This is an extremely informative article that leaves no stone unturned. We even get to meet the elephant in the room and finally hear his opinion. In a country bereft of leadership and common sense the populace is left to suffer the indignities of hollow bell politicians more focused on pretense than substance. In the arena of Aboriginal affairs, this defect is glaring. Perhaps if we spent less time dwelling on the danger of foreign interference and more time addressing the domestic peril of intellectual incompetence we might come to clearly recognize that we are our own worst enemy.
“Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature made them.”
I found this passage from the (excellent) article interesting: “As the writer says, there’s no enforcement of attendance in school. A young man who stayed the course for what passes for graduation in Iqaluit, told me his schooling was torture by boredom. His brother also graduated, ostensibly, from high school. He achieved that with one art class in Grade 12 requiring no homework or any substantive creativity. He couldn’t write a competent letter ordering parts for a snowmobile. For another example, a mother who moved to Ottawa from Rankin Inlet told me her son’s Grade 7 there barely rated as Grade 3 in the South.” This to me sums up the new curricular approach. Make native kids successful on paper by lowering the bar and getting them through but without regard for academic standards. I think the indigenous should be treated as individuals and as other Canadians. As the author states in conclusion: “A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian.”
Lowering of the bar in education is happening here in Yukon Territory. The majority of First Nations have voted to join the "First Nations School Board" with the full approval of the Yukon government.
This is an extremely informative article that leaves no stone unturned. We even get to meet the elephant in the room and finally hear his opinion. In a country bereft of leadership and common sense the populace is left to suffer the indignities of hollow bell politicians more focused on pretense than substance. In the arena of Aboriginal affairs, this defect is glaring. Perhaps if we spent less time dwelling on the danger of foreign interference and more time addressing the domestic peril of intellectual incompetence we might come to clearly recognize that we are our own worst enemy.
“Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature made them.”
― Bertrand Russell
I found this passage from the (excellent) article interesting: “As the writer says, there’s no enforcement of attendance in school. A young man who stayed the course for what passes for graduation in Iqaluit, told me his schooling was torture by boredom. His brother also graduated, ostensibly, from high school. He achieved that with one art class in Grade 12 requiring no homework or any substantive creativity. He couldn’t write a competent letter ordering parts for a snowmobile. For another example, a mother who moved to Ottawa from Rankin Inlet told me her son’s Grade 7 there barely rated as Grade 3 in the South.” This to me sums up the new curricular approach. Make native kids successful on paper by lowering the bar and getting them through but without regard for academic standards. I think the indigenous should be treated as individuals and as other Canadians. As the author states in conclusion: “A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian.”
Lowering of the bar in education is happening here in Yukon Territory. The majority of First Nations have voted to join the "First Nations School Board" with the full approval of the Yukon government.
An excellent essay. Bravo and thank you!