AN EXPLORATION OF THE PROSLDTS OF
TEACHER hTHNOCEl!TTRICITY AND LOW EXPECTATIONS
I N All UEtRAN IMTZRATED SCHOOL
by
David Thomas Hawkes
B.A.,
University of S r i t i s h Columbia, 1966
A THESIS SUBMITTED I N PAIRTI AL FULFILMENT OF
THE REQUIRB4ENTS FOR THE DEMEtEG OF
IvI.ASTEROF h?TS
(DUCATION)
i n t h e Department
of
Behavioural Science Foundations
0
David Thomas Hawkes 1971
Simon $'raser
University
August 1971
APPROVAL
David Thomas Hawkes
M ame :
Degree:
"An Exploration of The Problems of
Teacher Ethnocentricity and Low
Expections i n an Urban I n t e g r a t e d
School.
T i t l e of Thesis:
Examining Committee:
Chairman:
~ r My.
Balperin,
Senior Supervisor,
Dr. A. More,
University of B r i t i s h Columbia.
Dr. ~ a r Pl e t e r ,
Associate Professor.
P o l i t i c a l S c i e n c e / ~ o c i o l o g yand
Anthropology.
Date Approved:
(ii)
J u l y 26th. 1 9 7 1 .
I
ABSTRACT
This study i s an examination of an urban elementary school s e t
i n a r e s i d e n t i a l , middle c l a s s area.
Twenty percent of t h e school
population came from an Indian Reserve located d i r e c t l y beside t h e
r e s i d e n t i a l area.
Findings i n t h e study a r e based on interviews with
a l l t h e teachers and approximately half of t h e Indian parents whose
c h i l d r e n attended t h e school, and observations made during twelve months
t h e authour spent teaching i n t h e school.
The study can be broken i n t o f i v e p a r t s .
F i r s t , t h e economic,
s o c i a l and c u l t u r a l aspects of t h e r e s i d e n t i a l community a d t h e Reserve
a r e described i n s u f f i c i e n t d e t a i l t o serve a s a reference source f o r
t h e comments and viewpoints outlined l a t e r .
Second, t h e op-inions of
t h e teachers regarding t h e home environment of t h e Indian c h i l d r e n a r e
s t a t e d a s w e l l as t h e i r comments on t h e e f f e c t of t h a t environment on t h e
learning p a t t e r n s of t h e Indian children.
Third, t h e conments of t h e
teachers a r e noted regarding t h e s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s of t h e Indian and
White children.
Included i n t h i s s e c t i o n a r e t h e r e s u l t s of sociogram.~
conducted i n t h e rooms which show t h e choice and r e j e c t i o n p a t t e r n s
involving Indian children.
Fourth, t h e teachers f i l l e d out question
s h e e t s concerning t h e i r expectations f o r t h e Indian children i n t h e i r
rooms.
The d a t a from t h e s e questionnaires were analyzed a r d t h e r e s ~ i l t s
compared with t h e research i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e on t h e e f f e c t s on performance
of low o r high expectations.
F i f t h , t h e teachers were asked t o d i s c u s s
t h e p a r t i c u l a r q u a l i t i e s needed by a teacher i n t h a t school and t o
(iii)
describe t h e aims of such a schoo; with regards t o t h e i r Indian pupils.
These a r e compared w i t h t h e views of Yne Indian parents wno were i n t e r viewed and w i t h comments from t h e l i t e r a t u r e on t h e aims and objectives
of education.
I n any s i t u a t i o n where two c u l t u r e s contact each other, ethnoc e n t r i c i t y i s an inherent c h a r a c t e r i s t i c .
The f i r s t conclusion of t h e
study i s t h a t t h e majority of t h e t e a c h e r s had an ethnocentric und.erstanding of t h e home environment of t h e c h i l d r e n and t h a t t h i s , a s w e l l
a s teachers' low expectations were s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r s contributing
t o t h e low performance l e v e l of t h e Indian children.
The teachers
were q u i t e competent i n t h e i r a n a l y s i s of t h e learning problems of t h e
c h i l d r e n b u t were i n s u f f i c i e n t l y aware of t h e c u l t u r a l and s o c i a l aspects
of t h e possible causes and s o l u t i o n s t o t h e s e problems.
The second conclusion of t h i s study i s t h a t teachers i n int e g r a t e d schools must have pre-service and in-service t r a i n i n g which w i l l
help them i d e n t i f y t h e impact of t h e c u l t u r a l background of t h e c h i l d r e n
on t h e i r learning p a t t e r n s i n school.
Without t h i s t r a i n i n g t h e most
s e n s i t i v e of teachers cannot i d e n t i f y and meet t h e needs of h i s Indian
p u p i l s a s e f f e c t i v e l y a s i s needed.
Without t h e d i r e c t a s s i s t a n c e of s e v e r a l people t h i s study
would have been a n impossibility.
I would l i k e t o thank Chief Joe
Mathias and Councillor Glen I\Jewman f o r t h e i r encouragement and invaluable a s s i s t a n c e i n s e t t i n g up interviews with members of t h e
Capilano Sand; Mrs. Janice Nathias f o r h e r timely and perceptive
criticisms;
Dr. A. More f o r explaining and conducting t h e r i t u a l s
needed t o achieve r e s u l t s from a computer; D r . PI. Halperin f o r h i s
c a r e f u l guidance through t h e various s t a g e s of writing; my wife f o r
typing t h e f i n a l copy and f o r h e r unending patience and endurance
during t h e long time t h i s study has taken; t h e parents of t h e Capilano
i3and f o r t h e i r w i l l i n g cooperation i n every interview; t h e teachers
a t Norgate f o r t h e i r good humoured t o l e r a n c e of m y never endirg
questions, interviews, and question sheets.
I hope t h a t a s pro-
f e s s i o n a l s , they w i l l not t a k e any c r i t i c i s m s i n t h i s study personally,
b u t w i l l look on it a s a n attempt t o suggest ways i n which our prof e s s i o n can do i t s appointed t a s k more e f f e c t i v e l y .
Page
i
i
i
v
vii
Int,ro$uction
Chapter 1
,:or :ate Park: Tfistory, -+conomic,
Occupational an6 S o c i a l C b r a c t e r i s t i c s
Capilano -Seswve : P h y s i c a l , konomic ,
Occupational, S o c i a l a-d C u l t u r a l
Characteristics
jack -youix?. h~o?ided:;e of 'Teachers
Zousin; and Livin; C o r d i t i o n s
Child-Tarent ? e l a t i o n s h i n s
-l n d i a n P a r e n t A t t i t u d e s Toward Ilncati-on
I n d i a 3 P a r e n t 4ttA.tv.dos Toward Fcllool
and Teachers
3fr"ect of t h e -iom hvironment on i , e a r n i q
,'u.rmary
Chapter 3
T H E VIBdS OF T R 3 TZACH~!S
I N D I A N CHILDREN
IZEAFtDING
THE
Zpecial. C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
Social Selationships
<cadernic Perf orlaancc
%search froin Literature on t q e c t a t i o n s
leacl?ers >:pcctations
'
Chapter 'b
TTiS QUALITIGS IiT;DXD TL
IT TH3 TXACHTR AND THE
PiURPOSS OF THE SCHOOL IEJ XORGAT3 PARK
Chapter j
S
~ARY ~NJD ~C OMCLUSI
~
l ON S
LIST OF TA8LXS
Selected Zensus gats, 1961; Supplements 1966
Population J i s t r i b u t i o 9 Chart or Legal % a t u s
Indians 1963
iIarriage P a t t e r n s 1958-1967
Lousing L,YLCorination Showin:; -'udoer of Occupants
and Date of Construction
lo us in^ I n f o m a t i o n Showing S t a t e of ' i e p a i r and
3egree of Crowdin?
Surmnary of Xinds and d u a l i t i e s of 3ackground
rhowled5e of Teachers
T o t a l !'urnlmr of and Percentage of I n d i a n ? u ~ i l s
i n I'ederal , Puiblic, and P r i v a t e Schools by
Year and. 2rade
Smmary of Choices llade Involving Indian Cliildreii
Sumnary of 3e j e c t i o n s Ia d e I n v o l v i w Indian
Children
Frequency oE Choice of Indian Fupils
Frequency of .:ejection
of I n d i a n ? u p i l s
Other F e r t i n e n t Data ? r o x Sociograms
d i s t r i b u t i o n of i'arlcs of 411 I n d i a n Children
The Questionnaire
itnalysis of Data by reacher ,Showin? :'ieans and
Ftandard Deviations--:?atin,t: 1 and 2
Comparative Jbility-Primary a d Intermediate
3reakdam--9atin:;s
1 and 2
( v i ij
1%
" < q e c t e d :;rade Achieved--Primary and Tntwmediate
3reakdown Showin. F'ercentages of larks fiven
'dxpected Level Ac!iieved--2rirflary and Intermediate
3reakdown Showing Percentai~eof Stuc',ents
ik-pected t o Finish a t 3ach Grade Level
khievernent and. Intelli,.;ence 4uotient Test 7Lesul.t~
(viii)
Introduction
This i s a study of one school, with a specific group of
teachers, during one particular segment of time.
The school i s an
urban school s e t i n a pleasant r e s i d e n t i a l , middle class area next door
t o an Indian Reserve.
Sixteen t o twenty percent of the schoolts popula-
t i o n comes from t h i s Reserve.
This, then, i s a case study attempting
t o explore t h e opinions and viewpoints of t h e teachers regarding the
Indian children and t h e i r home background and then t o suggest t h e implications of these opinions and viewpoints with regard t o t h e academic
performance of the children.
The teachers were asked t o discuss t h e home background of t h e
children a s it affected t h e i r school work; the r e l a t i o n s of t h e parents
with the school; the general c u l t u r a l and s o c i a l background of the
children; and t h e causes of the particular problems each child had.
After these viewpoints a r e s e t out i n t h e study, the performance record
of the children i s then established a s it i s shown i n t h e report card
r e s u l t s of the children who were i n t h e school a t t h a t time.
The
expectations of t h e teachers were a l s o explored both verbally i n the
interviews and a l s o i n written form using a questionnaire.
Data from t h e
questionnaire i s analyzed i n t h i s study and discussed i n the l i g h t of
research reported i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e on t h e e f f e c t s of expectations on
performance.
Finally, t h e teachers were asked t o discuss the r o l e of
the teacher and t h e school a s they saw it i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e Indian
pupils particularly.
2
The f i r s t conclusion reached i n t h e study i s t h a t ethnocent r i c i t y on t h e p a r t of the majority of t h e s t a f f , combined with t h e low
expectations of the majority of t h e s t a f f i s
one of t h e significant
f a c t o r s contributing t o the low performance l e v e l of t h e Indian
children i n t h e academic areas.
The teachers competently isolated and
analyzed t h e learning problems of t h e children a s they saw them i n t h e
classroom but were i n s u f f i c i e n t l y aware of t h e c u l t u r a l and s o c i a l
aspects of t h e causes and possible solutions of these problems.
This
unawareness of t h e impact of t h e c u l t u r a l and s o c i a l backgrounds of t h e
children on t h e i r behavior and learning patterns and the teachers* res u l t i n g misinterpretation of t h e behavior patterns of both the children
and t h e parents i s the ethnocentricity t o which I refer.
Ethnocentricity was p a r t of t h e scene i n t h i s school because
it was a culture contact situation.
No one on s t a f f had had t r a i n i n g
i n the teaching of minority groups o r i n t h e h i s t o r i c a l or present
c u l t u r a l background of t h e children from t h e Reserve.
Teachers with
t h i s type of t r a i n i n g were not appointed t o t h e school because the
School Board d i d not see the school a s requiring s t a f f with such q u a l i f i cations.
This policy had been established, i n p a r t , on t h e advice of
t h e principals of t h e schools i n t h e d i s t r i c t i n which there were
Indian children registered.
The second conclusion of t h i s study i s t h a t while the teachers
a r e q u i t e correct i n t h e i r contention t h a t t h e most important q u a l i t i e s
f o r a teacher i n t h i s school a r e t h e same a s those f o r any other
school, t h a t is, a s e n s i t i v i t y t o t h e individual needs of h i s o r her
pupils and a genuine d e s i r e t o meet those needs a s f a r a s possible,
3
nevertheless, t h e a b i l i t y t o i d e n t i f y and meet those needs requires
some in-service t r a i n i n g of some kind i n order t o c l a r i f y t h e role of
t h e teacher i n such a school and t o a s s i s t him i n understanding t h e
p a r t i c u l a r needs of these children.
The point made i n t h e f i r s t sentence of t h i s introduction i s
worth stressing.
This study i s about a p a r t i c u l a r s i t u a t i o n and, there-
f o r e , generalizations made from it must be formed very carefully.
The
Indian population of Canada has very few uniform characteristics.
Con-
d i t i o n s on reserves, t h e degree of acculturation, t h e a t t i t u d e s toward
education, just t o take some examples, a l l vary widely from band t o
band even within a small geographical area.
The group of teachers i n
t h i s study were a p a r t i c u l a r group of people i n t e r a c t i n g and influencing
each other a t one time and place.
They were not picked o r d e s i p e d or
seen a s a representative group of any l a r g e r organization or s o c i a l
construct.
Therefore, it would not be wise t o generalize from t h i s
study on topics such as White teacher-Indian parent relationships,
a t t i t u d e s toward education on the part of Indian children, or t h e concept of t h e r o l e of the teacher of Indian children a s understood by t h e
White, middle c l a s s teacher.
study.
This study has the drawbacks of a case
It does not have t h e generalized a p p l i c a b i l i t y of a survey.
Hopefully, it has the strengths of t h e case study
-- a depth of d e t a i l
of one p a r t i c u l a r example of a f a i r l y common s i t u a t i o n , an integrated
school.
The information f o r t h i s study was gathered during a f u l l
twelve months of teaching i n t h e school.
The statements i n t h e study
on t h e views of t h e teachers a r e based on d a i l y contact i n c l a s s and
4
s t a f f room, a t l e a s t one interview, and a questionnaire.
were taped and then transcribed verbatim.
The interviews
The interviews were based
on a standard s e r i e s of questions but were usually q u i t e open-ended,
The statements i n t h e study on t h e opinions of t h e Indian parents were
based on interviews with t h i r t e e n of t h e twenty-seven f a m i l i e s who had
c h i l d r e n i n t h e school a t t h a t time.
It i s i n p o r t a n t t o note t h a t t h e s e
f a m i l i e s were n e i t h e r randomly s e l e c t e d nor chosen a s representative of
t h e Reserve population.
twenty-seven families.
It was my o r i g i n a l i n t e n t i o n t o interview a l l
Thirteen was a l l t h a t my time would allow.
They
do, however, represent a rough c r o s s s e c t i o n of t h e people on t h e
Reserve i n terms of age, income, and education.
.Another caution must be introduced here regarding t h i s study.
The teachers' statements were a l l checked a g a i n s t t h e knowledge one
amasses a s a participant-observer i n a s i t u a t i o n over twelve months.
I
share a common background with t h e teachers both s o c i a l l y and i n terms
of t r a i n i n g ,
Therefore, I have a considerable amount of f a i t h i n t h e
r e l i a b i l i t y of my i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of t h e i r comments and actions.
However, t h e statements on t h e views of t h e Indian parents a r e based
on a b r i e f contact of two hours o r so.
I have put nothing down of which
I was not c e r t a i n , however, it i s impossible t o have t h e same f a i t h i n
t h e accuracy of my i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of t h e comments of t h e Indian parents
a s I have i n my a n a l y s i s of t h e teachers' views.
Only frequent and un-
s t r u c t u r e d contacts with many Indian f a m i l i e s would give t h e same hope
of r e l i a b i l i t y of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n .
This, I was not f o r t u n a t e enough t o
have,
The teaching s i t u a t i o n a t t h i s school was by no means as de-
5
pressing a s such a s can be found i n t h e c e n t r a l a r e a s of our l a r g e
cities.
dut t h e r e was a l a r g e nuniber 02 Indian children i n t h i s
s i t u a t i o n who were not achieving a s w e l l a s I b e l i e v e they could.
Where c u l t u r e contact s i t u a t i o n s e x i s t , e t h n o c e n t r i c i t y i s l i k e l y t o
e x i s t a s I saw it t h e r e , and be p a r t of t h e cause of t h i s l a c k of
adequate academic performance.
Serious l e a r n i n g handicaps do e x i s t
over which t h e teacher has no c o n t r o l and can do l i t t l e t o a l l e v i a t e .
But t h e aggravation of t h e l e a r n i n g problems of t h e c h i l d , caused,
inadvertently, by t h e teacher, we can t a k e s t e p s t o overcome.
Chapter 1
Norgate Park:
~n&oduction of t h e Area
History, Economic, Occupational and Social C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
The r e s i d e n t i a l area c a l l e d Norgate Park has a r a t h e r i n t e r e s t i n g
history.
It was b u i l t over a three-year period erding i n 1952 ard was
t h e second subdivision b u i l t i n t h e h i s t o r y of B r i t i s h Columbia.
The
i d e a of t h e o r i g i n a l contractor buying t h e l o t s , laying out t h e s t r e e t s ,
putting i n t h e l i g h t i n g and s e r v i c e s , and building a l l t h e houses t o
a l i m i t e d number of plans, was i n i t s e l f then q u i t e new t o t h e area.
The houses themselves had f e a t u r e s which, a t t h e time, were controversial.
None of t h e houses had a basement but were l a i d on heated concrete s l a b s ,
and most of them had carports, a new i d e a i n 19149.
The plan of t h e community added g r e a t l y t o i t s a t t r a c t i v e n e s s .
Three through s t r e e t s running t h e l e n g t h of t h e area and one running t h e
width a c t a s a framework off which run s h o r t crescents, cul-de-sacs,
and l i m i t e d access s t r e e t s .
Two park s t r i p s , ninety and seventy f e e t
wide, run t h e l e n g t h of t h e subdivision, one i n t h e middle of t h e house
l o t s , t h e other on one perimeter.
A f i v e a c r e park a& community
r e c r e a t i o n a r e a a t one end of t h e a r e a i s balanced by t h e f i v e a c r e
school p l o t a t t h e other.
Access t o t h e subdivision i s l i m i t e d t o f o u r roads.
It i s
bounded by railway t r a c k s and water on one s i d e , by a main t r a f f i c
a r t e r y on t h e other, by t h e Indian Reserve on one end, a d by a
l i g h t industry zone a t t h e other end.
The houses themselves a r e
separated from each of t h e s e boundaries by a block-thick b a r r i e r of
bush and t r e e s .
7
The population has remained steady f o r t h e e n t i r e sixteen
years of the subdivisionls existence since t h e ground available f o r
housing was used up i n t h e original layout of 420 houses.
The best
way t o describe the population i s t o provide and then elaborate on
the information supplied by t h e Dominion Bureau of S t a t i s t i c s .
The census t r a c t which includes Norgate Park a l s o includes a
l a r g e r area s i t u a t e d on a ridge above t h e subdivision.
About t h i r t y
percent of t h e houses i n t h i s area a r e i n t h e same price range a s
those of Worgate Park and would appear t o p a r a l l e l them i n a l l other
categories noted i n t h e census.
The remainder of t h e houses i n t h e
area a r e placed on t h e ridge i t s e l f and thus a r e considerably more
expensive than t h e others situated on t h e area behind t h e ridge or i n
Norgate.
Morgate Park and t h e houses of similar construction and price
range, make up approximately two-thirds of t h e whole census t r a c t i n
number of households and population.
Assurance t h a t census information
from t h i s t r a c t can be used i n reference t o Norgate Park can be taken
from t h e introduction t o t h e Census Tract Bulletin.
census t r a c t s a r e "...,designed
It s t a t e s t h a t
with a view t o providing basic census
s t a t i s t i c s f o r areas which a r e homogeneous with respect t o economic
s t a t u s and l i v i n g condition^,^'
(Canada Census 1966:
3)
The c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e population of these areas have
not changed markedly over the l a s t twenty years except f o r a slow
increase i n the number of r e t i r e d people a t t r a c t e d t o t h e Norgate Park
area by t h e one-story,
e a s i l y maintained houses,
Since no significant
changes a r e apparent, and since t h e census of 1961 was a f u l l census,
it will be t h e prime source of data.
'dhere applicable, t h e data
from t h e 1966 census a r e a l s o given a s a comparison.
TABLE I
S3LECTE1) CXNSUS DATA, 1961;
SUPPLENEXTS 1966.
Ethnic Origin and Religious Denomination
75%born i n Canada
78$ of B r i t i s h ethnic background
96% speak English only
708 claim e i t h e r the Anglican or United Church a s t h e i r
religious denomination
Schooling
(Percentages represent those who have finished t h e i r formal
education)
15%finished one or more years of elementary only
18$ finished one o r two years of secondary
48% finished three t o f i v e years of secondary
finished one or more years of university
Family Size
895 of t h e households a r e comprised of one family (1966
- 85$)
74.5 of t h e families have t h e head of t h e family between t h e
ages of 25 and 55 (1966
69$)
The families average 3.5 persons per family (1966
3.4)
The families average 1.6 children per family (1966
1.5)
-
--
Housing
The houses average 5.4 rooms per dwelling with an average of
0.6 persons per room. None of t h e houses i s i n need of
major repair.
of t h e houses a r e crowded; t h a t i s , they have more than
6
one person per room l i v i n g i n t h e house.
81% of the houses a r e owner-occupied (1966
79%)
-
Occupational Data
Classifications
Labour Force*
Class of Worker**
Wage earners
Self employed
Unpaid family workers
Occupation Division
Pianagerial
Professional and Technical
Clerical
Sales
Male
Female
9
TABLE I
- Continued
,
Male
Female
Service and gecreation
Transport and Communication
Primary (lumbering, fishing , e t c ,)
Craftsmen, Production workers
Labourers
Unatat ed
Lookin,.; f o r work
*
The 1961 census defines t h e labour force a s including
I1..,,all persons, 15 years of age and over, who were reported a s
having a job of any kind, e i t h e r part-time or full-time,,...or
were
reported a s Looking f o r work, during t h e week p r i o r t o t h e enumeration,"
(pg, 28). The labour force does not include housewives.
**
ALL figures i n t h e remaining sections a r e given a s a
percentage of t h e t o t a l labour force,
Using t h i s d a t a a s a base, c e r t a i n assumptions can be made
about t h e residents of t h i s area.
Before these assumptions a r e s t a t e d ,
however, one d e f i n i t i o n i s required.
Joseph Kahl makes the following
points i n h i s book, The American Class Structure,
(1962: passim)
F i r s t , families can be measured or given a r a t i n g on six variables;
prestige, occupations, possessions, interaction, c l a s s consciousness,
and value orientations,
Second, a family tends t o equalize i t s position
on these six variables.
Third, "If a l a r g e group of families a r e
approximately equal t o each other and c l e a r l y d i f f e r e n t i a t e d from
other families, we c a l l them a s o c i a l class.tt
(pg. 12)
Using t h i s d e f i n i t i o n , t h e residents of Norgate Park can be
assumed t o be members of t h e middle c l a s s ,
They own t h e i r homes; have
a t l e a s t a high school education i n two-thirds of the cases; they work
10
a t medium p r e s t i g e jobs which bri,ng i n a middle income.
c n a t i i l e ~i-ii.11share
1a8iQ-
of. t h e
Stiiag
~itiiieorienLatiojls toward ?nose
matters which are of the most i n t e r e s t i n t h i s study:
school and i t s teachers.
We can assume
education, t h e
i1
Capilano Reserve:
Physical, Economic, Occupational, Social and
Cultural Characteristics
According t o t h e I n d i a n Act of t h e Federal f o v e r m e n t of
Canada, an Indian i s anyone who i s l i s t e d on a Band l i s t a s a member of
an Indian Band.
This i s a l e g a l d e f i n i t i o n which does not always
p a r a l l e l l i n e s of blood descent.
If a n I n d i a n woman marries a non-
Indian, she automatically and permanently l o s e s h e r s t a t u s a s a n
Indian a s do any c h i l d r e n she may have.
I f an Indian man marries a
non-Indian, h i s w i f e gains Indian s t a t u s and t h e i r c h i l d r e n a r e l i s t e d
on t h e Band l i s t and a r e considered l e g a l l y Indian.
Since i n t e r -
marriage between Indians and non-Indians i s i n c r e a s i n g l y common, t h e r e
i s a l a r g e body of people who a r e not l e g a l l y I n d i a n b u t who a r e a s
much Indian by blood a s many who a r e l i s t e d a s l e g a l l y Indian.
There
i s a l s o a group of people who a r e Indian by descent b u t who have been
enfranchised.
The request f o r enfranchisement was much more common a
few y e a r s ago t h a n it i s now.
dhen an I n d i a n a p p l i e s f o r enfranchisement
he r e c e i v e s h i s share of whatever c a p i t a l funds t h e 3and may have and
r e l i n q u i s h e s any claim t o t r e a t y r i g h t s o r any p r i v i l e g e s which being
an Indian may bring.
Quoting Hawthorn, "According t o t h e Indian Act, a 'bandg
i s a body of Indians who possess l a n d s , f o r whose use moneys a r e held
by t h e Federal government, o r who have received t h e i r l e g a l s t a t u s
from t h e Governor-General."
(Hawthorn 1967:23)
The Act a l s o declared
t h a t a uresemre't i s "A t r a c t of land, t h e l e g a l t i t l e t o which has been
vested i n Her Majesty, t h a t has been s e t a p a r t by Her Majesty f o r
t h e use and b e n e f i t of a band.l1
( I n d i a n Act 1956:2)
I n t h i s paper t h e term I n d i a n w i l l r e f e r t o those who a r e
5
I n d i a n by descent on e i t h e r s i d e and who consider themselves c u l t u r a l l y
and s o c i a l l y t o be Indian.
Nany of t h e f i g u r e s given i n t h e next few pages were taken
from a r e p o r t prepared f o r t h e Squamish dand by .Acres Western Limited.
cross-checked some of t h e f i g u r e s and found them t o be q u i t e r e l i a b l e .
Permission t o use t h i s information was given by both Acres Western
Limited and t h e Bard Council.
Where no acknowledgement i s made, t h e
information was obtained during interviews.
The Capilano Indian Reserve c o n s i s t s of 300 a c r e s of land
The Reserve i s bounded
s e t i n t h e middle of a l a r g e urban d i s t r i c t .
by water on one s i d e and a major t r a f f i c a r t e r y on t h e other.
i s a t one end and Norgate Park subdivision i s a t t h e other.
a c r e s a r e broken up a s follows:
58-37
9.43
55.0
15.0
17.5
14.84
129.86
300.00 a c r e s
Parkland
The 300
( ~ c r e s1968)
Commercial complexes
Bigh d e n s i t y r e s i d e n t i a l
Industrial
Mobile Home Park
Indian V i l l a g e
Recreational
Vacant o r undeveloped
Of t h e t o t a l Reserve, then, t h e Indian v i l l a g e t a k e s up o d y about
5.8% of t h e land a v a i l a b l e .
The c l u s t e r of houses i s s i t u a t e d i n
t h e n o r t h e a s t corner of t h e Reserve c l o s e t o t h e boundaries with
Xorgate Park and t h e major t r a f f i c a r t e r y .
The houses a r e separated
from both t h e s e boundaries by e i t h e r a t h i c k b e l t of t r e e s and bush
o r a wide s t r e t c h of open land.
There has been an I n d i a n v i l l a g e near t h i s p a r t i c u l a r l o c a t i o n a s f a r back a s t h e memory goes.
I n 1923, t h e people on t h i s
I
Reserve joined with s e v e r a l other) Reserves t o form a l a r g e amalgamated
Sand*.
(R. Sand 1969:
7) The various Reserves forming t h i s Band
a r e r e l a t e d through t i e s of marriage, language and customs and f e l t
they could more e f f e c t i v e l y handle t h e s i m i l a r problems they faced
a s a united group than a s s e p a r a t e units.
A t t h e present, t h i s l a r g e
B a d has two h e r e d i t a r y Chiefs and a council of elected representatives
a s i t s c o n t r o l l i n g body.
One r e s u l t of t h e amalgamation of t h e various Reserves
was a s h i f t i n population from crowded Reserves i n t h e Band t o t h e
sparsely populated Capilano Reserve.
The majority of t h e people a r e of t h e Roman Catholic f a i t h .
However, t h e Church does not appear t o have any g r e a t d e a l of influence
on non-religious matters on t h e Reserve.
on t h e Capilano Reserve.
There i s no church building
A small number of f a m i l i e s a r e Anglican.
This f a c t has played some r o l e i n t h e i r s e l e c t i o n of schools.
Since
t h e Indian Day School was run by a Roman Catholic Order, t h e Anglican
f a m i l i e s had t h e choice of e n r o l l i n g t h e i r c h i l d r e n i n t h e nearby
public schools o r sending them t o t h e n e a r e s t Anglican Indian r e s i d e n t i a l school which was almost 200 miles away.
* According t o R. 3and, population has s h i f t e d t o t h e e x t e n t
t h a t of t h e o r i g i n a l s i x t e e n Hands occupying twenty-four d i s t i n c t
reserves, only s i x reserves a r e s t i l l considered a s r e s i d e n t i a l areas.
Seventy-two percent of t h e t o t a l Squamish population l i v e s on t h e
Capilano Reserve i n North Vancouver D i s t r i c t and t h e Mission Reserve
i n ESorth Vancouver City. The other twenty-eight percent l i v e on
t h e f o u r Reserves i n t h e D i s t r i c t of Squamish, some twenty-five miles
from North Vancouver. (1969: 7)
14
Economic Development
,
The Federal Government's Indian Act allows Indian Bands
t o l e a s e 'rieserve land t o non-Indians f o r development and management.
Since t h e amalgamation of the various Reserves t h e Band Council
handles a l l such leases f o r a l l t h e Reserves.
Of t h e 300 acres of
t h e Capilano Reserve, 157.18 acres a r e under lease.
( ~ c r e s1968)
Because of i t s position on t h e waterfront and because of the small
percentage of land required f o r t h e Indian v i l l a g e , and because of
i t s s t r a t e g i c location i n t h e center of a grawing urban area, t h e
l e a s e s held a t present produce a good revenue and t h e undeveloped land
i s the most valuable r e a l e s t a t e i n t h e urban area.
The money received from these l e a s e s i s not e n t i r e l y under
t h e d i r e c t control of t h e Band Council.
The money i s put i n a Capital
Fund held i n t r u s t by t h e Federal Government.
The yearly i n t e r e s t i s
given t o t h e Band, but regular withdrawals a r e discouraged.
The
balance of control over such revenues has changed considerably over
t h e l a s t few years.
Gradually, l o c a l Band Councils a r e gaining t o t a l
control over such monies.
Relations with the Non-Indian Society
The Squamish Band has sham an increasing degree of
sophistication i n t h e i r dealings with Indian Affairs, neighbouring
communities, and business firms.
For t h e l a s t several years they
have had a permanent Bard Manager and have retained a law firm t o
a c t f o r them i n a l l l e g a l matters.
Recently t h e Band hired a l a r g e
consulting firm t o do a l a r d use study f o r them.
The detailed and
comprehensive proposals put forward i n t h i s study a r e now being
studied by t h e Band Council.
Relations between t h e Capilano Reserve and t h e l o c a l
municipal governments tend t o be somewhat complicated by t h e f a c t
t h a t t h e Reserve i s s i t u a t e d on t h e border between two municipalities,
North Vancouver and Hest Vancouver, and i s a l s o i n a pocket away
from t h e main t r a v e l routes.
Service i s adequate but it i s not
e n t i r e l y c l e a r which police and f i r e departments a r e responsible f o r
t h e Reserve lands.
Communication l i n k s a r e growing on t h e o f f i c i a l
l e v e l between t h e various Reserves and t h e white community.
However,
many organizations i n t h e white community s t i l l see other white people,
such a s Indian A f f a i r s o r University personnel, as more l i k e l y sources
of information t h a n t h e Indian people themselves on matters where
knowledge concerning t h e Reserve i s required.
A u n i v e r s i t y professor
who was known t o have i n t e r e s t i n and contact with l o c a l Indian Reserves
reported frequent requests from various l o c a l people and organizations
f o r f a c t u a l information on nearby Indian Reserves.
When t h e c a l l e r s
were informed t h a t t h e b e s t source f o r such infomnation was t h e Indian
Band o f f i c e , they u s u a l l y expressed ignorance o f , and s u r p r i s e a t , t h e
existence of such a n office.
On t h e Capilano Reserve i t s e l f , very few of t h e a d u l t Indians
interviewed could o r would r e c a l l any examples of overt prejudice
a g a i n s t themselves a s Indians.
They d i d f e e l t h a t t h e r e was evidence
of prejudice operating i n oblique and i n d i r e c t ways.
They mentioned
p r e f e r e n t i a l treatment f o r Whites when competing f o r jobs a s t h e b e s t
example of such i n d i r e c t prejudice.
16
Contacts between the Capilano Reserve and Norgate Park i t s e l f
were very limited.
According t o t h e Indian parents interviewed, these
were very pleasant when they occurred.
School events and voting days
provided t h e l a r g e majority of such contacts,
Residents of Norgate
Park tended t o make t h e same kind of general, r a t h e r neutral, remarks
about the residents of t h e Indian Reserve.
There were a few negative
f e e l i n g s on t h e part of the White community, however,
A l o c a l restaurant
owner who had some dealings with residents of t h e l o c a l Reserve said
t h a t there was one good man on t h e Reserve and the r e s t were completely
Complaints about gangs of Indian youths wandering t h e
unreliable.
s t r e e t s of Norgate Park and beating White children were occasionally
heard a s were complaints about similar gangs making trouble a t a l o c a l
drive-in movie.
However, most residents of the White communities
around t h e Reserve had l i t t l e contact, i f any a t a l l , with the residents
of t h e Reserve a d were unaware even of t h e amount of land the Fteserve
occupied.
A proposal t o use more of t h e 3eserve land, presently a
treed park area, f o r commercial development was the subject of a public
meeting,
Two members of the Band Council were present a t the meeting
and reported l a t e r t h a t both those i n favour of the proposal and those
opposed showed e i t h e r ignorance or indifference t o t h e f a c t t h a t t h e
land being discussed did not belong t o t h e municipality but t o t h e
Indian Band.
As of 1968, the population of t h e Capilano Reserve was 210
persons, 105 male and 105 female,
was a s f o l l m s :
(Acres 1968)
The breakdown of t h i s t o t a l f i g u r e
Age Groupings
Population
0-4
5-14
15-19
20-24
25-34
35-54
55-/j4.
75- Total
65-74
rdumber of
Males
12
39
14
4
13
19
3
0
1
105
Plumber of
Females
13
36
15
7
10
18
3
1
2
105
Percent of
total
Population
12
36
14
5
11
17
3
1
1
100
It i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o note t h a t t h e preponderance of t h e population i s
between t h e ages of l e s s than one and nineteen years of age.
On t h e
Reserve, 62% of t h e population i s between t h e s e ages a s against 37%
i n t h e census t r a c t including Norgate Park,
However, t h e r e s t i l l has
been a decline over t h e l a s t t e n years i n t o t a l population i n s p i t e
of t h i s seemingly high proportion of youth.
which contribute t o t h i s decline.
There a r e two f a c t o r s
F i r s t , from a l l available evidence,
t h e death r a t e has remained s t a b l e but t h e b i r t h r a t e has gone down
over t h e l a s t t e n years.
Reserve has increased.
Second, t h e number of a d u l t s leaving t h e
36$ of t h e population i s between t h e ages of
twenty and sixty-four a s a g a i n s t 54% i n t h e census t r a c t including
Norgate Park,
(Census 1966) The t h r e e main reasons f o r t h i s l a t t e r
phenomenon a r e a s c a r c i t y of s a t i s f a c t o r y housing on t h e Reserve, a
minimum of job opportunities i n t h e a r e a and an increase i n t h e
number of marriages with non-Reserve residents.
Over t h e l a s t t e n y e a r s t h e p a t t e r n of marriages f o r t h e
e n t i r e Band has been a s follows:
( ~ c r e s1968)
TABLE I11
MA_SRIAGE PATTERNS
1958-1967
Fernale Band Members marrying non-Indians
Male Band Xembers marrying non-Indians
40
19
59 t o t a l
Female Band Members marrying non-Band Indians
Male Band Xembers marrying non-Band Indians
Band Members marrying Band Members
9
-
23
32 t o t a l
17
Bon-Indian women who marry Sand members a r e added t o t h e Band L i s t .
However, female Band members who marry non-Indians l o s e t h e i r Indian
s t a t u s permanently.
Female Band members who marry non-Band Indians
l o s e t h e i r Sand membership since they a r e transferred t o t h e Band
L i s t of t h e i r husband.
From these figures it can be seen t h a t t h e
Capilano Band has suffered a l o s s of seven women through marriage alone,
I n 1967 there were a t o t a l of 39 males between the ages of
twenty and sixty-four i n t h e labour force on t h e Capilano Reserve.
Of
t h e thirty-eight women i n the same age brackets, twenty-three were
l i s t e d a s housewives, s i x worked part time and one woman was f u l l y
employed.
The figures given below w i l l r e f e r t o the male working force
only, since t h e s t a t i s t i c s would be unnecessarily biased i f the women
l i s t e d a s housewives were included i n t h e working force.
( ~ c r e s1968)
A s can be seen from t h e chaxrts, t h e majority of the men a r e
employed a s longshoremen.
Wages from t h i s occupation a r e good but
employment tends t o be seasonal with frequent and sometimes long
layoffs
.
OCCUPATIONS CrfiOUPED BY 'ASE
TABLE IV
Age Groupings
25-34
Long shoring
1
8
2
7
2
Wood and Concrete Products
-
-
-
1
-
1
2
2
1
-
5
1
-
2
-
3
-
Casual
Other
35-44
45-54
20-24
Occupation
55-64
Total
20
Unemployed 10139 = 26s
Housin~
Information regarding t h e housing on t h e Reserve was gathered
from two surveys; one done by t h e land use study conducted by the
consulting firm; t h e other survey was done by members of t h e Band
i t s e l f on behalf of the Band Council.
surveys were:
The f a c t o r s examined by both
t h e age of t h e house; t h e s t a t e of repair, judged a s
being good, i n d i s r e p a i r , or dilapidated; and t h e s t a t e of crowding of
t h e house, or t h e person t o room r a t i o .
The information gathered was a s
follows i n Tables V and VI.
The most s i g n i f i c a n t correlation of f a c t s which t h i s information reveals i s ;
1) t h a t more than half of t h e houses were b u i l t
before 1939; 2) t h a t it i s these houses which a r e e i t h e r i n d i s r e p a i r or
dilapidated; and, 3) t h a t it i s these houses which have the l a r g e s t
families i n them and thus a r e overcrowded.
Date of House Construction
--
Number of
Occupants
before
1939
1939 194.8 1959 1964.
1948 1959 1964. 1967
~ o t a Number
l
of Occupants
Total I\Jumber
of 'Houses
* This number includes t h e enfranchised Indians l i v i n g on t h e
Reserve and thus i s l a r g e r than t h e 210 reported e a r l i e r which includes
l e g a l s t a t u s Indians only.
