Manitoba is suggesting implementing aboriginal only high schools.
A slight flaw is that it appears that this initiative is grouping First Nations people into one homogeneous group. I do not know exactly the number of different tribes in Manitoba, but is realistic to assume that they are all exactly alike and would benefit from just one initiative, i.e. a school just for First Nations peoples? By grouping them all together would their individual needs be overlooked?
My concern is that if there is some credence to what the functionalists are saying, then these schools will just perpetuate the problems facing FNMI students. I want to know why the school model is even being suggested. Did the FNMI people attend schools as we know them before the Europeans colonized the “New World?” Would not the best way to educate these FNMI children be in their traditional education system? Schools are a product of culture and reflect and reinforce a culture. Why not implement an education system more reflective of FNMI values and cultures?
I read some graffiti that said, "We cannot solve problems with the same thinking that created them." Keeping FNMI students in the Canadian school system may just be trying to solve the problem with the same thinking that created it.
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"Would not the best way to educate these FNMI children be in their traditional education system?" The issue I have with this is, their traditional education system was abolished when the Early European settlers came in and introduced everyone to public schools. They thought the aboriginals were uncivilized and that their school system would help to make them more socially acceptable. Unfortunately, they were unable to strip them of their culture like they had hopes because they are still evident today. I'd like to add to that, where would we be without them? First Nations people have had just as much influence over the development of our nation as it is today as any other group of people and if they themselves want to have their own separate school where they can learn more about their own culture taught by someone who really knows what they are teaching, then so be it! I think that if I was in a minority group I would seek solace in a school that was run by my same people. It isn't as if they are teaching them whatever they feel like, they are still responsible to learn the things any student would learn in the public school system, but they get to do it somewhere where they are comfortable and surrounded by people who support them. By forcing them to attend mix-raced schools it would only drive them further away and make them feel more isolated. This would also make it more difficult for them to learn because they are uncomfortable or nervous rather than feeling safe and secure like a student should when he/she is at school. I say, "Go for it, Manitoba!"
ReplyDeleteI'm a pragmatist at heart, so I'm good with any system that works -- I just insist that the definition of "works" is the one provided by the client, in this case, FNMI populations. Let them run their own schools and work out what matters to them.
ReplyDeleteWhat I've observed in some FNMI programs, however, is that once 'race' is taken out of the equation -- e.g., FNMI controlled program with its own curriculum etc.-- then class starts to become the major social factor. (Well maybe gender, but I tend to focus on social class.) Because any program set up to solve one problem may overlook others...