The provincial move is one that answers the Truth and Reconciliation Commission call for Action Number 62 was called on educators to make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties and Aboriginal people's historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement..
The goals for the program that BC will put in place, that following the feedback period has been completed, were outlined by Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Education on Friday
“We are deeply committed to lasting and meaningful reconciliation in B.C. – guided by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples while working co-operatively with Indigenous Peoples across the province to address the knowledge gaps in our K-12 curriculum.
This new requirement will deepen students’ understanding of the experiences, cultures, histories and knowledges of Indigenous Peoples. This will help us to understand the truths of our shared history, while also building knowledge so all students feel a sense of responsibility for our collective future.”
As the Province explains it, under the proposed model, students who are currently in Grade 10 would be the first group to complete this new requirement, starting in September 2023.
The new requirement will apply to all students in B.C. public, independent and offshore schools. B.C. is the first Canadian province/jurisdiction to implement this type of requirement.
One element of the curriculum implementation could see local School Boards authorize locally developed courses towards four or more credits to enable students to meet the requirements. Those programs could see local Boards of Education engage with local First Nations and Indigenous leaders to develop the program and to ensure that it contains locally focused and appropriate content.
More on the Friday announcement can be reviewed here.
North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice noted of the occasion and commitment to Reconciliation through her social media stream over the weekend.
The public engagement period continues until April 22nd, with an implementation plan to be completed by August of 2022.
Further background on the process ahead can be explored here, to participate in the feedback process towards the program click on this link.
More notes on the BC Legislature can be reviewed from our archive page here.
A wider overview of Education in the Northwest is available here.
Reconciliation cannot be achieved by forcing,non-indigenous students to take a native focused course in order to receive a graduation diploma which they will require to continue their educations. Does the United nations declaration cover the rights of non-indigenous people? Providing a forum to learn about aboriginal issues is a good plan but making it mandatory for students of all other ethnic backgrounds in order for them to receive a high school graduation diploma and have the ability to go on to higher education is inherently wrong and discriminatory.
ReplyDeleteThis issue should have been widely discussed with the general public for input before being put into practice.