TA3LE V I
HOUSING INFOFIMATION SHO'nTINrJ STATE OF R E P A R AND D=REE
OF CRCMDING
-
-
Number of houses overcrowded ( g r e a t e r than one person per room)
Number of houses i n d i s r e p a i r
Number of houses i n d i s r e p a i r and overcrowded
Number of houses i n u n s a t i s f a c t o r y condition
Number requiring work
Number i n good condition
Total number of houses
13
9
Education
,
Ibny changes have t a k e n place i n t h e formal education of
t h e c h i l d r e n of t h e Capilano Reserve over t h e l a s t f o r t y years.
Until
t h e l a t e 1940's a l l but one o r two of t h e c h i l d r e n attended r e s i d e n t i a l
schools run by r e l i g i o u s denominations f o r t h e Department of Indian
Affairs.
&en when t h e schools were s i t u a t e d near t h e Indian com-
munity t h e c h i l d r e n were u s u a l l y r e s i d e n t i a l students.
Any c h i l d
wishing t o go on t o high school t r a n s f e r r e d t o t h e public high school
a t grade nine s i n c e t h e r e was no Indian high school u n t i l t h e l a t e
1950's.
I n 1949 agreement was made between t h e Federal and P r o v i n c i a l
governments allowing f o r Indian s t u d e n t s t o e n r o l l i n t h e l o c a l public
schools.
This s h i f t s t a r t e d f o r t h e c h i l d r e n on t h e Capilano Reserve
w i t h t h e building of Norgate School i n Norgate Park.
By 1967 only f o u r
f a m i l i e s out of t h e t o t a l of thirty-one w i t h school aged c h i l d r e n
attended t h e s e p a r a t e Indian Day School.
Of t h e parents interviewed, t h e person with t h e most schooling
had attended f o r eleven years.
Two o t h e r s had had nine y e a r s of
schooling and t h e r e s t averaged between s i x and e i g h t years.
~~Jithe
one exception of t h e person w i t h eleven y e a r ' s schooling, a l l t h e s e
p a r e n t s had received t h e i r education i n Federal Indian Schools r u n by
a r e l i g i o u s denomination.
A few had been day p u p i l s a t t h e nearby
r e s i d e n t i a l school b u t t h e majority had been f u l l time residents.
In
t h e l a t e 1950's and e a r l y 1960's when t h e majority of t h e p u p i l s from
t h e 3eserve had t r a n s f e r r e d t o 8orgate Park school o r had s t a r t e d a t
Norgate Park, and when a high school had been s t a r t e d by t h e 3ornan
Catholic Church near t h e Reserve serving t h o s e p u p i l s who had stayed
a t t h e I n d i a n Day School, most o f t t h e Indian p u p i l s entered high school
and completed one o r two years.
The percentage of t h o s e who complete
high school i s r i s i n g b u t t h e majority s t i l l terminate t h e i r high school
education i n grade t e n o r eleven.
Culture
The c u l t u r a l l i f e of t h e Capilano Indians i s more d i f f i c u l t
t o describe.
The questions involved a r e b a s i c ,
Reserve be considered a c u l t u r a l e n t i t y
Can t h e Capilano
-- a n Indian c u l t u r a l c o r m i t y ,
o r even a sub-culture of t h e dominant Canadian c u l t u r e ?
O r has t h e
impact of t h e dominant c u l t u r e been strong enough t o e r a s e any s i g n i f i c a n t
t r a c e s of c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n from t h e i r way of l i f e ?
There i s some empirical evidence f o r t h e existence of an
Indian c u l t u r e .
Most of t h e homes I v i s i t e d had on d i s p l a y Indian
a r t i f a c t s of one form o r another.
One man had a l a r g e basement room
f i l l e d with poles, w a l l hangings, and o t h e r forms, a l l on an Indian theme
and a l l f o r sale.
a t various outlets.
a v a i l a b l e t o them.
e l d e r s of t h e Band,
Several of t h e a d u l t s make Indian a r t pieces f o r s a l e
Sone f a m i l i e s s t i l l have ceremonial dance costumes
The S a l i s h language i s s t i l l spoken by some of t h e
Hany of t h e a d u l t generation can understand S a l i s h
but r a r e l y use it except i n occasional conversations w i t h t h e i r parents.
Some of t h e c h i l d r e n can understand a few phrases b u t t h e n a j o r i t y of
t h e c h i l d r e n have no understanding of S a l i s h a t a l l .
. A t t h e same time
t h e r e i s p r a i s e f o r those who do speak "Indianu and occasionally p a r e n t s
would t a l k of e s t a b l i s h i n g language c l a s s e s on t h e Reserve a f t e r t h e
c h i l d r e n come home from school.
The sane p a r e n t s would make p o s i t i v e
r e f e r e n c e s t o t h e group of p a r e n t s a t Squamish who were reported t o have
language c l a s s e s underway.
Knowlddge of t r a d i t i o n a l Indian f o l k l o r e
concerning Indian b e l i e f s and customs i s spread through t h e community
i n about t h e same way a s Indian language.
There a r e some behavioral mores which a r e a l s o evidence f o r
t h e e x i s t e n c e of an I n d i a n culture.
L a t e r i n t h e study, t h e r e i s a
d e s c r i p t i o n of c h i l d r a i s i n g techniques which compare i n many ways with
t h o s e described a s Indian by Schriver and Leacock i n Harrison Indian
Childhood.
(Schriver 1963:
passim)
Richard Band d e s c r i b e s methods of
s o c i a l c o n t r o l and d e c i s i o n making which a r e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of t h e
Squamish a s d i s t i n c t from t h e l a r g e r Canadian society.
(2. 3and 1969:
passim)
One of t h e s t r o n g e s t p i e c e s of evidence f o r t h e su-rvival of an
Indian c u l t u r e on t h e Capilano Reserve i s t h e r e v i v a l of Indian S p i r i t
Dancing.
According t o 3 a r n e t t (1955) t h e S a l i s h Indians held a b e l i e f
i n s u p e r n a t u r a l guardian s p i r i t s a s p a r t of t h e i r r e l i g i o u s b e l i e f s
before t h e i r conversion t o C h r i s t i a n i t y .
t h e s e s p i r i t s was an i n d i v i d u a l a f f a i r .
The seeking and possession of
They could not be i n h e r i t e d .
Both boys and g i r l s sought s u p e r n a t u r a l h e l p e r s roughly a t t h e age of
puberty although t h e boy's quest was u s u a l l y more vigorous and t h e i r
s p i r i t stronger.
There were two manifestations of t h e presence of a
guardian s p i r i t ; one occupational; t h e o t h e r occurred during t h e printer
s p i r i t dancing season.
Possession i s displayed f o r t h e f i r s t time when
a person becomes a new dancer. Zveryone who has power,
sooner o r l a t e r has t o become a dancer. "If you have a
power and don't become a dancer y o u ' l l g e t s i c k because you
haven't sung. It ( t h e power) e a t s you inside."
A person
who has t r u e s p i r i t power e v e n t u a l l y i s made s i c k by h i s
The only way f o r a r e c i power, because it "wants out".
p i e n t t o sing t h e song o r songs t h e power has bestowed
i s t o become a dancer.
(Barnett 1955:
77)
Barnett goes on t o say t h a t t h e dancing power o f t e n came from t h e
sane s p i r i t a s t h e occupational power but t h e song f o r dancing had
t o be d i f f e r e n t from t h e song f o r t h e occupation and usu.al1-y t h e two
were received on d i f f e r e n t occasions.
The S p i r i t Dancing was t h e most prominent of t h e winter
ceremonials.
It u s u a l l y s t a r t e d i n November and went almost n i g h t l y
u n t i l Narch o r April.
This was t h e only sanctioned time f o r t h e ex-
pression of s p i r i t possession and 3 a r n e t t i n d i c a t e s t h e significance
of t h i s t h e when he c i t e s r e p o r t s of people g e t t i n g s i c k a s t h e season
approached and finding r e l i e f only through l e t t i n g t h e i r s p i r i t possess
them and f i n d o u t l e t through dancing and singing.
S p i r i t Dancing and possession today i s d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d t o
t h i s a b o r i g i n a l winter dancing season.
Sarbara Lane (1953) s t a t e s t h a t
i n t h e a r e a she studied, one of t h e most conservative, Dancing d i d not
s t a r t u n t i l a f t e r Christmas s o t h a t it would not i n t e r f e r e with t h e
Christmas c e l e b r a t i o n s and thus minimize t h e possible antagonism of
church leaders.
After Christmas, however, S p i r i t Dancing continued
almost n i g h t l y f o r l o c a l people and, on t h e weekends, catered t o l a r g e
crowds from a s f a r away a s a day's journey by c a r and f e r r y .
Capilano has undergone a r e v i v a l of S p i r i t Dancing over t h e
l a s t few years.
For a long period of time t h e r e had been no S p i r i t
possessed Dancers on t h e Reserve and no p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t i n t h e Dance.
Then, during t h e winter of l 9 & t h e f i r s t Dance was held f o r t h e people
of t h e two neighbouring 3ands.
through t h e rigorous i n i t i a t i o n .
By 1968 e i g h t o r nine people had gone
The necessary knowledge of r i t ~ a l sa d
a l l t h e necessary paraphernalia had come from another nearby Reserve
where Dancing had been more o r l e s s continuous through t h e years.
However, t h e enthusiasm and t h e l a r g e crowds were from Capilano and
Ivlission Reserves.
This then, i s t h e evidence f o r t h e existence of a v i a b l e
Indian c u l t u r e on t h e Capilano Reserve.
As it has been noted, t h e r e
i s a continuing i n t e r e s t i n Indian a r t forms, t h e S a l i s h language and
f o l k l o r e , although t h i s has not r e s u l t e d i n a c t i o n t o preserve t h e s e ,
and t h e r e i s t h e continuing f o r c e of S a l i s h behavioral mores i n t h e
a r e a s of inter-personal r e l a t i o n s h i p s such a s c h i l d r a i s i n g , i n t e r family feuds, and decision making.
However, c u l t u r e cannot be defined s a t i s f a c t o r i l y by simply
enumerating t h e ways i n which it appears.
Kroeber and Kluckholn make t h e
following comment i n t h e i r review of concepts and d e f i n i t i o n s of culture.
Culture becomes a conceptual model t h a t must be
based on and i n t e r p r e t behavior but which i s not behavior
i t s e l f . Culture i s a design o r system of designs f o r l i v i n g ;
it i s a plan, not t h e l i v i n g i t s e l f ; it i s t h a t which
s e l e c t i v e l y channels men's r e a c t i o n s , it i s not t h e
r e a c t i o n s themselves. The importance of t h i s i s t h a t
it e x t r i c a t e s c u l t u r e a s such from behavior, a b s t r a c t s
it from human a c t i v i t y ; t h e concept i s i t s e l f selective.
(Kroeber and Kluckholn 1963: 120)
The key word here i s "abstractll.
drawn from t h e empirical evidence.
Culture i s t h e a b s t r a c t i o n which can be
Redfield ( ~ e d f i e l d1940) puts t h e
d e f i n i t i o n of c u l t u r e i n a very c l e a r l i g h t when he says t h a t c u l t u r e i s ,
".An organization of conventional understandings manifest i n a c t and
a r t i f a c t , which, p e r s i s t i n g through t r a d i t i o n , characterizes a human
group.ll
(Redfield,
Kroeber and Kluckholn
1963:
118)
Whether t h e r e i s an "organization of conventional under-
standings..."
the question,
which does i n f a c t characterize the Capilano Band i s
During the interviews I had with the parents there were
three groups of a t t i t u d e s toward the v i s i b l e aspects of Indian culture.
A l a r g e group of adults looked on Indian a r t and language much a s was
described a t t h e beginning of t h i s section.
That i s , they saw them a s
positive p a r t s of t h e i r c u l t u r a l i d e n t i t y and showed concern t h a t they
should be preserved,
This group frequently could not speak the Salish
language, nor were they pushing t h e i r children t o l e a r n it, but they
were sorry t o see it being l o s t .
They did not have any detailed know-
ledge of the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e symbolism of t h e i r a r t work but
they collected and displayed it.
They saw it a s a valuable reminder of
t h e i r past of which they were c l e a r l y proud.
A s one man said i n com-
menting on t h e displaying of some masks and costumes a t the school, We
should build a museum on the IZeserve hereu.
The people who made up
t h i s l a r g e group contributed a share of the enthusiasm and crowd t h a t
helped revive S p i r i t Dancing, but these families did not supply t h e
Dancers.
Their a t t i t u d e toward S p i r i t Dancing tended t o be somewhat
ambivalent.
One man who had made a most successful adaptation t o the
values and business methods of t h e dominant Canadian society commented
t h a t although S p i r i t Dancing was "a savage thingu, nevertheless, t h e
drumming "did something t o himtt.
Another young person l e f t t h e Reserve
f o r a time and attended t h e Dances only r a r e l y t o ensure t h a t he was not
grabbed and made a Dancer against h i s w i l l .
He commented negatively on
t h e amount of money required f o r the necessary presents t o sponsors and
others on t h e occasion of t h e new dancer's i n i t i a l Dance, and on t h e
l o s s of employment and income which came about since the new Dancer had
t o attend a l l winter Dances which were possible i n h i s f i r s t year a s a
Dancer.
A t t h e same time, t h e same young person s a i d t h a t t h e Dances
were good f o r those who wanted them.
They reminded t h e people of t h e
old times and t h e t r a d i t i o n a l ways which were a l l worth remembering.
Two o t h e r groups held p o l a r views t o each o t h e r and were a t
some v a r i a n c e with t h i s majority viewpoint.
One small group saw
a s s i m i l a t i o n a s an i n e v i t a b l e and, t o some e x t e n t , p o s i t i v e eventuality.
One man's expressions s t a t e t h i s p o s i t i o n c l e a r l y .
Learning Indian
t r a d i t i o n s o r language was of no value t o himself o r t o h i s c h i l d r e n
because such t h i n g s were no longer of any importance.
of t h e p a s t and not compatible with today.
and becoming more so.
They were t h i n g s
Today's world was competitive
To have a good l i f e i n a competitive world a
person needed education and i f education meant t h a t h i s c h i l d r e n had t o
become more competitive, l e s s f r i e n d l y w i t h one another, more l i k e White
people, then t h i s was something t h a t one had t o t a k e along with t h e
b e n e f i t s of education.
He was going t o s t a y on t h e Reserve because he
l i k e d t h e l i f e , but he d i d not s e e it a s being t h e good l i f e or t h e t y p e
of l i f e h i s sons ought n e c e s s a r i l y t o have.
To t h i s group t h e language, t h e t r a d i t i o n s , and p a r t i c u l a r l y
t h e S p i r i t Dancing a r e associated with t h e way l i f e was f o r t h e Indian
of t h e p a s t
- an unacceptable way f o r t h e p r e s e n t
or f o r t h e future.
These t h i n g s a r e t h e necessary p r i c e which must be paid f o r admission
i n t o t h e l i f e of t h e mainstream of s o c i e t y .
happy p r i c e b u t it i s an i n e v i t a b l e one.
It i s not n e c e s s a r i l y a
The disappearance of t h e
Indian through complete a s s i m i l a t i o n i n t o t h e dominant s o c i e t y was seen
a s a n unavoidable eventuality.
The other small group was formed by t h e conservatives.
These
28
people know and, according t o some, s t i l l b e l i e v e much of t h e t r a d i t i o n a l
f o l k l o r e which t h e a r t they produce symbolizes.
There i s no question
t o them a s t o whether o r not t h e i r c u l t u r e i s a v i a b l e e n t i t y .
There
i s an I n d i a n way of l i f e and an Indian way of looking a t t h i n g s which
i s not only d i f f e r e n t from t h a t of t h e dominant Canadian s o c i e t y , b u t
s u p e r i o r t o it a s well.
They have not only a n a c t i v e i n t e r e s t i n , b u t a
strong commitment t o what they perceive a s t r a d i t i o n a l I d i a n ways.
The
e x t e n t t o which such a c t i v i t i e s a s t h e w i n t e r ceremonial dances a r e
accurate i n t e r n s of being t h e same a s they were i n t h e p a s t i s not, of
t o o g r e a t significance,
What i s important i s t h a t they a r e perceived
a s being wholly Indian, and, a s such, most important.
The one v i s i b l e aspect of c u l t u r e which I have not discussed
i n terms of t h e t h r e e groups mentioned above i s t h e group of charact e r i s t i c a l l y S a l i s h behavioral mores observed by t h e Capilano Rand.
If
t h e r e i s a n a r e a where t h e r e i s general agreement among t h e Capilano,
it would be i n t h e i r observance of t h e s e mores.
uses t h e s e words, ",..an
Redfieldts definition
organization of conventional understandinys...",
I f t h e r e remains an organization of conventional understandings among
t h e Capilano it would have t o be i n t h e a r e a of such mores,
The evidence I have from my interviews with t h e parents w i l l
not allow me t o s t a t e conclusively whether o r not such a conventional
understanding does e x i s t .
The statements made by Richard Rand i n h i s
t h e s i s , Decision-making and l e a d e r s h i p among t h e Squamish, would lend
considerable weight t o t h e supposition t h a t t h e r e i s indeed a strong
organization of conventional understandings s t i l l e x t a n t among t h e
members of t h e Capilano Sand.
3 a d says,
Secause of t h e very d i f f e r e n t socio-cultural
patterns anti the c?istinctive l q a l aria s o c i z l
involved, t h e Squamish form a d i s t i n c t u n i t a p a r t
from t h e wider society, Many of t h e Squamish s e e
themselves a s a s e p a r a t e %ationft o r a s a s e p a r a t e
"people11 r e s i d i n g w i t h i n t h e n a t i o n a l boundaries
of Canada.
(R. Band 1969: 20)
I n s.ummary, then, I would suggest t h a t t h e r e i s a small
group of Indians i n t h e Capilano Sand f o r whom t h e r e i s a c l e a r c u l t u r a l
identity
- an lt,..organization
of conventional understandings manifest
i n a c t and a r t i f a c t , which, p e r s i s t i n g through t r a d i t i o n , c h a r a c t e r i z e s , , "
t h a t p a r t i c u l a r group.
-
( ~ e d f i e l d ,i n Xroeber and Kluckholn
1963:
118)
For t h e r e s t of t h e Capilano Band members t h e r e i s a c u l t u r a l i d e n t i t y
which v a r i e s g r e a t l y i n completeness from one t o another, being c l o s e s t
t o u n i v e r s a l i n t h e a r e a of behavioral mores,
Which of t h e s e t h r e e groups w i l l dominate t h e Band i n t h e
f u t u r e i s another very i n t e r e s t i n g question.
I n h i s Survey of con-
temporary Indians of Canada, Hawthorn (1967) mentions t h a t t h e r e has
been a tremendous upsurge of e t h n i c p r i d e among t h e Indians of Canada
during t h e l a s t few years.
warning, however.
He a l s o p o i n t s out two v i t a l words of
F i r s t , i n t h e h i s t o r y of many e t h n i c groups which
have come i n t o contact with another, s t r o n g e r c u l t u r e , "..,the
l o s s of
a people's language l e a d s almost i n e v i t a b l y t o t h e l o s s of t h e i r own
e t h n i c i d e n t i t y and c u l t u r a l t r a d i t i o n s .
Second, he s t a t e s t h a t t o beH...a
( ~ a w t h o r n 1967 :
36)
v i a b l e socio-cultural unit..."
a
Reserve must be one lt..,which meets t h e fundamental requirements of
s o c i e t y , which provides i t s members with t h e elements and t h e s t r u c t u r e s
necessary f o r survival.
They a r e , s o t o speak, t h e minimal c u l t u r a l
conditions which make group l i v i n g p o s s i b l e , both i n t h e f i r s t and
t h e l a t e r y e a r s of l i f e .
This means n a t u r a l resources, s t r u c t u r e s
which make p o s s i b l e t h e s a t i s f a c t i o n of t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s physiological
needs, assignment of r o l e s and r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s according t o i n d i c i d u a l
a p t i t u d e s , adequate channels of communication, communal goals which a r e
adequately defined and c o n t r o l l e d , t r a i n i n g of t h e young, enlightened
l e a d e r s h i p , i n a word, a l l elements e s s e n t i a l t o t h e e f f i c i e n t working
of s o c i a l relationships."
(8awthorn
i s gone i s almost beyond doubt.
1967:
169)
That t h e i r language
Whether o r not t h e s e c u l t u r a l conditions
can be met over t h e next few y e a r s w i t h i n t h e Capilano Rand is very
much a matter of conjecture.
The members of t h e Capilano Band do g e n e r a l l y e x h i b i t a
strong sense of i d e n t i t y as Indians.
A s Band pointed out, Wany of t h e
Squamish s e e themselves a s a s e p a r a t e 'nation'
o r a s a s e p a r a t e 'people'
r e s i d i n g w i t h i n t h e n a t i o n a l boundaries of Canada."
(i3and
1967:
20)
Band a l s o d e s c r i b e s how t h e o b l i g a t i o n s of intra-group l o y a l t y remain
i n f o r c e even when no l e g a l s a n c t i o n s can be applied.
When a woman
member of t h e Band marries a nonoIndian she l o s e s h e r l e g a l s t a t u s a s
a n I n d i a n and a l s o r e l i n q u i s h e s a l l r i g h t s given her under t h e I n d i a n
Act.
However, a s Richard Band d e s c r i b e s it, i f a woman r e t u r n s t o t h e
Reserve because herflnew peoplett have not t a k e n c a r e of h e r a f t e r an
unsuccessfzil marriage venture, she i s given welfare help from Band funds
even though t h e r e i s no l e g a l requirement f o r t h e Council t o h e l p her
i n any way.
The r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n i s t h a t t h e Council has a s o c i a l r e s -
p o n s i b i l i t y t o h e l p s i n c e she i s no l e s s Squamish even though she i s
married.
Richard Band does i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e i n t e r a c t i o n between
members i s l e s s e n i n g and t h e i n t e r a c t i o n between Band members and
members of t h e l a r g e r s o c i e t y surrounding t h e Reserve i s increasing.
However, he sees t h e community t i e s remaining strong and v i t a l .
The
v i t a l l i n k i n maintaining strong communal f e e l i n g s i s t h e 3and Council.
It i s t h e co-ordinating body f o r t h e a c t i v i t i e s which l i n k t h e family
groups together.
It provides r e p r e s e n t a t i o n f o r each family group i n
d e c i s i o n s which w i l l a f f e c t t h e whole.
Although t h e Royal Canadian
Mounted P o l i c e a r e o f f i c i a l l y responsible f o r t h e maintenance of law
and order on t h e Reserve, according t o both Richard Band and Hawthorn,
t h e members of t h e Band seldom c a l l on them f o r a s s i s t a n c e , except
i n cases of major crime.
For inter-family d i s p u t e s and occasionally i n
d i s p u t e s between Band members and non-Band members t h e Council t a k e s
t h e l e a d i n i n i t i a t i n g a c t i o n t o r e s t o r e peace.
I n connection with
c u l t u r a l t r a i t s of Capilano Band members it i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o note t h a t
Band sugqests t h a t t e a s i n g and r i d i c u l e , t h e t r a d i t i o n a l means of s o c i a l
c o n t r o l , a r e s t i l l t h e s t r o n g e s t and most important curbs on e r r a n t
behavior.
The s i g n i f i c a n c e of t h e r o l e of t h e Council i s put q u i t e
p l a i n l y i n t h i s quote from Hawthorn:
!'The type of community where strong
l o c a l decision-making u n i t s develop i s t h a t which maintains a kind of
d e l i b e r a t e d i s t i n c t i o n from i t s environs, while a t t h e same time i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h it i n a s e l e c t i v e fashion.
I n our f i e l d r e p o r t s we s e e t h a t
such groups a s t h e Squamish of North Vancouver
.....maintain s o c i a l
boundaries around themselves while a t t h e same time l i n k i n g up s e l e c t i v e l y
with o u t s i d e agencies i n t h e surrounding society."
(Hawthorn
1967: 180)
One f u r t h e r i n d i c a t i o n of s i g n i f i c a n c e of t h e Indian i d e n t i t y
remains.
The pieces of native a r b which a r e displayed i n homes a s w e l l
a s t h e ones which a r e created on t h e Reserve do not have t o be i n t h e
S a l i s h a r t i s t i c t r a d i t i o n i n order t o be valued.
Although many of t h e
a r t i c l e s l i k e t h e dance costumes and most of t h e masks a r e s i m i l a r i n
s t y l e t o those used i n t h e S a l i s h t r a d i t i o n a l dances, much of t h e small
a r t forms, such a s t h e poles o f f e r e d f o r s a l e , a r e f a r more reminiscent
of North Coast a r t s t y l e s than t h e S a l i s h South Coast s t y l e s .
No one
had any extensive knowledge of any p o s s i b l e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of t h e
various symbols used i n t h e a r t forms.
It would seem t h a t t h e f a c t
t h a t t h e p i e c e s were unmistakably Indian was s u f f i c i e n t t o make them
valued.
One of t h e major reasons mentioned by Duff t o e x p l a i n t h e
resurgeance of S p i r i t dancing i s i t s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e p a r t i c i p a n t ' s
sense of i d e n t i t y a s an Indian.
Duff says,
"There i s l i t t l e i n d i c a t i o n t h a t S p i r i t Dancing
w i l l d i e out w i t h i n t h e near f u t u r e ; on t h e contrary, it
gives t h e impression of being a f l o u r i s h i n g and s t i l l
evolving a c t i v i t y . Anthropologists have been much int e r e s t e d i n t h e reasons f o r i t s p e r s i s t e n c e , and have
concluded t h a t it provides t h e dancer w i t h strong
s a t i s f a c t i o n s , even i n today's world. The s p i r i t
dancers experience strong s e n s a t i o n s which a r e fundamentally r e l i g i o u s i n n a t u r e ; furthermore he has t h e
s o c i a l s e c u r i t y which comes from belonging t o a n
exclusive group, he has an emotional " s a f e t y valvett
which provides a r e l e a s e of t e n s i o n i n a s o c i a l l y
approved way, and he has discovered a method of
a s s e r t i n g h i s i d e n t i t y a s an Indian.
( ~ u f f 1964.: 10)
The psychological motivations of t h e Dancers a r e undoubtedly
complex and highly individual.
To t h e Capilano people w i t h whom I
discussed S p i r i t Dancing, i t s most s i g n i f i c a n t aspect was t h a t Dancing
was uniquely Indian.
The most conservative of t h e Indian f a m i l i e s
were t h e ones who were most involved i n t h e Dances and t h e ones who
were l e a s t w i l l i n g t o d i s c u s s it w i t h an o u t s i d e r ,
The l a r g e group
of f a m i l i e s i n t h e c e n t e r f e l t t h a t a t l e a s t one p o s i t i v e t h i n g about
t h e Dancing was t h a t it reminded t h e people of t h e old Indian ways.
Both of t h e s e groups agreed t h a t non-Indians a s s p e c t a t o r s were
d e f i n i t e l y not welcome and would be asked t o l e a v e , and even a s guests
of Indians t h e y were not p a r t i c u l a r l y appreciated.
Those who regarded
t h e i r I n d i a n i d e n t i t y a s an out-moded e n t i t y were t h e ones most opposed
t o S p i r i t Dancing.
This then, i s t h e Capilano Band.
They appear t o be a group
of people held t o g e t h e r a s a community by geographical, blood, s o c i a l
and c u l t u r a l t i e s .
Some of t h e t i e s a r e changing i n form and some
would seem t o be weakening, b u t c l e a r l y , a t t h e moment, t h e y can be
d i s t i n g u i s h e d from t h e surrounding s o c i e t y a s a people and a community
with an i d e n t i t y of i t s own,
Acres ,deskern T,imi.ted
1968
Land lJse Study.
Prepared f o r t h e Squamish ?and, unpublished.
3and, Richard W.
1969
Decision Naking Among t h e Squamish. IJnpublished 74.4. t h e s i s ,
Department of P o l i t i c a l Science, Sociology and \nthropology,
Simon F r a s e r University,
R a r n e t t , Yomer 5.
1955 The Coast S a l i s h of S r i t i s h Columbia.
Monograph No, 4.
U n i v e r s i t y of Oregon,
Canada
I n d i a n Act, R.S. 1952, C. 1 4 9 ; a s amended 1952-1953, c.41;
1956, c. 40 Department of C i t i z e n s h i p and Immigration,
Ottawa, Queen's P r i n t e r .
1961
Census of Canada:
by Census T r a c t s .
Queen's P r i n t e r ,
1966
Census of Canada: P o p u l a t i o n C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s by Census
Tracts. Dominion Sureau of S t a t i s t i c s , Ottawa, Queen's
Printer.
Population and ?4ousing C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
Dominion Bureau of S t a t i s t i c s , Ottawa,
Duff, X i l s on
1964
The I n d i a n H i s t o r y of B r i t i s h Columbia: I
The Impact of
t h e Y h i t e !)Ian. V i c t o r i a , 4nthropoloyy i n I3ritish Columbia,
:Iemoir !do. 5.
-
Hawthorn, Harry 3. e t a 1
1967
Survey of Contemporary I n d i a n s of Canada.
Printer.
Kahl, Joseph A,
1962
The American Class S t r u c t u r e .
and dinston.
Ottawa, Queen's
?Jew York, Holt, "Lnehart
Sroeber, Alfred L. and Clyde Kluckholn
1963 C u l t u r e , A C r i t i c a l Review of Concepts and 3 e f i n i t i o n s .
Rew York, Randon kiouse.
Lane, 3arbara
1953 A Conparative and Analytical Study of 3ome Aspects of
i~lorthwestCoast Religion. Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n , U n i v e r s i t y
of 'Jashington.
B e d f i e l d , R.
13!&
"".-4.
-2
yuvui;u
-~ --r n--1
V
l ~L -~- -C
Ia ~Z.r=iLLicd
~ e ,
Eeview
:
Definitions.
,'landom House.
of Concepts and
4. L. Lroeber and Clyde Uuckholn, Yew Tor!<,
S c h r i v e r , J. and E. 8. Leacock
1963 iiarrisor, I n d i a n Childhood.
The Tndians of J r i t i s h
Columbia, J i l l A. Willmott, ed. Department of U n i v e r s i t y
W e n s i o n , U n i v e r s i t y of l r i t i s h Columbia.
36
Chapter 2
The'Views of t h e Teachers on t h e
Home 3nvironrnent and i t s W f e c t on Learning
Sackground Knowled,ge of Teachers
I n order t o a s s e s s properly t h e comments of t h e t e a c h e r s on
such rnatters a s family background and home environment, c u l t u r a l
a c t i v i t i e s and p a r t i c u l a r customs of t h e i n h a b i t a n t s of t h e Reserve, it
i s necessary t o know t h e amount of knowledge each had on t h e s e matters
and t h e sources of t h i s knowledge.
Two sources a r e mentioned f r e q u e n t l y i n t h e following pages,
the public h e a l t h nurse and a s p e c i a l education teacher.
130th of t h e s e
s p e c i a l i s t s had a considerable amount of personal knowledge of t h e
f a m i l i e s on t h e Reserve a s a r e s u l t of both t h e i r o f f i c i a l functions and
t h e i r personal i n t e r e s t and involvement w i t h s e v e r a l of t h e families.
I
found t h e i r f a c t u a l knowledge of l i v i n g conditions and c u l t u r a l a c t i v i t i e s
t o be both e f i e n s i v e and accurate.
However, I do not intend t o o u t l i n e
t h e i r background and sources of knowledge on Reserve matters f o r two
reasons.
F i r s t , t h e y were not r e g u l a r teaching members of t h e s t a f f and
t h u s a r e d i s t i n c t from t h e other s t a f f members r e f e r r e d t o i n t h i s study;
second, although v a r i o u s s t a f f members r e f e r r e d t o t h e s e s p e c i a l i s t s
a s t h e i r prime sources of information, it became obvious i n s t a f f room
d i s c u s s i o n s and interviews t h a t each s t a f f member's i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of
t h e information given them by e i t h e r of t h e s e two sources tended t o
r e f l e c t t h a t s t a f f member's pre-conception of t h e s i t u a t i o n r a t h e r t h a n
a r e p e t i t i o n of t h e s p e c i a l i s t ' s views.
Thus, t h e f a c t t h a t t h e
t e a c h e r s saw them a s primary sources of information i s more important
s t a f f members saw them a s sources of information but t h e n used them
selectively.
The P r i n c i ~ a l
The p r i n c i p a l had taken two anthropology courses during work
on a &laster of 'Biucation degree.
One was an educational anthropology
course, t h e o t h e r a more academic course d e a l i n g with kinship and
marriage customs i n f o l k s o c i e t i e s .
Heither course d e a l t with t h e
J o r t h West Coast except i n a very g e n e r a l nature.
The p r i n c i p a l d i d have considerable knowledge of some f a m i l i e s
on t h e Reserve developed over t h e t e n y e a r s he had spent a t t h e school.
These f a m i l i e s g e n e r a l l y f e l l i n t o two c a t e g o r i e s , t h e l e a d e r s of t h e
Indian community and t h e f a m i l i e s whose c h i l d r e n caused problems f o r
t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n through poor attendance o r academic weakness.
A s a source f o r h i s information on most f a m i l i e s on t h e
Reserve, he r e l i e d on t h e public h e a l t h nurse whose opinion he cons i d e r e d t o be very valuable.
He l i s t e n e d t o b u t generally discounted
t h e comments of t h e s p e c i a l education t e a c h e r whom he considered t o be
non-objective and t h u s misleading.
We a l s o had had many c o n t a c t s with
t h e various I n d i a n p a r e n t s themselves a t school f u n c t i o n s , a t i n t e r views and over t h e phone.
He had a c l e a r p i c t u r e of what he considered t o be t h e s o c i a l
order of t h e deserve and c l e a r and s t r o n g d e f i n i t i o n s of t h e a t t i t u d e s
of t h e p a r e n t s toward education and t h e school based on h i s personal
experiences over t h e t e n years.
He had almost no knowledge of t h e
ongoing c u l t u r a l l i f e of t h e I n d i a n s , such as t h e r e v i v a l of t h e S p i r i t
Dance t r a d i t i o n , nor of t h e a t t i t u d e s of t h e p a r e n t s toward o t h e r
m a t t e r s of l i f e o u t s i d e t h e narrow confines of t h e school and education.
Teacher A
Teacher A had had no c o n t a c t w i t h I n d i a n people p r i o r t o
coming t o Yorgate and had taken no r e l e v a n t course work i n anthropology
o r i n t h e teaching of c h i l d r e n from minority groups.
3y t h e end of
h i s f i r s t y e a r he had developed a considerable body of knowledge
about t h e background of each of t h e c h i l d r e n i n h i s room.
The majority
of t h i s information had been obtained from t h e public h e a l t h nurse, b u t
a good. d e a l of it came from interviews w i t h t h e parents and many conv e r s a t i o n s w i t h t h e c h i l d r e n involved.
He a l s o had considerable knowledge of t h e c u l t u r a l a c t i v i t i e s
on t h e Reserve.
This information he got from d i s c u s s i o n s w i t h t h e
c h i l d r e n i n h i s c l a s s who t a l k e d q u i t e f r e e l y w i t h hirn about t h e s e
matters.
Teacher B
Teacher i3 had had no contact w i t h I n d i a n people p r i o r t o
coming t o Norgate.
Be had taken no course work dealing with minority
groups b u t had done some general reading during h i s f i r s t year a t
Norgate.
He showed very l i t t l e knowledge of t h e home backgrounds of
any of h i s children.
He appeared t o have l i t t l e o r no knowledge of t h e
a c t u a l l i f e s t y l e s of people on t h e Reserve and t h u s had only t h e most
generalized opinions w i t h regard t o c u l t u r a l a c t i v i t i e s o r Indian
attitudes.
Any time he needed information about any of h i s p u p i l s , a
s i t u a t i o n he s t a t e d was r a r e , he used t h e s p e c i a l education t e a c h e r a s
a source.
He d i d , however, make some estimates of t h e s o c i a l standing
and economic conditions of some of t h e f a m i l i e s based on t h e c l o t h e s
t h e c h i l d r e n wore and t h e p r e s e n t s t h e y r e f e r r e d t o during t h e year.
He a l s o made inferences about t h e c u l t u r a l l i f e of t h e Reserve from t h e
s u b j e c t s t h e c h i l d r e n chose i n a r t and t h e occasional comments he overheard i n conversations among t h e children.
Teacher C
A s a c h i l d , Teacher C had attended school with Indian pupils.
She described t h e school a s w e l l i n t e g r a t e d .
She had taught i n two
o t h e r schools i n which t h e r e were Indian p u p i l s before coming t o [\Torgate.
She had taken no course work and had done no reading.
She showed some knowledge about t h e background of some of
h e r p u p i l s , however, it centered on those f a m i l i e s who stood out i n h e r
mind f o r negative reasons; i . e . ,
uncleanliness of t h e home, p a r e n t a l
n e g l e c t , poor a t t i t u d e s toward t h e school.
A s a source f o r t h i s i n f o r -
mation she quoted t h e public h e a l t h nurse, s t a f f room conversation and
some personal c o n t a c t s with a family t o whom she had given some c l o t h e s
during h e r f i r s t y e a r a t t h e school.
She showed no knowledge of cul-
t u r a l a c t i v i t i e s on t h e Reserve and a r a t h e r l i m i t e d , non-objective,
negative view of l i f e s t y l e s on t h e Reserve.
Teacher D
Teacher D had had I n d i a n p u p i l s i n both t h e schools she had
taught i n previously.
some reading.
She had taken no course work but may have done
40
She had a f a i r amount of knowledge of t h e family backgrounds
of most of h e r punils.
She had encouraged both t h e s y e c i a l education
t e a c h e r and h e r p u p i l s t o t a l k f r e e l y .
She a l s o bad met s e v e r a l of h e r
parents f r e q u e n t l y i n i n f o m a 1 s e t t i n z s such a s t h e l o c a l supermarket.
She had not v i s i t e d t h e i r homes.
Through h e r discussions with t h e chi-ldren and t % e s p e c i a l
education t e a c h e r she had some knowledge of t h e c u l t u r a l a c t i v i t i e s on
t h e Xeserve.
She had q u i t e c l e a r and f i r m opinions on what she saw a s
t h e Indian people's a t t i t u d e s toward education, value systems, IndianXhite contact and t h e f u t u r e of t h e Indian c u l t u r e .
Her opinions
ten6ed, however, t o be a romanticized v e r s i o n of t h o s e of t h e s p e c i a l
education t e a c h e r , being based on d i s c u s s i o n s with t h i s teacher r a t h e r
t h a n Indian people, and being s t r o n g l y influenced by t h e sympathy she
f e l t f o r Indian p u p i l s attending what she saw a s a non-integrated school
with a t l e a s t a few prejudiced teachers.
