Garrett Swar - Blog 1 - Chapter 1

Blog 1 - Chapter 1

I found this article and it’s descriptions of the problems in Attawapiskat and other Aboriginal communities difficult to connect to at first and to me, this disconnect is a major theme of this chapter. By illustrating my own limited exposure to these problems, this chapter allowed me to realize how something so terrible can happen. With little media coverage or serious investigation about issues facing communities like Attawapiskat, even a child’s basic right to a quality education can be neglected. It is difficult for me to reconcile how Canada often prides itself on multiculturalism and diversity, while simultaneously playing such a negligent role in providing basic equal education for all of it’s young citizens. It is also difficult to understand how Aboriginal students are expected to excel without a consistent curricular framework, proper facilities or culturally relevant material, as no “development of a consistent system if First Nations education exists” in Canada (p.11).

Upon reading this article, I’m also beginning to better understand the very real impact that education has on social mobility. As explained by social mobility theory, “disadvantaged youth are more likely to stay in the same social class and economic conditions into which they were born” (p.9). My schooling experience comes from an area of the city that is traditionally described as being “well-off”, so I cannot fathom the psychological effect of being one of the very few students to graduate high school, only for no jobs to exist, as evident by unemployment numbers of up to 90% in communities such as Attawapiskat (p.12).

I believe that, especially as an early years teacher, I have a responsibility to lessen the negative impacts that certain social structures can have on my students by making sure to provide equitable learning opportunities for every student, taking into account their individual contexts.

Discussion question:
In what ways can we as teachers instill our students with the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to draw fair and objective conclusions from issues in the world that they can relate to, but also from issues that are hard to connect to?