Author Archives: gregcamp

How to attract qualified Teachers

Module 2 Post #6

While continuing to look at graduation rates of Aboriginal students I decided to Google attracting and retaining qualified teachers to remote First Nation communities. I found this CBC article that breaks down the First Nations schools Report.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/05/17/pol-first-nations-education.html

Highlighted in the article is that “First Nations’ schools have lower quality teaching, an inferior curriculum and fail to provide proper services for children with special needs” and that there are “serious problems with the ability of First Nation schools to attract and retain teachers and support staff.”

So my question to the class is: How do we attract and provide incentive for qualified teachers to move to some of these remote communities?

Cheers,

Greg Campbell

Developing a First Nation Education Act

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Module 2 Post #5

I just finished reviewing a document titled Developing a First Nation Education Act: Discussion Guide located on the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada website.

http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1355150229225/1355150442776

The 2012 document discusses how improving education is a priority for the government of Canada as well as First Nations. The document discusses how Aborginal students “lag behind non-Aboriginal students in literacy, high school completion and post-secondary graduation rates”.

The purpose of developing an act would be to “provide a framework for achieving better outcomes for students through reform by: creating standards and structures; strengthening governance and accountability; and providing mechanisms for stable, predictable and sustainable funding.”

Definitely worth a read.

Greg Campbell

Secondary Graduation Rates

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Module 2 Post #4

I just finished reading the below article titled: A Portrait of First Nations and Education from the Chiefs Assembly on Education.

http://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/events/fact_sheet-ccoe-3.pdf

The article contained some startling information regarding graduation rates for First Nation students as well as some amazing information. The article used data from 2004-2009 and found that the First Nation high school graduation rate was 36% compared to the Canadian graduation rate of 72%. The amazing information was that the Membertou First Nation graduation rate in Nova Scotia was 100% during the past 3 years. The article also contains some interesting information on First Nation language and learning and infrastructure and capital requirements.

Regards,

Greg Campbell

deteriorating aboriginal labour market

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Module 2 Post 3

For part of my final assignment I will be looking at employment and unemployment of Aboriginal people in Canada.

The below link provides information on how the Aboriginal labour market has deteriorated in Canada since 2007. The study was compiled by the Centre for the Study of living standards (CSLS) and was funded by the Metis National Council.

The study doesn’t paint the full picture as Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey was used for the analysis which excludes Aboriginal Canadians living on-reserves. However, part of what the study found was:

“In 2011, the labour market performance of Aboriginal Canadians, excluding those living on-reserve, was considerably worse than that of non-Aboriginal Canadians. The unemployment rate was 5.6 percentage points higher (12.9 per cent versus 7.3 per cent)”

For more details of the study please visit the website: http://www.csls.ca/res_reports.asp and click on the pdf titled: Labour Market Prospects for the Métis in the Canadian Mining Industry or simply click below:

http://www.csls.ca/PressReleaseJune202012.pdf

Cheers,

Greg Campbell

Final Project: Using technology and online learning to increase education levels and employment opportunities for remote first nation communities.

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Module 2 Post 2, Final Project Focus Area

I came across a paper titled Connecting Aboriginal Learners in Remote Communities: An Online Social Work Course when searching for a topic for my final project. The article mentioned that the aboriginal “students enjoyed the experience [of the online course] and found the method of learning and the computer skills gained to be useful.”

I decided to look further into this topic of online learning and found an excellent article titled: Ready, Willing, And Able: Prospects For Distance Learning In Canada’s First Nations Community. The below passage inspired me to focus on this topic for my final project.

“The educational attainment levels of First Nations people in Canada lags behind that of mainstream society. Because many reserves are in rural or remote areas, attending postsecondary institutions has meant leaving the community. However, advances in information technologies and distance education program delivery mean that First Nations people can obtain postsecondary educational credentials without having to leave their home communities.”

With increased education comes increased employment opportunities, therefore the focus for my final project will be:

Using technology and online learning to Increase education levels and employment opportunities for remote first nation communities.

