How public school helped Point find the right track

Being one of the first Aboriginals in the public school system wasn’t easy. But BC's future Lieutenant Governor Steven Point (above; and right, reading to a class in Chilliwack) explains how teachers gave the help he needed:

Education is valuable for the growth and for the development of any young person. It is important to get kids into a situation where they are broadening their horizons. I tell the students to whom I speak that the libraries in their schools are a repository for what humanity has learned and their objective, their task as students, is to not only learn what is there, but to contribute to it.

Education is a part of our human journey. It tells us what humanity has learned so far and in practical terms, one’s education never stops. Whether you are working or retired, the small “e” education carries on. Formal education is very important as it prepares you for your job, your career, or your employment.

Education also happens when you have a mentor who is able to share his or her knowledge and understanding with students. My schooling was marked by mentors. This mentoring is what teaching is all about.

When I started school, my family was one of the first Aboriginal families to go into the public school system at the time when residential schools were closing. It was not an easy experience, but I had some great teachers along the way; teachers who tried hard to understand and who offered me extra help when it was needed. There were teachers who put me on the right track by saying, “Steven, you should try this or you should try that. You would be good at this.”

'I realized I might like teaching'

Mr. Hollands was one of my Grade 10 teachers. One day he asked me to speak to the students about the history of Aboriginal people in the Fraser Valley. From doing that, I realized that I might like teaching.

When I was in university I realized I liked standing in front of the students, talking to them and giving them my particular bent on the universe and the world around us. I found it both interesting and exciting. I look back on the teachers I had in school and some of them were like that. They were excited and positive about teaching.

I had a great math teacher – Mr. Menzies. He would put down the chalk every once in a while and just speak to the students. He would often talk about politics and about the reality of things that were going on in the community. I think that is when teaching is the most interesting – when teachers go outside of the boundaries of the lesson they are giving and engage the students in another way.

For me, education is not just about book learning; it’s about learning who you are as a person and where you fit in society. You have to think about where you will fit and what you will do with your life. You have to come to grips with your future. I had some great experiences like that in school.

When I finished my public education I had the desire to carry on with my studies. I have to give a lot of credit to the teachers I ran across in my public school days. They had vision and wanted me to look ahead. There were those who encouraged me to think about what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be.

It is important for teachers to help students get past their doubt; help them get past the feeling of not being able to do something. I encourage and challenge everyone to guide, mentor, enrich, educate and excite young people as they embark on their life’s learning journey.

Keep following the Leader as we present more testimonials from trustees and other notable British Columbians on why they believe in the importance of public education.

Trustee Heather Hannaford's ideal: children coming together, learning in own way

The Peace River North Provincial Councillor and BCSTA Life Member shares her vision of the strengths of BC public schools.

I ran for trustee in 1986 because I care about the present and future of all children. I wanted to do my part in maintaining the philosophy that all children are supported in the public system. The system in Britain separates children to a large extent and discriminates against those who cannot afford to pay. While my intent in becoming a school trustee originally foresaw children attending a school “building” together, it has evolved over the years towards the community’s students obtaining their education together but in a variety or different ways.

Knowledge accrues incrementally, as we are so often reminded. The original precepts, beyond keeping children off the streets and training young people for an industrial work force are dated. As technology has advanced I have often asked myself why students should be at school every day, why school curriculum is organized by age, by grade? Why, indeed, we insist the students follow our goals for them and not their own? Why we are not really encouraging students to make the world a better place, a job of which the adult generation is not doing so well.

The public and the public system have an opportunity to turn this 200-year-old concept on its head. There is so much to talk about:

• Bringing community together
• Students coming to school for events and classes that require group work and participation.
• Individualized programming (in school building or distance-based)
• Family groupings
• Intergenerational learning and intercultural learning
• Healthy living and physical activity programming
• Online learning
• Arts programming
• Specialty programming organized within a system, which honours all students and does not separate them out from their peers
• Volunteer work and work experience for students.

Of course we do much of this already, but on a small scale. Probably the early years together for basic concepts is still a useful use of space and organization, though this too might be challenged. It may be that society is moving towards adults working more at home and in community facilities, (libraries, community centres, hockey rinks).

In short, let's open our minds. Let's bring students and teachers together, often, but for those parts of education where they really need to be together. Let's allow students more choice in the use of their time. Let's make increasingly better use of technology, and allow students to determine more of their own goals.