Education system fails Natives

Page 4

Recently, I sat in on a lecture given to a group of educators by a Native speaker. The speaker was presenting his views on education, not necessarily from a Native perspective, but rather from the perspective of a successful man who wished to share his concepts.

An educator in the front row, who was obviously impressed with his presentation, asked the speaker about his early childhood, from ages one to five. I immediately recognized her question as being inspired by popular child psychology theory. I suppose it's fashionable to concentrate our children's early education around impractical theories from the best-seller lists.

I suspect that these theories are based on "normal" situations, quite like a scientist basing his experiments on standard temperature and pressure (STP). Normal and STP are idealistic and don't truly reflect real situations. These idealistic educators are trained in colonial structure and, in turn, pass down to our children the same information they learned. Perhaps the classrooms have changed but insensitivities persist.

The colonial structure established in Canada is closely fashioned after that of the United Kingdom where education is systematically slotted and the learning process is rigid. For centuries this system was effective overseas but mimicking it in Canada left a definite void in terms of education for the Native population.

These education systems were insensitive to the culture, spirituality and lifestyles of the Natives. Adaptation to the rigidity of structure was difficult for them, if not impossible. This approach led to the maladaptation of the Natives which in turn resulted in the general misconception that they were stupid and incapable of learning. Over time they realized they could not "fit in" the mainstream.

These labels have remained. Our people are constantly being prejudged on false interpretations and presumptions. Becoming successful in white society is often prevented by deep-seated perceptions of days gone by.

The educator was probably right in asking the question with the realms of "normality." But I judge her question as ignorance. To expect that a Native child can function normally within an education system which is predominately white is hardly feasible. Life from one to five is pretty normal for any child, but putting a Native child into an education system that doesn't understand his realities is traumatic and harmful. Our colonial system still teaches Native history from a non-Native perspective and discrimination lingers in the halls of our schools.

The education system is designed to prepare us for a future that, theoretically, should include social gain and prosperity. It is unfortunate that this system robs our young people of their cultural values, molds them, and, in the end, rejects them.