References

Hick, S. (2008). Connecting Aboriginal Learners in Remote Communities: An Online Social Work Course. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 20:3-4,267-281. Retrieved from: http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/pdf/10.1300/J017v20n03_04

Voyageur, C. (2001). Ready, Willing, And Able: Prospects For Distance Learning In Canada’s First Nations Community. The Journal of Distance Education, VOL. 16, No. 1, 102-112. Retrieved from: http://www.jofde.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/174/131

Regards,

Greg Campbell

Shannen’s Dream

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Module 2 post 1

When researching topics for my final project I came across this website www.shannensdream.ca. The story is a very powerful one about a young Attawapiskat First Nation student named Shannen Koostachin who advocated for “safe and comfy schools and culturally based education for First Nations children and youth”. Tragically, Shannen passed away in a car accident in 2010 before she could see her dream of a proper school in Attawapiskat being build. However, her dream lives on. The website provides lots of resources on first nation education and the below YouTube Video is very moving and provides information on Shannen’s story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gy38grr35c&list=PL6690B25BABF0D0E5

Regards,

Greg Campbell

Native Education College

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Module 1 Post #5

When researching indigenous communities educational goals I came across the Native Education College (NEC).

http://www.necvancouver.org/

I had never heard of the NEC before but learnt that they opened their doors in 1967 and are BC largest private Aboriginal College. To quote the site, NEC’s focus “is to meet the needs of Aboriginal adult students requiring developmental, vocational, and applied academic programs to access employment or further post-secondary education.” On the website they state that their “philosophy is founded on the principles upheld by the Elders of our respective nations. The values of our people are contained in the teachings of our Elders – to protect our spirituality, our culture and our land.”

Aboriginal students can take part in many different programs from studying towards their Graduation Diploma to studying business, health and cultural landscapes with a focus on aboriginal culture beliefs and philosophies.

Regards,

Greg Campbell

Aboriginal teaching resource

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Module 1 Post #4

I came across this online and downloadable aboriginal teaching resource today when I was looking for strategies to help engage my first nations students. http://education.alberta.ca/teachers/resources/cross/ourwordsourways.aspx

The resource was developed in collaboration with the Aboriginal Learning Services department of Edmonton Catholic Schools and Alberta Education. I have spent about an hour today going through the resource and there appears to be some excellent practical teaching ideas and strategies. I thought the below quote from the resource was very powerful:

“Our culture is resilient like the trees and grass. You can cut trees and step on grass and they will come back. Years ago education was painful, we were taught to be ashamed of our culture. Our

Elders retained our culture so we can use it today. The world is changing and so are we. Through our culture we are going to grow in collaboration with educators who are willing to learn about our ways and adapt, and become well educated.”

– Liz Poitras,

Elder, Sawridge Cree Nation

Cheers,

Greg Campbell

Squamish Lil’wat cultural centre

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Module 1 Post #3

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit the Squamish Lil’wat cultural centre. The centre is amazing and you have the opportunity to learn about their culture, food, art way of life etc.

There website is also an excellent resource: http://slcc.ca/learn/classroom-resources/ and for educator there is even a section titled online classroom resources: http://slcc.ca/learn/classroom-resources/ with games, online videos and resources.

Definitley worth visiting both the website and cultural centre

Cheers,

Greg

Takaya Tours Frist Nation Canoe and Kayak Adventures

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Module 1 Post #2

Last week 3 of my first nation students who I teach in computers and PE came up to me with field trip forms for them to attend a day kayaking and Canoeing with Takaya tours. The students told me that the tour would be lead by Coast Salish first nations and they would be learning about Coast Salish culture, singing traditional songs and learning about where old village sites once existed,

Today the students were back in class and were sharing with their classmates what a wonderful experience the tour was. So at lunch I checked out the website http://www.takayatours.com/about.html and it seems like an excellent resources and a really interesting tour where one would learn alot about Coast Salish Culture. There are some great youtube videos on the site that are worth checking out.

Cheers,

Greg Campbell