Introduction
What is so important about language? It would not be possible to understand the history of Quebec and Canada without a discussion concerning the role of language. In terms of where Quebec has been, where it is now, and where it is going, language plays a key role in this narrative. The likelihood that a majority of citizens of Quebec and Canada consider English and French to be the only languages of cultural significance within their particular framework is telling indeed. Another common misconception held by Canadians is in the belief that our collective history, compared to other nations, is free of the stain of racism. These are themes of interest among many scholars in the area of linguistics and education, notably Eve Haque. Haque’s recent book Multiculturalism within a Bilingual Framework (2012) tackles the issue of Canada’s linguistic past and present through a highly critical lens. Upon reviewing the curriculum guide for the required History and Citizenship Education program, a requirement for all students in Quebec, it should be clear that there is a place in the program for Haque’s critical perspective on language in Canada. Primary Goals of the History & Citizenship Program
Some important themes in Eve Haque’s book (2012) Multiculturalism within a Bilingual Framework
With this in mind, can we be comfortable in the knowledge that our young students, emerging adults, unknowingly enter a society that tolerates structural and systemic racism? At the time of the RCBC promises were made to enact a similar commission on aboriginal peoples, finally coming to pass in 1996 and not specifically including language until 2005 (Haque & Patrick, 2015, p.36) At present, there still does not exist a clear idea in official circles of the preservation and development of indigenous language falling under the category of ‘aboriginal rights’. From the student’s point of view, these are not events in the distant past. These events are playing out in the present and will have consequences for the future. What is hoped is that the student enters adult life with the tools needed to take on the role of citizen. This document proposes that in experiencing indigenous language as a part of the History and Citizenship Education program, students will be better equipped to participate in the future of their province and country. Haque's research and teaching interests include multiculturalism, white settler nationalism and language policy, with a focus on the regulation and representation of racialized im/migrants in white settler societies.
Is the teaching of aboriginal languages and culture compatible with the prescribed outcomes of the curriculum?
There is little doubt that students taking Quebec’s History and Citizenship Education course would benefit from more content related to aboriginal language and culture. But, what if the inclusion of this subject matter could actually influence the way history, and other subject areas, are taught? Curriculum planners in Quebec, and elsewhere, have been focussed for the past several years on efforts to move education away from more ‘traditional’ methodologies, and towards a more ‘student centred’ approach. It can be argued that the style of teaching and learning planners are trying to achieve is actually quite similar to that of traditional aboriginal education. Traditional aboriginal education refers to techniques used by Aboriginal peoples prior to their contact with Europeans. Traditional Aboriginal teachers believed in providing their young students with the skills, awareness, and values needed to survive as individuals, and to be contributing members of their community (Western Canadian Protocol, 2000) The Circle of Courage
If one compares the guiding principles of traditional aboriginal education with that of the History and Citizenship Education (and other dimensions of the Quebec Education Program) the similarities are impossible to ignore! Are there any resources available to teach this topic?
The availability of resources for including aboriginal language and culture in your history classroom are only limited by the extent of the imagination and curiosity of you and your students. This website offers a selection of what is out there, but is hardly exhaustive. The Internet is a vast and highly interactive learning tool. Use this website as a jumping off point to introduce your students (and yourself) to the history of Canada and Quebec as you have never seen it before. We believe these resources will make you a better history teacher, and will provide your students with the knowledge they need to fully take part in the future of their society! |
Why should you include first people’s language awareness in your history and citizenship course? The developers of the History and Citizenship Education course for secondary cycle two are quite clear in their description of its general purpose.
History education in the Western world, the planners explain, has a presence in standard secondary curricula dating to the origins of the modern nation-state. The enduring determination of this effort has been to instil a sense of national identity, and a belief in the validity of the existing political and social order. As students take on their roles of responsible citizens they do so armed with information, attitudes, and skills necessary for them to engage in the public sphere in accordance with the values of democracy. Here, there is a focus on the social as well as political dimensions of citizenship (Quebec, 2007, p.1). John Ralston Saul The Comeback: How Aboriginals are Reclaiming Power and Influence (2014). The opening chapter, entitled 'History is Upon us' ;
Saul points to a failure of Canadians to understand the events surrounding the Idle No More movement, both in its current reality and historical underpinnings The main reason he gives for this is the persistence of a kind of Judeo-Christian sense of sympathy that only serves to write off aboriginal Canadians as problematic and ultimately incapable, due to their perceived shame and failures, of functioning in modern civilization. Works such as Saul’s provide a perspective of aboriginal issues that is much needed in the collective consciousness of the Canadian public. These antiquated and obsolete approaches of sympathy, guilt, cynicism, and abandon must replaced with sentiments that do not distract us from our obligations as citizens. If we believe this to be true, then we must agree that such a perspective must also be included in the History and Citizenship Education program. Doesn’t the history and citizenship course already cover first peoples?
Are we serving our young students’ best interests with a history and citizenship program with no clear aims in respects to their learning about the historical roots, present realities, an future implications of the systemic oppression of aboriginal peoples? Still not convinced?
Can other subject areas be included in this subject area?
One of the guiding principles of the Quebec Education Program (QEP) is the linking of different subject matter through the cross-curricular competencies. Reality can rarely be understood through the rigid logic of a single subject; rather, it is by bringing together several fields of knowledge that we are able to grasp its many facets. (Quebec, 2007) If you don’t tell your children who and what they are, they won’t know. How can they be proud of what they don’t know? (Diversity in the classroom, 1996) (Reference: Diversity in the Classroom series. Aboriginal Cultures and Perspectives: Making a difference in the Classroom. Regina, SK; Saskatchewan Book Bureau, 1996.) This philosophy is shared by many in the field of education, including planners from Quebec’s counterpart to the west, Manitoba’s Ministry of Education and Youth. In a publication entitled Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives Into Curricula: A Resource for Curriculum Developers, Teachers, and Administrators . The introduction to this exhaustive resource states that… “Aboriginal perspectives are based on the distinct world view of the aboriginal cultures. This worldview has humans living in a universe made by the Creator and needing to live in harmony with nature, on another, and with oneself… All students are denied a quality education if they are not exposed to the contributions made by all the people in the development of the country in which they live.” Manitoba’s education program has the expressed goal of integrating an aboriginal perspective into all new and existing curricula for levels K to 12. In doing so, each subject is adapted to address the perspectives and accomplishments of aboriginal people. The list of subject areas is as follows:
It stands to reason that if Manitoba can achieve the comprehensive and meaningful integration of these themes all across their curricula, and at every level, Quebec can and should do the same for one course in one level. |