History of Education..from whose point of view?

To catch up with my readings, I read pages 8-21 in Barakett’s textbook Sociology of Education: An Introductory View from Canada. It was interesting because it started off by discussing the different views of Canada’s history. There are many different stories, but the only ones that are accentuated are the stories of the people who are in power. This is something that seems consistent when looking back at history.

Firstly, most accounts of Canadian history are the stories of the French and the English, and they leave a very important group out. The aboriginal peoples “discovered” Canada years before the French and English even got here, but that always tends to be left out of the story. Depending on whose story is being told, the idea of history is always open for debate. “Schooling has been and remains a system for inculcating the ideology and values of those in power into ‘the people,’ those with little or now power.”

Canada’s education was mainly influenced by John Strachan from Scotland and Egerton Ryerson from the U.S. Strachan established the “common” school. This type of school emphasized ideas from our discussion of hidden curriculum. They taught them to behave by teaching them things such as arriving to class on time, dressing, and daily routines.

The experience of Canada’s first Nations-Peoples is a very different account than what is usually told. The French and English had racist attitudes and tried to assimilate the Natives into their culture. They made the children go to residential schools, which rid the children of their culture, beliefs, language, etc. The attempt to do this eventually failed. “The effects of this history are still seen today in many aboriginal communities, with high rates of alcoholism, suicide, and school dropout,” although their have been major improvements recently. The chapter also discusses how Native teachers are more likely to interact better with Native students compared to Non-Native teachers. It is important to have Native teachers at every school and to use particular curriculum towards these students. In my PS1, I had a good experience with this. There was a Native teacher at the school I was at, and there was also an FNMI room designated for her classes. I am sure her interactions with the students, especially the aboriginals, had good influences on them.

I thought this was a very good quote that I found in the chapter, as it represents our need to work together in order to meet the needs of our students: “Our world is changing. Let us put our minds together. Take the best of both worlds and make a better life for our children.”

I decided to only focus on the section dealing with aboriginals and their history because, as shown, it is something that is often left out.