blocks for a good education starts in elementary school. Our elementary school system is underfunded by the Federal Govt. We do not get the same amount of funding that the Province provides to the Provincial School Boards. So our educators have less resources to work with. We need to continue to pound the Federal Govt to increase the funding so that our children receive as much or better than the children who attend Provincial Run Schools.
Right now we have put a lot of our own money, from Rama and elsewhere, into the Elementary School system to ensure that the shortfalls are covered off.
When I look at what the AFN ( Assembly of First Nations ) is doing in Ottawa I see no drive to try to secure additional funding for First Nation elementary schools. We have to start with them to ensure they are doing the work they have been sent to Ottawa to do.
There are 3 basic elements of where I think we need to go to get our children to understand where they came from and to develop them for the future.
These are:
1-Curriculum Development
2-Land Based Learning Activities
3-A New School Building
Curriculum Development
We do have a good Elementary School staff but lack of resources restricts the ability to do more. The staff are now looking at developing our own curriculum. I support that. This new curriculum will be based on Anishnabek beliefs and values and will ensure that our children achieve the necessary learning skills to enable them to go on to College and University. Although the curriculum is in its infancy there is a good foundation and a general consensus about how it should look. I will continue to be involved in its development and will provide as much encouragement and advice as I can. But in the end it will be the competent staff who will be the backbone of its development. The move by the Federal Government to create the First Nations Education Act will also have an impact on curriculum development. We must ensure that we are involved totally in the creation of this Act.
Land Based Learning Activities
As part of the overall restructuring of the curriculum there needs to be a focus on our history and ancestry to enable our children to understand who they are and where they came from. Present Ontario curriculum does not give them an understanding of who they are. The basics of math, science and technology must be kept strong but an emphasis on learning on the land must be adopted.
A New School
As in the past I have strongly advocated for a new school. The present school is outdated and does not meet codes. I believe that a new school will give the children a sense of pride in themselves and the community. The staff will also have an increased pride in the work they do in a building which is healthy and meets all building codes. This can be constructed without the Federal Government but we must ensure that they pay their fair share of the costs.