I couldn't help think about Vicky after Prof. Hlynka made the announcement. I didn't know her that well, but well enough to know that she was a good person and certainly had a passion for being an educator. It's very sad.
The funny thing is that last class we were talking about the apology that the government made about residential schools and I was thinking that it is too bad she wasn't in class because I'd like to know how she felt about it. Her childhood school experience was in a residential school and she told all of us in front of the class how traumatic it was for her. My question for her was whether the apology was a bit of a slap in the face or maybe very much appreciated. I wonder if it is one of those situations where an apology doesn't do very much after a certain point. It certainly can't undo any of the damage done.
Secondly, I wanted to comment on Duchastel's criteria for a study guide. Doesn't the criteria for a study guide depend of what it is you are studying for? Why does Duchastel get the credit for making the criteria for a study guide? I think a study guide could look like many different things as long as it prepares you for what you are studying.
On a final note, I thought I'd mention my thoughts on the Discover Canada guide. At first glance, I thought is was quite good because I'm currently teaching the Grade 11 Canadian History course and all of what I just taught is mentioned in there. I thought it would have been nice to give the students a copy of this as a supplement to the course. However, the closer I looked, the more I could see that this was almost like an informational brochure. In terms of content for new Canadians, I don't think they'd need information like transit, banking, grocery stores because that is just logistics of moving somewhere. (I have lived in 4 other countries besides Canada and it's just information you need to acquire to live there. However, if you want to understand and learn about where you are going to live it is helpful to know some history and some of the immediate parts of the culture.) So, if I were moving to Canada I would like a brief history, but primarily to learn about some of the daily traditions. For example, living in Malaysia, it would have been nice to know what the city wide siren was that I heard 5 times a day. It would be nice for a new Canadian to know the national anthem,(living in Mexico, I heard the national anthem so many times that I could sing it, and never heard the Malaysian anthem once in the whole time being there) some famous Canadians that people actually can have conversations about, popular places to see (UNESCO) and geography of the country, some of the resources and industries, (we can't grow bananas or coconuts, but it would be neat to know what are our major exports), cultural and religious make up and the restrictions on people (it would have been nice to know that I wasn't allowed to leave the country of Malaysia for 185 days after arriving. My Christmas trip home got cancelled pretty quick.) I'm rambling now, so I'll stop, but in a nut shell I think it would be nice in general to be educated about the information that Canadian born people know. My last critique is the grammar. We analyzed the grammatics and realize there must have been a reason for the style, but it does seem rather weak to me that an official government document can be so careless.
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The Discover Canada document seemed quite easy to dissect...makes me wonder who was in charge or reviewing it and/or editing it.
ReplyDeleteHere's an idea...
Why wouldn't they poll a variety of different groups of Canadians to see what/where/who they think is important to Canada. Intimate knowledge about these topics would allow for an immediate connection to the "heart" of people.
I have a few questions about the Citizenship process as well...if any of you can help me out? (Graham?)
1. How long after immigration do people generally apply (get tested) for citizenship?
The reason i ask is that we questioned whether or not Discover Canada should include survival tips like transportation, etc. IF citizenship processes don't take place for a year after arrival then most people would be on their own to figure that stuff out long before they would start 'studying' for the test.
OR
Are they handing these booklets to people straight off the plane/boat?
The timing of the test would greatly influence the "practicality" of it...don't you think?
Hi Lana, I think you raise some really good and interesting points about the Discover Canada document. I agree with your argument about the value of informing new Canadians about some practical elements of Canadian life. However, while I think this information would definitely be useful, I wonder, should memorization of the useful information be the criteria for allowing someone to become a citizen or not? I do not know if a "Newcomer Guide to Canada" exists from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. It seems to me that there would be benefit in providing two distinct publications: one for newcomers to Canada containing the information that you outlined in your blog about things such as brief history, geography, cultural and religious make-up, etc., and a second for people seeking citizenship. I would imagine the second document might contain some of the same information, but would not contain the "touristy" info - instead focusing on the specific information that is not necessarily of great interest, but that the government deems necessary to know in order to become a citizen of Canada. Creating two documents with different purposes might also aid in making the "Study Guide for Citizenship" easier to study from, because it would contain less information.
ReplyDeleteYou mention living in Malaysia and Mexico, I am curious which other 2 countries you have lived in. I taught in Torreon (close to Monterrey) for a year, and I certainly miss going for gorditas and carne asada after work!
Hey Lana...I wrote about the study guide in this week's blog and have my own reservations about it...useful but not as a study guide...it is good i think to be able to think critically about documents such as this as it puts you in a good mind set to handle the wealth of BS that occurs in the system...i want to be in mexico right about now!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your suggestions for the study guide including daily routines and cultural traditions. A group of "Canadians" should be assembled to decide upon what would truly represent Canada to the world. But...it might be hard for us to see that. Maybe an outside source needs to observe us and tell us what makes us Canadian, rather than American or British. It is challenging to analyze something so close to you.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, maybe curriculums should have writers on their panels who do not teach the subject. If curriculums are to prepare students for the world, maybe more community members should be included in its development. Wouldn't it be interesting to think about what a personal banker and an English teacher would think are important to be included in the math curriculum?