Teacher 3
Teacher 5 had had no c o n t a c t w i t h Indian people before cornin?
t o !lorgate.
She had had no course work and had done no reading.
She displayed no knowled~eof t h e f a m i l i e s of any of her
p u p i l s except f o r t h a t gained through interviews with f o u r of t h e f i v e
mothers a t r e p o r t card time and some contact w i t h two of t h o s e mothers
who came t o h e l p a t a school event.
She saw t h e public h e a l t h nurse and t h e s p e c i a l education
t e a c h e r a s two sources of information but had not had occasion t o use
e i t h e r of them.
She saw t h e c h i l d r e n a s t o o q u i e t t o cause any problem.
She had no knowledge of Indian c u l t u r e o r c u l t u r a l a c t i v i t i e s
and had only t h e most generalized dpinions on p o s s i b l e Indian a t t i t u d e s
on s o c i a l o r educational matters,
Teacher F
Teacher F had had Indian p u p i l s i n h e r c l a s s f o r a l l of t h e
previous e i g h t years teaching experience.
She had taken no course work
i n anthropology b u t had both course work and considerable experience i n
t h e teaching of those with educational handicaps.
She had a f a i r l y d e t a i l e d body of information about t h e
f a m i l i e s of each of her pupils.
This was based primarily on t h r e e t o
f o u r v i s i t s by each of t h e parents w i t h t h e exception of one family, and
many conversations w i t h , and personal w r i t i n g s from t h e children.
She
found t h e comments of t h e public h e a l t h nurse t o be always negative and
t h e comments of t h e s p e c i a l education t e a c h e r t o be always p o s i t i v e so
she used them sparingly,
She had a l i m i t e d knowledge of Indian c u l t u r e
and c u l t u r a l a c t i v i t i e s b u t had worked o u t from observations c l e a r i d e a s
on family r e l a t i o n s and p e r s o n a l i t y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of her Indian
p u p i l s a s they d i f f e r e d from her White pupils.
Teacher G
Teacher G had had no c o n t a c t with I n d i a n people p r i o r t o coming
t o Norgate except p a r t i c i p a t i o n a s a volunteer h e l p e r while i n u n i v e r s i t y
i n a study c e n t e r f o r Indian pupils.
She had t a k e n no courses an3 had
done no reading.
She had only two Indian p u p i l s i n h e r c l a s s .
She had some
general knowledge of t h e two f a m i l i e s based on t h e two interviews but
had no i d e a of home o r economic conditions,
42
She had a l i t t l e information regarding c u l t u r a l a c t i v i t i e s
gained from o t h e r s on s t a f f and h e r p u p i l s , b u t only t h e most generalized
opinions on p o s s i b l e Indian a t t i t u d e s on s o c i a l o r educational matters,
Teacher H
Teacher I
! had had no c o n t a c t with I n d i a n people before coming
t o Norgate,
She had taken no course work and had done no reading.
She had only a small amount of information about t h e f a m i l i e s
of h e r c h i l d r e n although she d i d have a very d e t a i l e d p i c t u r e of t h e
l e a r n i n g problems of each of h e r p u p i l s and t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p of t h e i r
Indian background t o t h e s e various s t r e n g t h s and weaknesses.
She found interviews w i t h I n d i a n p a r e n t s t o be of l i t t l e
value f o r e i t h e r t h e receiving o r giving of information and t h u s depended on t h e public h e a l t h nurse f o r t h e information she needed.
She had no knowledge of what Indian c u l t u r e t h e r e may have
been o r of i t s forms of expression.
She a l s o had no knowledge of
I n d i a n a t t i t u d e s on any matters.
Teacher I
Teacher I had taught I n d i a n p u p i l s i n Whitehorse and had
spent a summer working on Reserves i n t h e 'dhitehorse r e ~ i o na s a
Church volunteer.
She had taken no course work.
She had a f a i r l y d e t a i l e d knowledge of each family i n h e r
c l a s s based on conversations with t h e public h e a l t h nurse, interviews
w i t h t h e p a r e n t s and personal v i s i t s t o each home a t l e a s t once a year.
She had a l i m i t e d knowledge of t h e e x i s t i n g Indian c u l t u r e
being p r i m a r i l y aware of it a s it r e f l e c t e d t h e p a s t ; i.e.
carvings,
basketry, beadwork, etc..
Teacher J
Teacher J , who taught i n t h e I n d i a n kinrlergarten, had had
no c o n t a c t w i t h Indian people before coming t o Ilorgate.
She had taken
no course work b u t had done considerable reading during h e r f i r s t year
of teaching.
She showed a g r e a t d e a l of knowledge of t h e various f a m i l i e s
i n her class.
This information came from conversations and interviews
with t h e p a r e n t s , and s e v e r a l v i s i t s , formal and informal, t o Indian
homes.
She d i d n o t have a g r e a t d e a l of knowledge on such m a t t e r s a s
t h e S p i r i t Dancinp;.
She d i d have very c l e a r i d e a s on what she s a w a s
s e v e r a l d i f f e r i n g l i f e s t y l e s on t h e Reserve and t h e i r e f f e c t on l e a r n i n g
p a t t e r n s and Indian-ldhite r e l a t i o n s .
A summary c h a r t of t h e above infopmation w i l l prove handy.
TA3LE V I I
SU!,'II.iARYOF KINDS AND QUAP9TI'TIES OF BACKGROUND
KNOWLEDGE OF TEACHIRS
Sources and
Kinds of
Knowledge
Course Work
Number of Teachers
I d e n t i t y of Teacher
3ackground Reading
Xumber of Teachers
I d e n t i t y of Teacher
Q u a n t i t y of Knowledge
None
10
A,B,C,D,E,
F,G,H,I, J
6
C,E,F,G,TI,I
A Little
F a i r Amount
1
Principal
3
R,D,A
2
J, Principal
T.ABLE V I I
- Continued
Sources and
Kinds of
Knowledge
F i r s t Hand Knowledge
of Family Background
Number of Teachers
I d e n t i t y of Teacher
None
A Little
F a i r Amount
6
5
3,c,D,
Principal
J,A,I,F
0
%G,H
Second Hand Knowledge
of Family Background
Number of Teachers
I d e n t i t y of Teacher
General Knowledge
of Reserve
Number of Teachers
I d e n t i t y of Teacher
4
B,%G,H
3
14
Principal
C,D,F
& I ,J
The d i v i s i o n s here between "A L i t t l e " and aI1Fair Amount"
a r e n e c e s s a r i l y a r b i t r a r y and r e l a t i v e .
t h e c a t e g o r i e s w i l l help.
Some explanations of some of
By a "Fair Amount'' of background reading I
am r e f e r r i n g t o t h e amount of reading one would have t o do f o r a
thorough s m e r school course i n anthropology.
.A "Fair Amountv of
f i r s t hand knowledge of t h e family and family background has come from
a number of conversations w i t h t h e c h i l d r e n and/or p a r e n t s , with v i s i t s
t o t h e homes a l s o occurring occasionally.
Since a l l t h e t e a c h e r s have
conducted interviews with a l l o r almost a l l of t h e i r p u p i l s 1 p a r e n t s ,
a l l t e a c h e r s a r e c r e d i t e d with a l i t t l e f i r s t hand knowledge of t h e i r
p u p i l s ' f a m i l i e s and family backgrounds,
The second hand knowledge i s
derived from school records, t h e s p e c i a l education t e a c h e r , t h e public
h e a l t h nurse, o t h e r t e a c h e r s and o t h e r I n d i a n parents.
8y general
knowledge of t h e Reserve I r e f e r to'knowledge of Indian c u l t u r a l
activities--what
they might have.
t h e s e a r e and what s i g n i f i c a n c e t o t h e Indian p u p i l
It a l s o r e f e r s t o knowledge of Indian viewpoints on
m a t t e r s o t h e r t h a n day t o day s i t u a t i o n s i n which an I r d i a n parent and
t h e school have a n i n t e r e s t , such a s t h e progress of a s p e c i f i c child.
A f a i r amount of general knowledge r e p r e s e n t s considerable thinking on
t h e p a r t of t h e t e a c h e r based on reading, d i s c u s s i o n with o t h e r t e a c h e r s ,
Indian a d u l t s and c h i l d r e n , and open-minded observation.
a1 t h e
categories a r e r e l a t i v e i n t h a t i f a teacher's
t o t a l knowledge of a c h i l d ' s background--cultural
a s w e l l a s familial--
was based on two t e n t o f i f t e e n minute i n t e r v i e w s a t r e p o r t card times
and occasional s t a f f room conversation, any o t h e r t e a c h e r who had made
any e f f o r t a t a l l would have a f a i r amount more knowledge than t h e
f i r s t even though he s t i l l could not be assumed t o know a g r e a t d e a l .
Thus, t h e a b s o l u t e amounts of knowledge upon which t h e teachers1
comments a r e based must be deduced from t h e q u a l i t y and kind of f a c t s
t h e y s t a t e and t h e nature of t h e comments t h e y make.
I n t h e next s e v e r a l s e c t i o n s I w i l l d i s c u s s t h e opinions of
t h e t e a c h e r s w i t h regard t o t h e housing and l i v i n g conditions of t h e
c h i l d r e n and t h e causes of t h e s e conditions; a d , w i t h regard t o how
t h e i r home environment a f f e c t e d t h e l e a r n i n g of t h e children.
I will
d i s c u s s t h e way t h e t e a c h e r s saw t h e child-parent r e l a t i o n s h i p on t h e
Reserve, a d t h e a t t i t u d e s of t h e parents toward education am3 l e a r n i n g
i n genepal, and ISorgate school and i t s t e a c h e r s i n p a r t i c u l a r .
Housing and Living Conditions
Looking f i r s t a t t h e housing and l i v i n g conditions of t h e
c h i l d r e n , t h e t e a c h e r s d i d agree oh a nuqber of things.
All t e a c h e r s
agreed t h a t t h e r e were f a m i l i e s on t h e Reserve who l i v e d i n f a i r l y
modern, adequately equipped and maintained housing and t h e c h i l d r e n of
t h e s e f a m i l i e s were clean, w e l l dressed and healthy.
They a l s o agreed
t h a t t h e r e was a considerable amount of substandard, inadequate housing.
The t e a c h e r s agreed t h a t t h e r e were hones i n which t h e r e were h e a l t h
hazards due t o uncleanliness, and t h e t e a c h e r s a l l agreed t h a t t h e r e
were c h i l d r e n who had h e a l t h problems due t o improper d i e t and i n s u f f i c i e n t care.
However, among t h e t e a c h e r s t h e r e was considerable
d i f f e r e n c e of opinion a s t o t h e e x t e n t of any of t h e above conditions
and t h e i r causes.
Two t e a c h e r s who showed a very l i m i t e d knowledge of t h e i r
p u p i l s ' backgrourds made very general comments on t h i s t o p i c of housing
and l i v i n g conditions.
One s a i d t h a t he thought t h a t t h e r e was an
"upper c l a s s f 1 on t h e Reserve s i n c e one of h i s p u p i l s got a pool t a b l e
f o r Christmas and t h e family owned a colour t e l e v i s i o n s e t .
A t the
same time he estimated t h a t t h e housing was very poor t o average.
He
judged t h a t t h e economic l e v e l of t h e f a m i l i e s was low average o r poor
i n comparison w i t h t h e wider s o c i e t y o u t s i d e t h e Reserve.
The con-
t r i b u t i n g f a c t o r s t o t h i s below averase housing and economic l e v e l were
t h e l a r g e f a m i l i e s which made even an average s a l a r y inadequate and t h e
f a c t t h a t s e v e r a l of t h e p a r e n t s w i t h low incomes a l s o drank a l o t .
The o t h e r t e a c h e r s a i d t h a t t h e r e were c h i l d r e n who could be
described a s underprivileged.
She i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e r e were p a r e n t s
who were s a t i s f i e d w i t h t h e b a r e minimum of everything from education
t o food and c l o t h e s and who were content t o s i t back on t h e i r $4,000.00
4'7
o r $2,000,00 a y e a r and do a s l i t G l e a s possible,
A t t h e same time, t h e
p a r e n t s she had met d i d not seem d i f f e r e n t from any of t h e white parents
of dorgate Park.
Two t e a c h e r s had q u i t e negative pre-conceptions of what t o
expect of t h e I n d i a n p u p i l s and t h e i r home environments and were
p l e a s a n t l y s u r p r i s e d a f t e r a y e a r a t Ilorgate.
t h e r e were exceptions.
30th acknowledged t h a t
One t e a c h e r had only two l i t t l e g i r l s i n h e r
room from t h e Reserve and she described them a s s p o t l e s s l y clean, very
c u t e , very n i c e and healthy l i t t l e g i r l s ,
She s a i d , lt...they
a r e not
t h e t y p e , you know, they never have colds, o r runny noses, o r a r e
dirty o r tired,
Now mind you, you g e t t h e odd one who i s obnoxious
b u t you c a n ' t h e l p t h a t .
I d o n ' t know how I would f e e l i f I had one
t h a t s o r t of smelled l i k e something, you know,
Like t h i s l i t t l e g i r l
. ..
i n , , , room.ll
The o t h e r t e a c h e r thought t h a t g e n e r a l l y t h e Indians were
very c l e a n and w e l l kept.
every way.
Most of t h e home environments were good i n
She i n d i c a t e d s e v e r a l times t h a t t o h e r , a l a c k of money
d i d not mean t h a t t h e home environment was poor.
I n t h e two cases she
described a s being bad enviro-ments, both f a m i l i e s were on welfare b u t
t h e harmful e f f e c t on t h e c h i l d r e n w a s caused by t h e alcoholism of one
o r both of t h e p a r e n t s and by t h e i n d i f f e r e n c e of t h e parents t o t h e
w e l f a r e of t h e children.
Thus t h e homes were poorly kept and t h e
c h i l d r e n lacked t h e proper food.
Other f a m i l i e s a l s o had l i m i t e d in-
comes b u t were c l o s e l y k n i t , s e l f - s u s t a i n i n g u n i t s .
One t e a c h e r attempted t o s e t dawn an o b j e c t i v e , balanced
p i c t u r e of housing, housekeeping and h e a l t h conditions.
She s a i d t h a t
i n a few cases t h e I n d i a n children'were markedly poorly dressed o r
they s u f f e r e d from continual colds and runny noses o r sores and scabs
t h a t would not h e a l quickly.
diet.
These conditions she put down t o a poor
She d i d n o t i n d i c a t e whether t h e d i e t was due t o p a r e n t a l
ignorance of n u t r i t i o n o r p a r e n t a l i n d i f f e r e n c e .
About t h e housing,
she s a i d t h a t many of t h e homes on t h e Teserve were e x c e l l e n t , t h e y
may be c l u t t e r e d b u t were c e r t a i n l y not f i l t h y .
Nany of t h e homes i n
another nearby r e s i d e n t i a l a r e a were worse i n upkeep.
i n t h e homes on t h e Reserve were u s u a l l y adequate.
The f a c i l i t i e s
A d i f f e r e n t standard
of housekeeping was what she saw plus t h e problems created by t h i r t e e n
t o f i f t e e n people l i v i n g i n one house.
She s a i d t h a t i f t h e r e were no
Reserve and t h e Indian f a m i l i e s were l i v i n g i n Norgate Park it would be
very hard t o p o i n t t o any marked d i f f e r e n c e s which would s e p a r a t e them
from t h e r e s t of t h e people i n t h e Park.
llIf t h e housing r e s t r i c t i o n s
E y l a w 3 i n t h e r e s t of Vancouver were t h e same a s t h e r e g u l a t i o n s on
t h e Reserve you would n o t i c e a g r e a t i n c r e a s e i n t h e number of shacks
and cheap housing t h a t would spread through t h e r e s t of Worth Vancouver.
The housing on t h e Reserve o f t e n looks a l o t worse simply because t h e
r e g u l a t i o n s a r e n o t t h e r e t o enforce higher stamlards of housing."
One o t h e r t e a c h e r tended t o s e p a r a t e what she saw a s good
home environments from poor without using income a s a c r i t e r i o n .
In the
one c a s e she c i t e d where t h e l e v e l of c l e a n l i n e s s contributed t o t h e
h e a l t h problems s u f f e r e d by t h e family, she named a s causes a c u t e
poverty and alcoholism on t h e p a r t of both t h e mother and f a t h e r .
She described o t h e r f a m i l i e s , however, where t h e c h i l d r e n were n e a t l y
dressed even though t h e c l o t h i n g i t s e l f was poor, and t h e parents a s
being e x c e l l e n t even though quite'poor.
She f e l t most of t h e home
environments were not disadvantaging.
Two t e a c h e r s saw t h e s i t u a t i o ~more negatively and placed
t h e causes more d i r e c t l y on t h e shoulders of t h e parents.
One of t h e
t e a c h e r s s t r e s s e d t h a t she was dealing only w i t h t h e parents of t h e
c h i l d r e n i n h e r room who were t h e "lower grcujF.
average f a m i l i e s .
These were not t h e
Nith t h e f a m i l i e s she discussed, howevel-, t h e r e was
no q u e s t i o n of t h e condition of t h e homes and t h e c h i l d r e n bein? a t t r i b u t e d t o d i f f e r e n t standards and t h u s being excused.
I n each case
she c i t e d , t h e standard of c l e a n l i n e s s and h e a l t h were w e l l below t h e
acceptable and were c l e a r l y caused by p a r e n t a l f a i l u r e o r ignorance,
She f e l t t h a t c l e a n l i n e s s and poor d i e t were major problems,
In dis-
cussing a comment made by t h e nurse regarding one of t h e homes she
f i r s t paraphrased t h e nurse's comments, "So t h e r e ' s t e n of them i n a
house w i t h only two bedrooms.
They do t h e b e s t they can, you know.
You c a n ' t h e l p it i f he smells,11 Then she s a i d ,
I t ' s n o t t h a t bad,
"3ut you can h e l p it i f he smells.
You can t a k e some soap down t h e r e
and you can t e l l t h e mother t o g e t busy i n s t e a d of sleeping a l l t h e
time, c a n ' t you.
No matter how l i t t l e money o r how small a house I
had I wouldn't l e t my c h i l d r e n go off t o school smelly.1t She described
one c h i l d p a r t i c u l a r l y a s s u f f e r i n g from a combination of ignorance
and i n d i f f e r e n c e t o what she saw a s h i s needs.
The c h i l d had had
i n f e c t i o u s h e p a t i t i s and was carrying a g e a t d e a l of unhealthy f a t .
He l i v e d on a d i e t of white bread and t e a and was s o d i r t y t h a t t h e
nurse would r e g u l a r l y soak h i s f e e t each week.
i t ' s a happy family.
She s a i d , "I t h i n k
I t h i n k t h e r e ' s l o v e i n t h e family.
I don't think
t h e c h i l d r e n get--perhaps
of c h i l d r e n diet-wise.
time,
Mother j h s t d o e s n ' t know how t o t a k e c a r e
I t r i e d t o t e l l h e r when she was up t h e l a s t
3 u t t h e minute I s t a r t e d she had s o many problems.
The l i t t l e
one had j u s t f i n i s h e d l i g h t i n g a f i r e under t h e bed t h e night before
and t h e y had t o p u l l t h e m a t t r e s s out and g e t t h e f i r e engines dawn.
She j u s t pounded on me with a l l t h e t h i ~ g st h a t went on a t home.
So
she wasn't t e r r i b l y i n t e r e s t e d i n what she might consider minor p r o b l e m
t h a t we d o n ' t , such a s
I s
shoes being t o o small,
not,
g e t t i n g t h e proper foods, o r t h a t he has a l l t h i s unhealthy f a t , t h e
c o n s t a n t cold.
I t h i n k t h e s e t o h e r a r e minor problems.
a runny nose, so what?
That's j u s t baby f a t .
So h i s shoes a r e t o o t i g h t .
So h e l s got
3 e 1 s so in,^ t o l o s e it.
That won't r e a l l y matter."
The one excuse t h e t e a c h e r d i d o f f e r f o r t h e parents was
t h a t reaching acceptable standards t a k e s time.
I n referring t o the
minimum standards she would accept i n h e r own home and family she s a i d ,
lt;r3ut t h i s i s our education, i s n ' t it, and t h e way we've been r a i s e d
f o r several centuries.
slowly g e t t i n g up.
I d o n ' t know.
I don't know.
Naybe t h e I n d i a n i s slowly,
Also, t h e s e a r e i s o l a t e d c a s e s we
a r e speaking o f , not t h e average family.1t
The o t h e r t e a c h e r who saw t h e s i t u a t i o n more negatively
saw most of t h e problems s u f f e r e d by t h e various f a m i l i e s on t h e Reserve
as being caused by e i t h e r t h e l a c k o r mismanagement of money,
money was not a v a i l a b l e t h e problems increased.
it was managed poorly.
'rJhere it was a v a i l a b l e
I n e i t h e r case t h e general poverty was q u i t e
s t r i k i n g , showing up i n t h e c h i l d r e n ' s c l o t h i n 5 and c l e a n l i n e s s .
l11f you go t o t h e home and s e e t h e tremendous poverty they a r e l i v i n g
I
i n , although i t ' s more mismanagement perhaps t h a n poverty, because
t h e r e a r e many Indians who a r e capable of it m e t t e r s t a n d a d of l i v i n a
a s longshoremen.
Theyire making damn f i n e money, but t h r o w h m i s -
management t h e y a r e l i v i w i n tumble-down, ramshackle places."
To t h i s t e a c h e r it was t h e a t t i t u d e of t h e parents and not
t h e f a c i l i t i e s which were responsible.
The value s t r u c t u r e of t h e
Indians i s inadequate where m a t e r i a l possessions and physical appearance
were concerned.
"I d o n ' t t h i n k they have enough experience o r have
been exposed t o t h e good l i f e .
I d o n ' t t h i n k t h e y have been f u l l y
aware o r can a p p r e c i a t e what we term t h e good l i f e .
I t h i n k again,
looking a t t h e i r homes, t h e i r s e t s of values a r e completely removed from
what ours are.
I t h i n k , if they've got food i n t h e i r tummies and they've
got a t e l e v i s i o n s e t t h e y can watch t h e i r TV w i t h , t h e n t h a t ' s it.
It's a d i f f e r e n t s e t of values from ours i n t h a t they haven't been
exposed t o ours.
Me could term it an absence of ours and say, 'Oh
w e l l , t h e y a r e l i v i n g i n poverty,' and a l l t h i s s o r t of t h i n g , b u t I
d o n ' t know t h a t t h e y know any b e t t e r than t h i s .
They haven't experienced
any b e t t e r , c e r t a i n l y , so I t h i n k maybe t h e i r s e t of values i s q u i t e
acceptable t o them."
One t e a c h e r was both negative and general i n h e r comments on
home conditions on t h e Reserve.
She maintained t h a t t h e f a m i l i e s on
t h e Reserve were not generally s e l f s u f f i c i e n t economically, physically,
o r emotionally.
The parents were no "...great
i s o l a t e d fewtt and were
shakes except f o r an
"...not l i v i n g t h a t s a t i s f a c t o r y a l i f e . "
As
she saw it, many were disadvantaged economically and i n t h e i r housing;
many fought a g a i n s t a family problem, u s u a l l y alcohol; and they were not
a healthy race caused i n p a r t by t h e overcrowded conditions of many of
t h e homes.
This t e a c h e r saw alcohol a s a problem f o r many f a m i l i e s
causing p a r t i a l n e g l e c t of t h e children.
"The older brothers and
s i s t e r s have t o watch t h e younger b r o t h e r s and s i s t e r s while t h e
p a r e n t s go beering.
I defy you t o go i n t o t h e Avalon any night of t h e
week and not f i ~ dh a l f t h e Reserve i n there."
When t h i s teacher r e f e r r e d t o s p e c i f i c f a m i l i e s her comments
were s t r o n g e r t h a n those of t h e o t h e r teachers.
Referring t o one c h i l d
she s a i d t h a t t h e r e was a d i r t problem i n t h e house.
always d i r t y .
The c h i l d was
The nurse had t o c u t t h e socks off him.
were described a s very d i r t y and smelly.
nurse s a i d t h a t i t was unbelievable.
Two b r o t h e r s
Their home was f i l t h y .
The
It was one of t h e sources of l i c e .
The c h i l d r e n had scabs from t h e f o o t t o above t h e knee.
She had gone
t o v i s i t one family but found t h e house s o d i r t y and r e p u l s i v e she was
a f r a i d t o go in.
She mentioned t h a t she had v i s i t e d one house but on
t h e general run, "1 d o n ' t c a r e to.
Maybe I ' v e g o t a bug about neatness.lf
I n summary then, f o u r of t h e eleven t e a c h e r s saw housing and
h e a l t h conditions on t h e Reserve a s being adequate.
The majority of
t h e t e a c h e r s , however, described t h e standard of housing a s poor i n
comparison t o t h e a r e a surrounding t h e Reserve--an
t o be adequate.
a r e a they considered
Some a t t r i b u t e d t h i s t o a low income l e v e l , b u t o t h e r s
claimed t h a t t h e l e v e l of housing, l i k e t h e income was due t o a s a t i s f a c t i o n with t h e minimum and a l a c k of d e s i r e f o r anything b e t t e r .
In
t h e a r e a of h e a l t h , t h e majority of t h e t e a c h e r s described t h e homes
a s adequately c l e a n and healthy on t h e whole but a l s o considered t h e
exceptions t o t h i s l e v e l t o be a t a higher r a t e t h a n t h e surrounding
53
district.
These exceptions were put down t o poor d i e t o r p a r e n t a l
n e g l e c t caused by ignorance of proper d i e t , personal problems aggravated
by acute poverty, o r alcoholism,
Child-Parent Relationships
The t e a c h e r s saw a marked c o n t r a s t between t h e child-rearing
methods of t h e Indian p a r e n t s and t h a t of t h e middle-class parents of
Yorgate Park,
I n d i a n parents were much more permissive.
Decisions made
by t h e c h i l d r e n were much more s i g n i f i c a n t i n t h e i r consequences and
were made by t h e c h i l d r e n a t a much e a r l i e r age.
Bousehold organization
was g e n e r a l l y more relaxed with d e c i s i o n s such a s what t o wear, what t o
e a t and when t o e a t it, whether t o a t t e n d school o r not, being i n d i v i d u a l
m a t t e r s r a t h e r t h a n family, o r a t l e a s t j o i n t parent-child decisions.
Some of t h e t e a c h e r s saw t h i s permissiveness a s a negative
t h i n g , d e t r i m e n t a l t o educational progress.
Discussing t h e problems of
attendance and l a t e n e s s , one t e a c h e r s a i d , "The parents simply wontt g e t
t h e k i d d i e s up i n t h e m ~ r n i n g . ~ ' Another s a i d , "They a r e n ' t r e s t r i c t e d
a s much a s t h e White k i d s are.
more.
I n d i a n k i d s a r e allowed t o do a l o t
Their parents a r e a l o t f r e e r w i t h them and i n t h i s way it i s
hard f o r them t o s e t t l e down and have t o do something."
Some saw t h e permissiveness a s p a r t l y causing and being
caused by a l a c k of p a r e n t a l a b i l i t y t o c o n t r o l t h e i r children.
One
t e a c h e r simply s a i d , "They a r e not a group of people who have s e l f discipline."
Another t e a c h e r described one s i t u a t i o n where t h e family
was considering sending t h e o l d e s t son, i n h i s e a r l y t e e n s , t o a more
r e s t r i c t e d environment i n a r e s i d e n t i a l school because t h e mother could
not handle him.
The same teacher 'described another s i t u a t i o n where one
of t h e Indian mothers had phoned about a s t r a p p i n g her son had received
along w i t h s e v e r a l o t h e r s f o r p e r s i s t e n t l y p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n a very
dangerous a c t i v i t y .
A t f i r s t she had been q u i t e upset b u t l a t e r admitted
t o t h i s t e a c h e r t h a t maybe t h e strapping had been necessary s i n c e
n e i t h e r she nor t h e o t h e r parents had been a b l e t o c o n t r o l t h e c h i l d r e n
themselves.
Some of t h e t e a c h e r s saw t h i s permissiveness p o s i t i v e l y .
They
saw t h i s s t y l e of c h i l d r e a r i n g a s t r a i n i n g t h e c h i l d r e n e a r l i e r and
more e f f e c t i v e l y t o be s e l f r e l i a n t .
Two of t h e teachers defined t h i s
permissiveness i n d i f f e r e n t but complementary ways.
One s a i d t h a t t h e
a t t i t u d e of t h e Indian parents was a much more p e m i s s i v e one but permissive from t h e p o i n t of view t h a t t h e r e were fewer r e g u l a t i o n s , not
j u s t t h a t t h e r e g u l a t i o n s were more poorly kept.
She f e l t t h a t because
t h e r e were fewer r e g u l a t i o n s t h e Indian c h i l d was more independent, and
because he was more independent t h e r e was l e s s l i k e l y t o be r e b e l l i o n s
from t h e Indian c h i l d when he reached h i s teens.
The o t h e r t e a c h e r s a i d ,
"Other parents a r e perhaps more conscious of being parents.
They u s u a l l y
have a d e f i n i t e s e t of r u l e s , whereas I don't t h i n k my parents know t h e i r
objectives.
They t r y t o do what's r i g h t , but i n t h e end it j u s t depends
on ha4 t h e y a r e f e e l i n g a t t h a t moment.
p a r e n t s t o be.
They a r e n ' t parefits a s we know
They teach t h e c h i l d t o g e t out e a r l y and fend f o r him-
s e l f , and i t ' s not n e c e s s a r i l y a f a i r d e a l ; t h a t i s where everybody g e t s
equal time, everybody g e t s a f a i r share.
They're highly i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c
and y e t , i n t h e family I don't t h i n k t h e r e ' s an i d i v i d u a l .
they a r e a l l grouped t o g e t h e r a s a family.
That i s ,
They don't s t i c k out a s
55
i n d i v i d u a l s , and y e t t h i s breeds s t r o n s i n d i v i d u a l i t y because they
f i g h t f o r what they want.
It
One teacher commented t h a t she d i d not t h i r - Indian f a m i l i e s
were any c l o s e r t h a n White but s e v e r a l o t h e r s disagreed.
Some
s p e c i f i e d t h e s i b l i n g bond, others t h e parent-child bond a s being
more open and s t r o n g e r t h a n i n t h e o t h e r s f a m i l i e s of t h e i r pupils.
One t e a c h e r c l a r i f i e d her f e e l i n g s t h i s way, "A very
important t h i n g
about t h e Irdians--I would say t h a t , percentage-wise, more Indian
f a m i l i e s have time f o r l o v e and a f f e c t i o n t h a n 'dhite f a m i l i e s with t h e i r
children.
There i s more family f e e l i n g f o r young, f o r o l d , a f a r much
closer--more
feeling.
I t h i n k t h i s i s wonderful.tf
Several of t h e t e a c h e r s commented on t h e existence of t h e
extended family.
One saw t h e e f f e c t of t h i s a s p o s i t i v e p a r t i c u l a r l y
a s it encouraged r e s p e c t f o r t h e wisdom of t h e old i n c o n t r a s t t o what
she saw a s t h e tendency of t h e r e s t of s o c i e t y t o ignore o r disparage
t h e aged.
Three o t h e r t e a c h e r s , however, saw t h e o l d e r generation a s
a n t a g o n i s t i c t o education and s t r o n g l y a f f e c t i n g t h e a t t i d u e s of t h e
young i n t h i s d i r e c t i o n .
Two commented t h a t s i n c e t h e passing of some
of t h e o l d e r generation, r e l a t i o n s with some f a m i l i e s had g r e a t l y i m proved.
Referring t o another family, another t e a c h e r s a i d t h a t they
were a l l a f r a i d of t h e grandfather.
The family was r u l e d by t h e old
man--wrapped up and kept t o t h e i r t r a d i t i o n s by him.
The t e a c h e r s f r e q u e n t l y t r i e d t o d e s c r i b e what they saw a s
t h e d i f f e r e n t way i n which I r d i a n c h i l d r e n were viewed by t h e i r parents.
For t h e most p a r t t h i s came out i n examples of t h e kinds of choices
c h i l d r e n were allowed t o make f o r themselves and t h e e a r l i e r age a t
56
which such choices were made by Ihdian c h i l d r e n a s compared with t h e i r
Nhite counterparts.
ments,
family.
However, some t e a c h e r s added more e x p l i c i t com-
Two saw t h e c h i l d a s having fewer r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s i n t h e
U n t i l they were i n t h e i r t e e n s t h e y were "carerreef1 w i t h few
o r no chores o r d u t i e s .
They wandered t h e Reserve without a d f i t
supervision from a very early age.
Another s a i d t h a t t h e Indians parents
loved t h e i r c h i l d r e n as much a s any p a r e n t s but were l e s s possessive.
One t e a c h e r c o n t r a s t e d Indian parent-child r e l a t i o n s h i p s with i?fiite
middle c l a s s parent-child r e l a t i o n s h i p s a s follows, "We mould our
c h i l d r e n s u b t l y and sometimes not so s u b t l y i n t o acceptable ways.
I do
not t h i n k Indian p a r e n t s mould t h e i r c h i l d r e n t o t h e same extent.
The
c h i l d r e n a r e much more respected f o r what t h e y a r e , and t h e i r wishes
a r e respected.
The l i t t l e s t one has a say whether o r not he w i l l do
something, and h e ' l l throw t h e whole family out of whack, but t h a t ' s
t o o bad.
If he doesn't want t o , he doesn't.
So t h e i r c h i l d r e n a r e
f r e e r t h a n our c h i l d r e n and t h e y a r e more accepted a s individuals.
have d i f f e r e n t v a l u e s t h a n ours--like
They
i n d i v i d u a l freedom of t h e small
c h i l d which we t h i n k i s l u d i c r o ~ s . ~ ~
Related t o t h i s concept of a d i f f e r e n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between
c h i l d and parent was t h e observation made by t h r e e of t h e t e a c h e r s t h a t
when teaching was done by t h e Indian p a r e n t s t h e r e was considerable
l e s s t a l k i n : a t t h e c h i l d t h a n w i t h t h e White parent and child.
The
I n d i a n c h i l d was allowed t o venture more by t r i a l and e r r o r , being
removed from t h e s i t u a t i o n , o f t e n without explanation, only when he
was i n physical danger.
Two t e a c h e r s commented t h a t t h e y saw t h e beginnings of change
i n t h e generation of parents with c h i l d r e n j u s t s t a r t i n g school,
reason, a s t h e t e a c h e r s saw it, was simple.
The
"fTy c h i l d r e n who a r e doinz
t h e b e s t and t h e c h i l d r e n who do t h e b e s t i n grade one have t h e p a r e n t s
who a r e beginning t o do what we do.
have r e g u l a r times, r e g u l a r hours.
Send him t o bed a t eight.
They
They're t h e ones who a r e changing
t h e i r ways because they c a n ' t f i t i n otherwise.
Their c h i l d r e n cannot
make it.''
Indian Parent .Attitudes toward F;ducation
Nhen describing t h e a t t i t u d e s of t h e parents toward education,
t h e teachers g e n e r a l l y f i t t e d t h e s e a t t i t u d e s i n t o what I see a s t h r e e
categories.
I n t h e f i r s t category would go t h o s e parents who saw
education a s valuable.
School.
They r e a l i z e d t h e value of graduation from Yigh
One t e a c h e r described t h e s e parents a s follaws.
"The Indian
i s much more p r a c t i c a l about what school i s f o r t h a n we are.
He has
had perhaps more d i f f i c u l t y because of not having h i s Grade twelve o r
Grade eleven.
It may be regarded a s more of a n e c e s s i t y by him.
&en
i f he t h i n k s what t h e school i s teaching i s nonsense, he knows he has
t o have t h a t Grade twelve.1t
3eside thinking t h a t education was important,
t h e s e parents took a more a c t i v e i n t e r e s t i n t h e i r c h i l d ' s progress
because they had both a c l e a r e r r e c o g n i t i o n of what t a s k s t h e school
saw a s i t ' s province and a c l e a r e r understandim: of t h e methods t h e
school used t o accomplish t h e s e tasks.
I n t h e second category would go those parents whom t h e
t e a c h e r s d e s c r i b e a s being i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e i r c h i l d ' s progress because
t h e y saw education a s being valuable, b u t who were e i t h e r confused about
o r ignorant of t h e r o l e and methods of t h e school a s t h e t e a c h e r s saw
them.
I n t h e t h i r d category would go t h o s e parents who t h e teachers
saw a s being mildly i n t e r e s t e d a t b e s t , o r i n d i f f e r e n t t o t h e i r c h i l d r e n ' s
progress and who e i t h e r placed l i t t l e value on education o r were ant a g o n i s t i c t o education and educational i n s t i t u t i o n s .
:3efore going on t o d i s c u s s t h e s e t h r e e c a t e g o r i e s more f u l l y ,
it i s necessary t o note two t h i n ~ s . F i r s t , two teachers d i d see t h e
parents i n markedly d i f f e r e n t ways from both each other and t h e s e
categories.
One saw a l l o r almost a l l of t h e parents on t h e qeserve
a s f a l l i n g i n t o category three.
Any i n c r e a s e i n i n t e r e s t i n education
on t h e p a r t of some of t h e parents was more t h a n l i k e l y a passing fad
only.
The o t h e r t e a c h e r described a small group of parents who were
negligent i n almost every aspect of c h i l d c a r e and education was no
exception.
Apart from t h i s small group, however, she described t h e
a t t i t u d e of t h e parents of t h e Reserve toward education a s beinq "except i o n a l l y good".
The second t h i n g which must be noted i s t h a t t h e percentage
of parents f a l l i n g i n t o each group v a r i e d somewhat among t h e teachers.
However, from t h e i r comments it i s s a f e t o say t h a t , with t h e exception
of t h e one mentioned above, a l l t h e t e a c h e r s would place a c l e a r and
d e f i n i t e majority of t h e parents i n c a t e g o r i e s two arid three.
The t e a c h e r s 1 explanations a s t o why t h e parents held t h e s e
various a t t i t u d e s i s t h e most s i g n i f i c a n t p a r t .
I n t h e t h i r d group, i n
a few c a s e s , t h e cause of t h e l a c k of i n t e r e s t i n t h e c h i l d r e n ' s prog r e s s was considered t o be simple negligence o f t e n caused i n t u r n by t h e
overwhelming pressure of t h e p a r e n t ' s own problems.
Some teachers
a t t r i b u t e d t h e p a r e n t ' s negative a t t i t u d e toward schooling t o t h e i r
previous experiences with school and t h e i r own probable l a c k of success.
One t e a c h e r s a i d , "1 t h i n k a l o t of t h e parents h a t e school too.
know they have t o send t h e i r children.
They
I t h i n k it i s much t h e same
The parents d i d n ' t know t o o much and they d i d n ' t do t o o w e l l
situation.
themselves.
Other teachers saw a d e f i n i t e c o n f l i c t between what they
perceived a s t h e t r a d i t i o n a l Indian values and t h e value system espoused
i n t h e classroom.
