canang-l Fw: Gap in funding for aboriginal education: Martin (The Peterborough Examiner, May 15 2013, PageA5)
Jean Koning
‘Go to the teachers’ colleges with a plan, with ways they can improve the system, Martin said. “You have got to do a better job of explaining what it is that you need, what it is that you require,” he said.
When Martin remarked on the silence following that comment, the audience erupted in laughter.” (As quoted in the news story – jk)
But I think we know why there was laughter, especially from the First Peoples. For they know that they have been trying to tell us all kinds of things since we first met, but we have not been very good at listening. It can probably count as progress if some of us are beginning to realize that we need to hear from the First Peoples themselves about what they know will be best for them. What is needed is the effort on our part to listen – to stop talking and just listen - to what the First Peoples have to say.
So, at the end of the evening, prompted by Alice, I went to Mr. Martin to tell him that it isn’t enough to ask the First Peoples to speak out about what they need; but he has to remind us, his fellow Canadian citizens, that we need to learn how to listen when the First Peoples speak. So he smiled and said, yes, he knew that. Then a few minutes later, Alice reported she had just had conversation with Mr. Martin, also, I expect, in her own inimitable way. So we did our best!
But I was glad to hear that Martin is working with Harvey McCue around First Peoples education needs, and I thought I heard McCue indicate, gently but firmly, that he is still working with Martin to help him to understand what it means to listen effectively to the First Peoples, and let them tell us what to do, rather than our telling them what to do. Listening to the panel discussion suggested to me that exactly the same communications dynamic is at work at the national level as we engage in at the grassroots level. And it will take a lot more time for us to learn to listen effectively at every level. Nevertheless, I tell myself that there is still hope.
Again, thanks for listening – and this completes a report of the past couple of weeks of my “work”! Just FYI, because Mary was kind enough to ask!
Jean
BRENDAN WEDLEY Examiner Staff Writer
The Peterborough Examiner
May 15 2013
Former prime minister Paul Martin stressed the need to consult with aboriginal people to find ways to improve Indigenous education in the country, during a panel discussion at Trent University on Tuesday night. Martin commented on the “huge gap” in... read more...
ROB MCCORMICK Examiner Staff Writerrob...@sunmedia.ca
The Peterborough Examiner
May 15 2013
Former prime minister Paul Martin paid tribute to Trent University’s indigenous studies program Tuesday, calling its creation “a great moment in Canadian history.” Martin, whose Martin Aboriginal Initiative funds educational programs for indigenous... read more...