Lexi Valcourt Chpt. 1

The first chapter of Sociology of Education in Canada gave a detailed and realistic account of the history and reasons behind the lack of educational facilities and quality of education in First Nation communities in Canada. I was not surprised to hear about the lack of funding and resources put towards First Nations communities as I have been aware of the unfair distribution of resources for some time now. It makes me disappointed and makes me question how Canadians, who portray themselves as being fair and equal global citizens, can allow this to go on for so long. When Shannen, the young girl introduced to us in this chapter advocated for the students in her community and began the campaign which led to “Shannen’s Dream,” it struck me that such a young person in Canada, had to even advocate for something that every child in a country like Canada should have access to.  Shannen Koostachin’s campaign was known as “Education is a Human Right,” (p. 5) and it is hard to believe that as Canadians, our young people even have to fight for education and equal resources in a country such as Canada. Lastly, the way the authors structured the first chapter of the textbook to reflect on how there are several factors that contribute to discrepancies in educational quality and accessibility is helpful as it encourages myself to look beyond the “obvious reasons” to why these injustices exist and really reflect on the history and meaning behind the issue. One question I have after reading the text is how could Canadian “leaders” and the government get away with not providing equal, accessible, and quality education to all Canadian children for so long now?