They f e l t t h a t t h e Indian p a r e n t s who a l s o saw t h i s
c o n f l i c t were e i t h e r opposing t h e school o r a t l e a s t unable t o support
it.
I n a statement r e f e r r i n g t o t h e parents g e n e r a l l y , one teacher s a i d ,
"They have a tremendously low regard f o r education.
of t h e i r thinking.
I t ' s not p a r t of t h e i r way.
c a n ' t conceive of t h e f u t u r e p a s t tomorrow.
but not p a s t t h a t .
I t ' s j u s t not p a r t
I think generally t h e y
They can conceive of t h a t
They d o n ' t s t o c k p i l e , t h e r e ' s no forethought f o r
t h e day a f t e r tomorrow.
They l i v e f o r t h e moment and t h a t ' s good enough.
There's no worry about t h e time t o come."
Another t e a c h e r , i n des-
c r i b i n g a s p e c i f i c family, s a i d t h a t they s t i l l had t h e i r old ways,
"....meaning
t h e i r d i s i n t e r e s t i n education and general d i s i n t e r e s t i n
what we a r e t r y i n g t o do."
One o t h e r t e a c h e r a l s o f e l t t h a t t h e Indian
p a r e n t s saw a c o n f l i c t between t h e i r values and t h e values of those i n
t h e school but t h i s d i d not l e s s e n t h e i r i n t e r e s t i n education and
t h e i r c h i l d r e n ' s progress.
o u t t h i s point of view.
background.
She made a number of statements which b r i n g
"These people do have a d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r a l
They t h i n k t h e i r b a s i c c u l t u r e i s b e t t e r t h a n ours.
They
60
a r e not q u i t e s u r e t h a t they want ' a l l t h e s e t h i n g s t h a t we think a r e
valuable.
They want t o keep what they have and keep t h e i r c h i l d r e n
They a l s o want what we have a t Norgate.
happy.
'They t h i n k t h i s
E40rgata i s a s t e p over St. P a u l ' s Indian Day School but they a r e not
s u r e it i s t h e complete answer.
it i s t o us.
School i s l e s s important t o them than
It comes a f t e r being happy and being an Indian."
'Where t h e Indian parents had made t h e d e c i s i o n t h a t education
was valuable, t h i s t e a c h e r described being I n d i a n a s a very p o s i t i v e
benefit.
Thus, i n one case i n which she saw t h e family a s being q u i t e
t r a d i t i o n a l i n t h e i r values but a t t h e same time valuing education, she
saw t h e boy being expected t o g e t "good marksm simply because he was an
Indian and he had an Indian name t o uphold.
!&en d e s c r i b i n g p a r e n t s i n t h e second category, t h e t e a c h e r s
themselves tended t o d i v i d e i n t o two groups.
One of t h e s e groups ex-
pressed t h e thought t h a t t h e i n t e r e s t shown by many of t h e parents and
t h e i r statements regarding t h e value of education had more form than
substance.
As evidence of t h i s they c i t e d t h e l a c k of questioning on
t h e p a r t of t h e p a r e n t s during interviews, a l s o t h e apparent lack of
concern t h e y showed with mediocre performances by t h e i r children.
teacher s a i d , W.s f a t h e r smiles a l l t h e time.
I u s u a l l y t e l l him
i s making average progress and he seems q u i t e s a t i s f i e d
that
with t h i s .
not.
One
9e d o e s n ' t bother asking me whether he could do b e t t e r or
He doesn't say much.
IIe i s very happy t h e way
is
progressing averagely i n school and t h a t he i s going t o pass a t t h e
end of t h e year and t h a t ' s about it."
The o t h e r group of t e a c h e r s saw t h e parents a s being genuinely
61
i n t e r e s t e d i n both education and itheir c h i l d r e n ' s progress, b u t ,
through l a c k of personal education and/or experience with schools not
clearly
understand in^: what t h e school was tryin.; t o achieve and what
t h e i r r o l e was i n t h i s process.
This i s where t h e sharp c o n t r a s t w i t h t h e parents i n t h e
f i r s t category can be seen.
These parents not only had a genuine i n -
t e r e s t i n education, t h e y a l s o saw what r o l e t h e y were supposed t o play
i n conjunction w i t h t h e school and were attemptin!: t o do so.
From t h e t e a c h e r s 1 comments t h e s i n g l e most s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r
i n determining t h e a t t i t u d e of t h e p a r e n t s toward education was t h e
generation from which t h e y came.
For most of t h e t e a c h e r s t h e o l d e r
generation was i d e n t i f i e d c l e a r l y with category t h r e e and occasional1,y
0
two.
The younger generation was seen a s t h e one with both t h e in-
t e r e s t i n and t h e understanding of education.
Summing up t h i s f e e l i n g ,
one t e a c h e r s a i d , "The younger s e t of p a r e n t s a r e buyin? l o t s more
t h i n g s f o r t h e i r c h i l d r e n l i k e puzzles, crayons, and p l a s t i c e n s and
books.
They no longer think it i s exclusively t h e school's job t o
educate t h e i r children.
The o l d e r generation d i d not have t h i s a t t i t u d e .
I d o n ' t think t h e y r e a l i z e what reading a s t o r y t o a c h i l d means--what
i t ' s doing f o r t h e c h i l d besides e n t e r t a i n i n g him.
I d o n ' t t h i n k they
realize that.
A s can be seen from a l l t h e comments i n t h i s s e c t i o n , t h e percentage of t h e younger parents who were thought by t h e t e a c h e r s t o be
genuinely i n t e r e s t e d , concerned and involved i n t h e education of t h e i r
c h i l d r e n varied g r e a t l y from none, o r almost none, t o almost a l l .
Emever,
where a teacher commented on an i n c r e a s e i n t h e v a l u a t i o n of education,
62
it was t h e newer generation of par'ents who were given t h e c r e d i t .
Indian Parent A t t i t u d e s toward t h e School and Teachers
The way i n which each teacher perceived t h e a t t i t u d e s of t h e
Indian parents toward education was c l o s e l y i n t e r r e l a t e d with two o t h e r
matters:
t h e a t t i t u d e s toward t h e school and teachers which she
ascribed t o each i n d i v i d u a l s e t of p a r e n t s , and t h e value she placed
on t h e interview which was prescribed f o r each c h i l d ' s parents,
The interviews were not o p t i o n a l , a t l e a s t a s f a r a s t h e
t e a c h e r s were concerned.
"We a r e forced t o see them and they a r e
forced t o see u s , a confrontation two o r t h r e e times a y e a r , whether
each s i d e wanted it o r not."
C e r t a i n l y , not a l l t h e teachers looked on
it a s unpleasant o r an imposition.
However, one t e a c h e r saw l i t t l e o r
no p o i n t t o t h e interviews w i t h t h e Indian parents and f o u r o t h e r s were
q u i t e d i s s a t i s f i e d i f t h e interview was supposed t o be an-ything but a
t a l k by t h e t e a c h e r on t h e s t r e n g t h s , shortcomings and weaknesses of
t h e various children.
Six of t h e t e a c h e r s saw t h e interviews a s bein? u s e f u l most
of t h e time anyway, with t h e parents e x h i b i t i n g a marked d e s i r e t o help
even i f they were not always c l e a r how.
One t e a c h e r s a i d , "These a r e
people I believe a r e q u i t e i n t e l l i g e n t and s e n s i t i v e .
come i n and say, 'Ny c h i l d got a 3,
e v e r come a t a l l ,
Why d i d n ' t he g e t an A?'--if
they
Whereas t h e Indian p a r e n t s come i n and say, '90w i s
my c h i l d doing? What can I do?'
a person."
The White parents
They come i n and t r y t o meet you a s
The only exception t o t h i s g e n e r a l i z a t i o n on t h e p a r e n t a l
a t t i t u d e s by t h e s e s i x t e a c h e r s was t h e group of f a m i l i e s who refused t o
63
come i n and meet t h e t e a c h e r .
These were dismissed a s unco-operative.
Two t e a c h e r s s a i d t h a t g e n e r a l l y the<y found no sense of need
t o co-operate on t h e p a r t of t h e p a r e n t s .
Speaking of one f a m i l y , one
t e a c h e r s a i d , "i3eing a c h i e f ' s f a m i l y it probably behooved them t o come
and it gave them a c e r t a i n amount of s t a t u s t o come t o t h e '!&iteman's
Sut t h a t was a l l it was.
school.
It was s u f f i s i e n t j u s t t o come, j u s t
t o s a y t h a t t h e y were going t o t h e Whiteman's school,
No need t o show
any r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o t h e school o r any s e n s e of co-operation w i t h t h e
school.
Five t e a c h e r s observed t h a t even when p a r e n t a l a s s i s t a n c e had
been promised, it was r a r e l y forthcoming,
One s a i d , t t T h e y ' l l a g r e e t o
anything w h i l e t h e y ' r e i n t h e school b u t once o u t s i d e t h e door t h e y
f o r g e t and t h a t ' s t h e end of it."
Another t e a c h e r s a i d , "The p a r e n t s
come and g e t m i l d l y e x c i t e d about what t h e y a r e going t o do w i t h t h e
c h i l d , b u t nothing seems t o happen,
Nothing cones of it.!!
The same f i v e t e a c h e r s agreed t h a t t h e p a r e n t s showed a n
i n a b i l i t y t o understand t h e s c h o o l ' s a c t i v i t i e s a d were n o t p a r t i c u l a r l y
concerned about t h i s .
One p a r e n t was d e s c r i b e d a s being a tt,...meek,
v e r y p l a c i d person who j u s t does a s s h e ' s t o l d .
all.
Doesn't q u e s t i o n a t
T h i s summarizes h e r a t t i t u d e toward t h e school.tt
Another t e a c h e r
g e n e r a l i z e d about h i s c o n t a c t s w i t h I n d i a n p a r e n t s t h i s way.
had some.
t h e family.
much.
"1 have
They g e n e r a l l y come on open house o r t h e y send someone i n
They d o n ' t seem t o t a l k about t h e c h i l d o r h i s problems
They ask how much he i s doing.
o r s h e should improve i n t h a t .
I s a y he should improve i n t h i s
There i s u s u a l l y a smile b u t I d o n ' t
know whether t h e y have understood it o r not."
54
Two of t h e t e a c h e r s made* t h e observation t h a t they f e l t t h a t
sorne of t h e parents contributed l i t t l e t o an interview because of t h e i r
view of t h e t e a c h e r ' s knowledge and p o s i t i o n .
and say 'Yes...yes,'
"'The parents s i t back
and what you say, t h a t ' s a f a c t .
t h e r e ' s no question.
It must be and
I t h i n k they stand i n awe of t h e teacher.
It's
t h e i r l a c k of education and t h e f e e l i n g t h a t I know more than they
know.
I have t h e lower children.
you a r e t h e teacher.
it must be r i g h t .
I t h i n k t h e i r parents t h i n k , 'Well,
You know what's r i g h t .
T h a t ' s what you t h i n k s o
''
Taken a s a group most of t h e t e a c h e r s f e l t t h a t t h e majority
of t h e Indian parents showed a n i n t e r e s t i n t h e school even i f it d i d
not always extend t o e f f e c t i v e involvement i n t h e l e a r n i n g processes of
t h e i r c h i l d r e n i n academic areas.
Some of t h e p a r e n t s were seen a s q u i t e f r i e n d l y t o t h e school
and i t s teachers.
A number of parents contributed some valuable a y t i -
f a c t s t o a d i s p l a y s e t up i n t h e school l i b r a r y .
Two teachers remarked
on t h e way c e r t a i n mothers came down t o t h e school and helped make
Christmas costumes.
Another teacher s a i d t h a t i n her interviews with
t h r e e out of t h e f i v e Indian f a m i l i e s she had i n h e r room, she had
noticed no d i f f e r e n c e s i n her r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h them a s compared with
t h e White f a m i l i e s .
She described one mother a s being young and cuke.
"She seemed l i k e a f r i e n d of mine s i t t i n g t h e r e and t a l k i n g t o me."
Only a few of t h e Indian parents were seen a s being a c t u a l l y
h o s t i l e toward t h e school.
*Two of t h e t e a c h e r s described some f a m i l i e s
a s a c t u a l l y d i s l i k i n ? t h e school and i t s teachers-the
one t e a c h e r
a s c r i b i n g t h i s t o previous p a r e n t a l exyeriences with schools; t h e o t h e r
teacher seeing t h e f e e l i n g toward t h e t e a c h e r s a s p a r t of a general d i s -
65
l i k e of !fJhites.
Four t e a c h e r s mentioned t h a t t h e y had had some comment
from Indian parents t h a t t h e r e were o t h e r parents on t h e xesepve who
considered t h e school t o have d i f f e r e n t standards of behavior f o r t h e
Indian and idhite p u p i l with t h e I n d i a n s g e t t i n g t h e worst of it,
TWO
t e a c h e r s had got telephone c a l l s i n which t h e y o r t h e school had been
charged w i t h 'picking on1 t h e Indians.
The way t e a c h e r s reacted t o and i n t e r p r e t e d t h i s h o s t i l i t y
i s worth noting.
The ones who were accused of discriminatory tr-eatment
of Indian p u p i l s r e j e c t e d t h e charge completely.
When an Indian parent
d i d phone i n anger o r s t r o n g l y d i s a g r e e i n a conference, it was seen a s
being unusual behavior and generally undesirable behavior a s well.
comments on one p a r t i c u l a r parent w i l l i l l u s t r a t e t h i s view.
These
One teacher
s a i d t h a t most of t h e s t a f f saw one parent a s a ttrabble-rouseru, however,
she was a c t u a l l y not over-aggressive.
It was j u s t t h a t her a t t i t u d e was
such a marked c o n t r a s t t o t h a t of t h e o t h e r parents.
"As long a s t h e
school i s i n agreement with her, i t ' s good.
3ut she w i l l not put her-
s e l f out t o understand t h e school position."
I n describing t h e same
parent another teacher s a i d , !'She came i n with a chip on her shoulder
which I managed t o knock off because I d o n ' t t a k e any %uff from her,lt
A t h i r d t e a c h e r described a s i t u a t i o n i n which t h i s same parent had
phoned one day and b l a s t e d another of t h e t e a c h e r s , using q u i t e s t r o r q
language, f o r t h a t t e a c h e r ' s a t t i t u d e toward h e r child.
The next day
t h e t e a c h e r remembering t h e s t o r y had i n t e r c e p t e d a telephone c a l l
from t h e parent i n which t h e parent q u i t e genuinely and straiqlztforwardly
apologized f o r her a c t i o n s of t h e day before.
This q u i t e impressed t h e
t e a c h e r s i n c e she f e l t t h a t t h e parent could j u s t a s e a s i l y have decided
66
a g a i n s t phoning with t h e excuse t h a t t h e t e a c h e r would a l s o soon f o r g e t .
The r e l a t i o n s h i p between how t h e t e a c h e r saw t h e general
a t t i t u d e of t h e Indian parents toward education and how he saw t h e
a t t i t u d e s of h i s p u p i l ' s parents toward t h e school was p a r t i c u l a r l y close.
Without v a r i a t i o n , where t h e t e a c h e r saw t h e parents a s being q e n e r a l l y
i n t e r e s t e d i n education, he saw h i s p u p i l ' s parents a s being i n t e r e s t e d
and co-operative with t h e school and f r i e n d l y towards himself.
If he
saw t h e parents a s having a wide range of a t t i h d e s toward education
t h e n they had t h e p a r a l l e l range of a t t i t u d e s toward himself and t h e
school.
This point seems l i k e an obvious one except t h a t it l e d t o a
very i n t e r e s t i n g range of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of t h e same parents' a c t i o n s
and r e a c t i o n s by d i f f e r e n t members of t h e s t a f f .
The next s h o r t s e c t i o n
w i l l c o n s i s t of t h r e e examples of d i f f e r e n t s t a f f viewpoints on t h e
same parent.
It i s worth noting t h a t o f t e n t h e t e a c h e r s reported t h e
same r e a c t i o n s .
Only t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s were markedly d i f f e r e n t .
Parent A
The teacher described t h e mother a s being very much l i k e h e r
daughter--shy.
She probably d i d not t h i n k about school.
However, t h e
family had r e c e n t l y moved t o another Reserve and even though it c o s t
them s i x t y c e n t s a day t h e y s t i l l s e n t t h e i r c h i l d r e n a l l t h e way back
t o Uorgate.
Another teacher s a i d , "She's s o d o c i l e , I a c k a d a i s i c a l , and
it doesn't matter.....
I t o l d her t h a t
through t h i s y e a r , he couldn't possibly.
j u s t wouldnt t g e t
'That's a l l r i g h t ,
I guess
it j u s t t a k e s two years f o r my k i d s t o g e t through every grade.'
t h a t was about it.
Anc?
has t h e same a t t i t u d e a s h i s mother's
67
not.
D
I S i t back and l e t t h i n g s co&e t o you o r go t o me.
ariything about it.'"
I won't do
The t e a c h e r commented t h a t t h e r e d i d not seem t o
be any questioning going on.
Whatever t h e t e a c h e r s a i d was r i g h t and
t h a t was t h e end of t h e matter.
The t h i r d t e a c h e r described t h e mother a s being very open t o
suggestion and t h a t i f she was given a good suggestion she would
probably follow it.
The t e a c h e r l a t e r explained t h a t t h e phrase, 'open
t o s u g ~ e s t i o n ' ,d i d not mean t h a t t h e mother d i d not have any suggestions
of h e r own but t h a t she was simply very open t o f r i e n d l i n e s s and open
The mother was very amiable.
She had not contradicted any-
t h i n g t h a t t h e t e a c h e r had s a i d t o her.
She was very f r i e n d l y and was
t o ideas.
t r y i n g t o be a conscientious mother.
Parent 3
One t e a c h e r described one of t h e f a t h e r s t h i s way.
I d.onlt have t o o much t o say t o him.
by a l l smiles most of t h e time.
I u s u a l l y t e l l him t h a t
q u i t e s a t i s f i e d with t h i s .
do b e t t e r o r not.
We comes
i s making average progress and he seems
He doesn't bother askinz me whether he could
He d o e s n ' t say much.
Re i s v e r y happy t h e way
i s progressing averagely i n school and t h a t he i s going t o pass a t t h e
end of t h e y e a r , and t h a t ' s about it."
Another t e a c h e r described t h e same parent t h i s way.
She s a i d
t h a t t h e boy's f a t h e r had come t o an afternoon t e a when h i s wife
couldnl t,
"He j u s t looked and smiled and looked and smiled.
Ye d i d n l t
come .g.lshing up and say, 'Oh, you have done wonderful t h i n g s f o r my
child.'
But he d i d s t o p and say,
'
seems t o be happy t h i s year.'
68
It was q u i t e obvious what he meant'and t h a t was t h a t . "
Parent C
The f i r s t t e a c h e r s a i d , i n reference t o interviews,
111
phoned b u t she always had a reason not t o come, o r she would say,
1 1
c a n ' t do anythinq with him.
Why d o n ' t you s t r a p him?'
She d i d n ' t
want t o tr.y.l1
The next t e a c h e r s a i d t h a t she had n e t t h e mother.
was a very n i c e woman, very concerned,
She
Her a t t i t u d e toward school was
perhaps t h e b e s t of t h e whole l o t .
The next t e a c h e r described t h i s mother a s very pleasant,
"She's a well-spoken woman and w e l l looked a f t e r .
Interested,
I
wouldn't say concerned; I p r e f e r t o say s h e ' s an i n t e r e s t e d parent
r a t h e r t h a n a concerned parent.
t o understand t h e r e p o r t .
Willing, co-operative.
She appeared
She never questioned any of it and I j u s t
had t o l e a v e it a s '1 hope you've understood what I ' v e said.'
110
questions.
The f o u r t h t e a c h e r described h e r c o n t a c t s with t h i s mother
a s being more formal than h e r interviews with o t h e r mothers.
Mrs.
i t ' s more of a parent-teacher r e l a t i o n s h i p .
t a l k j u s t about t h e children."
With
We always
The t e a c h e r described t h e mother's
a t t i t u d e toward t h e school a s being of a s e r i o u s and concerned nature.
E f f e c t of t h e Home Environment on Learninq
I n t h e l a s t few s e c t i o n s I have presented t h e teachers'
c o m e n t s on t h e home environment of t h e Indian children.
In this
s e c t i o n I w i l l summarize t h e s e a d present t h e opinions of t h e t e a c h e r s
69
a s t o how t h e home environment o f ' t h e c h i l d r e n a f f e c t e d t h e i r learning.
iill t h e t e a c h e r s agreed t h a t t h e r e was a small group of
f a m i l i e s which s u f f e r e d from every negative c h a r a c t e r i s t i c t h e t e a c h e r s
mentioned.
The houses were old, small, d i r t y i n s i d e and o u t , poorly
cared f o r , and poorly equipped i n e s s e n t i a l , properly functioning
equipment.
This was t h e extreme, however, and f o r most of t h e t e a c h e r s
t h e number of f a m i l i e s i n t h i s group was small.
I n t h e breakdown of s t a f f opinions shown e a r l i e r , i n summary,
a l l t h e t e a c h e r s except two compared t h e physical environment of t h e
Indian c h i l d r e n t o t h a t of t h e r e s i d e n t s of Norgate Park and saw it a s
poorer i n t h e l a r g e majority of c a s e s ; poorer i n terms of b a s i c cons t r u c t i o n , standard of maintenance, c l e a n l i n e s s , and q u a l i t y and q u a n t i t y
of e s s e n t i a l equipment such a s f u r n i t u r e , appliances, and plumbing.
Of
t h e two exceptions, one saw t h i s comparison a s a l e g i t i m a t e one but
disagreed w i t h t h e t o t a l s , seeing t h e majority of t h e Indian homes a s
on a par w i t h those i n Norgate Park.
The o t h e r exception saw such a
comparison a s i r r e l e v a n t o r misleading s i n c e t h e reason behind t h e
d i s p a r i t y was t h e presence of enforced building and maintenance regul a t i o n s i n Norgate Park and t h e l a c k of t h e s e on t h e Reserve; and,
d i f f e r i n g standards of what i s acceptable and appropriate i n housekeeping
complicated by t h e inescapable problems caused by l a r g e number of people
crowded i n t o a m a l l space.
For t h e majority of t h e s t a f f t h e cause of most h e a l t h
problems was a combination of l a c k of s u f f i c i e n t c l e a n l i n e s s and
ignorance of adequate d i e t a r y knowledge.
The lower standards of house-
keeping and general c l e a n l i n e s s were seen a s t h e r e s u l t of such standards
70
being accepted a s normal with t h e ' p a r e n t s havin.; no d e s i r e t o improve
them.
The degree of c l e a n l i n e s s of t h e people and t h e i r surroundings
was v o l u n t a r i l y brought i n t o t h e conversation by every teacher except
one and usea a s a generalized measuring s t i c k f o r t h e children.
Clean-
l i n e s s was t i e d very c l o s e l y with both academic and s o c i a l success.
d i r t y c h i l d had n e i t h e r .
The
For both t h e c h i l d and t h e p a r e n t s , t h e l a c k
of any obvious p u r s u i t of higher standards of c l e a n l i n e s s was seen a s
proof of a l a c k of d r i v e and d e s i r e i n a11 s o c i a l a f f a i r s including
education.
I n t h e family i t s e l f , t h e l a r g e numbers of people present a t
any given time were seen a s a g r e a t e r problem t h a n t h e housekeeping.
The crowding of t h e home was mentioned i n two ways.
F i r s t , because
t h e house was overcrowded t h e student was not a b l e t o g e t privacy f o r
schoolwork; and two, when work was taken home and attempted, t h e
amount of noise and d i s t r a c t i o n would be g r e a t l y increased by t h e
number of people i n a small area.
Two of t h e t e a c h e r s mentioned t h a t some of t h e parents held
family r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s t o be more important t h a n school and thus
c h i l d r e n babysat f o r younger b r o t h e r s and s i s t e r s occasionally while
t h e parents went elsewhere.
Another e f f e c t of t h e l a r g e family mentioned by some of t h e
t e a c h e r s was t h a t t h e mother was not a b l e t o give much a t t e n t i o n t o
t h e i n d i v i d u a l c h i l d because of t h e demands on h e r time caused by
simply tryin:
t o organize and run such a l a r g e household.
Sach c h i l d
was, t h e r e f o r e , much more on h i s own.
The inescapable presence of o l d e r s i b l i n g s a s w e l l a s o t h e r
7 1.
o l d e r young people was seen a s a n s t h e r source o f influence on t h e
children.
I f t h e s e older c h i l d r e n were not a t t r a c t e d t o education
t h e i r example soon spread t o those younger and s t i l l of school age.
One t e a c h e r s a i d , When I d r i v e
t h e r e , t h e r e seems t o be a l o t
of people, o l d e r boys, j u s t s i t t i n g around and perhaps t h e k i d s g e t
t h e i d e a , 'Well, j u s t come t o school.
I don't have t o do ncch.
gventually I am going t o g e t out and maybe q e t some work o r j u s t s i t
around l i k e t h e r e s t of them.
'11
The Fieserve i t s e l f was u s u a l l y defined a s a r e s t r i c t i v e f o r c e
on t h e children.
The p o s i t i v e f e a t u r e s of t h e Reserve system, a s t h e
t e a c h e r s saw it, was t h a t it tended t o keep t h e extended family t o g e t h e r
and it helped maintain knowledge of Indian cult,ure i n t h a t it increased
t h e contact between t h e o l d e r people w i t h t h e knowledge and t h e younyer
people who were y e t t o l e a r n it.
The drawbacks t o close contact between
t h e old and t h e young have already been mentioned.
One t e a c h e r expressed
t h e v i e t ~ sof s e v e r a l , i f not t h e r m j o r i t y , of t h e t e a c h e r s when she
s a i d t h a t t h e behavior p a t t e r n s of t h e c h i l d r e n could be t r a c e d d i r e c t l y
t o t h e f a c t t h a t t h e y were Indian c h i l d r e n l i v i n g on an Indian P e s e w e ,
s i n c e Indian c h i l d r e n she had observed off t h e 3eserve d i d not seem t o
have t h e same problems.
The 3eserve was seen a s a negative and l i m i t i n g
f a c t o r i n s e v e r a l ways.
F i r s t , t h e c h i l d r e n ' s l i v e s , and f o r t h a t
matter t h e l i v e s of t h e i r parents a s w e l l , tended t o c e n t e r around t h e
Reserve.
They knew t h i s home a r e a 'out knew very l i t t l e about o t h e r
a r e a s of t h e surrounding c i t y and country.
Second, because t h e Reserve
was physically s e p a r a t e from t h e nearby White community, t h e Indian
c h i l d r e n were p h y s i c a l l y segregated u n t i l Grade one or kindergarten.
72
Third, because it was such a small and t i g h t community with many c l o s e
k i n r e l a t i o n s h i p s among t h e f a m i l i e s , s i m i l a r a t t i t u d e s seemed t o spread
more evenly through t h e group and deviance from t h e majority at,titude
was harder t o i n i t i a t e and harder t o maintain.
Perhaps t h e most important way i n which t h e 'ieserve system
a f f e c t e d t h e c h i l d r e n , accordirq t o t h e t e a c h e r s , was t h e l i m i t a t i o n it
placed on t h e v a r i e t y of occupational models t h e c h i l d r e n saw.
3ecause
of t h e higher r a t e of unemployment, men, p a r t i c u l a r l y youn? men without
work o r w i t h occasional work, were one common model t h e children Itnew.
Several of t h e t e a c h e r s mentioned t h a t because t h e c h i l d r e n l i v e d on a
Reserve they simply d i d not become aware of any riore than a few unskilled
o r semi-unskilled occupations, and t h i s l a c k of knowledge contributed t o
t h e i r l a c k of ambition and d r i v e i n academic matters,
One teacher s a i d ,
'Well, i f they l i v e d i n %orgate and had a professor f o r a next door
neighbow, say h i s w i f e was a s o c i a l worker, t h e y would know what, a s o c i a l
worker i s and what a professor is.
The parent,^ would be v i s i t i n g back
and f o r t h a d t h e y would g e t some idea of t h e d i f f e r e n t kinds of t r a d e s
and d i f f e r e n t kinds of i n d u s t r i e s t h a t go on.
d i f f e r e n t kind of work t h a t goes on.
They would know t h e
3ut t h i s way t h e y know loggers,
they know fishermen, and they know lonqshoremen, and they don't know
anything e l s e except some unemployment,
I have never heard then mention
any o t h e r occupation b u t t h e s e three."
A l l of t h e t e a c h e r s agreed t h a t t h e most s i g n i f i c a n t f'actor
from t h e home a f f e c t i n g t h e l e a r n i n g of t h e c h i l d was t h e a t t i t u d e of
t h e p a r e n t s toward education i n general and t h e school and i t s t e a c h e r s
i n particular.
There was general- agreement among t h e teachers t h a t
73
t h e r e was a s m a l l group of parentE4 who saw e d u c a t i o n i n t h e same l i g h t
a s most of t h e Norgate p a r e n t s ; t h a t i s , somethinz t o be pursued, somet h i n g needed, something of value.
There was c o n s i d e r a b l e disagreement
a s t o t h e s i z e of t h i s yroup, b u t t h e m a j o r i t y s a i d t h a t it was s m a l l ,
tended t o be young and tended t o be t h e ones who had had more education
themselves.
For t h e r e s t of t h e p a r e n t s most of t h e t e a c h e r s f e l t
t h a t t h e i n t e r e s t t h e y d i d show was l a r g e l y o u t of form, o r was t o o
g e n e r a l i z e d t o b e of much value.
These p a r e n t s were seen a s simply t o o
u n r e l i a b l e i n t h e c a r r y i r q o u t of promises t h e y had made i n t e a c h e r parent interviews.
Four of t h e t e a c h e r s d i d f e e l t h a t t h e i n t e r e s t of
t h e p a r e n t s was r e a l and t h e i r concern was genuine b u t t h a t t h e y lacked
s u f f i c i e n t awareness of t h e r o l e t h e s c h o o l was expecting p a r e n t s t o
A l l t e a c h e r s agreed t h a t t h e r e was a s m a l l group of p a r e n t s who
play.
h e l d e d u c a t i o n i n v e r y low regard and a t l e a s t some of t h e s e were
o v e r t l y o r c o v e r t l y a n t a g o n i s t i c toward t h e school and i t s t e a c h e r s .
The e f f e c t on t h e l e a r n i n g h a b i t s and academic success of t h e
c h i l d r e n of t h e s e p a r e n t a l a t t i t u d e s toward education, t h e school and
i t s t e a c h e r s i s obvious from t h e t e n o r of t h e i r comments.
I n Chapter
t h r e e we w i l l d i s c u s s more f u l l y t h e views of t h e t e a c h e r s on t h e
academic and s o c i a l progress of t h e I n d i a n p u p i l s .
Suffice t o say a t
t h e p r e s e n t t h a t t h e y saw t h i s p r o g r e s s a s q u i t e l i m i t e d and t h e home
environment a s one of t h e c h i e f f a c t o r s i n c r e a t i n g and maintaining
t h i s situation.
Thus, anything l e s s t h a n f u l l and e n t h u s i a s t i c co-
o p e r a t i o n from each p a r e n t would b e considered a s d e t r i m e n t a l t o t h e
'
c h i l d s progress.
I n a f f e c t i n g t h e a t t i t u d e s of t h e p a r e n t s toward education,
?l+
t h e most s i s n i f i c a n t f a c t o r , apar-b from t h e educational background of
t h e parents themselves, was a b a s i c d i f f e r e n c e i n philosophical outlook
on l i f e and a d i f f e r i n g value system from t h a t of t h e t e a c h e r s and t h e
Horgate parents,
Not a l l t e a c h e r s agreed.
sophical difference.
One saw no basic philo-
She did see a l a c k of understanding on t h e p a r t
of t h e Indian parents of t h e requirements of t h e school and a d e f i n i t e
inadequacy of preparation f o r school i n t h e bepinners, but no d i f f e r e n c e
i n outlook on l i f e o r education on t h e p a r t of t h e parents sending
c h i l d r e n t o t h e school.
One o t h e r t e a c h e r agreed t h a t t h e I n d i a n parents d i d look a t
l i f e i n a d i f f e r e n t f a s h i o n but f e l t t h a t t h e i r viewpoint had more
v a l i d i t y t h a n t h a t of t h e t e a c h e r s and t h e Norgate Park parents.
She
saw t h e Indian people a s being more open, warm people and decidedly
happier.
She d i d f e e l t h a t t h e i r values c o n f l i c t e d with those espoused
by t h e school and, t h e r e f o r e , t h e c h i l d r e n were t h e i n e v i t a b l e l o s e r s .
The r e s t of t h e teachers agreed t h a t t h e philosophical
d i f f e r e n c e s and value c o n f l i c t s were major causes of t h e l a c k of
academic success on t h e p a r t of t h e Indian c h i l d r e n but saw t h i s a s
proof t h a t t h e philosophical t e n e t s of t h e parents were inappropriate
i f not unsatisfactory.
Some of t h e t e a c h e r s saw t h e philosophical views of t h e
parents a s unspecified, t r a d i t i o n a l Indian viewpoints,
Other t e a c h e r s
described t h e p a r e n t s a s being present-oriented r a t h e r t h a n f u t u r e o r i e n t e d ; t h a t i s , a people p r e f e r r i n s immediate and l e s s e r g r a t i f i c a t i o n of d e s i r e s over g r e a t e r g r a t i f i c a t i o n which took more time and
e f f o r t t o achieve.
Some saw t h e s e two viewpoints a s beinz equivalent.
Whatever t h e o r i g i n o r nature of t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n philosophy between
75
t h e Indian parents and t h e teachers: t h e t e a c h e r s saw t h i s d i f f e r e n c e
a s being most s i g n i f i c a n t .
Perhaps t h e most important t h i n g uFon which t h e r e was general
agreement among t h e t e a c h e r s was t h e i r f e e l i n g t h a t a l l but a few of
t h e c h i l d r e n came t o school inadequately prepared f o r Grade one i n
comparison t o t h e c h i l d r e n from Norgate Park.
The t e a c h e r s described
t h e school a s being designed f o r c h i l d r e n of middle c l a s s parents from
a middle c l a s s r e s i d e n t i a l a r e a l i k e Morgate Park and t h u s accornmod a t i n g with some d i f f i c u l t y t h e l a c k of background i n language a c t i v i t i e s of t h e Indian children.
However, while t h e teachers agreed on t h e basic f a c t t h a t
t h e c h i l d r e n were not w e l l prepared f o r tdorgate school when they a r r i v e d ,
t h e r e was some d i f f e r e n c e of opinion a s t o t h e p r e c i s e nature of t h e
inadequacies of t h e c h i l d r e n ' s pre-school preparation and t h e changes
necessary a s a r e s u l t ,
One teacher, a s mentioned e a r l i e r , f e l t t h a t
what she saw a s t h e value system of t h e Indians was s u p e r i o r t o t h a t of
t h e White parents of Norgate Park,
Thus, a s f a r a s she was concerned,
t h e changes which were necessary t o b e t t e r accommodate t h e Indian
c h i l d r e n were t o be made by t h e school t o t a k e advantage of t h e background t h e c h i l d r e n had.
Another t e a c h e r saw t h e Indian c h i l d r e n corning
t o t h e school with a tremendous range of experiences which t h e school
was not u t i l i z i n g e f f e c t i v e l y .
However, she a l s o saw t h e c h i l d r e n a s
lacking e s s e n t i a l background i n pre-reading s k i l l s .
Xost of t h e t e a c h e r s tended t o s e e t h i s l a c k i n s p e c i f i c
l e a r n i n g s k i l l s and minimized, i f they admitted t h e existence o f , t h e
p o s i t i v e f e a t u r e s of t h e c h i l d r e n ' s experiences a s they r e l a t e d t o t h e
76
classroom s i t u a t i o n .
That i s , t h e 'teachers g e n e r a l l y claimed t h a t t h e r e
were few books i n most of t h e homes and t h a t t h e parents d i d l i t t l e
reading themselves and t h u s l i t t l e o r no reading t o t h e i r c h i l d r e n
before they entered school, and gave l i t t l e encouragement t o t h e i r
c h i l d r e n t o read once they were i n school.
'Two t e a c h e r s saw t h e poor
w r i t t e n and spoken English of t h e i r I n d i a n p u p i l s a s t h e d i r e c t r e s u l t
of t h e i r home environment s i n c e they noticed during interviews t h a t
t h e parents tt.,.spoke
e x a c t l y t h e same a s t h e c h i l d r e n dot1.
Ihst of t h e t e a c h e r s agreed t h a t t h e r e were s p e c i f i c t h i n g s
missing i n t h e c h i l d r e n ' s background which were u s u a l l y present i n t h e
pre-school experiences of t h e middle c l a s s c h i l d r e n , such a s l e s s o n s i n
countins, t e l l i n g s t o r i e s and being read s t o r i e s , and d e l i b e r a t e encouragement of vocabulary development and c o r r e c t pronunciation of words,
These s p e c i f i c s were seen a s t h e r e s u l t of t h r e e broader
a s p e c t s of t h e c h i l d r e n ' s e a r l y environment.
F i r s t , most of t h e t e a c h e r s
f e l t t h a t t h e r e were c l e a r and narrow l i m i t a t i o n s on t h e breadth of t h e
c h i l d r e n ' s range of experiences.
Several mentioned t h e l a c k of know-
ledge of t h e c h i l d r e n of a r e a s o u t s i d e t h e l o c a l Reserves.
That i s , t h e
c h i l d r e n d i d not go on Sunday d r i v e s , t h e y d i d not t a k e r e g u l a r vacations
a s a family t o o t h e r p a r t s of t h i s province o r country,
There were few
parent-organized v i s i t s t o parks, museums, movie t h e a t r e s o r s p e c i a l
events, a l l of which t h e t e a c h e r s saw a s being a r e g u l a r p a r t of t h e
e a r l y childhood background of t h e c h i l d r e n of ?;orgate Park.
The second and t h i r d a s p e c t s of t h e c h i l d r e n ' s preparation
f o r school a r e d i s t i n c t b u t r e l a t e d .
The second i s t h a t t h e parents1
own experience with schooling was g e n e r a l l y l i m i t e d i n l e n g t h and success.
This meant t h a t those c l o s e s t t o t h e c h i l d r e n s e t a poor example a s
f a r a s education was concerned whether they wanted t o o r not.
The
t h i r d and most important aspect t o almost a l l t h e t e a c h e r s was t h a t
t h e parents of t h e Indian c h i l d r e n d i d not supply s u f f i c i e n t push, o r
motivation, t o succeed.
Perhaps because of t h e i r own schooling, o r
l a c k of it, t h e parents were not aware of t h e c o n s i s t e n t e f f o r t needed
from t h e c h i l d i n order t o succeed, p a r t i c u l a r l y if h i s background i n
l e a r n i n g s k i l l s was weak.
