Module 2 – Entry 1 – Tyler Ohashi
This morning, I was reading CBC as I usually do and I read this article about school across BC are going to have their flags at hast mast from May 31 to June 4 and teachers are going to wear orange to help bring awareness to the atrocities that happened at a Kamloops residential school.
Image source: CBC News
The article was very impactful because it made me think of our responsibility as teachers to our students. We are a safe person for our students, someone they can come to if they need help, someone to look up to NOT someone they fear. I cannot imagine being fearful of school.
The horrors the students of these residential schools faced every day, left lifelong scares. Rich Joe, a member of the Chilliwack school district puts it like this,
“Joe’s traditional name is Skalúlalus and he is member of the Lil’wat Nation. He says he has family members who attended Kamloops Indian Residential School where the remains of 215 children were discovered this past week.
“I’m still dealing with it,” he said upon learning the news on Friday.
“I attended Indian Day School, so I’m a survivor as well and my grandmother attended that school … and I believe my grandfather did as well and I was devastated. I cried probably about 10 times yesterday.” (Pawson – CBC News, 2021).
Having found the remains of 215 children buried around the residential school in Kamloops residential school is a confirmation that students of this school had a real reason to fear school.
Hate is a strong word, but I hate that these students had to endure such a poor environment.
Reference:
Pawson, C. (2021, May 29). Teachers in B.C. to wear orange, hold special ceremonies over discovery of children’s remains | CBC News. CBCnews. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/teachers-in-b-c-to-wear-orange-hold-special-ceremonies-over-discovery-of-children-s-remains-1.6045964.
Thank you for making this current event a part of our learning. \*/
Hi Tyler,
Thank you for sharing this story with us. It has hit everyone very hard, and continues to do so today and this will have lasting effects. My sister who teaches in a middle school, also took time, as well as some friends and colleagues of mine to take time to talk with the younger generations about how they are feeling and if they have any questions. We are all showing our support by doing different things, whether it was to tie orange ribbons to our trees at home and/or school, to putting teddy bears in our windows, hanging long beautiful orange flowers in our local community tree, near where I live, to show support and that we all care about our Indigenous communities, and that everyone’s child, no matter what background, is our responsibility to protect, teach and guide as best as we can.
Last week our staff did a “walk-in” to the school. We all wore orange, walked in silently, and gathered in a large circle in our entrance where our aboriginal advocate spoke a few words. She was so overcome with emotion, she could only get a few words out. It was a great showing of support.
That kind of genuine showing of human emotions when something so tragic like this happened here, only empowers our youth to be better and do better. Thanks for sharing Tyler.