Evangelin Francis - Blog #1

After reading the first chapter of Karen Robson’s text, Sociology of Education in Canada – something that stood out to me right off the bat was the belief that education leads to a better quality of life (pg. 2). In particular where the text states that, this belief holds very true of immigrant parents (pg. 2). Being a child of immigrant parents myself, I feel as though I can somewhat vouch for this. Growing up I was constantly reminded of the importance of education and the hope of my parents to have a better life than they had (or otherwise known as standard of living). Personally, I agree with this ‘common belief’ as the text outlines that a good education is associated with a “future of economic security, social status and perhaps even social and psychological well-being” (pg. 2). A good example of this can be gained simply by looking at professions with high salaries. Typically to apply for a professional job, one must have proper credentials meaning training and / or have a formal educational certification. Those with high paying salaries are often categorized as middle to high class (holding high economic security and social status). Although I would say the issue of social and psychological well-being is subjective to each person, one can assume to some extent that those of such social class are not entirely comparable to those of low class society members – who deal with a variety of social hardships that more often than not lead to a lower social and psychological state of well-being.

The big topic that this chapter focused on was the case study of the Attawapiskat First Nations community and the adversity they faced in trying to attain a proper school and education – a right of all Canadian children (and one I would say of all children). What is most upsetting about this to me, is that I feel like the government is always expressing its need to “better the economy” – and personally I feel that the most obvious way to do such a thing is through providing education and opportunities to all members of the country. By doing that you are giving them a chance to be productive members of society and therefore contributing to the betterment of the economy. Not to mention the immense added benefits like encouraging and shaping minds to spark new ideas and solutions to existing problems. A famous quote often makes its rounds on social media every year and reads as such: “What if the cure for cancer is trapped inside the mind of someone who can’t afford an education?” (unknown author). I feel like this quote is of value to this discussion, in that without the importance and emphasis of providing a proper education to all children who exactly are we helping?  Or instead are we just preventing such capable minds from developing and expanding?

Tying this in with the case of the Attawapiskat First Nations, we know that statistically “Aboriginal youth are more likely to drop out of high school” (pg. 12), but without accesses to the resources of those in more affluent places across Canada, could we blame them? One of the fundamental learning centers of any school is the library and as Shannen Koostachin noted “it’s hard to feel you can have the chance to grow up to be somebody important when you don’t have the proper resources, like a library” (pg. 11). She also notes that “mice run over our lunches,” (pg.11) and with conditions like this, it is not hard to see why kids drop out. Personally I can imagine a questioning feeling of: if the government pays no interest in our education, then why should we? Lastly I would just like to add to this by saying how in dismay I was to learn that there is no “First Nations education or development of a consistent system of First Nations education” (pg. 11) that exists currently. In addition, as pointed out by a Senate Committee member, “the Department requires First Nations to educate their students at levels comparable to provincial and territorial jurisdictions, and yet provides them no meaningful supports …” (pg. 10). To add this with poor resources, I do not understand how we can still hold such high standards and expectations for Aboriginal students to excel and achieve academically.

Question: What are some ways in which the federal government can assist the First Nations in developing a consistent curriculum, one in which is geared towards incorporating and protecting the integrity of Aboriginal beliefs, traditions and culture?