Perhaps t h e p a r e n t s d e l i b e r a t e l y chose not
t o push t h e i r c h i l d r e n t o work because such coercion d i d not f i t with
t h e i r methods of c h i l d upbringing, o r because t h e parents had l i m i t e d
ambitions f o r t h e i r children.
With e i t h e r cause, t h e t e a c h e r s g e n e r a l l y
f e l t q u i t e s t r o n g l y t h a t t h i s l a c k of motivation from t h e parents was
a most s e r i o u s d e f e c t .
They described what they saw a s a l a c k of com-
munication from t h e p a r e n t s t o t h e c h i l d r e n t h a t what he o r she was
doing was important and was t o be done well.
One comment sums up t h i s
aspect and would be generalized by most of t h e t e a c h e r s t o apply t o
more than h a l f t h e homes.
11
came t o school every day f o r t h e e n t i r e
y e a r , but he d i d n ' t seem t o have d i r e c t i o n . H i s p a r e n t s
s e n t him off t o school and he knew he had t o come t o
school, but he d i d n ' t know who o r what f o r . Ye knew he
had t o come and s i t here and t h e n had t o go home, b u t
t h a t was it. I t a l k e d t o t h e parents about t h i s , b u t
I d o n ' t know what happened, whether he has p r o y e s s e d
t h i s y e a r or not.
As f a r a s t h e p a r e n t s of t h i s c h i l d were concerned he s a i d ,
"1 had them both down and t h e p r i n c i p a l and I both t a l k e d t o them.
a t t i t u d e was 'yes, y e s r , b u t not much more.I1
Their
Summary
It was pointed out i n t h e f i r s t s e c t i o n of t h i s chapter
t h a t f i v e of t h e eleven t e a c h e r s had a " f a i r amountf1 of ?first hand
knowledgelt of t h e f a m i l i e s on t h e Xeserve.
Of t h e s e f i v e , two had
v i s i t e d t h e homes of s e v e r a l o r a l l of t h e i r p u p i l s ; t h e other t h r e e
depended on conversations a t t h e school w i t h some of t h e parents and
t h e children.
A s was a l s o pointed out i n t h e f i r s t s e c t i o n , t h e term
' f a i r amount',
i s a r e l a t i v e one.
Since t h e base l i n e f o r "a l i t t l e
f i r s t hand knowledget1was t h e amount of knowledge which could be
gained from interviews a t r e p o r t card time, it i s obvious t h a t anything
more t h a n t h a t could s t i l l be very l i t t l e indeed.
A thorough d i s c u s s i o n of t h e importance of a good knaqledge
of t h e c h i l d ' s home background i s presented i n t h e concluding chapter
of t h i s study.
For t h e present argument, t h i s i s simply an assumption.
Given t h a t t h e assumption i s a v a l i d one, t h e information given by t h e
t e a c h e r s themselves does i n d i c a t e t h a t , a s a group, they lacked f i r s t
hand knowledge of t h e f a m i l i e s of t h e i r pupils.
Secause of t h i s l a c k ,
t h e y depended f o r any information they f e l t they needed on t h e second
hand sources.
The information t h e y received from t h e s e people was
accurate and i n good supply, but t h e i r answers t o questions and t h e i r
conversation i n general. would seem t o i n d i c a t e t h a t t h i s information
tended t o confirm t h e i r preconceptions r a t h e r than c r e a t e present.
impressions.
This i s probably due t o t h e f a c t t h a t i n s t e a d of f i l l i n g
i n t h e blanks i n t h e i r own f i r s t hand assessment of t h e s i t u a t i o n , t h e
information had t o provide t h e b a s i s of t h e i r mental picture.
Where
79
t h e information was inadequate i n q u a n t i t y , t h e i r preconceptions of
t h e s i t u a t i o n provided t h e framework.
The answers given by t h e majority of t h e t e a c h e r s tended t o
be q u i t e generalized with regard t o t h e causes of t h e various d i s advantages point& out i n t h e c h i l d r e n ' s home environments.
The
statement t h a t t h e s e people a r e an undisciplined l o t o r a r e s a t i s f i e d
w i t h t h e i r $2,000.00
o r $1~,000.00 a y e a r , o r l i v e i n ramshackle,
tumble-down places because they manage t h e i r money poorly even when
they have it, show very l i t t l e consideration f o r t h e wide v a r i e t y of
circumstances o r t h e wide v a r i e t y of l i v i n g standards evident on t h e
Beserve.
The l a c k of knowledge of i n d i v i d u a l f a m i l i e s a l s o l e d t o a
groupins of t h e f a m i l i e s t o g e t h e r when s p e c i f i c q u a l i t i e s were discussed.
It i s d i f f i c u l t t o a s s e s s an i n d i v i d u a l ' s a t t i t u d e toward. anything on
t h e b a s i s of a t e n minute interview, o r even a s e r i e s of them over a
number of y e a r s , and t h u s t h e p l u r a l pronoun 'they1 was f r e q u e n t l y
used.
It i s important t o note t h a t s e v e r a l of t h e questions asked t h e
t e a c h e r s were general and allowed f o r responses r e f e r r i n g t o a group.
However, they a l s o could have been answered i n terms of t h e i n d i v i d u a l
family a s two o r t h r e e of t h e t e a c h e r s did.
The l a c k of research i n terms of reading o r course work a l s o
created problems.
Once again, it i s an assumption t h a t background
readin5 and course work a r e of value.
3ut, given t h a t t h e y a r e , t h e i r
l a c k was n o t i c e a b l e i n t h i s s i t u a t i o n .
Xone of t h e teachers had taken
aqy course work i n t h e teaching of minority groups o r i n t h e c u l t u r a l
h i s t o r y o r present of t h e Indians of t h i s area.
Two had done what t h e y
50
described a s a f a i r amount of background reading s i n c e t h e y s t a r t e d
t e a c h i n s a t t h e school.
The f i r s t t h i n ? of note was t h e f a i l u r e of t h e l a r g e majority
of t h e t e a c h e r s t o recognize t h a t people of d i f f e r i n g c u l t u r a l ,
economic and s o c i a l bac4grounds f r e q u e n t l y have d i f f e r e n t p r i o r i t i e s
when it comes t o t h e s a t i s f a c t i o n of needs and d e s i r e s .
This statement
cannot l e a d t o t h e suggestion t h a t t h e r e i s a uniform l i s t of p r i o r i t i e s
on t h e Reserve e i t h e r , s i n c e a s 3ichard 3and p o i n t s out, t h e r e a r e a t
l e a s t two viewpoints t h e r e a s well.
(1969:
59)
We i n d i c a t e s t h a t
t h o s e whose houses a r e i l l - k e p t f e l t t h a t t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e
maintenance of a house belonged t o t h e Sand Council, not t h e owners,
Painting and landscaping tend t o be low on t h e l i s t when t h e house i s
old t o begin with o r when t h e i n d i v i d u a l f e e l s , a s many Squamish do,
t h a t t o put up a fence i s an a f f r o n t t o one's neighbours.
1969:
(9. ?and
60) Thus, those whose houses appear on t h e o u t s i d e t o be
poorly maintained may i n f a c t be s o but may a l s o be i n such condition
f o r o t h e r than t h e implied reason t h a t t h e owners should c a r e but do not.
?{any of t h e t e a c h e r s picked ~ ? tph e i d e a t h a t t h e childparent r e l a t i o n s h i p was d i f f e r e n t i n t h e case of most of t h e i r Indian
c h i l d r e n when compared t o t h e majority of t h e i r middle c l a s s classmates.
Ziowever, t h e m a j o r i t y of them a i s s e d t h e c u l t u r a l explanation of t h i s
and t h u s i t s r a m i f i c a t i o n s i n terms of a d u l t - c h i l d r e l a t i o n s h i p s i n t h e
classroom.
3ichard 2and p o i n t s o u t (1969:
100) t h a t non-interference
i n t h e a f f a i r s of another a d u l t i s very d e f i n i t e l y t h e p a t t e r n , with any
admonitions from even c l o s e r e l a t i v e s beiny considered an a f f r o n t .
Children t a k e t h e same a t t i t u d e toward reproval from o t h e r a d u l t s beside
t h e i r parents o r c l o s e r e l a t i v e s .
On many occasions I have observed them using
languase t h a t would even 'make a longshoreman blush'
when an a d u l t has attempted t o scold them f o r t h e i r
actions. One six-year old g i r l , a f t e r making a few
choice i n t r o d u c t o r y remarks, s t a t e d f l a t l y t o one
Councillor, 'You think t h a t you're such a big shot!
Poutre just a
n o t h i n g l t This s o r t of statement
i s o f t e n made by even younger children. There i s
nothing much a person can do i n such a s i t u a t i o n ,
except complain t o t h e parents. This i s r a r e l y a t tempted, however, s i n c e t h e c h i l d probably pic!ted
up t h e expressions and t h e o r i e n t a t i o n s towards t h e
person of t h e Councillor from h i s parents, Such a
complaint g e n e r a l l y proves t o be i n e f f e c t i v e .
(R. Band 1969: 101)
...
The peer group a l s o appears t o have a very strong influence
a t an e a r l y age amon5 t h e c h i l d r e n of t h e 3eserve.
The a t t i t u d e toward
a u t h o r i t y outside t h e family and t h e highly s i g n i f i c a n t peer group
pressure a r e two p o i n t s which must be r e f e r r e d t o i n understanding
classroom and playground behavior, and i n p u t t i n g i n t o perspective t h e
comments of t h e p a r e n t s with regard t o t h e c o n t r o l of t h e i r children.
A l a c k of knowledge of t h e educational h i s t o r y of t h e parents
of t h e Indian c h i l d r e n contributed t o a misunderstanding o r misinterp r e t a t i o n of t h e apparent a t t i t u d e s of t h e p a r e n t s toward education i n
general and t h e school and i t s t e a c h e r s i n p a r t i c u l a r .
The grandparents
and, i n some c a s e s , t h e parents of t h e c h i l d r e n i n school during t h e
l a s t Sew y e a r s , took t h e i r education almost e n t i r e l y i n r e s i d e n t i a l
schools.
'The school was f r e q u e n t l y a long way from t h e Reserve, t h e
t e r n was sometimes eleven months long, and v i s i t s home were discouraged.
I n t h o e a r l i e r days academic s u b j e c t s took t h r e e hours with r e l i g i o u s
c l a s s e s and chores f i l l i n g t h e r e s t of t h e time.
The p a r e n t s reported
t h a t they received no encouragement t o go p a s t Grade seven, i f they g o t
82
V n t i l t h e e a r l y 1950's a l l c h i l d r e n from t h e Reserve, w i t h
that far.
t h e exception of two f a m i l i e s , were educated i n parochial schools.
These
became i n c r e a s i n g l y day schools r a t h e r t h a n r e s i d e n t i a l , except f o r
c h i l d r e n from broken homes, orphans, and c h i l d r e n from t t ~ n s u i t a b l e f l
homes.
( ~ e r m a 1954:
118)
( I t i s not c l e a r from Vermats t e x t who
decided which homes were unsuitable.
The word i s h i s . )
The parochial
school made t h e academic s u b j e c t s more important b u t , according t o t h e
p a r e n t s , s t i l l took a g r e a t d e a l of time teaching r e l i g i o n and gave
minimaq encouragement f o r t h o s e who d e s i r e d t o go on.
'Thus, t h e p a r e n t s
of t h e present c h i l d r e n d i d not have a g r e a t d e a l of education and t h e
education i n i t s e l f was considerably d i f f e r e n t i n many ways from t h a t
being received by t h e i r c h i l d r e n i n t h e p u b l i c schools a t present. 1
a e s i d e t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e education i t s e l f , t h e r o l e of
t h e p a r e n t s of t h e parochial school-child was d i f f e r e n t from t h a t expected of t h e p a r e n t s of t h e public school-child.
Two quotes from
The 7ducation of Indian Children i n Canada w i l l put t h i s i n perspective.
( Jampolsky
1965)
L.G .P. . 'vJaller , t h e Chief Superintendent of Indian
Schools i n 1965 says,
Indian parents have suddenly found t h e s e l v e s i n
a p o s i t i o n of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i n school a f f a i r s . They
have been consulted and asked t o make d e c i s i o n s with
r e s p e c t t o t h e i r c h i l d r e n t s education. Their r e a c t i o n
t o t h i s new s i t u a t i o n d i f f e r s very l i t t l e from t h a t of
any o t h e r group i n Canada w i t h regard t o democratic
procedure. There i s apathy, born perhaps, of bewilderment and t r a d i t i o n a l suspicion of new custons.
(Waller 1965: 68)
?'Table V I I I i n d i c a t e s t h e continuing low percentage of Indian
p u p i l s i n Srades nine t o t h i r t e e n , b u t a l s o shows t h e dramatic i n c r e a s e i n
t o t a l numbers of p u p i l s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e s e grades, a f t e r 1949--the
y e a r p r o v i n c i a l public schools f i r s t s t a r t e d t o accept I n d i a n pupils.
Sooderham, a t t h a t time Regional School Superintendent i n Alberta,
was not q u i t e a s o p t i m i s t i c a s idaller appears t o be about t h e d e c i s i o n s
being made by t h e Indian parents.
He says,
A t p r e s e n t , t h e education of Indian p u p i l s i s
d i r e c t e d almost exclusively by o u t s i d e r s . The f e d e r a l ,
p r o v i n c i a l and municipal a u t h o r i t i e s argue, d i s c u s s and
decide. Indian people p a r t i c i p a t e , but more t o r a t i f y
than t o plan, so i s i t any wonder t h a t Indians continue
t o remain unexcited about our program f o r t h e i r educat i o n . I f Indian parents a r e t o be i n a p o s i t i o n t o
a s s i s t t h e i r c h i l d r e n they must have a v i t a l i n t e r e s t
i n t h e program. This means t h a t t h e y must have adequate
r e p r e s e n t a t i o n on p r o v i n c i a l school boards, i f t h e i r
c h i l d r e n a r e attending p r o v i n c i a l schools, and t h a t
they must have more t h a n nominal a u t h o r i t y over t h e
schools operated by t h e Indian A f f a i r s '?ranch. It
must become p o s s i b l e f o r them t o assume t h e same
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r school a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a s i s assumed
by o t h e r Canadian parents.
(~ooderham 1965: 96)
These two quotes point out q u i t e c l e a r l y t h a t whether o r not
Indian parents o b t a i n i n t h e l a t e 1960% and e a r l y 1970's t h e
It...
same
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r school administration a s i s assumed by other
Canadian parents", they c e r t a i n l y d i d not have it when t h e present
parents were c h i l d r e n i n school.
This p o i n t s up then, t h e highly s i g n i f i c a n t p o i n t s t h e t e a c h e r s
missed because of t h e i r lack of knowledge of t h e educational background
of t h e parents.
The schooling which t h e p a r e n t s received was i n i t s e l f
d i f f e r e n t t o t h a t received by t h e i r own parents.
Gihen t h e present
parents were attending school, t h e i r parents were encouraged t o send
t h e i r c h i l d r e n t o school but were not requested, expected o r allowed t o
1
I
I
i
t a k e any r o l e i n t h e i r education beyond t h a t .
job.
Schoolinq was t h e school's
A l l t h e parents had t o do was g e t t h e c h i l d r e n t h e r e .
Thus, t h e
present parents l a c k both r e l e v a n t experiences and examples i n t h e i r
85
preparation f o r t h e r o l e s t h e teachers expect them t o play today.
The
t e a c h e r s noted t h a t t h e younger parents a r e much more co-operative and
knowledgeable regarding t h e i r children"
schooling.
This bears out t h e
previous arguments i n t h a t it i s t h e s e parents who have more schooling,
much of which took place i n t h e public school system.
F i n a l l y , t h e t e a c h e r s 1 lack of knowledge of l i f e s t y l e s on t h e
Reserve and p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e i r lack of knowledge of t h e c u l t u r a l background of t h e c h i l d r e n c o n t r i b u t e s t o t h e academic d i f f i c u l t i e s t h e
t e a c h e r s describe.
There i s no question t h a t when t h e Indian c h i l d r e n
e n t e r Grade one many of them a r e a s much a s a year o r more behind t h e i r
'Xhite, middle c l a s s counterparts i n t h e development of t h e necessary prew r i t i n g and pre-reading s k i l l s .
This does not mean t h a t they have had
one o r more y e a r s l e s s experience than t h e o t h e r children.
It means
t h a t they have had t h e same q u a n t i t y but d i f f e r i n g kinds of experiences.
These u s u a l l y a r e not t h e kinds of experiences which f i t e a s i l y i n t o t h e
standard "Iade one curriculum which i s desizned t o f i t t h e middle c l a s s
c h i l d and h i s background.
A knowledge of t h e c h i l d ' s l i f e s t y l e and
c u l t u r a l background would enable a t e a c h e r t o design more e a s i l y t h e
changes i n method and content necessary t o f i t t h a t c h i l d ' s s t a t e of
preparedness.
Secondly, a knowledge of t h e c u l t u r a l backgroud of t h e
c h i l d would enable t h e t e a c h e r s a t a l l l e v e l s t o make t h e curriculum
both more i n t e l l i g i b l e and more r e l e v a n t t o t h e Indian child.
Given then, t h a t a f i r s t hand knowledge of t h e c h i l d ' s home
environment and a knowledge of t h e c u l t u r a l background of t h e people
of t h e Reserve a r e necessary p a r t s of t h e t e a c h e r s ' equipment, t h e i r
l a c k causes problems i n understanding and adapt in^ t o t h e perceived
behavior of t h e parents and c h i l d r e n and encourages an i n s i s t e n c e on
a s i n g l e s e t of c r i t e r i a by which a l l p a r e n t s , homes and c h i l d r e n
should be judo;ea.
It i s apparent rron * . h e i r torments t b a t not a l l
t e a c h e r s had t h e same amount of knowledge.
equipped i n some a r e a s t h a n others.
Thus, some were nuch b e t t e r
The majority of t h e t e a c h e r s ,
however, d i d not have s u f f i c i e n t information i n t h e s e a r e a s and gave
evidence of s u f f e r i n g from t h e problems described above.
3ef erekces Cited
3and, 3ichard 6.
1969
3 e c i s i o n %king c\mon,y t h e Squamish. k p u b l i s h e d ili. A. t h e s i s ,
department of P o l i t i c a l Science, Socioloqy and Anthropology,
3urnaby, Simon Traser University.
Zooderharn, G. iC.
1965 Prospect. & The Education of I n d i a n Children i n Canada,
L. .;.I?. X a l l e r , ed. Toronto, The ilyerson Press, The Canadian
Superintendent.
J a m ~ o l s k y ,L.
196.5 Advancement i n 1 - d i a n 3 u c a t i o n . & Vie ?ducation of Indian
Children i n Canada, L.G.P. J a l l e r , ed. Toronto, The zyerson
Press, The Canadian Ouperintendent.
Vema, 3ehari L.
1954
The Squamish: A Study of Chanqiny P o l i t i c a l 0ri;anization.
L'npublished PI. 4, t h e s i s , Department of Anthropoloqy,
Criminology and S o c i o l o ~ y , Jancouver, University of
-3ritish Columbia.
inlaller, L.f .?. (ed.)
1965
The i3nrolment of Indian Children i n P r o v i n c i a l Schools.
I n I'he B u c a t i o n of Indian Children i n Canada, 'Toronto,
The iiyerson P r e s s , The Canadian 3 q e r i n t e r d e n t .
-
Chapter 3
The Views of t h e Teachers 2epardinS t h e
Indian Children
I n Chapter two we discussed t h e views and opinions of t h e
t e a c h e r s regarding t h e home backgrounds of t h e Indian c h i l d r e n a d t h e
ways i n which t h o s e backgrounds a f f e c t e d t h e i r educational progress.
In
t h i s chapter we w i l l d i s c u s s t h e view of t h e t e a c h e r s regarding t h e
Indian c h i l d r e n themselves, t h e i r s o c i a l behavior, and t h e academic
performance i n t h e classroom.
F i r s t , I w i l l present d a t a concerning t h e teachers1 i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of t h e i r Indian pupils, t h a t i s , t h e i r s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
a s pupils.
Then, I w i l l present t h e teachers1 views on how t h e Indian
c h i l d saw h i s own i d e n t i f i c a t i o n a s an Indian and t h e s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s t h e Indian c h i l d r e n enjoyed w i t h t h e i r iu'hite classmates.
Next,
I w i l l present d a t a from sociograms done i n a l l but one of t h e c l a s s rooms a d d i s c u s s t h e s e i n t e r n s of t h e t e a c h e r s 1 comments regalding
White-Indian r e l a t i o n s h i p s .
Next, we w i l l d i s c u s s t h e t e a c h e r s 1 views
on t h e academic performance of t h e Indian c h i l d r e n and t h e i r comments
regarding t h e i r expectations f o r t h e f u t u r e performance of t h e Indian
pupils.
Then, 1 w i l l present d a t a gathered i n a questionnaire re-
garding some s p e c i f i c a s p e c t s of t h e t e a c h e r s 1 expectations regarding
t h e Indian children.
liext, we w i l l d i s c u s s t h e research f i n d i n g s on
t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e expectations of t h e teacher and t h e perfomance of h e r s t u d e n t s , and then, f i n a l l y , d i s c u s s t h e expectations
of t h e t e a c h e r s a t Norgate i n t h e l i g h t of t h e research and t h e
39
implications of t h i s research.
I
Special C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
A l l t e a c h e r s saw t h e Indian c h i l d r e n a s an i d e n t i f i a b l e ,
s e p a r a t e group.
3owever, t h e kind, range and e x t e n t of t h e d i f f e r e n -
t i a t i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s varied g r e a t l y .
Only one teacher claimed t h a t
t h e s k i n c o l o r a t i o n of t h e Indian p u p i l s was t h e only way i n which
she could s e p a r a t e them from t h e o t h e r c h i l d r e n i n t h e room.
Since
h e r l a t e r comments i n d i c a t e d many sharply d i s t i n c t i v e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
of Indian c h i l d r e n i n general and h e r p u p i l s i n p a r t i c u l a r , I regard
t h e f i r s t statement a s an inconsistency.
One t e a c h e r saw economic
f a c t o r s a s t h e only t h i n g causing whatever d i f f e r e n c e s t h e r e might be.
Their c l o t h i n g tended t o be poorer and s e v e r a l of t h e Indian c h i l d r e n
had more sickness t h a n t h e i r classmates, b u t t h e s e were a l l d i r e c t l y
a t t r i b u t a b l e t o t h e economic f a c t o r ,
A s she saw it, i n t h e i r progress
i n l e a r n i n s , i n t h e i r a t t i t u d e toward h e r and t h e o t h e r c h i l d r e n , and
i n t h e i r behavior p a t t e r n s they were i n no way i d e n t i f i a b l e a s a
s e p a r a t e group.
IIost of t h e t e a c h e r s d i d s e e s p e c i f i c behavior c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
which were common t o t h e Indian children.
I n Chapter two, t h e e f f e c t
of t h e g r e a t e r independence a t home was noted, i n t h a t c h i l d r e n were
o f t e n more s e l f - w i l l e d i n school.
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s among t h e teachers.
There was disagreement over s p e c i f i c
Some described t h e Indian c h i l d r e n
a s more stubborn, b u t o t h e r s d i r e c t l y countered t h i s .
Some t e a c h e r s
claimed t h a t t h e Indian c h i l d r e n were more i r r e s p o n s i b l e than t h e i r
White classmates b u t o t h e r s s a i d t h e r e v e r s e ; t h a t t h e i r s p e c i f i c d u t i e s
i n t h e home and t h e i r g r e a t e r independ.ence made them more responsible
90
and more mature.
Several commented t h a t t h e c h i l d r e n were q u i e t i n t h e
classroom p a r t i c u l a r l y and were slow t o speak i n f r o n t of t h e c l a s s o r
t o t h e teacher i n private.
.As can be seen, no p a t t e r n was evident.
There was no agreed
upon p i c t u r e of t h e generalized Indian p u p i l w i t h a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c
behavior p a t t e r n e r h i b i t e d i n t h e school s i t u a t i o n .
This i s exphasized
by t h e f a c t t h a t t h e t e a c h e r s were aware of and ready t o comment on
t h e d i f f e r e n c e s of viewpoint amongst themselves.
Three of t h e t e a c h e r s
saw t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e Indian c h i l d r e n by some of
t h e i r colleagues a s evidence t h a t t h e y were prejudiced a g a i n s t Indian
p u p i l s and saw them a s
'I.
. , not a s g o d a s t h e rest."
A t l e a s t one
o t h e r t e a c h e r beside t h e s e t h r e e saw h e r f e l l o w t e a c h e r s a s lumping t h e
Indian c h i l d r e n i n t o one group and n o t seeing them a s individuals with
i n d i v i d u a l d i f f e r e n c e s and c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s .
The S e l f - I d e n t i t y of t h e Indian Children
I discussed t h i s aspect with ei?yht of t h e eleven teachers.
Of
t h e s e only one f e l t t h a t t h e Indian c h i l d r e n d i d not want t o be ident i f i e d a s Indian o r t o i d e n t i f y themselves a s Indians.
conviction on two incidents.
He based t h i s
A s he described it, t h e Indian c h i l d r e n
were t o t a k e p a r t i n an inter-school program by performing an Indian
dance--a f e a t u r i n g and a demonstration of Indian c u l t u r e .
Preparations
were going along very w e l l with t h e p a r e n t s from t h e Reserve f u l l y involved teaching t h e i r c h i l d r e n a p a r t i c u l a r dance when, suddenly, no
one showed up f o r t h e p r a c t i c e a t t h e school and t h e t e a c h e r got a
message t h a t u n l e s s White c h i l d r e n were included s o t h a t it was int e g r a t e d a r d not j u s t Indian, t h e r e would be no dance.
H i s arguments
91
t h a t t h e dance was t o r e p r e s e n t I n d i a n c u l t u r e and t h e i n c l u s i o n of
White c h i l d r e n dressed up i n Indian costume destroyed any idea of it
being genuinely Indian, were ignored.
i n c i d e n t a s an ongoins s i t u a t i o n .
showplace of Indian materials.
Indian,
He s a i d , !'This school should be a
J u t t h e y won't even admit t o being
That f r o n t h a l l case should be jamed w i t h Indian m a t e r i a l b u t
t h e y won't bring anything.
t h e y a r e Indian.
Indian.
The second was not so much an
They hide it.
Xaybe I was wrong.
They won't even admit t h a t
Maybe t h e y don't want t o be
Xaybe t h e y wanted t o be t r e a t e d j u s t t h e same. t t
The o t h e r t e a c h e r s completely disagreed,
c h i l d r e n a s q u i t e publicly proud of being Indian.
Four saw t h e I r d i a n
Among t h e other t h r e e ,
one described t h e Indian c h i l d r e n a s wanting t o i d e n t i f y themselves a s
I n d i a n b u t tending t o do it i n a negative fashion.
That i s , t o be Indian
was t o be non-White and t o a l a r g e e x t e n t , anti-White.
She claimed
t h a t t h e I n d i a n people saw themselves a s a s e p a r a t e group, a n a t i o n or
people f i r s t , t h e n a n I n d i a n people second,
The o t h e r two t e a c h e r s
tended t o be r a t h e r n e u t r a l i n t h e i r comments.
One generalized t h a t
t h e Indians seemed t o consider ItIndian" a s a s o r t of n a t i o n a l i t y .
She
s a i d t h a t t h e p a r e n t s f r e q u e n t l y commented on t h e i r c h i l d r e n a s being
proud of being Indian.
The o t h e r simply s a i d t h a t being i d e n t i f i e d a s
Indians o r having poems o r plays about Indians read aloud d i d not seem
t o bother t h e children.
One Lndian c h i l d i n p a r t i c u l a r was I1alwaystt
makinz remarks l i k e , ttThe Indians a r e on t h e war p a t h t f , when t h e c l a s s
g o t a b i t rambunctious.
The general f e e l i n g of t h e t e a c h e r s was t h a t whether o r not
t h e c h i l d was proud of h i s I d i a n i d e n t i t y , it r a r e l y was a s i g n i f i c a n t
themselves i n t h i s matter, t h e r e were only a few who appeared v i s i b l y
concerned.
S o c i a l iielationships of t h e Indian Children i n t h e School S i t u a t i o n
I n a school with Indian and d h i t e c h i l d r e n a s p u p i l s , discrimin a t i o n and prejudice were two concepts which were never f a r f r o n
t e a c h e r s 1 and p u p i l s t minds when observing behavior.
Nine of t h e
eleven t e a c h e r s saw l i t t l e o r no d i s c r i m i n a t i o n a g a i n s t o r by t h e Indian
children.
Nost of t h e nine t e a c h e r s s t a t e d t h a t while t h e i r White
p u p i l s were aware of t'ne Indian p u p i l s a s being d i f f e r e n t i n some ways
from themselves, t h e y saw t h i s d i f f e r e n c e mainly i n terms of shades of
colour of s k i n a d geographical s e p a r a t i o n of houses,
A t e a c h e r of t h e
e a r l y primary grades claimed t h a t s e v e r a l of h e r c h i l d r e n were q u i t e
s u r p r i s e d t o l e a r n t h a t some of t h e i r playmates were tfIndianfi. 411
nine t e a c h e r s i n d i c a t e d t h a t classroom r e l a t i o n s were good between
Indian and White pupils.
idot i n terms of d i s c r i m i n a t i o n o r exclusion, but i n terms of
grouping by preference, t h e t e a c h e r s noted t h a t t h e Indians tended t o
group together.
One t e a c h e r commented t h a t when questions were asked
of one Indian c h i l d about o t h e r s , even on such simple matters a s whether
o r not t h e y were s i c k o r l i k e l y t o be away f o r some time, t h e e n t i r e
group Secarne q u i t e ti.,?ht,-lipped a d non-conmunicative.
They wou-ld t e l l
on each o t h e r and complain about each o t h e r ' s behavior q u i t e f r e e l y i f
t h a t behavior took place a t school.
However, comments regardin2 each
o t h e r on t h e Reserve were few and f a r between.
I n choice s i t u a t i o n s , most of t h e t e a c h e r s saw t h e Indian
93
c h i l d r e n a s p r e f e r r i n g one a n o t h e ~ . As f a r a s t h e White c h i l d r e n were
concerned, s p e c i f i c Indian c h i l d r e n were f r e q u e n t l y excluded and i n
s o c i a l gatherings o u t s i d e t h e school even q u i t e popular Indian c h i l d r e n
were r a r e l y i n v i t e d .
The explanation given f o r t h e exclusion from
p a r t i e s was t h e geographical d i s t a n c e which separated t h e two groups
once t h e y l e f t school.
The t e a c h e r s who mentioned t h i s s t r e s s e d t h a t
they d i d not t h i n k t h a t t h i s exclusion meant anything more t h a n t h e f a c t
t h a t most c h i l d r e n , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e younger grades, went home a f t e r
school a d t h e i r s o c i a l groupings tended t o depend on physical proximity.
The Indian c h i l d r e n l i v e d i n a p h y s i c a l l y s e p a r a t e a r e a and a l s o tended
t o go home a f t e r school.
Thus, once school was o u t , t h e c h i l d r e n r a r e l y
saw each other.
The r a t i o n a l e t h e t e a c h e r s g e n e r a l l y accepted f o r t h e choice
p a t t e r n s t h e y saw i n t h e classroom and on t h e school grounds was t h a t
t h e I n d i a n c h i l d r e n had grown up t o g e t h e r i n reasonably c l o s e physical
proximity.
'They were o f t e n r e l a t e d t o each o t h e r and were members of t h e
same small, c l o s e l y k n i t f r i e n d s h i p groupings which included theil- whole
families.
These bonds continued through t h e school s e t t i n g a s well.
They were bonds which had been formed over s e v e r a l years and r a r e l y were
t h e y overshadowed o r displaced by bonds formed with people met i n t h e
school s i t u a t i o n .
The c h i l d r e n who were excluded by t h e 'dhites were
those who stood out i n terms of p e r s o n a l i t y o r i n t e r n s of c l e a n l i n e s s
and were excluded not a s Indians b u t because of t h e i r physical unattract i v e n e s s o r t h e i r abrasive behavior p a t t e r n s .
Usually t h e s e c h i l d r e n
found what f r i e n d s they had amongst t h e other Indian c h i l d r e n because t h e
bonds mentioned above remained s t r o n g e r t h a n t h e s t r a i n s put upon them.
94
The Indian c h i l d r e n who were a c t u a l l y excluded by ~ f i i t ec h i l d r e n were
f r e q u e n t l y excluded by a number of t h e Indian c h i l d r e n a s well.
The p a r e n t s of t h e \r?hite c h i l d r e n played some r o l e i n t h e
out-of-school
r e l a t i o n s h i p s of t h e children.
Cne teacher r e f e r r e d t o
phone c a l l s she had received concerning I n d i a n c h i l d r e n who had been
Cleanliness once a g a i n seemed t o be t'ne most
brouqht home t o play.
important f a c t o r .
One teacher mentioned mentioned two p a r t i c u l a r g i r l s
who were q u i t e popular i n t h e classroom,
Their l a c k of c l e a n l i n e s s d i d
not seem t o matter i n t h e classroom, but t h e c h i l d r e n d i d not play w i t h
them outside of school.
not approve of them.
Indian .irlJ
"1 t h i n k they know t h a t t h e i r parents would
'This i s what makes
welcome where
and
and
Bwo o t h e r
a r e not.
blhere d i s c r i m i n a t i o n d i d occur, p a r e n t a l influence was
u s u a l l y blamed.
3iases were not % a t u r a l n b u t were picked up from
parental attitudes.
Several t e a c h e r s commented t h a t d i s c r i m i n a t i o n
and prejudice showed up i n both groups.
A not unusual remark from t h e
younyest of t h e Indian c h i l d r e n was, Ylere come t h e l?lhites.
Stay away
from t h e N h i t e ~ . ~The comment which b e s t sums up t h e a t t i t u d e of t h e s e
nine t e a c h e r s was, T h e r e i s some d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i n t h e c l a s s and t h e r e
always w i l l be.
The worst comes from t h e Indians and t h e r e i s always
a yroup among t h e d h i t e s who do not l i k e non-dhites.
?ut they g e t along
with each other."
The one case of c l e a r d i s c r i m i n a t i o n w i t h obvious r a c i a l overtones was a case of Indian a g a i n s t Indian.
One boy s t a r t e d missing a
g r e a t d e a l of school i n t h e middle of t h e year.
'&en t h e teacher i n -
v e s t i g a t e d he found. t h e boy was playins hooky because he was a t o o
95
frequent t a r g e t of o t h e r Indian bops,
'Their f a v o u r i t e e p i t h e t was
"black bogtt i n reference t o h i s darker s k i n colour.
had been joined by a couple of :?bite boys
"
? i s tormentors
. . . who would gang up
on anybody," b u t t h e main i n s t i ~ a t o r swere Tndian.
Two t e a c h e r s held out t h a t t h e r e was c l e a r and d e f i n i t e
segregation between t h e two :;roups of c h i l d r e n i n t h e school.
One
s t a t e d t h a t t h e segregation was t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of t h e Indians
themselves.
;Jle s a i d , " I ' m beginning t o f i n 2 out t h a t maybe they do
want t o be d i f f e r e n t .
be l e f t alone.
3ut I t h i n k what it i s , i s t h a t they want t o
On t h e playground y o u t l l f i n d them playin? i n groups
by themselves and i f you t r y t o mix them w i t h t h e Whites, they d o n ' t
want t o be mixed w i t h t h e Mhites.
There's no r e j e c t i o n t h e r e ,
They want t o be b
;
rthemselves.
'This i s t h e i r choice.
i n t e g r a t e d a s they want t o be.
It &he schooJ
a s t h e y want it t o be i n t e g r a t e d .
They a r e j u s t a s
i s Gntegrated] a s much
I d o n t t t h i n k t h e r e ' s anyone who wants
t o j o i n anything t h a t he c a n ' t join.
'They a r e by themselves because
t h e y choose t o be by t h e m s e l v e ~ . ~ ~
The o t h e r t e a c h e r f e l t t h a t f i f t y t o six$y percent of t h e
c h i l d r e n i n h e r room would avoid contact w i t h any Indian c h i l d ; t h a t
t h e Nhite c h i l d r e n tend t o see and t r e a t t h e I n d i a n c h i l d r e n a s a group
and not a s i n d i v i d u a l s ; t h a t t h i s i s a r e s u l t of an "inborn f e e l i n g of
d i f f e r e n c e t t c h i l d r e n have regarding those of another colour; and t h a t
t h i s %atura,l" tendency t o d i s c r i m i n a t e i s g r e a t l y aggravated by t h e
f a c t t h a t some of t h e Indian c h i l d r e n were e i t h e r unclean and smelly o r
were p h y s i c a l l y u n a t t r a c t i v e due t o excessive f a t , c o n t i n u a l l y running
noses, t h e h a b i t of d r o o l i n 5 c o n s t a n t l y , o r o t h e r physical c h a r a c t e r i s -
96
tics.
The Indian c h i l d r e n , p a r t i d u l a r l y t h e boys, e i t h e r i n r e a c t i o n
t o t h i s o r by choice tend t o avoid excessive contact with ilvxite children
also.
During t h e l a s t month of t h e school year I asked each teacher
t o o b t a i n t h e d a t a f o r a sociogram of her c l a s s .
taSulated 2nd put i n t a b l e form.
measuring t o o l s .
This d a t a was t h e n
Sociograms aTe, of course, very crude
Friendship p a t t e r n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e e a r l i e r
grades, can change very quickly and frequently.
Gowever, sociogram
of several. groups w i t h i n a l a r g e population can give i n d i c a t i o n s of
o v e r a l l p a t t e r n s and t r e n d s of f r i e n d s h i p s .
The q u e s t i o n asked by t h e
t e a c h e r s was a v a r i a n t o f , YLf you were going (on a t r i p , camping, t o
be l o s t i n t h e woods, t o be s t r a i d e d on a d e s e r t i s l a n d , etc.) which two
people would you choose t o go w i t h you from t h i s c l a s s , and which two
people would you no-t want t o go w i t h you?1i Ynfortunately, one c l a s s
d i d not g e t t h e sociogram completed and f i v e Indian c h i l d r e n were absent
on t h e day t h e i r c l a s s e s answered t h e qu.estion.
Immediately following i s a summary of t h e d a t a given i n t h e
sociograms.
'Table I X , t h e Summary of Choices ;'lade Involving Indian
Children, gives a c l a s s by c l a s s breakdown of t h e kinds of choices made
where Indian c h i l d r e n f i y r e d a s chooser o r chosen.
The t o t a l number of
Indian c h i l d r e n i n t h e c l a s s i s a l s o given a t t h e bottom of each. column
s o t h a t comparisons can be made between t h e t o t a l number of Indian
c h i l d r e n i n each c l a s s and each p a r t i c u l a r kind of choice.
Table XI and Table X I 1 show t h e frequency of choice and rej e c t i o n of t h e Indian c h i l d r e n by a l l t h e i r classmates.
a r e a l s o presented c l a s s by c l a s s .
