After reading this chapter I was surprised by some of the conversations I have had with both classmates and family members. Between my own education and what I have heard from others, it is clear that these aspects of our history are not being taught in schools. This type of avoidance is not new to the residential school system. As the book stated, Dr. Bryce reported “appalling conditions” in residential schools which were ignored and not made public until 1922, 16 years after the initial inspection” (72-3). I was shocked by the clear ignorance of this topic in the school system and though I was taught about it in high school the textbook made me aware of many other educational issues that existed in Canada. I was surprised that “white Canadians reacted negatively to the settlement of Blacks in their communities, often refusing them entry to public schools” (77). As people who were escaping their own country, it is disappointing to know that Canadians did not offer them much solace. In what we consider to be a multicultural country, it is hard to believe that children seeking an education were put into such terrible conditions. However, I am not so much surprised at the imperfections of humans, but at the complete disregard for this topic in education. I had never been informed about these issues, as well as the issues Japanese and Chinese people faced in regards to education. It wasn’t until immigrants posed a threat to Canadian’s way of life that they wanted to give them an equal education. In that time, “public schooling was seen as a way to maintain and foster a sense of Britishness in Upper Canada that may have been perceived to be under threat given large waves of immigration at the time” (82). Education only became standardized because Canadians did not want immigrants to ruin their appearance.
Discussion Question: How early can we appropriately teach these issues in order to bring light to the injustices faced by many minorities?
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