Thoughts on Education
This year, I sent my oldest son off to Kindergarten. Off to Education.
In the current BC State of emergency, that meant a late entry (mid Sept.) and gradual integration into a cohort that will spend the school year in one another’s “bubble”.
Last Friday was the socially modified Terry Fox Run (https://terryfox.org/Run/) and my son had excitedly recounted the history and story line as it approached. It was here that I received what will be assumed as my first dose of re-education. You see, Terry Fox had a “sore leg” as our son described it. This lead to a comical confusion between us and a debate about how exactly sore legs, amputations, cancer and prosthetics and running were all exactly affiliated. Cancer can be a nasty, complicated and often scary thing and the teacher’s philosophy had been to replace Cancer with the term “sore leg”. We could understand this concept but have spoken often enough about the various Cancers' of our family and friends that we chose to call the spade a spade at home.
Education is often a debated subject itself, too often within a very narrow scope. It seems that our collective blood boils every time we hear the Province and the Teachers Federation (BCTF) battle it out with one another. The provincial mandate we have given our ministry is that of "the educated citizen". In my mind this begs the understanding that education is a lifelong process facilitated by more than simply educators and pupils. In Oak Bay Gordon Head we have so many resources from which to learn and it's important not to forget that we are all still, in a sense, going to school.
It is not lost on me that I write this story approaching Orange Shirt Day (Sept. 30th). My son, in fact, has been wearing coloured shirts since the first week of school as they draw and rhyme and spell and learn to write the rainbow, band by band. Growing up near Williams Lake, I am also well aware of the story of Phyllis Webstad and Orange Shirt Day (https://www.orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story.html). These narratives are ever important and our collective education very fortunately includes them as we more often learn from our mistakes rather than our successes. To imagine the path to "the educated citizen" requires vision beyond budgets and class size and composition. The path requires us to develop a sense of self worth and involvement in the things that are happening in our communities. As strange as the term "belonging" feels to me, it really seems to be the first part of the concept of citizenry. Do you feel a part of this community? Are we still learning? Is Covid helping or hindering us in our engagement beyond our home or workplace walls?
Please let me know. I think we can elevate the concept of education beyond just a classroom and into the social/political realm. I ask simply this? In what way are you willing to help educate your government?
Be open and also generous of yourself, you are the educated citizen.
Sincerely,
Ryan
(rjgisler@hotmail.com)