These f i g u r e s
It should be noted t h a t some
97
t e a c h e r s e n r o l l e d c h i l d r e n i n two grades.
'This accounts f o r t h e nine
c l a s s e s encompassin? only seven zrades.
Classes
Types of Choices
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Indian Chose Indian
Indian Chose -Jhite
'bite Chose Indian
Xutual Indian
Indian Choice
Xutual Indian
White Choice
6 4 2 1 1 7 7 0
3 8 2 5 3 3 4
4 2 0 5 0 4 6
1 2 1 2 2 2 0
1 0 0 1 0 2 2
2 2
38
31
11
10
Number of Indians i n Class
6 7 2 9 5 6 2 5 5
47
-
-
TA13LE X
1 6
6 4
7 3
Totals
0 1
44
SUi:rIMARY OF REJZTIONS MADE INVOLVIIJG I N D I A N CHILDREN
Classes
Types of Rejections
Indian Rejected Indian
Indian Rejected d h i t e
d h i t e Rejected I n d i a n
Nutual Indian
Indian Rejection
I~lutualIndian-jJhiteRejection
-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Totals
3 6 0 3 1 3 0 1 0
7 5 2 7 9 5 4 5 8
1511 3 14 13 5 j 12 6
17
52
74
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 2 1 0 1 0
4
6 7 2 9 5 6 2 5 5
47
0
0
0
1
--
Number of Indians i n Class
Classes
Frequency of Choice
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 Totals
S o t chosen a t a l l
Chosen by one person
Chosen by two persons
Chosen by t h r e e persons
Chosen by f o u r persons
Chosen by f i v e o r more
1
2
2
0
1
0
2 1
0 0
2 0
1 0
0 0
0 1*
T o t a l number of choices
1 0 6
*
**
2
4
1
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
2
2
2
2
1
0
2 1 6 7
0 3 1
3 1 1
1 0 2
2 0 0
0 0 1
0 l**O
6 1 1 8
12
15
I0
5
3
2
9
75
One person chosen by s i x o t h e r s
One person chosen by seven o t h e r s
TAI3LE XI1
FREQUENCY OF REJZTION OF INDIAN PUPILS
Classes
Frequency of Kejection
ite jected
Rejected
Rejected
3ejected
Rejected
Ftejected
by
by
by
by
by
by
none
one person
two persons
t h r e e persons
f o u r persons
f i v e o r more
T o t a l number of r e j e c t i o n s
*
*
**%k
1 2
1
2
O
1
0
2"
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Totals
0 0 6
3 1 2
l l O
1 0 0
1 0 0
1 0 1
1817 3
1 0 2 2 2
0 2 2 1 0
Z O l O 3
1 0 0 1 0
0 1 1 ~ 0
1"" 0 0 1***0
7 14 5 8 14 6
Two persons r e j e c t e d by a t o t a l of t h i r t e e n people
One person r e j e c t e d by seven people
One person r e j e c t e d by t e n people
14
12
8
4
0
3
6
92
TABLE X I 1 1
OTHER PERTINENT DATA FROM SOCIOSRAMS
T o t a l Indian population of c l a s s e s taking p a r t
T o t a l Nhite population of c l a s s e s taking p a r t
47
261
Indian population i s 18'g of t o t a l
Total nuxiber of '~Jiiitec h i l d r e n choosing Indian c h i l d r e n
31
T o t a l nuqber of choices made by White c h i l d r e n
1415
Cases where liThite children chose Indian children
represent 7.2$ of t o t a l choices
T o t a l number of r e j e c t i o n s of Indian c h i l d r e n by White c h i l d r e n
T'otal nuqher of r e j e c t i o n s made by Xhite c h i l d r e n
74
398
Cases where Vhite c h i l d r e n r e j e c t e d Indian
c h i l d r e n r e p r e s e n t l8.6$ of t o t a l r e j e c t i o n s
'Total number of Indian c h i l d r e n choosing Indian c h i l d r e n
T o t a l number of choices made by I n d i a n c h i l d r e n
bLG
82
Cases where Indian c h i l d r e n chose Indian c h i l d r e n
r e p r e s e n t 53.7% of t o t a l Indian choices
T o t a l number of r e j e c t i o n s of I n d i a n c h i l d r e n by Indian c h i l d r e n
T o t a l nurher of r e j e c t i o n s made by I n d i a n c h i l d r e n
17
69
Cases where Indian c h i l d r e n r e j e c t e d Indian c h i l d r e n
represent 24.6s of t o t a l Indian r e j e c t i o n s
Several observations can be made on t h e b a s i s of t h i s data.
1) There was no strong anti-Indian b i a s among t h e Xhite p u p i l s generally.
'The 18.66 r e j e c t i o n i s very c l o s e t o t h e percentage of t h e t o t a l popul a t i o n which t h e Indian c h i l d r e n represent.
2)
There was no s t r o n g pro-Indian b i a s among t h e pupils e i t h e r .
Their
7.2$ of t h e choices i s one and one-half times fewer than t h e i r percentage of t h e population.
3) 'The f a c t t h a t t h e Indian c h i l d r e n mad.e 53.7$ of t h e i r choices from
t h e r e s t of t h e Indian population does confirm t h a t Indian children
d i d tend t o choose o t h e r Indian c h i l d r e n i n preference t o idhite children.
This t r e n d i s made even more pronouhced when it i s remembered t h a t f i v e
I n d i a n p u p i l s were absent.
'while t h e y a r e incl-uded i n t h e t o t a l s f o r
t h e c l a s s e s s i n c e o t h e r s chose and r e j e c t e d them, t h e i r own choices and
r e j e c t i o n s a r e n o t included i n t h e f i g u r e s .
Since, by p r o j e c t i n g t h e
p r e s e n t t r e n d s , t h e s e choices would be a t l e a s t 50% I n d i a n , t h e percentage
of Inriian c h i l d r e n choosii?g I n d i a n c h i l d r e n would be increased.
Another
f a c t o r which has l i k e l y l i m i t e d t h e percentage of I n d i a n s choosing
I n d i a n s by a c o n s i d e r a b l e amount, i s t h e r e s t r i c t i o n placed on t h e
i n d i v i d u a l ' s c h o i c e by l i m i t i n i :
him o r h e r t o h i s own c l a s s .
i n four
of t h e n i n e c l a s s e s t h e I n d i a n p o p u l a t i o n c o n s i s t e d of e i t h e r J u s t a boy
and a g i r l , o r one boy o r one g i r l , w i t h s e v e r a l members of t h e o p p o s i t e
s e x making up t h e remainder of t h e I n d i a n p o w l a t i o n .
rhe r e s t r i c t i o n
t o choosing among t h e members of one's own c l a s s undoubtedly lowered t h e
number of I n d i a n s choosinz I n d i a n s s i n c e t h e u s u a l r e l u c t a n c e of element a r y s c h o o l aqe c h i l d r e n t o pick a member of t h e o p p o s i t e s e x a s a c l o s e
f r i e n d was c e r t a i n l y s t r o n g e r t h a n t h e i n d i c a t s d p r e f e r e n c e or another
I n d i a n c h i l d over a iJhite c h i l d .
4)
There was no a p p a r e n t age o r grade s i g n i f i c a n c e i n e i t h e r choice o r
r e j e c t i o n patterns f o r d h i t e or Indian children.
I n f o u r rooms w i t h a
high number of I n d i a n c h i l d r e n t h e r e were h i g h r e j e c t i o n r a t e s .
I n three
o t h e r rooms, a l s o w i t h a high number of I n d i a n c h i l d r e n i n them, r e j e c t i o n r a t e s were q u i t e low.
5)
Fourteen d h i t e c h i l d r e n d i d pick I n d i a n c h i l d r e n f o r both t h e i r
r e j e c t i o n s which could be i ~ t e r p r e t e da s i n d i c a t i n g t h e p o s s i b i l i t y
some p r e j u d i c e .
Zowever, two-thirds of t h e I n d i a n c h i l d r e n r e j e c t e d
t h e s e f o u r t e e n had a l s o been each r e j e c t e d by at, l e a s t t h r e e o t h e r
children, o f t e n Indian children.
t h i s 3oes not preclude t h e
p o s s i b i l i t y of p r e j u d i c e on t h e p a r t of t h e f o u r t e e n ~ J h i t ec h i l d r e n ,
it does lessel? it s i n c e most of t h e I n d i a n c h i l d r e n t h e y picked were
r a t h e r unpopfiar t o begin with.
6) Some s p e c i f i c I n d i a n c h i l d r e n were q u i t e unpopular.
Indian children
were r e j e c t e d a t o t a l of ninety-two t i m e s by I n d i a n and White c h i l d r e n .
S i x I n d i a n c h i l d r e n c o l l e c t e d f o r t y of t h e s e ninety-two r e j e c t i o n s .
I n g e n e r a l i z e d terms, t h e n , t h i s d a t a i r d i c a t e s that, I n d i a n
c h i l d r e n d i d t e n d t o choose I n d i a n s when g i v e n t h e chance f r e e l y .
The
d h i t e c h i l d r e n t e n d e d t o ignore r a t h e r t h a n e i t h e r choose o r r e j e c t
t h e Indian children.
T h i s s e e m t o be i n d i c a t e d by t h e l a r g e percentage
of I n d i a n c h i l d r e n who were n e i t h e r r e j e c t e d nor chosen by anyone.
The d a t a a l s o seem t o support t h e main c o n t e n t i o n s of t h e n i n e
t e a c h e r s who s a i d t h a t t h e r e was l i t t l e o r no p r e j u d i c e ; t h a t t h e
I n d i a n and X h i t e c h i l d r e n g o t alon,? w e l l t o g e t h e r b u t tended t o choose
amonz t h e i r s e p a r a t e groups f o r c l o s e f r i e n d s .
There a l s o seems t o he
l i t t l e evidence t o support t h e c o n t e n t i o n of t h e one t e a c h e r who saw
t h e school s e g r e g a t e d because of t h e " n a t u r a l f e e l i r y of d i f f e r e n c e "
among t h e chj-ldren based on t h e i r colour.
Her p a r t i c u l a r c l a s s had t h e
same l e v e l of choice and r e j e c t i o n a s t h e o t h e r s .
There i s nothing i n
t h e d a t a t o r e f u t e t h e r e a s o n a b l e s u p p o s i t i o n t h a t t h e bonds s t r u c k i n
e a r l y childhood and t h e p h y s i c a l s e p a r a t i o n of t h e two groups of
c h i l d r e n were probably t h e most s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r s i n t h e i r choice
p a t t e r n s of c l o s e f r i e n d s .
102
I
--
'The A cademic Perf orraance of t h e 1ndia.n C h i l d r e n
7
There was a marked l a c k of any s t r o n g cements by t h e t e a c h e r s
on any a s p e c t of t h e I n d i a n c h i l d r e n ' s day by day perfomance.
The
c h i l d r e n were d e f i n i t e l y n o t regarded a s d i s c i p l i n e problems; a s mentioned
p r e v i o u s l y , some t e a c h e r s commented on t h e i r q u i e t n e s s i n c l a s s w h i l e one
t e a c h e r claimed t h a t t h e y were more p o l i t e , more willin;: t o h e l p around
t h e room and more w i l l i n g t o s h a r e t h a n t h e i r White classmates.
Two t e a c h e r s made comments r e g a r d i n g t h e competitive s p i r i t
of t h e I n d i a n c h i l d r e n .
One t e a c h e r s t r e s s e d t h e l a c k of d e s i r e t o
compete on t h e p a r t of t h e I n d i a n c h i l d r e n .
If t h e c h i l d was t h e b e s t o r
c l o s e t o it, he would p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e competition.
'3ut i f he f e l t
t h a t he d i d n o t have a good chance of winning, he would ignore t h e whole
affair.
The o t h e r t e a c h e r saw b a s i c a l l y t h e same a c t i o n s b u t d i f f e r e d
i n her interpretation.
She saw t h e I n d i a n c h i l d r e n a s l i k i n g t h e com-
T h e y l i k e being t h e b e s t v .
petition.
t h e y were n o t s u r e t h e y could do it.
succeed t h e y competed w i l l i n y l y .
Some would s t a n d back because
Xowever, once t h e y knew t h e y could
They were n o t by n a t u r e non-competitive.
Both of t h e s e t e a c h e r s were i n t h e primary grades.
I n the
h i g h e r g r a d e s t h e presence o r l a c k of c o m p e t i t i v e s p i r i t was n o t named
a s such b u t r e f e r r e d t o i n o t h e r terms.
c e r t a i n l y d i d compete.
I n some a r e a s t h e I n d i a n c h i l d r e n
I n d i a n c h i l d r e n won p l a c e s on a l l school teams
i n numbers corresponding t o o r exceeding t h e i r percentage of t h e school
population.
They p a r t i c i p a t e d f u l l y on S p o r t s Day and i n games d u r i n g
school time.
tiowever, i n t h e classroom t e a c h e r s d i d cotnment on t h e i r
q u i e t n e s s and l a c k of p a r t i . c i p a t i o n i n d i s c u s s i o n and i n q u e s t i o n
periods.
Only one c h i l d who was q u i t e good i n mathematics was noted
103
f o r h i s will-inqness t o volunteer answers t o questions asked by t h e
teachers.
The work h a b i t s of t h e Indian c h i l d r e n while a c t u a l l y i n t h e
classroom drew very few sharply unfavourable comments.
seemed t o work a s b e s t they could on assigned t a s k s .
g e n e r a l l y described a s being lazy.
That i s , they
They were not
Most appeared t o be t r y i n g hard and
showing d e s i r e t o succeed although t h e r e were c e r t a i n l y some who weye
described a s without motivation of any kind.
The most frequent negative
comment of t h e t e a c h e r s regarding t h e work h a b i t s of t h e Indian c h i l d r e n
was a reference t o t h e i r l a c k of s e l f - d i r e c t i o n and i n i t i a t i v e i n
academic matters.
Given a t a s k , they u s u a l l y worked w i t h some degree of
e f f o r t , dependin)g on t h e i r a b i l i t y and motivation t o complete it.
However, when t h e y f i n i s h e d t h a t t a s k t h e y tended t o d r i f t aimlessly
i n s t e a d of looking f o r other academic a c t i v i t i e s such a s reading o r
f i n i s h i n g uncomplet ed work.
I n s m a r y then, t h e Indian c h i l d r e n were not seen a s d i s c i d i n e
problems.
They were not ascribed behavioral p a t t e r n s i n t h e classroom
which would be l i k e l y t o i n t e r f e r e w i t h learning.
They d i d lack
i n i t i a t i v e g e n e r a l l y , and t h e r e were some who were q u i t e low i n motivat i o n t o succeed a t any school-oriented task.
Yowever, t h e majority
worked s a t i s f a c t o r i l y a t assigned work.
TTevertheless, t h e a c t u a l l e v e l of academic success a s
measured by standardized Achievement T e s t s , I n t e l l i g e n c e g u o t i e n t Tests
and t e a c h e r designed t e s t s was q u i t e low.
The marks given each Indian
c h i l d a t t h e end of t h e year i n t h e core academic s u b j e c t s of Language,
Reading, S o c i a l S t u d i e s , Science and Arithmetic were recorded and averaged.
105
The same marks were recorded f o r a!ll t h e y e a r s p-eviously f o r every
Indian c h i l d i n t h e school,
No one had an average higher than a C+
f o r e i t h e r t h e i r school c a r e e r t o d a t e o r f o r t h e immediately preceding
gear.
The median mark f o r a l l t h e Indian c h i l d r e n was halfway between
C- and C f o r t h e previous year and a C- f o r t h e c a r e e r mark,
The average mark obtained f o r S e t 5 t h e e n t i r e academic c a r e e r
of t h e various I n d i a n c h i l d r e n and t h e previous years r e s u l t s a r e
skewed t o some extent.
For t h e previous few y e a r s a p o l i c y of s o c i a l
promotion had been i n e f f e c t i n t h e Xorth Vancouver School D i s t r i c t ,
Under t h i s policy c h i l d r e n were promoted t o t h e next grade whether o r
not t h e y had mastered t h e academic m a t e r i a l presented during t h e y e a r ,
on t h e grounds t h a t t h e small g a i n i n academic l e a r n i n g which would be
made i n t h e second y e a r i n t h e same grade would be more t h a n o f f s e t by
t h e damage done t o t h e self-image of t h e c h i l d by t h e experience of
f a l l i n g a f u l l y e a r behind through f a i l u r e ,
The academic learning could
be caught up i n t h e year ahead i f t h e c h i l d was promoted,
The stigma
of being a year o r more behind one's s o c i a l group was much harder t o
compensate for.
This reasoning was p a r t i c u l a r l y appropriate f o r t h o s e
c h i l d r e n who would be multiple f a i l u r e s .
What was t h e school t o do with
t h e c h i l d who did not master t h e academic m a t e r i a l t h e second time
through any b e t t e r t h a n he d i d t h e f i r s t ?
Several of t h e teachers com-
mented t h a t while t h e y agreed with t h e p o l i c y of s o c i a l promotion, t h a t
policy d e f i n i t e l y made t h e marks f o r t h e c h i l d r e n a t t h e lower end of
t h e mark s c a l e t o appear b e t t e r t h a n they were i n s t r i c t l y comparative
terns,
Since t h e c h i l d was going on t o t h e next grade anyway, and s i n c e
t h e marlcs were permanent ones l a s t i n g h i s whole school c a r e e r , t h e r e was
106
a strong tendency t o give higher l l e t t e r grades than were deserved
when measured by an absolute s c a l e of achievement.
was not large--some
'This r i s e i n marks
3 ' s and 4 ' s would have become C-ls a& ~ ' s - - b u t
t h e o v e r a l l r e s u l t wol~ldbe noticeable.
'The r e s u l t s shown i n t h e average f o r a l l previous years a r e
a l s o skewed by another f a c t o r .
These averages contain marks .From e a r l y
grades some of t h e c h i l d r e n took i n t h e Federal Indian schools, St. Pauls
a d t h e Capilano Indian Day School.
The averaqe marks of t h e s e t h i r t e e n
c h i l d r e n dropped i n a l l but f o u r cases when they t r a n s f e r r e d t o ;;lorgate
school.
O f t h o s e f o u r , two c h i l d r e n g o t higher marks i n Morgate and
two remained a t t h e same l e v e l .
Of t h e o t h e r n i n e , one student dropped
one mark, t h r e e s t u d e n t s dropped two marks, two s t u d e n t s dropped t h r e e
marks, one student dropped f o u r marks, one s t u d e n t dropped f i v e masks
and one student dropped s i x marks.
The p i c t u r e of t h e marks, then, shows a heavy preponderance
of marks around t h e C- level. w i t h nothing a t a l l above a C-i- and very
few a t t h a t level-, and an average mark of j u s t above C-.
A strictly
accurate f i g u r e based on t h e l e v e l of achievement a s measured a g a i n s t
a l l o t h e r c h i l d r e n a t t h e same ~ r a d el e v e l probably would be lower t h a n
that.
ThdL'S L t V
DISTRIBUTIOfd OF
U U M S 9F ALL
I\Tuqber of Marks Given (percentage)
A v e r a ~ ei, lark
Received
Previous y e a r
I,?DIAFCI;ILDE,~~I
A
3
C -I-
0
0
8(20)
C
17(41)
C9(22)
T)
3(7)
E
&(lo)
Ave
C-
The reasons given f o r t h i s l a c k of academic success weye
many and cornplex.
The one which stood out i n a l l t h e interviews with
t h e t e a c h e r s was l a c k of desire--poor
Indian children.
motivation--on
t h e p a r t of t h e
School success was j u s t not t h a t i m p o r t a ~ t . The
e f f o r t necessary t o overcome t h e l a c k of pre-school preparation and
t h e continuing disadvantages of t h e horn and Reserve cnvironment was
simply n o t forthcoming.
I n r e f e r e n c e t o one c h i l d who had a very poor
record of prozress and seemingly very l i t t l e motivation, h i s t e a c h e r
said,
Today t h e y had a s h e e t which involved c u t t i n g and.
pasting. This appealed t o him s o he'd do it. 3e'd do
t h i s f o r years.
And you c a n ' t l e t a kid go ahead and do
t h i s f o r years. 3ut what w i l l happen t o a c h i l d l i k e
t h a t ? I t ' s going t o t a k e a r e a l b a l l of f i r e t o ever
g e t anythin:,. y;oing i n
ITe's not going t o ;o
u n l e s s soneone c o n s t a n t l y motivates him. I r e a l l y thin!!
h e ' s going t o need a t e a c h e r who's going t o motivate
every l e s s o n , every day i n a very e x c i t i n g way. This i s
a l m o s t s o m e t h i n ~superhuman t h a t h e ' l l r e q u i r e before
h e ' s ever goin? t o do an,ything. 3 e 1 s q i f t e d enouyh, but
he j u s t doesn't use it because of t h i s same a t t i t u d e a s
h i s mother's got.
' S i t back and l e t t h i n q s come t o you
or go t o me, I d o n ' t do anything about it.'
.
The reference t o t h e mother i n t h e above quote i s most s i q n i f i c a n t .
There i s no q u e s t i o n where t h e blame was attached a s f a r a s t h e t e a c h e r s
were concerned.
The c h i l d r e n were seen a s products of t h e i r environment.
This environment w a s not seen by t h e l a r g e m a j o r i t y of t h e t e a c h e r s
a s conducive t o e i t h e r p r e p a r a t i o n f o r school o r su-yport f o r t h e c h i l d r e n
while t h e y were i n school.
It i s worth s t r e s s i n g t h a t t h e c h i l d r e n were not seen a s a
troublesome, d i s r u p t i v e element who d i d not belong and were resented
by t h e r e s t of t h e school population.
D i s c i p l i n e was no harder and
many would say e a s i e r where I n d i a n c h i l d r e n were involved.
Social
r e l a t i o n s h i p s varied considerable i n t h e d i f f e r e n t classrooms b u t were
not, seen by any of t h e t e a c h e r s a s a major problem.
i\s s t a t e d e a r l i e r ,
t h e Indian c h i l d r e n were seen a s a zroup of c h i l d r e n w i t h more l e a r n i n g
problems than t h e o t h e r c h i l d r e n i n the room, caused prinzarily by t h e
cliff e r e n t environment f ronl which t,hey came.
The ,%pectations of t h e Teachers Xecarding t h e 'Tuture Performance
of t h e Indian Children
The t e a c h e r s ' c o r n e n s on t h e i r p u p i l s ' d a i l y performance
and t h e i r cements on t h e i r c x p c t a t i o n s regardin? f ~ r t u r eperformance
a r e bound t o express s i m i l a r themes.
Teachers who do not see high
performance a r e n o t l i k e l y t o express high expectatAons f o r t h e f u t u r e .
~ I o ~ e v ecomments
~,
regarding performance tend t o r e f e r t o t h e p a r t i c u l a r ,
while conlments regarding expectations tend t o r e f e r more t o t h e
geneyal.
A l l t h e t e a c h e r s b u t one discussed each c h i l d i n h i s or h e r
c l a s s individually.
group.
Xach t e a c h e r discussed I n d i a n c h i l d r e n a s a
From t h e s e comments i n both a r e a s a p i c t u r e can be drawn of
what t h e t e a c h e r s expected i n t h e f u t u r e from t h e p u p i l s i n t h e i r c l a s s e s
a t t h a t time and what t h e y were Likely t o expect from t h e c l a s s e s
coming t o them i n t h e
follow in^
Septemher.
Although t h e t e a c h e r s
n e c e s s a r i l y had expectations regarding a l l a s p e c t s of t h e c h i l d r e n from
t h e i r physical appearance and c a p a b i l i t i e s t o t h e i r behavior p a t t e r n s ,
a s w e l l a s t h e i r academic c a p a b i l i t i e s , and i n s p i t e of t h e f a c t t h a t
t h e s e expectations a r e a l l i n t e r r e l a t e d , we w i l l emphasize t h e academic
expectations i n t h i s study.
'They a r e most e a s i l y and a c c u r a t e l y
measured and, while i n t e r r e l a t e d w i t h t h e r e s t , can stand alone i n
109
t e r n s of t h e i n f l u e n c e t h e y can have on t h e c h i l d ' s progress.
Of t h e eleven t e a c h e r s , one had come t o t h e school q u i t e
r e c e n t l y with very low expectations.
She had found t h e s e almost
completely u n j u s t i f i e d agd revised t h e 9 considerably.
Indian g i r l s i n h e r c l a s s which she r e f e r r e d t o a s
You know, t h e y a r e n i c e children.
cirls.
b--
type.
It.
She had two
. . nice l i t t l e
They a r e not t h e & t h e d
You know, t h e y never have colds o r runny noses o r
or tired.
They a r e always s p o t l e s s l y clean."
Era
dirty
lIer expectations f o r
t h e s e c h i l d r e n , then, were t h a t t h e y would continue t o perform a s t h e i r
p e e r s i n t h e classroom.
She e x ~ r e s s e dfew comments r e z a r d i n , ~her
~ ex-
p e c t a t i o n s f o r Indian c h i l d r e n i n general because of her l a c k of
experience w i t h them.
One t e a c h e r gave very l i t t l e i n d i c a t i o n of her expectations
f o r t h e c h i l d r e n i n h e r room a t t h a t time.
3 e r expectations f o r t h e
academic l e v e l s t o be expected from t h e Indian c h i l d r e n i n t h e f u t u r e ,
however, were q u i t e high.
She s t a t e d t h a t t h e readtiness t e s t s given
t o a l l c h i l d r e n p r i o r t o t h e i r e n t r y i n t o 'rade
one had Indian c h i l d r e n
i n t h e t o p t h r e e places t h a t y e a r , and showed t h a t some c h i l d r e n from
ljorga-te Park a r e a were more i n need of pre-school experience t h a n t h e
I n d i a n children.
She f e l t t h a t a s t h e younger generation of parents
on t h e deserve brouzht t h e i r c h i l d r e n t o t h e school, a c l e a r and
s u b s t a n t i a l improvement would be seen with t h e l e v e l of Indian achievement equalling t h a t of t h e !fiite.
Three of t h e t e a c h e r s had hiyher, o r a t l e a s t p o s i t i v e expectations.
I n t h e i r d i s c u s s i o n s of t h e i n d i v i d u a l Indian c h i l d r e n they
commented on t h e improvements each had rnade and on t h e improvements
Y 10
t h e y expected each c h i l d t o make i'n t h e f u t u r e .
1;Jhere academic problems
had occurred previously, they spoke of progress made and of t h e l i k e l i hood. of changed p a t t e r n s i n t h e f u t u r e , with t h e problems bein% solved
o r a t l e a s t t h e i r impa.ct lessened.
The o t h e r s i x teachers tended t o have lower e q e c t a t i o n s ,
That i s , they tended t o s e e t h e Tndian c h i l d r e n a s a y o u p , or a s
i n d i v i d u a l s , who had c o n s i s t e n t l y performed a t l e v e l s below t h a t of
t h e i r White counterparts and who could be expected t o continue a t t h a t
l e v e l i n t h e near f u t u r e a t l e a s t ,
The problems caused by l i m i t e d y e -
school background and a low motivational l e v e l from both t h e student
and t h e home, plus a l l t h e other problems we have mentioned previously
were simply t o o g r e a t a hurdle f o r any but t h e most exceptional student.
These were r a r e and t h e r e were none i n t h e i r c l a s s e s a t t h a t time.
Only one t e a c h e r made statements which suggested any o t h e r
cause f o r t h e Indian c h i l d r e n ' s performance l e v e l .
J h i l e these state-
ments i n d i c a t e her expectations q u i t e c l e a r l y , I do not f e e l t h a t they
should be taken t o o l i t e r a l l y , i n t h e l i g h t of h e r other comments.
She s a i d , I1I'hey have a tendency t o approach somethin? they don't know
with suspicion.
You've g o t t o prove whatever you say about things.
I
don't know i f t h e y a r e n a t u r a l l y slower t h a n we a r e hut g e n e r a l l y t h e y
a r e slower.
t o teach.
I ' v e had some wierd and wonderful examples of t h e impossible
They a r e slower,"
Rnother t e a c h e r saw an aze and yrade element i n t h e l e v e l of
performance one could expect from some Indian children.
The t e a c h e r ,
r e f e r r i n q t o two f a m i l i e s i n p a r t i c u l a r , s a i d , I1They have t h e t r u e
Indian philosophy, never minding about tornorrow.
'If i t ' s a n i c e day
111
w e ' l l s k i p s c h o o l u n l e s s i t ' s raini'nz.
r a i n i n g t o o hard.'
Then w e ' l l go; u n l e s s i t ' s
The c h i l d r e n i n s c h o o l , when t h e y ' r e young, a r e
v e r y b r i g h t , v e r y h e l p f u l , v e r y cheerful.
3 u t when t h e y g e t t o about
Srade f i v e t h e y s t a r t t o t u r n off.
They become mean t o themselves and
t h e i r neighbours, b i t t e r , h o s t i l e .
I t ' s probably about t h i s time t h a t
t h e f a t h e r becomes a,n i n f l u e n c e .
They b e g i n t o r e a l i z e how much t h e y
d o n ' t have and how much of a l o s s t h e y are."
Research on 1-kpectations i n t h e L i t e r a t u r e
The d a t a presented i n t h i s s t u d y on t h e e x p e c t a t i o n s of t h e
t e a c h e r s has more s i g n i f i c a n c e t h a n simply f i l l i n g o u t t h e p i c t u r e of
t h e way i n which t h e t e a c h e r s saw t h e i r I n d i a n p u p i l s .
During t h e
l a s t twenty y e a r s a c o n s i d e r a b l e amount of r e s e a r c h has been done on
t h e e f f e c t of one p e r s o n ' s e x p e c t a t i o n s on a n o t h e r p e r s o n ' s performance.
3efore looking a t some more d a t a on t h e e x p e c t a t i o n s of t h e t e a c h e r s a t
!40rgate, l e t u s examine some of t h a t r e s e a r c h .
There i s a c e r t a i n b a s i c l o g i c t o t h e i d e a t h a t one person's
e x p e c t a t i o n s have a n e f f e c t on a n o t h e r ' s performance.
An e a r l y
s o c i o l o g i s t , W. I. Thomas, s a i d , " I f men d e f i n e s i t u a t i o n s a s r e a l , t h e y
a r e r e a l i n t h e i r consequence^.^^
(1969:
(quoted i n Xerton 19/48:
193)
Ptotland
35) s t a t e s t h a t t h e e f f e c t s of s e l f - p e r c e p t i o n and t h e expec-
t a t i o n s of o t h e r s a r e p a r a l l e l .
Ye a l s o s a y s , "Other people a r e n o t
merely r e l e v a n t t o a n i n d i v i d u a l ' s e x p e c t a t i o n s about h i s own a c t i o n s ;
t h e i r v e r y a c t i o n s may determine t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s p o t e n t i a l f o r o b t a i n i n g
h i s goal.It
One of t h e ways i n which t h e e f f e c t s of e x p e c t a t i o n s i s o f t e n
explains t h e s e l f - f u l f i l l i n g prophkcy a s a f a l s e d e f i n i t i o n which brings
on behavior which tends t o make t h e d e f i n i t i o n come t r u e .
The a c t u a l
chain of events i s t h e n pointed t o by t h e prophet a s coxfirming h i s
e a r l i e r d e f i n i t i o n , thus perpetuating t h e e r r o r .
The use of t h e words,
' e r r o r 1 and ' f a l s e t by Kerton was unfortunate because they tend t o give
a negative d i r e c t i o n t o t h e concept of t h e s e l f - f u l f i l l i n g prophecy.
In
t h e f i e l d of education, it can occasionally happen t h a t a t e a c h e r , on
t h e b a s i s of what he sees a s evidence, w i l l prophesy t h a t a student w i l l
do b e t t e r .
A s a r e s u l t of t h e t e a c h e r ' s subsequent behavior toward t h e
c h i l d and t h e c h i l d ' s r e a l i z a t i o n of t h e higher expectations he must
meet, t h e c h i l d ' s performance does improve.
This i s c e r t a i n l y a
p o s i t i v e , s e l f - f u l f i l l i n g prophecy.
To most of t h e w r i t e r s i n t h e a r e a s of t h e education of
minority group c h i l d r e n and c h i l d r e n from s o c i a l l y o r racia1l.y d i s advantaged backgrounds t h e presence of negatively d i r e c t e d s e l f f u l f i l l i n g prophets i s an inescapable and damaging f a c t .
(1963:
K.
3. Clark
1b7-148) sags,
One may assume t h a t i f a c h i l d i s not t r e a t e d with t h e
r e s p e c t which i s due him a s a human bein.;, and i f those
who a r e charged with t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of teaching him
believe t h a t he cannot l e a r n , t h e n h i s motivation and
a b i l i t y t o l e a r n become impaired. I f a t e a c h e r b e l i e v e s
t h a t a c h i l d i s incapable of being educated, it i s l i k e l y
t h a t t h i s b e l i e f w i l l i n some way be communicated t o t h e
c h i l d i n one o r more of t h e many forms of contacts inherent i n t h e teacher-pupil r e l a t i o n s h i p .
TGeimeyer (1963) and Havitz (1963) a l s o emphasize t h e same
b a s i c idea a s Clark; t h a t i s , t h a t some c h i l d r e n a r e seen by t h e i r
t e a c h e r s a s e i t h e r ineducable o r , a t b e s t , educable t o a l i m i t e d e x t e n t
only, and t h a t t h i s b e l i e f i n i t s e l f i s markedly damaging t o t h e
113
c h i l d ' s achievement record.
Frank'9eissman sees many teachers1 ex-
p e c t a t i o n s a s being i n c o r r e c t l y based a s w e l l a s low.
ile sees d i s -
advantazed c h i l d r e n a s being q u i t e v e r b a l i n t h e i r own informal language
a s a g a i n s t t h e nonverbal c h a r a c t e r i s t i c t h e y a r e l a b e l l e d with.
He
claims t h a t i f t e a c h e r s woulc! recognize t h i s v e r b a l a b i l i t y , "They
might abandon t h e p r e d i c t i o n t h a t deprived c h i l d r e n w i l l not go very
f a r i n t h e education system and p r e d i c t i n s t e a d t h a t they can go very
f a r indeed because t h e y have very sood a b i l i t y a t t h e verbal Zevel.lt
(1967:
131)
Deutsch (1960) a l s o sees t h e expectations of teachers a s
being misdirected a s w e l l a s low.
' h e r e Reissman sees t h e misdirection
a s caused by a l a c k of understandins of t h e d i f f e r e n t but s t r o n ~v e r b a l
a b i l i t i e s of lower-class and minority group f a m i l i e s , Deutsch sees
middle-class t e a c h e r s having expectations concomitant with t h e i r background and, t h e r e f o r e , i n c o n s i s t e n t with t h e expectations of c h i l d r e n
with o t h e r s o c i a l and c u l t u r a l backgrounds.
Re says,
This inconsistency between t h e l a c k of i n t e r n a l i z e d
reward a n t i c i p a t i o n s on t h e p a r t of t h e 'Segro c h i l d
and h i s t e a c h e r ' s expectations t h a t he does have such
a n t i c i p a t i o n s , r e f l e c t t h e disharmony between t h e
s o c i a l environment of t h e home and middle-class oriented
demands of t h e school.
(Deutsch 1960: 9 )
As was pointed out a t t h e beginning, it seems l o g i c a l t o
assume t h a t expectations do a f f e c t outcomes.
It has not been easy,
however, f o r t h e researchers t o e m p i r i c a l l y prove t h i s assumption.
I s o l a t i n g t h e conditions a r d t h e methods under which expectations a r e
e i t h e r transmitted o r received e f f e c t i v e l y has proven t o be a d i f f i c u l t
task.
Cordaro and Ison (1963) attempted t o show t h a t students observinz
1114
p l a n a r i a tended t o s e e t h e a c t i o n s ' t h e y expected t o see whether or
not t h e p l a n a r i a a c t u a l l y moved a p p r o p r i a t e l y o r not.
The experi-
menters gave t h r e e groups of undergraduates ~ ~ r e a t dl y
i f f e r i n ? exp e c t a t i o n s r e r ~ a r d i n gt h e response t h e y could expect from d i f f e r e n t
p l a n a r i a urdergoing conditioning.
The conditioned response of t h e
p l a n a r i a was a t u r n i n g of t h e head a ~ ad contraction.
t h e h i ~ hexpectations reported s e e i n ?
l5$
The ;;youp with
of t h e planaria p e r f o m con-
t r a c t i o n s and @$ make t h e expected head motions.
expectations reported 0.96 c o n t r a c t i o n s and
The group with low
9.9'8 head
motions.
A
proup w i t h one p l a n a r i a f o r which t h e y had high expectations and one
0
p l a n a r i a f o r which t h e y had low expectations reported
15.)c?!
contractions
and 30g head t u r n s f o r t h e p l a n a r i a with t h e h i ~ hexpectations but
only
4.83 c o n t r a c t i o n s and 15.1~$ head t u r n s f o r t h e p l a n a r i a with low
expectations.
(1963:
787-789)
This looked l i k e q u i t e p o s i t i v e evidence unti-I. Ingraham and
Xarrington (1946) demonstrated i n a s i m i l a r experiment t h a t when t h e
experimenters were f a m i l i a r with t h e animals under observation, any
b i a s tended t o disappear a f t e r t h e f i r s t day.
It would seem t h e n , t h a t
observer b i a s was most apparent when t h e observers were naive and
tended t o disappear with increasing experience r a t h e r t h a n remaining
constant.
I n commenting on t h e experiment done by Ingraham and
g a r r i n g t o n , 3osenthal. points out t h a t i n another f i v e day experiment,
t h e same l e n g t h a s t h e one done by Inyraham and Sarrington, he and
Fode found t h a t t h e apparent e f f e c t s of t h e expectations of t h e observers
a l s o r e 1 1 ot'f a f t e r t h e I i r s ~ day
.
but s t a r t e d t o rlss and continued t o
do s o a f t e r t h e t h i r d day.
Be sugqests t h a t only f u r t h e r research w i l l
113
explain t h e d i f f e r e n c e between t h e f i n d i n g s of Fode and himself and
Ingraham ard iiarrington.
1+2&3)
( ~ o s e n t h a l 1960:
Rosenthal does point out one a o r e very i n t c r o s t i n q e q e r i m e n t
done by 3urnham who gave h i s experimenters twenty-three r a t s which had
e i t h e r been brain-lesioned or had undergone sham surgery so that, t h e y
appeared t o be lesioned.
The s t u d e n t s were ~ i v e na rat, and then to14
whether it had been lesioned o r not.
They were then asked t o run t h e
r a t t h r o u ~ ha T-maze d i s c r i m i n a t i o n problem.
The e f f e c t of t h e expec-
t a t i o n s of t h e experimenters was measured i n t h a t while some of them
had been told t h a t t h e i r r a t s were whole, t h e r a t s had a c t u a l l y been
l e s i o n e d a d , while sorrle of them were t o l d t h a t t h e i r r a t s were lesioned
they had, i n f a c t , only undergone sham surzery.
