Statement of Support from Caroline Krause

After reading the MacDonald-Laurier Institute’s document, “Empowering Aboriginal Student’s to Educate Themselves,” I felt compelled to present my unequivocal support for this proposal.  A new approach to funding for post-secondary Aboriginal students is urgently needed to address their under-representation in universities across the country, which in turn makes it impossible for them to find skills-based and professional employment.

 

As former Principal of Grandview/?Uuquinak’uuh Elementary School, which is located in one of Vancouver’s poorest neighbourhoods, I have had direct experience working with Aboriginal students and their families. I am well aware of the struggles that students face when entering large, impersonal secondary schools where they often encounter hostility, marginalisation, social isolation, and academic challenges at significantly higher levels than their non-Aboriginal counterparts.

 

Although Aboriginal students at the elementary level are currently experiencing greater academic success than in the past, many drop out of school after grade 8 or grade 9 and as many as 50 percent fail to graduate. I feel certain that the MacDonald-Laurier Institute’s monetary incentive program will prove successful in keeping Aboriginal students in school, in encouraging greater numbers to graduate from high school, and in motivating them to continue on with post-secondary studies.

 

At one of Vancouver’s secondary schools, an innovative math teacher has proven that a monetary rewards program actually works. With financial assistance from private foundations and support from some members of the University of British Columbia Math and Science Faculty, this teacher has set up a very successful after-school homework club where Aboriginal students receive small bonuses each time they attend regular classes and each time they attend the homework club. 

 

In an interview with me in December 2008, the teacher reported that she has seen an increase in the number of students who have been able to move from Math Essentials into Principles of Math and an increase in the percentage of students who stay in school as a result of the incentives program. She finds that the students are developing better work habits and deeper connections to the school and to the adults who are working with them.

 

Before things can really change for Aboriginal students, the teacher and I agreed that the indifference and inequities in the system will have to be rectified and there will have to be greater overall accountability for their social, emotional and educational well being. In her own words, she states, “These are not disposable children!” (C. Krause.  Joint VSB/UBC Research Project. 2008).

 

One way to create a more equitable system will be to implement the proposed monetary incentive program right away. If secondary school students and their families knew that $2750.00 per year would be placed into a special account for post-secondary studies, I am convinced that there would be a significant increase in the number of Aboriginal students attending class regularly, in the number enrolling in mainstream rather than alternative programs, and in overall graduation rates.

 

Education, especially at the post-secondary level, is the crucial factor in improving employment opportunities and quality of life for Aboriginal peoples who are sadly Canada’s poorest and most marginalized group.  In my current position as Faculty Associate in the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Education, I have seen first hand the financial challenges that post-secondary Aboriginal students face on an ongoing basis.

 

Since arriving at UBC in September 2005, I have worked with dozens of Aboriginal students from the Native Indian Teacher Education Program (NITEP) in various practica and courses that I teach, such as EDUC 420 (School Organization in its Social Context).

 

During the 2005-2006 academic year, I taught four first- and second-year NITEP courses. Of the eight students who were originally registered in theses courses, only one has graduated so far. A second one who is currently taking my EDUC 420 course will probably graduate in April of this year. The main reason the others had to drop out was lack of funding.

 

Some of these students have shared with me their ongoing frustration with the current funding system that depends entirely on the good will of Band Councils and Chiefs.  Even when students receive approval for funding, there are times when the money arrives so late that they are unable to pay their rent, buy groceries or cover tuition fees.

 

Almost all Aboriginal post-secondary students that I have known at UBC have had to get jobs to supplement Band funding, which can be as little as a few hundred dollars a month, or nothing at all. This has serious implications for students who have to juggle heavy university course loads and demanding work responsibilities at the same time. Some of these students are also parents with young children who have to pay for day care or out-of-school care to be able to attend classes.

 

It is a well-documented fact that the current funding system (PSSSP) is not working and that it is open to serious abuse, favouritism, and other discriminatory practices. It should be replaced without delay by the proposed Aboriginal Post-Secondary Savings Account, which will eliminate all the negative aspects of the present system and place financial control directly in the hands of Aboriginal students who desperately need and deserve full funding as they undertake the necessary steps to improve their educational level, personal empowerment and quality of life. 

 

There is an urgent need for change to the present corrupt system that is clearly not working. Furthermore, there could be no better example of “Indian Control of Indian Education” than seeing funding that is set aside for Aboriginal students actually end up in their hands, without the endless red tape and complications of the past. 

 

This brilliant proposal has my unconditional support and I look forward to the day when Aboriginal students will be part of a fair and equitable system that will enable them to develop the skills and knowledge needed to occupy the place that they deserve in mainstream society.

 

 

Caroline A. Krause, Faculty Associate