Teaching on the reserve : a non-native perspective
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Date
2000
Authors
Fox, David J
University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, 2000
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to reflect back on my eleven years spent teaching in a
native education setting. Over half of my teaching career has been spent in native
elementary schools. I hope to provide some insight into the working conditions under
which teachers labor in a First Nation's system.
Personal experiences will be interwoven with incidents drawn from all the schools
in which I worked. The paper looks at six different aspects of reserve education. Some
deal with local school situations. Others deal with the school division as a whole and
some present issues that affect the school as well as the division.
The first section looks briefly at the history of Native Education, my teaching
experiences before coming to Alberta, and my introduction to teaching on the Blood
Reserve. The second section will look at the similarities and differences among three
schools and school divisions. The third section looks at the contracts under which all
teachers, new and returning, have to provide their services. It also deals with issues such
as the negotiation process, length of contracts, and some of the terms of the collective
agreement. The fourth section focuses on administration, the decision-making process as
I have experienced it, and its effect on teachers, programs, and students. The fifth section
looks at several of the problems and misconceptions that are associated with native
education, and native teachers. Reference is made to student's assessment and
achievement. Section six looks at possible solutions to the problems discussed in section
five. In the final section of the paper I will try to bring together many divergent thoughts
and viewpoints.
Some of the situations described in this paper have affected individuals, whole
staffs, programs, and students. They have had a direct bearing on the shape and direction
of native education. It is my hope that by writing this paper I can give a little glimpse into what teaching is sometimes like on the reserve, so that the reader might have a better
idea of the challenges and rewards that there are in teaching in a native education system.
The situations discussed in this paper pertain only to the school systems in which I have
taught.
Description
vii, 46 leaves ; 28 cm. --
Keywords
Indigenous peoples -- Education -- Canada