The r e s u l t s showed, a s
expected, t h a t the r a t s which were i n t a c t and believed t o be whole
performed very well., and t h e r a t s which were l esioned performed poorly
no a a t t e r what t h e experimenter believed.
'lowever, t h e r a t s which were
a c t u a l l y whole b u t whose experimenter believed t o be l e s i o n e d , performed
j u s t a s poorly a s those who a c t u a l l y were lesioned.
( ~ o s e n t h a l 1968:
43JCIG)
Robert Aosenthal, t h e c o n t r i b u t o r of t h e term, 'experimenter
b i a s e f f e c t ' , has performed many experiments and w r i t t e n many a r t i c l e s
which attempt t o d e f i n e t h i s e f f e c t and i t s parameters.
w i t h consic?erabl-e success.
Ye has met
3arber and h i s a s s o c i a t e s , however, t r i e d
f i r s t t o ex-plore some of t h e c o n t r o l s which Xosenthal claimed were
operating on t h i s e f f e c t but could not produce any r e s u l t s a t a l l .
That
i s , i n any experiment they s e t ug t o demonstrate t h e influence of t h e
experimenters' expectations t h e y f a i l e d t o f i n d any s i g n i f i c a n t evidence
of such an inf'luence.
They then t ~ i e dt o T e p l i c a t e Posenthalls
o r i z i n a l work, and i n f i v e s e p a r a t e r e p l i c a t i o n s they found no p a t t e r n
of r e s u l t s which could be t r a c e d t o t h e expectations of t h e experimenter.
3arber does not attempt t o r e j e c t t h e whole concept out of
hand, but he does a r r i v e a t t h e conclusion t h a t t h e influence of t h e
expectations of t h e experimenter has not y e t been proven t o be a s
pervasive a s R o s e n t h a l f s research seems t o su;gest.
(1969:
~assim)
%en though some of h i s f i n d i n g s have been closeljr questioned,
R o s e n t h a l f s major work i s of considerable importance and value t o our
study here.
The book, Pgqmalion i n t h e Classroom, which he co-authored
with Lenore Jacobson, (1969) t e l l s of a l a r g e s c a l e experiment they conducted i n a 500 p u p i l , eighteen t e a c h e r , lower c l a s s school they c a l l e d
Oak School.
The purpose of t h e i r experiment was simple.
From h i s
research and from that of o t h e r s i n t h e f i e l d s of psychology and other
r e l a t e d d i s c i p l i n e s it seemed w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t animals believed
g e n e t i c a l l y more i n t e l l i g e n t by t h e i r t r a i n e r s a c t u a l l y became b r i q h t e r .
I f animal s u b j e c t s believed t o be b r i g h t e r by t h e i r t r a i n e r s
a c t u a l l y became b r i ~ h t e rSecause of t h e i r t r a i n e r s ' b e l i e f ,
t h e n it miqht a l s o be t r u e t h a t school c h i l d r e n believed by
t h e i r t e a c h e r s t o be b r i g h t e r would become b r i g h t e r because
of t h e i r t e a c h e r s 1 b e l i e f s . Oak 8chool became t h e laborat o r y i n which an experimental t e s t of t h a t proposition was
c a r r i e d out.
( ~ o s e n t h a l 1.968: 174)
AS1 c h i l d r e n i n t h e school were t e s t e d i n i!ay w i t h a s t a k i a r d nonverba.1- t e s t of i n t e l l i g e n c e .
A t t h e same time, however, t h e t e a c h e r s
had been t o l d t h a t a measure of i n t e l l e c t u a l develo?ment was bein,?
developed and t h i s t e s t given t o t h e c h i l d r e n would i n d i c a t e which
of t h e c h i l d r e n could be expected t o show s p u r t s i n t h e i r i n t e l l e c t u a l
zrowth d u r i n s t h e next year.
The t e s t was purported t o be a t e s t of
1a7
i n t e l l e c t u a l blooming,
,
A t t h e beginninil; of school i n t h e next September, t h e names
of a randomly s e l e c t e d h e n t y percent of t h e c h i l d r e n i n t h e school weye
placed on l i s t s and given t o t h e i r new teachers.
Those twenty percent
were described a s those whose performances could be expected t o improve
on t h e b a s i s of t h e WL~ominp;~
o r ltspurting't t e s t .
Thers was, of course,
no patterned d i f f e r e n c e between t h e c h i l d r e n s e l e c t e d and t h e i r c l a s s mates.
Mhen t h e children were t e s t e d a year l a t e r , t h e c h i l d r e n i n
Grades one and two showed impressive zains.
Where t h e Srade one and
two c o n t r o l c h i l d r e n gained 12.0 points and 7.0 points r e s p e c t i v e l y ,
t h e experimental group children yained 27.4 p o i n t s and 16.5 p o i n t s
respectively.
Again, i n Grades one and two,
gained 20 points or more, whereas
a s much,
19% of t h e control. zroup
49$ of t h e experimental group gained
I n Grade f o u r t h e experimental 3roup a l s o gained more t h a n
t h e c o n t r o l group S u t t h e r e s u l t s were l e s s dramatic.
I n Yrades t h r e e ,
f i v e and s i x , t h e r e were few s i g n s of d i f f e r e n c e between t h e experimental
and c o n t r o l groups i n t h i s measurement of i n t e l l e c t u a l growth.
Within
t h e p a r t s of t h e t e s t s which measured growth i n reasonink a b i l i t y , t h e r e
was a marked r i s e f o r t h e experimental group a t every zrade l e v e l .
Rosenthalts experiment does seem t o lend empirical backing t o
t h e supposition t h a t t h e t e a c h e r s ' e q e c t a t i o n s a r e s i g n i f i c a n t i n
a f f e c t i n g performance,
The way i n which t h e s e e-xpectations a r e com-
municated and t h e way i n which t h e y a f f e c t t h e students1 performances
a r e s t i l l very poorly understood.
The apparent s e l e c t i v i t y of t h e
e f f e c t of t h e teachers' expectations has not y e t been s a t i s f a c t o r i l y
118
ewlained either.
I n t h e ~ o s e n t h a lstudy, t h e r e was l i t t l e o v e r a l l
improvement i n t h e grades from t h r e e t o s i x , but s e l e c t e d aspects of
t h e t e s t i n g d i d show d e f i n i t e and s i g n i f i c a n t gains.
Xosenthal
explained t h e f a c t t h a t only t h e lower grades seemed affected by
expectations i n a number of ways.
On t h e negative s i d e he suggested
t h a t t h e d i f f e r e n c e may be a sampling e r r o r with t h e c h i l d r e n i n t h e s e
grades coming from backgrounds which s y s t e m a t i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t i a t e d them
from t h e others.
He a l s o suggested t h a t t h e t e a c h e r s may have d i f f e r e d
from t h e o t h e r s i n a s i g n i f i c a n t way.
More i n keepin? w i t h h i s o v e r a l l
f i n d i n g s a r e t h e p o s i t i v e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s he made.
Se suggested t h a t
younger c h i l d r e n a r e more malleable, t h a t i s , a r e more a f f e c t e d by
ft
...
t h e s p e c i a l t h i n g s t h e t e a c h e r says t o them, t h e s p e c i a l ways
i n which she says them, t h e way she lool.ts, p o s t u r e s , and touches t h e
c h i l d r e n f r o 3 whom she e x ~ e c t sg r e a t e r i n t e l l e c t u a l
1968:
(nosentha1
83) lie a l s o suggested t h a t t h e younger c h i l d r e n a r e a c t u a l l y
not more rfialleable perhaps, but merely thought so by t h e teachers.
This would c e r t a i n l y be i n keeping with h i s main premises.
I-Iis f i n a l
suggestion was t h a t t h e younger c h i l d r e n do not have t h e well-established
r e p u t a t i o n s t h e older ones may have gained and t h u s may be more capable
of sudden i n t e l l e c t u a l growth i n t h e eyes of t h e i r teachers.
The t h i n g Rosenthal and h i s a s s o c i a t e s have succeeded i n
doing i s giving some empirical proof t o t h e i n t u i t i v e l y l o g i c a l conc l u s i o n shared by most people t h a t t h e expectations of o t h e r s , part i c u l a r l y those seen a s more expert,
totl land
1969) can have an i n f l u e n c e
varying from minimal t o considerable on t h e behavior a d performance
of a given i n d i v i d u a l ,
119
In a n a r t i c l e on t h e e f f e c t s on achievement of c h i l d r e n ' s
perception of t h e i r t e a c h e r s , Davidson and Lanq sum it up nicely.
They
say t h a t t h e b a s i c i n c e n t i v e s t h e teacher has a r e her acceptance of t h e
c h i l d and h e r approval of h i s e f f o r t s .
These f e e l i n g s a r e communicated
t o t h e c h i l d and l i k e l y encouraye him t o seek f u r t h e r approval,
This
s i t u a t i o n can a l s o be reversed with t h e p u p i l behavint: very p o s i t i v e l y ,
t h u s winning t e a c h e r approval and s t a r t i n g t h e s e l f - r e i n f o r c i n ? c i r c l e .
To say a11 t h i s , however, i s not t o imply c m ~ s a l i t y ,b u t r a t h e r t o
suggest t h a t self-perception, perceived t e a c h e r f e e l i n g s , achievement
and behavior a r e a l l i n t e r r e l a t e d .
(Davidson
1960:
107-118)
Data on t h e Xeasurexent of 3xpectations of t h e Teachers
The d a t a which follows i s t h e r e s u l t of an atternpt t o measure
more p r e c i s e l y what t h e expectations of t h e t e a c h e r s were.
There i s
no attempt t o measure o r even show t h e e f f e c t t h e s e expectations
had o r any change which may have taken place.
The purpose here i s t o
simply show what t h e expectations of t h e t e a c h e r s were a t two d i f f e r e n t
times f o r two d i f f e r e n t groups of children.
I n September of 1968 and i n Ylay of: 1969 each teacher was
asked t o f i l l out a q u e s t i o n s h e e t giving information on each of t h e i r
Indian pupils.
I n September of 1968 t h e y were asked t o answer con-
cerning t h e c h i l d r e n they had had t h e previous y e a r ; i n :*lay of 1969
they were asked t o answer concernin? t h e c h i l d r e n they had i n t h e i r
c l a s s a t t h a t time.
I n order t h a t I may f i l l out and f i n a l i z e my p i c t u r e of t h e I d i a n
c h i l d r e n who were i n your room l a s t year would you please give me
t h e following information.
a c h q u e s t i o n can be answered i n t h e a p p r o p r i a t e s e c t i o n i n d i c a t e d
below.
Question 1.
What grades do you e q e c t each student t o g e t t h i s year?
Question 2.
flow f a r do you expect each s t u d e n t t o g e t i n school?
Grade 7, 8, 9 , 1 0 , 11, 12, f u r t h e r ?
Question 3.
idhat kind of a program would you expect t h e c h i l d t o
s e l e c t i n Junior Xigh School? Academic, Vocational,
Occupational?
Q u e s t i o n 4.
How would you estimate t h e c h i l d ' s b a s i c a b i l i t y i n terms
of a comparison with c h i l d r e n h i s age? Yiqher, Same,
Lower?
Question 1
Question 2
Que.3
Que.4
A V O
:qSL
iIame
Ar3Ct-CC-D3
789101212F
A s can be seen i n Table XV, Question 1 r e f e r r e d t o t h e
academic success t h e teacher expected t h e c h i l d t o have i n t h e c o m i n ~
y e a r ; Juestion 2 r e f e r r e d t o t h e qrade a t which he was expected t o l e a v e
school; Question
3
r e f e r r e d t o t h e proqram he w a s expected t o s e l e c t
a t t h e Junior iliglz Schoolleve1;and Question 4 referrec! t o an estimate
of h i s probable a b i l i t y l e v e l when compared t o other c h i l d r e n h i s age.
The f i g u r e s used i n Table XV a r e t h e values assigned t o each answer
f o r t h e purpose of c a l c u l a t i n g a r i t h m e t i c averages.
122
iJsin? a computer and a proyram s e t up by D r .
A. lIore of t h e
University of 3 r i t i s h Columbia, a number of a r i t h m e t i c means and corr e l a t i o n s were c a l c u l a t e d rzr'nick w i l l - be discussec! i n more d e t a i l
shortly.
T t shoi-11-6 be noted f i r s t , however, t h a t i n $?atin,-; 1, t h e
q u e s t i o n s h e e t s which were f i l l e d out i n September of 1968, t h e r e a r e
a t o t a l of f i f t y I n d i a n pupils.
This n~m'oeri s f i v e s h o r t of t h e a c t u a l
number of Indian p u p i l s who were i n t h e c l a s s e s t o which t h e t e a c h e r s
are referring.
However, two of those f i v e had a r r i v e d so r e c e n t l y t h a t
t h e t e a c h e r s involved d i d not f e e l capable of making p r e d i c t i o n s a t
t h e time.
'The o t h e r t h r e e p u p i l s were simply missed due t o some con-
f u s i o n between myself and some of t h e t e a c h e r s a s t o whether o r not
enfranchised I n d i a n p u p i l s ( c h i l d r e n of p a r e n t s l i v i n y on t h e Reserve
who have surrendered t h e i r l e g a l r i g h t s a s ~ n d i a n s )should be included.
The sixty-seven Indian p u p i l s of Ratin(: 2 i s an accurate f i m r e .
P r e s e n t a t i o n of t h e Oata
Table X V I c o n s i s t s of an a n a l y s i s of t h e d a t a broken down
i n terms of t h e teachers.
Of t h e eleven t e a c h e r s on s t a f f , nine f i l l e d
out and returned t h e form f o r ?sting 1.
One t e a c h e r d i d not complete
it and t h e kindergarten t e a c h e r was excused on t h e ?rounds t h a t she
d i d not a s s i g n y a d e s and t h e d i s t a n c e from kindergarten t o Junior
Eigh School was t o o g r e a t t o make Question 2 and a u e s t i o n
3 meaningful.
122
TABL S X V I RATII\TG 1 AMALYSIS OF DATA BY T U C H E R S H M N G MEmS
AND STANDARD D E V I A T I O N S
'Teacher
Wpected
>rade
?%petted
Level
i*:ean E.D.
%an
RATING 2
Teacher
Grand :lean
*
S.9.
3xpected
Level
Nean
man
S.D.
S.D.
-
-
3.46
TTean
P. D.
-
Comparative
Ability
?!can
S .D.
ANALYSIS O F DATA BY TFACHEEI SFTOWING MEANS
AND STANDARD D W I A T I O N S
3x-pected
irade
-
Expected
Program
1.42
4.94
1.35
lxpected
Prograi?z
Comparative
Ability
hean
;'can
-
-
1.87
2.3.
- - --
0.77
--
9.3.
--
1.91
--
0.j6
Teachers 9 and. 1 0 joined t h e s t a f f durin: t h e second year. They
f i l l e d i n question s'neets but t h e i r means a r e not used i n t h e ;rand
;%an.
123
In ,lay of 1969, nine of t h e same teachers were t h e r e and e i ~ h tof
t h e s e f i l l e d out t h e form.
The two new teachers a l s o f i l l e d out
question sheets b u t , while t h e i r r e s u l t s a r e shown, only t h e d.ata of
t h e e i g h t t e a c b r s who returned have been used i n t h e calculating of
t h e grand means.
means was from 2.5 t o 5.0, which is from a very low C- t o a C+.
The
qrand mean f o r "c'ne grades given out by a l l t h e teachers was 3.114,
a C-.
I n t h e ZGA of % a t i n ? 2 t h e range was from 2.0 t o b.7 which
i s from a D t o a low C+.
The grand mean was
3.56 which i s a very low
C.
In t h e expected Level Achieved (ELA) of itating 1 t h e range
was from 3.2 t o 6.0, which i s from grade nine t o gra6e twelve.
The
grand mean was 4.311. which means grade ten.>%
Tn
- t h e %A
of Ratin? 2 t h e range was from 3.7 t o 6.3, which
i s from grade nine t o grade twelve.
The g r a d mean was
h.94
which means
grade ten.*
I n t h e dxpected Program (XP) of 3 a t i . n ~1 t h e range was from
1.2 t o 2.2.
As can be seen from a check of Table XVIZ ( ;r. 1-7) t h e
majority were on t h e Occupational Propam with t h e remainder of t h e
students s p l i t a l i t t l e u.nevenly favouring t h e Vocational Program.
*
The
'The use of t h e word ' g e t ' i n 3uestion 2 on t h e question sheet
was somewhat ambiguous since it does not c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e whether t h e
child was expected t o f i n i s h t h a t qrade or merely be i n it when he
Since e i t h e r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n is possible t h e
f i n i s h e d h i s schoolin;.
procedure followed here i s t h a t of taking t h e rourded E L A back t o t h e
n e a r e s t whole nwiber, 'This i s t h e number representing t h e l a s t whole
grade finished.
II
Rating 1
Program
Gr.
1-7 r . - 3
ST. 4-7
3ating 2
ST.
1-7
Gr.
1-3
Gr.
4-7
Vocational
TABLE X V I I I
COI!P.ARATIVE R S I L I T Y PRD4.ARY AND I N T n Y m I A T E BREAKDOWN
IlATINGS 1 AND 2
I n the
EP of 3 a t i n q 2 t h e range was from
nean f o r a l l t h e t e a c h e r s was 1.87.
l . l k t o 2.7
"re grand
Again checkin7 with Table X V I I , it
can be seen t h a t t h e Occupational Program has dropped i n percentaze b u t
i s s t i l l t h e b i g g e s t ~ J i t ht h e o t h e r two Irograrfis c l o s e r i n t h e i r s p l i t
of t h e remainder.
I n t h e Comparative A b i l i t y ( C A )s c a l e of Ratin? 1 t h e range was
from 1.2 t o 2.3.
that the
Checking w i t h Table :a111 ("r.
1-7), it i s evident
1.56 g r a d . mean i n d i c a t e s t h a t almost h a l f of t h e c h i l d r e n were
seen a s having a l o + ~ e ra b i l i t y t h a n t h e i r counterparts of t h e sane aze.
i n t h e CA s c a l e of Rating 2 t h e range i s f r o n 1.3 t o 2.3.
125
Checking again with Table XU11 it can be seen t h a t t h e higher mean
01i.5 i n d i c a t e s a strong w i n g Lo Lhc tisame" reading with more than
half t h e children havinr;. t h i s score and only half a s many havinq a
readin? of "lower" a s was t h e case i n Rating 1.
The means and c o r r e l a t i o n s were a l s o calculated using t h e
various grade l e v e l s a s t h e d i v i s i o n lines."
This was intended t o
be t h e main source of means and. c o r r e l a t i o n s with t h e c a l c u l a t i o n s
done i n terms of t h e teachers a s a check t o explain say wide divergences i n means which mizlit occur.
As can be seen from Table X I X , no
wide divergences occurred, t h e r e was no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t
d i f f e r e n c e between any of t h e means, ar?d t h e g r a d means p a r a l l e l those
of Table XTT very closely.
Calculating with grade l e v e l s as t'ne determinant t h e n , t h e
range of means of t h e aA
veryverg low C- t o a C.
of iiating 1 was from 2.5 t o 4.0,
o r from a
Yhe grand. mean f o r a l l t h e grades was 3.12,
a C-.
The range of means of t h e =A
4.6.
of 3ating 2 was from 2.0 t o
This means from a D t o a very low C-t-.
The grand mean was 3.4,
high C-.
The range of means f o r t h e 3LA of 3atinq 1 was from 3.2 t o
6.0, o r from grade nine t o grade twelve.
grade ten.
The mean was 4.3 which means
I n 12ating 2 t h e range was from 3.67 t o
5.78 which means from
n":.
%king 1 t h e r e was one teacher who d i d not complete t h e
In order t o keep t h e numbers complete and t h e c a l c u l a t i o n s a s
s t r a i g h t forward a s possible, t h e c h i l d r e n i n her room were given an
expectation r a t i n g by t h e teacher who had tauqht them t h e year previous.
Term,
TAALB XLX
frade
Level
RATING 1 ANALYSIS O F 'DATA BY GRADE SHOWING MEANS
A N D ST ANTI ABD D-!3 ~ T I Q ~ S
5kpected
Grade
3cpecte6
Level
'%pect,ec!
Program
Somparative
Ability
Xean
Mean
Mean
Mean
0 .
RATINS 2
3.3.
5.3.
S.D.
AJ!LALYSIS OF DATA BY GRADE SHOWING l!fEANS
AND STAIU'DARD DEVIATIONS
----
Grade
Level
-
kpected
Grade
3xpected
Level
kpected
Program
Zoxparative
Lbil-ity
, -~ e a n 5.0.
Mean
S.D.
Nean
S.D.
Mean
S.3.
k.72
l.4h
1 1 0.72
1.6
0.57
1
Grand Mean 3.43
1.38
grade nine t o yrade eleven completed.
-
The grand mean was 14.7 which
means grade ten.
For both t h e
EF' and t h e
s l i g h t l y fro21 t n o s e of Table > X I .
C 4 s c a l e s t h e ranses d i f f e r only
This d i f f e r e n c e r e f l e c t s only t h e
127
s l i g h t champ which occurs when t h e s e f i g u r e s a r e looked a t f
p a r t i c u l a r diTferent angles.
these
?:one of t h e 6 i f f e r e n c e s betb~eont h e
rarx5es o r between t h e d i f f e r i n g grand means were close t o s t a t i s t i c a l
s i s n i f icance.
I n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e Data
An exaxination of t h i s d a t a l e a d s t o s e v e r a l i n t e r e s t i n g
observations.
:$hen t h e ranges of t h e % A ' s
of i'abl-e X I and Table
XU.
a r e cor:lpared it Is noticeable t h a t t h e range oP tating 1 i n Table Y V I
i s a f u l l l e t t e r grade higher than t h e range of
ra at in? 1 i n Sable XIX.
I h i s i l l u s t r a t e s t h e s i t u a t i o n i n which som? teachers di2 see i n d i v i duals i n t h e i r c l a s s e s who were considerably hi3'ner t h a n t h e individual
students seen by t h e r e s t of t h e teachers.
Thus, t h e range of a t l e a s t
one teacher wenJ~a i'ul.l L e t t e r ;rade hiqhcr t h a n t h e ran:<e est&dished
by grade l e v e l s .
>.
n,.
%cause t h i s a u r e r a n c c e x i s t s between the two ranses,
however, it i s importal?i; t o note t h a t t h e r e was no re;r,ar1<a51ed i f f e r e n c e
bekieen any two means
ill
any i'ab:Le i n any scale.
That i s , t h e teachers
d i d not see t h e spreati of marks within t h e i r individual c l a s s e s somewhat
ciiz"ferent1g but t h e average marks they a s s i ~ n e dwere very cl-ose t o each
other.
Ln ?able SIX it shou-ld be noted t h a t t h e r e is no trend or
patter11 t o t h e m a n s of e i t h e r t h e %A's o r t h e %A's.
That i s , t h e r e
which school i s rinishec-!, r i s e o r f a l l i n any ? a t t e r n r e l a t e d t o t h e
present zrade l e v e l of t h e pupils.
h,l;ain, iYrit11i.n t h o frrade t h e r e a r c
d i f f e r e n c e s as t o hox t h e averaye i s achieved Sut t h e r e i s no pat,tern
-Lo the means t h c m e l v e s .
128
C o r r e l a t i o n s were calcul'ated between a l l columns or s c a l e s
f o r both t h e a n a l y s i s i n terms oP grades and t h e a n a l y s i s i n terms
of t h e i n d i v i d u a l teachers.
A l l c o r r e l a t i o n s m r e c o n s i s t e n t l y high.
r h i s ~nd,.catt?sa 5 i ; h dcc;ree
by t h e teachers.
ii?ner consi-stency i n t h e d a t a sulmitted
That i s , t h e t e a c h e r s would seen t o have a c l e a r
concept of t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e grades t h e y e ~ v c c t e d .t h e c l ~ i l l i r c n
t o receive, t h e grade l e v e l a t ~ r h i c ht h e y expected t h e chil-dren t o
l e a v e school, t h e program t h e y ex9ected t h e c h i l d r e n t o be on a t Junior
?igh School, and t h e comparative l e v e l of a b i l i t y of t h e children.
Chis i s not t o say t h a t t h e t e a c h e r s had a r e a l i s t i c o r accurate view
of what t h e s e c h i l d r e n actual-ly would o r could do.
It simply s t a t e s
t h a t , ri,;ht o r wron;, they had a coherent p i c t u r e of t l l e r e l a t i o n s h i p
betsc~eent h e s e v a r i a b l e s a d P i l l e d i n t h d r i n f o m a t i o n s h e e t s consistently.
%'hemost s i y n i f i z a n t Table of a l l , ho>~ever,i s Table YX, which
shows the a c t u a l riistr-ibution of marks behind t h e a v e r a y d GA's.
only t h e means a r e looked a t t h e p i c t u r e i s q u i t e incorrplete.
TI"
I f tho
C ranTe i s i n t e r p r e t e d a s meaning avoraqe, t h e n every c l a s s where t h e
s t u d e n t s a r e ranked by coinparison with t h e o t h e r s i n t h e i r c l a s s , n u s t
have t h e majority oC t h o s e s t u d e n t s i.n t h e S ranqe.
Thus, a mean of C-
f o r a y o u p of s tudents i s low but not d i s a s t r o u s l y so.
It could be
a r p e d t h a t t h e o v c r a l l m a n s of both lat,inr; 1 a d ;latin(; 2 a r e w i t h i n
t h e acceutablo averaqe l i m i t s .
I n !?able %X it can be seen t h a t on an overview of a l l seven
grades t h e t e a c h e r s expected b e t t e r t h a g two-thirds of t h e s t u d e n t s
g e t a C-,
3, o r 3 a t t h e end of t h e next year.
'Chis was f o u r times
TABLE XX
EXPECTED W A D F A C H I ~PRIMdYY
~
AND I N T E 3 N ~ I A T E
3REAKDcpnn\.T SSOWING P"JRCmTTAG% OF MARKS G I V a I
1-7
16%
148
685
Grades 1-3
26$
17%
575
Grades LC-7
79
Grades
T ABLE X X I
78%
10
EXPECTED LEVEL ACHIEVED PRIMARY AND I N T E R P R D I ATE J33FAKDOWN
SHOWII'JG PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS FXPjXTED TO F I N I S H
AT EACH GRADE L Z V a
",tiny 2
Ratin; 1
Srade
Levels
G r . 1-7
Sr. 1-3
Gr. k'
Gr. 1-7
21
Further
Gr.
1-3
35
G r . 14-7
0%
O$
many a s were expected t o g e t an A , 4, o r C-t-.
I n !%atins 2 t h e breakdown
of mar!ts i n terms of t h e seven y a d e s was spread nore evenly.
more t h a n half of t h e p u p i l s were expected t o g e t a C-,
However,
3, o r 5, which
was s t i l l twice a s many a s were expected t o s e t an A, 3, o r C+.
130
The sharpest and most i n t e r e s t i q d i v i s i o n of a l l can be
seen i n the second s e c t i o n of 'Table X X I .
Tn t h e p r i n a r y grades i n both
3 a t i n g s 1 and 2 t h e percentages of t h o s e receiviny an A ,
a,
o r C+ i s
considerably h i z h e r than those receivini: t h e sane marks i n t h e i n t e r mediate grades.
I n f a c t , i n 3ating 2, t h e percentaqe of those i n t h e
primary grades receiving a C-,
3, o r 2 drops below 50% and i s only a
s h o r t 7% away from t h e group receiving an A , 3, o r Ci-.
This i s i n
sharp c o n t r a s t t o t h e breakdown of t h e two groups of marks f o r t h e
intermediate grades i n Rating 2.
It i s a l s o t h e only time t h e lower
marks were not given t o a t l e a s t 50$ of t h e c h i l d r e n i n t h e qrades and
t h e only t i m e t h e s i z e of t h e two groups was close.
We w i l l d i s c u s s
t h e implications of t h i s s h i f t i n t h e swnmary a t t h e end of t h i s
chapter.
I n Table X Y I t h e d a t a f o r Ratin? 1 f o r a l l grades combined
showed two peak made l e v e l s a t which s t u d e n t s ware expected t o l e a v e
school.
One was a t t h e r r a d e nine l e v e l where
were expected t o leave.
26% of those i n school
The o t h e r peak was a t grade twelve where 32g
of those who had entered Juniol- High School were expected t o f i n i s h .
I n Rating 2, t h e lower peak s h i f t e d q u i t e s t r o n r ~ l yone grade up with
grade nine being a low y e a r f o r numbers expected t o leave.
When t h e primary and intermediate grades a r e separated t h e
same s e p a r a t i n z i s shown a s was evident i n Table
XX.
I n Rating 1,
35%
of t h e I n d i a n p u p l l s a t t h a t time i n t h e primary qrades were expected
t o f i n i s h t h e i r schoolinr; by t h e end of grade t e n ;
t o go on t o f u r t h e r education a f t e r high school.
grades i n R a t i r g 1, 709-double
94 were
expected
I n t h e intermediate
t h e primary figure--were
expected t o
131
f i n i s h t h e i r schooling by grade 10.
I n Rating 2 t h e same trend i s
c l e a r l y evident with p a r a l l e l comparisons between t h e primary and
intermediate grades, except t h a t a q u a r t e r of those i n t h e primary grades
a t t h a t time were expected t o go on t o f - i ~ r t h e reducation.
I n Tables X V I I a d X V I I I , those i l l u s t r a t i n g t h e percentage
assigned t o v a r i o u s programs and t h e s y e a d of a b i l T t y I n cornparison
w i t h c h i l d r e n of t h e same age, t h e same p a t t e r n s and t r e n d s a r e cont i n u e d which show ,up i n t h e t a b l e s ciiscussed e a r l i e r .
That i s , i n t h e
o v e r a l l p i c t u r e t h e Occ,upational Progam i s e x ~ e c t e dt o receive t h e much
g r e a t e r percentage of t h e p u p i l s i n both Rating 1 and Rating 2.
The
usual d i f f e r e n c e s between primary and intermediate q a d e s a r e not a s
sharp b u t a r e s t i l l there.
The same i s t r u e f o r Table 237111.
The
higher percentages given by t h e primary grades a r e s t i l l t h e r e although
l e s s d i s t i n c t i v e t h a n i n t h e o t h e r Tables.
It should be noted, however,
t h a t i n Table l?7TII, showing t h e comparative a b i l i t y of t h e Indian
p u p i l s , Ratin? 2 does d i f f e r somewhat from Rating 1 i n one s i g n i f i c a n t
respect.
That i s , while t h e percentage of those estimated t o have a
higher a b i l i t y does not change very much, t h e percentage of those seen
a s having t h e same l e v e l of a b i l i t y a s those around them does i n c r e a s e
s h a r p l y , a d , a s a consequence, those seen a s having a lower comparative
a b i l i t y r e p r e s e n t a lower percentage of the,whole.
It i s i n t e r e s t i n g t h a t 3 a t i n g 2 shows g e n e r a l l y hizher r e s u l t s
i n every column t h a n i2ating 1, and t h a t t h e s p l i t between t h e Primary and
Intermediate l e v e l s becomes even sharper i n Ratin? 2.
The simplest
132
h i ~ h e s texpectations based on b e t t e r perfomances by t h e i r p u p i l s ,
with t h e s e performances bein? t h e r e s u l t of t h e higher l e v e l of preschool preparation brhich some of t h e primary t e a c h e r s saw coming from
t h e homes of t h e younger parent.s and t h e I n d t a n k.indergarten.
This
assumption i s not warranted, however, s t r i c t l g on t h e b a s i s of t h e s e
figures.
One of t h e groups i n t h e primary d i d have t h e b e s t r e s u l t s
of t h e e n t i r e school, but another had one of t h e worst.
Several of
t h e c h i l d r e n from t h i s second group l e f t Norgate school a t t h e end of
t h a t year s o that, t h e i r r e s u l t s which a f f e c t e d 3 a t i n g 1 a r e not included
i n Rating 2.
The second f a c t o r t o be kept i n m i d when observing t h e
d i f f e r e n c e s between t h e primary and intermediate grades i s t h a t w i t h a
population of t h i s s i z e , one group wit'n c o n s i s t e n t l y high marks can
have a c l e a r a d strong e f f e c t on percentazes.
The e n t i r e population
being considered h e r e i s q u i t e small and g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s based on t h i s
s e t of f i g u r e s must be very c a r e f u l l y examined.
I n 3 a t i n g 2, however, t h e r e i s a d e f i n i t e improvement i n almost
every area.
This could suggest t h a t t h e same c h i l d r e n were seen d i f -
f e r e n t l y by t h e t e a c h e r who evaluated t h e i r progress i n t h e second
Rating.
This i s not t h e case.
Of t h e f i f t y c h i l d r e n who were discussed
i n Xating 1, forty-two remained i n t h e school and were discussed i n
9 a t i n g 2.
Of t h e s e forty-two, twelve r e t a i n e d t h e same mark (29$),
s i x t e e n went up one mark
(?a;$),
one went up two marks (2$).
i n t h e s e changes.
t h i r t e e n went down one mark (31$), and
The t e a c h e r s showed no p a r t i c u l a r p a t t e r n s
That is, i f a t e a c h e r put two c h i l d r e n up one mark
he u s u a l l y put two o t h e r s down.
There weretwoexceptions.
One t e a c h e r
133
marked a l l f o u r students i n her room down one y a d e and another teacher
marked seven of t h e nine Indian p u p i l s i n h e r room up one grade or more.
These chanyes r e c e r only t o t h e 'dxpected 5rade Achieved c o l u m but they
r e f l e c t t h e consistency between t h e t e a c h e r s w i t h reyard t o t h e same
c h i l d r e n f o r a11 t h e o t h e r columns a s well.
I n Rating 2, then, t h e
d i f f e r e n c e and improvement must be a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e twenty-five ne7~3
I n d i a n c h i l d r e n who came i n t o t h e school during t h a t year.
was not s u f f i c i e n t t o s h i f t t h e mean
'wetted
Their impact
Grade Achieved t o any
g r e a t e x t e n t b u t t h e l e v e l of Compared Ability i s q u i t e sharply hiqher
i n Rating 2 over Rating 1.
The n e t r e s u l t of a l l t h e columns, lookin,? a t a l l t h e grades,
i s t h a t t h e expectations of t h e t e a c h e r s on t h e s e f o u r measurements
were low.
30th Ratings were s i m i l a r i n t h e i r o v e r a l l r e s u l t s .
Expected ;rade was a C-,
The mean
t h e average grade a t which t h e Indian pupils
were expected t o be on t h e Occupational Program and between one-quarter
and one-half were seen a s having a lower l e v e l of a b i l i t y t h a n t h e
c h i l d r e n around them while only one-tenth were seen a s havino; a b i l i t y
above t h e average of t h o s e of t h e same age.
How do t h e s e expectations cornpare with t h e spoken comments on
t h e same c h i l d r e n ?
I f t h e spoken expectations a r e high but t h e marks
given, and more s i g n i f i c a n t l y t h e program t h e c h i l d r e n a r e expected t o
be on, t h e grade a t which they a r e expected t o l e a v e and t h e conparative
l e v e l of a b i l i t y a r e low, does t h i s i n d i c a t e a c o n f l i c t w i t h one of t h e
expressions of e x ~ e c t a t i o n sbeing f a l s e ?
There i s not n e c e s s a r i l y a c o n f l i c t here.
t h e s i t u a t i o n have t o be considered,
Other f a c t o r s i n
For t h e t e a c h e r receiving new
c h i l d r e n a t t h e bezinning of a school y e a r , a s was shown i n t h e s e c t i o n
on performance, t h e p a s t recorc! of t h o I n d i a n c h i l d r e n was not particul a r l y good and t h e preparation f o r t h e new work i n t h e new y e a r could
be expected t o be i n l i n e with t h e marks given.
The records show that,
f o r t h e f i f t y c h i l d r e n of % a t i n ? 1, t h i r t y - f o u r standardized Achievement
'Tests had been administered and t h e i r r e s u l t s put i n t o l e t t e r grades
adjusted t o S r i t i s h Columbia standards.
Table X X I I shows t h e r e s u l t s .
S i m i l a r l y , I n t e l l i g e n c e Q u o t i e n t t e s t s had been done f o r twenty-one
of t h e s e c h i l d r e n and t h e r e s u l t s of t h e s e a r e a l s o i n Table X X I I .
Thus, t h e marks and o t h e r exyectations of t h e teachers may, i n f a c t ,
r e f l e c t t h e r e a l i s t i c picture.
;!owever, t h e kinds of e x ~ e c t a t i o n swhich a r e of most concern
here tend t o be somewhat independent of performance a s measured by marks.
The t e a c h e r s whose comments showed higher expectations were not @y
any means a l l i n t h e primary p a d e s here t h e h i s h e r r a t i n t ~ swere noted.
Fxpectations such a s were r e f l e c t e d i n t h e comments r e f e r t o t h e a n t i c i This i s t h e impact
p a t i o n of change o r t h e l a c k of t h a t a n t i c i p a t i o n .
If change i s a n t i c i -
of t h e research done on t h e e f f e c t s of expectations.
pated and e ~ e c t e dt h e n it s t i l l may occur, but t h e p r o b a b i l i t y and t h e
e x t e n t of t h e change i s l i k e l y t o be lessened.
TEST RESULTS
T ABLE XXII
Tests
h
3
C-t-
C
Achievement T e s t s
0
0
1
1
I n t e l l i q e n c e Quotient T e s t s
0
0
2
1
-.
---.
D
C-
4
4
2
3
11
I;:
Total
5
34
3
21
I35
There i s no d a t a i n t!liS study t o i n d i c a t e wh.ether t h e
expectations of any one of t h e t e a c h e r s was any moye r e a l i s t i c t h a n
.that of any o t h e r of t h e t e a c h e r s or whether t h e s e expectations--positive
0-j
nq;ative--had
Indian children.
any e f f e c t a-L a l l
oil
tho perforrnaucs of any ol' t h e
.-
iioTtrever, i f t h e ~ t t e ~ ; 1 ! of
? t ~t h e researchers t o show
.that thc3 o r p c t a t i . o n s of t h e t e a c h e r has a prof'o~uncle f f e c t on t h e perf ormance of h i s p u p i l s t u r n out Lo be concl..usive a s
I e q e c t them t o he,
t!?en the rela;tionshi-;? between t h e low v e r b a l expectati.ons, -the Iat~
wri-tten expecta-Lions and t h e low performance of t h e Indian p ~ x p i l sw i l l
have t o be carefull-y examined.
1?6
References Cited
a a r b e r , Theodore X. e t a 1
1969
Five Atternpts t o Xeplicate t h e 'kperimenter %.as ,f f e e t .
Journal of Consultin? and C l i n i c a l Psycholoyy, Vol. 33,
1:
1-14.
Clark, de-meth 3.
Tducational Stimulation of R a c i a l l y Disadvantayed Children.
1963
I n Mucation i n Depressed. 4reas. 4. U. Passo%r, ed, i'e~dYork,
Teachers Colleqe, C o l w b i a University.
