I was so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to attend an Aboriginal Education symposium at the Nottawasaga Inn called "The Good Path: Sharing the Journey". It is always a good thing when given the chance to dialogue with colleagues from other boards to see what's happening throughout the province among the 11 Barrie District school boards. Members of the Aboriginal community were in attendance as well.
We arrived on the evening of April 29 and were treated to a very moving keynote addressed delivered by Shelley Knott-Fife, Educational Officer from the Aboriginal Education Office of the Ministry of Education. I had heard the same address a couple weeks ago and yet the experience was different. Maybe it had something to do with the mood of the room. Let's face it, when the audience has already bought into the message, the enthusiasm is unmistakable. One of the points that Shelley made that really touched a nerve with me made reference to the point that for those people who belong to ethinic cultures that are not native to Canada can seek that culture out and in a specific place in the world find the very essence of what that culture is (i.e. Italians can seek their culture in Italy, Cubans in Cuba, Jamaicas in Jamaica, etc.). For First Nations, Canada is IT. It's the only home they have and have ever known. Holy smokes! The implications for education are ginormous. Would a student of Aboriginal ancestry feel "at home" in what they are learning? Does he or she see any sort of familiarity in the curriculum? I always found it so amazing that we invest so much time, energy and resources in promoting multiculturalism and yet we've done a dismal job at celebrating the FIRST cultural group. In education, or society in general, these conditions lend themselves to what I call the "flavour of the month" syndrome that we happily buy into because they appear to be solutions to the bigger problem. Take Black History Month for example... Is February the ONLY time it's important? Is black history not Canadian history? Of course it is! We have a civic obligation to know it. Aboriginal history IS Canadian history and it should be a natural, seemless part of what we do. I really think that the work being done with the Literacy Prism is going to begin to help with this.
We were also treated to a concert (and a stand-up routine of sorts) by Tom Jackson. I didn't realize how tall he was but it was great to be in the presence of such an accomplished Canadian. An interesting voice... Willy Nelson -ish...
My favourite part of the conference came the following morning on April 30 during the opening prayer and drum ceremony. A young man played his drum and sang. I have never seen so much understated passion and conviction in a person of his age in all my years of teaching. It was beautiful and I can't remember the last time I was moved by something as profounding as I was that morning.
The rest of the day was spent in workshop sessions and I learned quite a lot. I learned that this process isn't going to be easy, but it has to be done. Our Aboriginal kids and their families deserve to reclaim the voice that has been systemically silenced for too long. Educators have to take a long hard look at what they are teaching and how they are doing and honestly assessing if any of it is causing harm to any of their students. I am so looking forward to the journey our board is on to honour our students of Aboriginal ancestry. (By the way, the super-terrific graphic was a logo designed for our board by Todd Jamieson and Alfie Fishgap. We love it!)
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