-
Cordaro, L. and J. 9. Ison
1963 Observer 3ias i n C l a s s i c a l Conditioninq of t h e P l m a r i a n .
P s y c h o l o ~ i c a l3 e p o r t s 13: 787-789.
Davidson, 2. and 2. Lang
Children's Perception of Their Teacher's F e e l i n ~ s'Toward Them
1960
delated t o Self Perception, School- kbievement a d qehavi or.
Journal of 5xcerimental ';%ucation 1101. 29: 2: 107-118.
Deut sch, d a r t i n
1960 i ' i n o r i t y Groups and Class S t a t u s a s Related t o S o c i a l and.
P e r s o n a l i t y Factors i n S c h o l a s t i c Achievement. .'onograph
110.
2, ;lonor:raphs of t h e Society f o r Applied 4nthropolot;y,
I t h a c a , 2ew York.
Ingraham, L. '3. and G , M. Yarrinzton
1966
Psycholoyg of t h e S c i e n t i s t : XVI Txperience of 7 a s a
Variable i n Q.educin; 'hperisnenter 3ias. Psycho?.ogica,l
3 e p o r t s 19: 455-461.
.
I:lert on, Robert K
1948
'The S e l f - f u l f i l l i n g Prophecy.
Antioch 2eview
8:
193-210,
Neimeyer, John
Some Guidelines t o Desirable 3lementary School Reorqantzation.
1963
I n Pro5rams Tor t h e '?ducationally Xsadvantaged. Vashinyton,
United S t a t e s Office of &ucation 3 u l l e t i n ;To. 17.
3 a v i t z , i, e l
33ucation
The Role of t h e Zchool i n t h e Urban 3 e t t i n q .
1963
i n Depressed Areas, A. H. Passow, ed. 'Jew York, Teachers
Colle2e, Columbia University.
In
Reissman, Frank
1967
The Uver~ookedP o s i t i v e s of D i s a d v a n t a ~ e dZrouFs. 2
iBucat,ion and S o c i a l C r i s i s , 3. T. Yeach, X. ?ul-ton, a d
d. Gardner , ed. New York, John iJiley and. Sons Inc.
Stotland, 5 r a
1969 The P s g c h o l o ~of 'Tope.
Tan '+a.ncisco,
Jossey-jass
CO.
Ltd.
Chapter LC
The Q u a l i t i e s 'reeded i n t h e Teacher and t h e
Purpose of t h e School i n ;ornate Park
One or" t h e questions asked t h e t e a c h e r s was whether s p e c i a l
coui-ses were e i t h e r necessary o r u s e f u l f o r t e a c h e r s assizned t o :!ioryate
the s p e c i a l courses were u s u a l l y def'ined
School.
a s courses i n anthro-
pology, or ones i n education dealin2 with t h e educational problems of
minority qroups.
Of t h e tell t e a c h e r s who discussed t h i s question, t h r e e came
out f l a t l y i n t h e negative.
necessary.
Such courses were n e i t h e r u s e f u l nor
One of t h e s e t h r e e t e a c h e r s f e l t t h a t t h e s i t u a t i o n a t
?:orgate simply d i d not warrant any treatment not needed elsewhere because
t h e school i t s e l f could not be distinquished i n any way from any other
middle c l a s s suburban school.
opposite tack.
The o t h e r two took t h e diametrical.ly
'The school was c e r t a i n l y d i f f e r e n t and had i t s own
p e c u l i a r problems but experience was t h e only u s e f u l teacher.
t e a c h e r s t a t e d t h a t courses of t h i s n a t u r e could be harmful.
t o t a k e t h e s e people a s t h e y are.
Jo one can t e a c h you.
One
"You have
You s h o u l d n t t
absorb what o t h e r people t h i n k about minority groups."
i'he o t h e r seven t e a c h e r s were not a t a l l e n t h u s i a s t i c but
d i d f e e l t h a t , under t h e r i g h t circumstances, e x t r a t r a i n i n ? could be
useful.
However, those c i r c m s t a n c e s were q u i t e p a r t i c u l a r .
In-
s e r v i c e t r a i n i n 5 was t h e only u s e f u l kind; o r course work a f t e r t h e
t e a c h e r ha6 had some experience i n t h e classroom w i t h Indian children.
I f t h e course work was taken p r i o r t o t h e experience and was t h e o r e t i c a l
139
it was quickly foryotten.
I f it WAS taken p r i o r t o t h e ex.perience and
~ J a sp r a c t i c a l it could s t a r t f e a r s i n some t e a c h e r s which would i n t e r f e r e w i t h t h e i r a c t u a l a 5 i l i t y t o cope w i t h t h e s i t u a t i o n s when they
f i n a l l y appeared.
The course work a l s o had t o d e a l with t h e present
day s i t u a t i o n on l o c a l 3eserves a d be presented by someone who was
c l e a r l y w e l l acquainted with t h e people whose c h i l d r e n were comin? t o
t h e school.
Someone who had "read a l o t of books was of no use.!'
'Zne of t h e t e a c h e r s a l s o discusse6 the kind of teacher required
i n a school such a s Norgate.
Two f e l t t h a t anyone who had t h e usual
q u a l i t i e s of a good t e a c h e r was a l l t h a t was required.
The s i t u a t i o n ,
once again, did not r e q u i r e any s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o r a b i l i t i e s .
'The o t h e r seven disagreed, expressin:
t h e opinion t h a t t h e t e a c h e r s
should d e f i n i t e l y bo s p e c i a l l y picked f o r t h a t school.
'The q u a l i t i e s
t h e t e a c h e r s were t o have were not i n any way d o p e d e n t on t h e i r
t r a i n i q ~ ,althouzh one mentioned t h a t t r a i n i n g i n a school with Indian
p u p i l s would be valuable i n t h a t t h e new t e a c h e r could see how Indian
c h i l d r e n worked when t h e r e were no White c h i l d r e n around t o make comparisons i n e v i t a b l e .
:<owever, course work on t h e education of m i n o r i t i e s o r s p e c i a l
education of any s o r t was not a n e c e s s i t y and i n no way was it t o be
construed a s a requirenent.
'Che main q u a l i t i e s a t e a c h e r did r e q u i r e
were a d e f i n i t e d e s i r e t o t e a c h i n a school with I n d i a n p u p i l s , a
w i l l i n p e s s and an a b i l i t y t o recoznize and handle problems r e l a t e d t o
t h e s e p u p i l s , an openness t o new ways of s o l v i r q problens, and compassion.
The same q u a l i t i e s a,s could be expected i n any g o d t e a c h e r
were sufficient,
but more of each of them.
1140
If t h i s was t h e kind of teacher required, t h e n what $,as t h e
r o l e of t h a t t e a c h e r i n t h e school, and. what were t h e aims of t h e school
a s a whole?
There i s no q u e s t i o n t h a t t h e t e a c h e r s saw i n s t r u c t i o n i n
b a s i c s k i l l s , an explanation of concepts, a development of independent
thouyht, t h e n u r t u r i n ~of a ,-ove of knowledgs and a joy i n learning-t h e r e i s no q u e s t i o n but t h a t t h e t e a c h e r s saw t h e s e a s b a s i c and
primary a s p e c t s of t h e i r job.
'jut
when t h e q u e s t i o n was asked i n order
t o e x ~ l o r et h e i r concept of what t h e i r job i n t h e school was, and what
t h e school a s a whole was t r y i n g t o accomplish, only one of t h e eleven
mentioned any of t h e s e aspects.
This matter was brouqht up l a t e i n t h e
interview and it i s q u i t e p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e
S L ~ Oj e c t
matter discussed
up t o t h i s p o i n t had t h e i r minds operating i n o t h e r channels, and t h u s
it i s a l s o q u i t e p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e y were simply taken f o r ?ranted a s
understood--that
t h e s e were i n t e g r a l p a r t s of t h e s c h o o l l s job.
However, it was c l e a r t h a t t h e r e were d e f i n i t e l y o t h e r t h i n q s t o be
done by t h e school- a s well.
Trom here on, a s u s u a l , t h e r e was considerab1.e
3ut on t h i s t h e t e a c h e r s were ayreed, p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r t h e
varia.nce.
I n d i a n s , school was more than a place t o l e a r n t o read, w r i t e and. do
ariti.lmetic.
'Two of t h e t e a c h e r s shared s t r o n ~f e e l i n g s t h a t t h e school
w a s t o provide t h e I n d i a n p u p i l s w i t h t h e b a s i c t o o l s they needed, f o r
d e c i s i o n makin;,
b ~ it
t was t o i n t e r f e r e with t h e present c u l t u r a l
l i f e of t h e Indians a s l i t t l e a s p o s s i b l e and t o work a s hard a s p o s s i b l e
t o ensure t h a t what was taught was a s f r e e a s p o s s i b l e of s u b t l e o r
open attempts t o i n c u l c a t e d h i t e , middle c l a s s values.
rhey saw t h e
Indians a s a people who had maw t h i n g s i n t h e i r favour; a c u l t u r e which
1141
t h e Indians f e l t was a s god
a s t h e dominant J h i t e c u l t u r e , and an un-
bounded an2 unchannsled enthusiasm t o discover t h i n ~ s . The job of
t h e scliool was t o provide t h e means by which t h e d e c i s i o n s could be
made a s t o what lcinrl of l i f e t h e y wanted aml what a s p e c t s of t h e
dominant d h i t e c u l t u r e could be f i t t e d i n t o t h a t way of l i f e .
They
considered t h a t it was not t h e job of t h e school t o deci6e t h a t t 5 e
Mhite c u l t u r e was b e t t e r , t h a t t h e middle c l a s s values represented t h e
b e s t of t h e Mhite c u l t u r e and t h a t Indian people e i t h e r d i d or should
want these.
I J e i t h e r of t h e s e two t e a c h e r s felt t h a t t h e school was doing
t h e job it should have been doing,
On t h e c o n t r a r y , both f e l t t h a t t h e
school was moderately s u c c e s s f u l i n teaching t h a t t h e >Jhite c u l t u r e was
t h e b e s t , i n i n c u l c a t i n z middle c l a s s values, and i n weeding out those
t h a t d i d not f i t i n with t h e r e s u l t i n $ p a t t e r n .
One of t h e s e two s a i d ,
If we have an aim, i t ' s j u s t f o r them t o P i t i n and
be no d i f f e r e n t from t h e middle c l a s s i d e a t h a t we have.
They j u s t have t o f i t i n n i c e l y and not be a s o r e thmb
s t i c k i n 5 out. 'Thatls what we're doing Lo them. 'Jhether
t h a t ' s our aim, I d o n ' t know. I d o n ' t think people have
s a t down and thow;ht, l"d'hat do we do? dhy a r e we hero?
,:hat a r e we t r y i n 2 t o do? Are we tryinn; t o make them
i n t o middle c l a s s , ordinary c i t i z e n s t h a t f i t i n t o s o c i e t y ?
O r , a r e we t r y i n g t o make them what's b e s t f o r them?'
1 don't t h i n k anyone's considered it.
The r e s t of t h e t e a c h e r s had considered t h i s q u e s t i o n and had
one theme i n a.;reernent.
Their job was t o h e l p t h e c h i l d r e n i n a way
which would enable them t o make a b e t t e r l i f e f o r themselves t h a n t h e i r
p a r e n t s had a t t h e present.
For one of t h e t e a c h e r s t h i s aim meant simply t h a t he was
t r y i n 2 t o make t h e Indian c h i l d i n t o a b e t t e r Indian and d e f i n i t e l y not
i n t o a b e t t e r Y'hite nan.
Ye saw t h e school a s wanting t o play an
i n t e r p a l par-t i n t h e l i f e of t h e TAd-i.an community, a s wantin? t o be
an avenue f o r expression of t h e Indian c u l t u r e a d by this help tile
Indian c h i l d r e n and t h e i r parents t o have more ride i n t h e i r c u l t u r a l
heritsye.
this.
However, he a l s o f e l t t h a t t h e school was not succeedin= i n
';orgate school was a :dhite school with Indian v i s i t o r s .
A, l a r g e
d i s p l a y of Indian a r t i f a c t s i n t h e l i b r a r y turned it i n t o an outpost of
t h e Xeserve, not a showcase f o r members of t h e school.
tie s a i d ,
d i t h t h e d h i t e comunity we seek t o f i n d out what they
want a s f a r a s t h e i r c h i l d r e n a r e concerned because we
c a n ' t push them. Ye have t o follow i n some areas. Ve
c a n ' t push them i n a l l areas. 3u-L a s f a r a s t h e Tndian
i s concerned we simply assume t h a t we know what i s b e s t
f o r him. It i s perhaps here t h a t we a r e makin? t h e
fundamental e r r o r . rJe think we a r e y i v i n ~him something
he needs but maybe we a r e n ' t doin: t h i s . ,.ay?x we a r e n ' t
teachins him what he needs t o know a t a l l . de assmie
we a r e c?oin;; t h i s but we may not be doips i t a t a l l . %e
a r e simply tryin,; t o make him i n t o a S e t t e r * k i t e man.
'Two of t h e other teachers were a l s o concerned about what
decisions were being; made and by whom.
a l l t h e s u z ~ e s t i n ? ,aren"
we.
One simply s a i d , %le a r e doin:
I don't know i f t h a t i s riqht.!'
The
other s t r e s s e d t h a t t h e aim of t h e school was not t o break down t h e
Iridian c u l t u r e with education.
The school was t r y i n g t o i n t e g r a t e t h e
c h i l d r e n without s e p a r a t i r g them from t h e i r c u l t u r a l heritage.
klowever,
he f e l t t h a t t h e message of s o c i e t y i n general t o t h e Indians was t o
come and join t h a t majority by chanr(ing, and thus improving t h e i r l i f e
s t y l e t o a l e v e l comparable with t h a t of t h e > M t e majority.
Jith
re5ard t o t h e success t h e school was liavinc i n attemptip; t o i n t e g r a t e
t h e children and not a s s i m i l a t e them he s a i d ,
...
we a r e not t e l l i n ? them t o leave t h e i r a r t
c o l l e c t i o n s t o t h e museum. "lo, I thin!< we a r e tryin:
t o help them preserve what we t h i n k i s good i n t h e i r
culture. Tn other words, 'Come be our neighbours. Don't
l i v e next door, b u t be 0t.w nei,;Yaours.
!ring your
Joxr
dance behind, Live i n a house a couple of Sloclcs away.
-!ave t h e luxury and c~ixf'orts we have, 3e an up-right
and hard vorkin,; mexber of our society. Leave your
boozirq W A ~so on behind.
iave two o r t h r e e chi!!dren,
what you can afford. 3ress yam c h i l d r e n properly,
All t h i s s o r t of thing. I t h i n k
l a t h e your children.'
t h e school i s parhaps tryin.7 Lo educate t h e youn? child
so t h a t t h e youn.; child w i l l g e t away. I think we a r e
rl_efi-nitely Lryiny t o do ?&is.
,lay5e not consciously,
b u t sub-consciously
I think Vnat su'o-consciouslg
we f e e l t h a t t h e job we a r e doin? i s going t o cause
a s s i x i l a t i o n and i n t e g r a t i o n . I t ' s 2oinv t o happen
t h r o y ~ htime.
c a rn
q
,?i
nz ynlly healit if111
LLY.~_ r ~ 3 y l ~ . Lca-cc
...
'The o t h e r s i x t e a c h e r s were faced with no such complexities.
'The help t h a t was neeaeci was c l e a r anJ. the w a y Lo iJ; was c l e a r a s well.
3ne t e a c h e r swnrned up "Lho f e e l i n z s of t h i s group qu.ite nicely.
I .thidc we a m t r y i n 3 t o produce c h i l d r e n who a r e b e t t e r
t h a n t h e i r p a r e n t s , f o r t h e most p a r t , not all of them.
, we a r e t r y i n g t o
Like f o r t h e
and t h e
produce b e t t e r t h a n t h e i r parents. \Je a r e t r g i n . ~t o
vake them want rnore than t h e i r parents seem t o want. de
a r e t r y i n ? i;o help them achieve g o a l s which w i l l . help
thejn. through l i r e r a t h e r t h a n s i t t i n 2 back an6 bein,?
content w.ith t h e i r $16,000.00 a y e a r or $2,000.00 a y e a r
f o r t h e r e s t of t h e i r l i v e s . c.i'hat means to3 rsrant nore
of everything. Xore education, more learnin'3;, nore food,
n i c e r c l o t h e s , j u s t b e t t e r through l i f e .
!.]hen t h e s e t e a c h e r s were asked i f they meai.lt; t h a t t h e t e a c h e r s
were t o encowage t h e c h i l d r e n t o accept middle c l a s s values, one s a i d ,
1 wouldnlt say t h a t . I don1 t think t h e s e a r e middle
c l a s s val-ues. '$hat I am t ~ y i l u ;t o do i s j u s t t o open t h e i r
eyes t o s e e what they r e a l l y do want arou.1-d. here. :if: were
wants t o he
talkin: about d i f f w e n t occupatioris.
wants t o :SO
an a i r l i n e p i l o t i n t h e worst way.
t o Cniversity. 1 d o n ' t know 'i t h e y really reaTize rs'?at
t h i s means.
4nother t e a c h e r s a i d t h a t , i n her opinion, most of t h e Indians
were themselves choosins not orzg middle c l a s s qoals and values, but
Wrom t h o d i s c u s s i o n of t h i s q u e s t i o n with t h e t e a c h e r s , one
thin? stands clear.
'L'he a i m and p o l i c y of t h e school w i t h regard t o
i t s Indian pu;oils were not a cerePd.1-y worlced out p a t t e r n of g o d s and
methods.
flie t e a c h e r s t ~ h omost shar-olg disagreed w i t h t h o job t h e y saw
t h e school doin?, were a l s o t h e ones w?~omentioned t h i s lac?<of concensus xi1 were t h e most concerned about t h z t lack.
The majority,
q u i t e l i k e l y because it f e l t i t s e l f t o 5e t h e n a j o r i t y , d i d not coroment
on e i t h e r t h e l ~ c kof aims f o r t h e school o r t h e l a c k of d i s c u s s i o n
concernin:; such a matter.
C'na-13ter
5
2umary and. Conclusions
\.hat a r e t h e sch0ol.s s u p o s e d t o do?
purposes of education?
':hat a:-e tlre aims anc:
This has been a popular t o p i c f o r debate s i n c e
t h e time of P2.at.o and A r i s t o t l e .
%cry educaticnal system a-ocl t h e
i n s t i t u t i o n s which comprise it, tr'nether hiqhly adventu?-ous i n ~ 7 o l i c yOF
conservative, o r a h a p p ~o r uneasy nixJcure of both, have been s i t t j - n g
t a r s e t s f o r a2y grouy w i t h r e f o m i n mind or c o n p l a i n t s t o make.
Peter
Schrag, i n h i s book, Voices i n t h e Classroom, (1965) makes t h i s point
very perceptively.
Although t h e examples he uses a r e f r o x t h e American
scene, Canadian counterparts a r e easy t o f i n d .
The problems oP modern technolo:;y, t h e increasing
mobility of t h e p o p ~ l a t i o n ,t h e s o c i a l , moral and c ~ d - t u r a l
consequences of a f f l u e n c e , concentrated power a d dep e r s o n a l i z a t i o n of community r e l a t i o n s , a l l t h e s e f a c t o r s
a r e maitin;. t h e i r i f i ~ a c ton Aiwrican education. A t t h e
same time t h e schools a r e Seing asked t o win t h e cold
war, s t o p t o o t h decay, r e s t o r e t h e n a t i o n a l f i b r e , prevent
c o m u n i s t brainl-~ashiny,warn about t h e e v i l s of alcohol
and tobacco, c l o s e t h e rnissile gap, e n t e r t a i n t h e community,
open t h e c o l l e g e y a t e s , t e a c h ' s p i r i t u a l v a l u e s r , savc
t h e c i t i e s and p r o m u l ~ a t ec l e a n l i n e s s . :!hen t h e Rv-ssians
Seat t h s United S t a t e s i n t o space with Pputni'.;, t h e schools
were blamed. bhen t h e Chinese Comunist s braimashed
p r i s o n e r s i n Zorea, t h e schools were blamed.
And when
somone d e t e c t s a shortaze of d o c t o r s o r d e n t i s t s or
e r y i n e e r s , t h e schools a r e blamed f o r t h a t , t o o . I t r s
a y r e a t 013 American t r a d i t i o n .
The f i r s t ":assachusetts
School Law,
was w r i t t e n t o cmbat, a. p . S I i c meance
known a s , 'ye oulde deluder, Satan.'
(?chra; 1.965: 2 )
From t h e s e statements and t h e i n t e r e s t i n education t h e y
demomtrate it i s c l e a r t h a t t h e n a t i o n considers education t o be very
important.
For every person o r -;roup who c r i t i c i z e s education t h e r e
i s another person o r y o u n who i s r o r m ~ i ~ a t i naims.
;
-3avitz (1963:
6)
116
expresses t h e s e a i m i n s o c i o l o g i c a l terms.
ye s e e s t h e educational
system as t h e neans by which knowledqe, s k i l l s and vahres a r e t r a n s Perred f r o x one zeneration LO t h e next, t h u s ensurin; c o n t k ~ u a t i o nof
a wag of l i f e of a people.
Sage
m i t e r s see educatioil a s t h e prime
wsa$on, and t h e schools a s t h e battleground i n t h e E i ~ h t o s u a r a n t e e
democracy,
Cla'cl:
(1963:
1!&5) says,
Che n o s t compellinq a r p m e n t f o r providins t h e
maximum s t i m u l a t i o n f o r a l l American c h i l d r e n w i t h o ~ t
reqard f o r t h e s o c i a l , econonic, r a c i a l o r n a t i o n a l
baclqy-our$* of t h e i r parents i s t h e f a c t t h a t t h e
e f f e c t i v e functioning of a dynamic democracy demands
The substance r a t h e r t h a n t h e v e r b a l i z a t i o n
this
of democracy depends upon our a b i l i t y t o extend and
Only an educated
deepen t h e i n s i ? h t s of i h e people.
people can be expected t o make t h e type of choices which
a s s e r t t h e i r freedoms and r e i n f o r c e t h e i r sense of
social responsibility.
...
Any w r i t e r on t h e s u b j e c t of disacivantaged c h i l d r e n s t r e s s e s
t h e s i y k f i c a n c e of education a s a primary aTency of' s o c i a l mobility.
I!-usgrove (1966:
133) uses terms which su?;est
b u t t h e b a s i c idea i s shared by tnany w r i t e r s .
r a t h e r extreme views,
lie says, "It i s t h e
business of education i n our s o c i a l democracy t o e l i m i n a t e t h e influence of parents on t h e l i f e chances of t h e you~iy.'~ This e l i m i n a t i o n
includes t h e pressure from p a r e n t s of h i ~ hs o c i a l s t a t u s on t h e i r
c h i l d r e n t o succeed only i n c e r t a i n s o c i a l l y approved ways a s w e l l a s
t h e d e b i l i t a t i q e f f e c t s on educational pro:;ress
of parents with s o c i a l ,
c u l t u r a l , and economic disadvantaqes.
Very few w r i t e r s s e e educational systems and t h e i r schools a s
coming even c l o s e t o accomplishing t h e g o a l s they s e t f o r them, but
t h e y do accord them t h e p o t e n t i a l .
A few w r i t e r s claim t h a t it i s not
w i t h i n t h e c a p a b i l i t i e s of an educational system t o i n i t i a t e t h e kinds
147
of reforms necessary e i t h e r i n i t s e l f or i n society.
t i t l e d , X u c a t i o n f o r Alienation, (1956:
I n h i s book
1) Tiickerson says,
There i s l i t t l e evidence t o support t h e contention
the
by many l e a d e r s i n p r o f e s s i o n a l education t h a t
public schools t a k e t h e l e a d i n e f f e c t i n - ; s o c i a l charr:s.
i n r e a l i t y , h i s t o r y i n d i c a t e s t h a t i n a l l s o c i e t i e s where
public education developed, it has served a s a r e f l e c t o r
of t h e e x i s t i n g s o c i a l order.
.. .
iiumerous s t u d i e s e x i s t which show t h a t educators a r c g e n e r a l l y conserv a t i v e i n t h e i r a t t i t u d e s toward t r a d i t i o n and c h a n ~ eand tend t o be
followers of t h e main roads r a t h e r t h a n t r a i l b l a z e r s .
(& Raths 1965:
lieorge 8pindber
128) p u t s an explanation of t h i s c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n oL"
t e a c h e r s i n anthropological terms which c l a r i f i e s it somewhat.
says, "And t h a t t e a c h e r s , a s c u l t u r a l t r a n s m i t t e r s ,
of t h e i r c u l t u r e
...
. . . a r e t h e agents
Teachers a r e a s p e c i a l eroup.
s e l e c t e d a t random a s o f f i c i a l c u l t u r e t r a n s m i t t e r s ;
2e
They a r e not
they a r e t r a i n e d
and a c c r e d i t e d t o t h a t s t a t u s and role."
Leavinq f o r t h e moment the q u e s t i o n of whether or not t h e
educational- system i s capable of i n i t i a t i n g chanqe, l e t us examine t h e
aims of education i n Canada and t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p of t h e s e t o t h e s o c i a l
order.
I n l i n e with t h e purpose of t h i s study we w i l l concentrate on t h e
aims of education a s t h e y a r e r e l a t e d t o I n d i a n education.
R,.
Connelly, a t t h a t time Regional Supervisor i n t h e Uepartment of I n d i a n
Affairs i n I'ianitoba, d i s c u s s e s many c r i t i c i s m s of t h e denominational
schools and t h e i r low2 a s s o c i a t i o n with I n d i a n education.
t h e n says, Vowever a p t t h e s e c r i t i c i s m s may he
Tiowever, he
. . . the e'crurch-
oriented schools were not shaped s o l e l y by r e l i g i o u s h i e r a r c h i e s .
i3ather
t h e y embodied t h e opinions of most Canadians, p a r t i c u l a r l y of t h e people
i n any way concerned w i t h t h e education of I n d i a n s , except possibly
t h e Indians themsel-ves.
"
( 1965 :
21)
The opinions t o which he r e f e r s formed a concensus t h a t t h e
prime aim of education f o r t h e Indians was a s s i m i l a t i o n i n t o t h e dominant, 'urhite, Canadian c u l t u r e .
Tn 1568 Louis X I V of France wrote
3ishop Laval t o encourage him i n t h e t a s k of persuadiny t h e I
&:
t o give up t h e i r way of l i f e and adopt t h a t of t h e French.
1
ans
Only f o r t y -
s i x y e a r s ago t h e Superintendent of Indian 3 u c a t i o n f o r Canada wrote
t o t h e various p r i n c i p a l s of I n d i a n .Residential Schools asking f o r t h e i r
views on t h e b e s t purposes and methods of educatin,? t h e Indian child.
The views of t h e ?everend Father Ti. Delmar a r e s o c l e a r an example of
t h e t h i n l c i w of some educators of only f o r t y - f i v e years ago t h a t t h e y
a r e worth quotin5 a t some length.
aska at chew ad
Our I n d i a n s here i n t h e Xest E e n t r a l
own an immense t r a c t of land and i n many cases t h e b e s t
land i n t h e country. It seems t o me t h a t it i s f o r t h e
land t h a t we should prepare our I n d i a n p u p i l s i n such a
wag t h a t they may l i v e coaif o r t a b l y by i t s products. Consequently, they should be t a u g h t t h e uselessness of
travel.]-irq, huntini. andl roamin: aimlessly. They should
be t a u ~ h t o love Che l a d , t o c u l t i v a t e it thoroughly,
t o make a r e a l home thereon, a i d t o f i n d happiness i n
t h e possession of a g o d wife and t h e raisin: of a
A boy should l e a r n how t o run a d r i l l , a mower
family.
and a binder and understand t h e i r mechanisms, how t o
f i x them a& how t o keep them i n good working order. Se
should be w e l l acquainted w i t h t h e way of buildin5 a
proper haystack. IIe should be t r a i n e d how t o t a k e care
of l i v e s t o c k and have a g e n e r a l idea of some carpent e r i n y , harness-mendine, and, i f p o s s i b l e , of some
simple black-srfiithirq~. Theref o r e , ? advise s t r o n g l y
t h a t d u r i n ~t h e l a s t year o r two t h e b i g boys should be
kept s t e a d i l y a t work. I may add t h a t during t h e w i n t e r
months when t h e work is somewhat s l a c k , t h e y miqht s t i l l
be ~ i v e na n hour o r s o of c l a s s work.
As f o r t h e {{iris, they have t o be t r a i n e d t o be good
housewives, knowing how t o cook, wash c l o t h e s , mend them,
keep a n e a t house and t o t a k e c a r e of a small vegetable
garden.
(quoted by Connelly 1965: 19-20)
111.9
'ijlnile somewhat modified+ t h e s e views a r e comon today,
In
t h e I n d i a n a d 7Tskirqo Mucation 13ulleLin of t h e ,Cummer Eession a t t h e
University of Alberta i n
1956, paue 3, t h e followin:$ aim of Tyjian
education i s s e t f o r t h .
T h e Ion? t,em g o a l of education i n Tndian
and 3skirno schools should be t h e i n t e g r a t i o n and a c c u l t u r a t i o n of T_nd-ian
and. 3skimo peoples i n t o Canadian s o c i e t y while addinq some elements of
t h e i r c u l t u r e t o ours and. a c c e p t i n s some of our c u l t u r a l o a t t e r n s so
t h a t f i n a l l y both c u l t u r e s w i l l be e r x r i ~ h e d . ~I~n h i s
1958 r e p o r t ,
'iawthorn says t h a t schools have been important i n r e l a t i o n s between t h e
doininant Canadian s o c i e t y and. Inc3ians f o r s e v e r a l generations with
Itthe 4Lhites i n g e n e r a l
. . . e x ~ e c t i qt h e schools t o l e a d each
new
generation of Indians a c r o s s s o c i a l and economic bridges t o a s t a t e of
i d e n t i t y wFth t h e majority c u l t u r e .
'I
(g
958: 619)
~ ' a v i r qlooked a t t h e views of Canadians over t h e l a s t t b - ~ e c
hundred years l e t us look a t t h e views expresstd ir?y some of t h e Indian
p a r e n t s on t h e s e topics.
.-
~ i h e nt h e s u b j e c t of t h e pwpose of t h e school
was r a i s e d ' ~ h o r ewas no outcry f o r courses on Indian h i s t o r y t o he
included or Yriday afternoon c l a s s e s i n Zalish Ceremonial. n a m e or
t h e S a l i s h lanyuaqe, or more books i n t h e l i b r a r y concerninv 1n:Jians.
The c l o s e s t comaent t o t h e s e i d e a s was t h e concern e p r e s s o t l by a few
t h a t t h e h i s t o r y boo'ts use& by t h e c h i l d r e n be rev.i.sed t o yive a t r u e
v e r s i o n of t h e r o l e of t h e Indians i n Canadian histoyy.
I n l a t e r inter-
views one mother Zave ~ e n e r a lapproval t o an a.fternoon optional
a c t i v i t , y c l a s s a t th.e school i n which one option ooen t o a l l was
I n d i a n beadworl<.
She, however, had e n r o l l e d \ e r dau(;hter i n t r a c k and
f i e l d because s h e was c;od a t it.
150
1 got t h e feelin: from a.lmost a l l . I talll;ed t o t h a t t h e school
was not, seen a s an appropriate v e h i c l e f o r i n s t r u c t i o n on mattem per-
-t a i n i n q t o k d i a n c u l t u r e t o e i t h e r Lnc?ian c h i l d r e n o r '.,%ite c h i l d r e n
o r both.
T t was q u i t e s q l i c i t l y s t a t e d by about o!ic-third
of t h e
parents t h a t t h i s was t h e job of t h e people on t h e 3eserve and had
nothing t o do with t h e school.
Xf t h e r e was time a f t e r t h e acalemic
n a t t e r s were learned t h e n it was g o d t h a t t h e c h i l d r e n should l e a r n
t r a d i t i o n a l c u l t u r a l m a t t e r s , but t h i s was something f o r t h e old people
t o keep a l i v e .
Ilo one f e l t that; education i n yenera1 or t h e school i n
p a r t i c u l a r had a d a m a ~ i n ge f f e c t on t h e c h i l d ' s l i k e l i h o o d of r e t a i n i n s
h i s c u l t u r a l values.
The r o l e t h e school. was supposed t o play was t h a t or" t h e
i n s t r u c t o r i n t h e use of t h e t o o l s needed t o ffze-t~ornew'lere.~~
The
t h e e 3's were t h e t o o l s needed and i n s t r u c t i o n 5.n t h o s e , rea<ing,
writin.;, a& a r i t h n e t i c was what t h e school was f o r .
pressed by a l l w i t h whom
The b e l i e f cx-
T talked t h a t 'or:;ate school could
and i n f a c t was doing t h i s job, was q u i t e noticeable.
a d would,
There were in-
d i v i d u a l teachers F&O sone people d i d not l i k e , althouyh t h e r e was
nothin2 c l o s e t o unanirrliJc,y h e r e , but no one, when asked s p e c i f i c a l l y
or i n t h e course
of t h e interview, au:;ested
edu-cating t h e i r childxen sa-tisfactori1:r.
t h a t [orgate was not
This statement does not i n
any wag sw;,.l;est t h a t everyone was q u i t e happy with ~ r h a tt h e school was
doin-; with t h e i r children.
1 ~,~ovlci
not be t o l d .
Undoubtedly t h s r e were nany c o q L a i n t s which
~ u t ,a s f a r a s t h e l e v e l of i n s t r u c t i o n was con-
corned, t:iere was no feelin"; so stron;: t h a t it overcame what seemed t o
be a ; ? i n h a 1 r e t i c e n c e t o speak f e e e l y i n t h i s area.
dnfortv-nately,
151
t h i s l a c k of nerjative coment a l s o 8sqy;est,s L~ . i a tt h o 1-oTqslayl<s rr,ai?y
1
of t h e children were g e t t i n g were s i x p l y accepted by t h e i r parents a s
an expected or ~-tnsurpr.isingr851~2.t.
,?11Fs a s s ~ ~ r - q t i otnh a t t h e parents accepted t h e evaluation of
t h e i r c h i l d r e n froni t h e school was borne out
13~7 'the
frequ.el?t connnents
maZe t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t academic d e c i s i o ~ sTdere the !.~usinessof t h e
sclzool and would g e n e r a l l y be accepted without questions.
Very f e b ~
parents i n d i c a t e d t h a t if t h e i r c h i l d fai.led a t t h e end. of a yea.r th.ey
would. r e q u i r e any more e x ~ l a n a t i o nt h a n t h a t offered by a telephone c a l l
f r o n t h e teacher and. t h e report card.
[ h e n i f t h e f a i l u r e was a q u i t e
zne:;nec-ted shock and seemed a t variance w i t h t h e perf omlance r e p o r t s
received a t hone during t h e y e a r , only a few suggested they ~.roul.dpush
t o -the point of stron,yly r e q u e s t i r q t h e p r i n c i n a l a d t e a c h e r t o r e consider t h e decision.
The emphasis on t h e p r a c t i c a l f u n c t i o n s of t h e school i s not
t o su::gest
tha,t t h e Indian parents were unaxare of t h e e f f e c t s of t h e
school on i n t e g r a t i o n .
.During each interview t h e r e was a question
where thhe respondent was asked i f he would p r e f e r t o send h i s or her
c h i l d r e n t o a school f o r Tndian child.ren only, run by t h e government and.
guaranteed t o have a s good o r S e t t e r equipment, teachin? s t a f f and
standard a s any public school.
were simple and m i f OTR.
later.
'The sooner t h e y
$0 one took t h i s choice.
'Their reasons
tl'They're ~ o i r t, o~ have t o r ~ i xwith Z h i t e s
s t a t the better,"
C. , few of t h e p a r e n t s thought t h a t Zndiail t e a c h e r s i n a sch.001
li!ce ilorgate would be a good i d e a b u t s e v e r a l s a i d t h a t t h e importanL
t h i n g was t h a t t h e t e a c h e r was q u a l i f i e d ard t h a t bein:< Indian was
152
Fnci-dental,
If
,
2
prime job of
aims of SocietjT i s t o give
school a s t h o exec.~rtorof t h e educational
011.t~t h e
keys, if not open .the door t o tll?e
doinina,nt s o c i e t y , and provide the match and wick, i f not a c t u a l l y li;;ht
th.e lamp t o guide
US
a l l t o those doors--if
t h i s i s t h e job, and it i s ,
~ n e nwhat sta~i2.sin t'ne way of i t s accornplis'nxent? 'That q u e s t i o n t a k e s
LI
us f u l l c i y c l e t o t h e never en6in.j- debate mentioned a t t h e b e z i n n i q of
t h i s chapter.
The q u e s t i o n i s a t r u e .sordian Knot an3 no Al-exander has
y e t appeared.
There i s only one thread upon which I would l i k e t o con-
ment.
Assvming we can overcome t h e relu-ctance of educators t o innovate
and t h e uncertai.nty of s o c i e t y a s t o whether it wants t o permit innov a t i o n s even i f t h e y %re w i l l i n g t o t r y , a problem we i ~ ~ ~d ema lt with t h e n ,
i s t h e p o t e n t i a l e t h n o c e n t r i c i t y of t h e teaching s t a f f .
ii lony s e r i e s of' w r i t e r s have h i t 0u.t a t t h e d i s c o n t i n u i t y
between t h e l i f e s t y l e , value system, proisl-em solvin,: techniques and
speech pa;tterns of t h e child. f r m i t h e lower c l a s s Sackgrou-n2 a d . t h a t
of t h e school room organized by and around a middle c l a s s teacher,
::,Ulere t h e t e a c h e r and. -the stu6en-ts s h a r e back[:rounds,
they a l s o share
wags of t h i n k i n , speech p a t t e r n s a d . vocabulary, t h e recognition t h a t
sone t h i n g s are rnore valuable t h a n o t h e r s a d t h e designation of those
thinzs.
'Teachini-;-i s c e r t a i n l y e a s i e r and u s v a l l y moye e f f e c t i v e ,
"ie
t e a c h e r i s mch. rnore a p t t o be aware of and s e n s i t i v e t o t h e emotional
climates, pressures a-nd. t e n s i o n s which mizht be operatiny on t h e c h i l d
and be a b l e t o use o r modify them,
Xhere t h e t e a c h e r and t h e s t u d e n t
do n o t share a common backsround t'ne job of creatinc; a g o d l e a r n i n g
s i t u a t i o n i s conplicated,
That i t i s n o t impossi'ole has been a i n p 1 ~
simply because t h e t e a c h e r ri?ust consciously wor'; out t h e f a c t o r s
operating on h i s s t ~ ~ d e n it n
s many d i f f e r e n t s i t c a t i o n s .
t e n s i o n s which t h e y thenselves ma.y f i n 6 it dif'ficult
P r e s s w e s a,nd
or i ~ o s s i b l et o
d i s c u s s or explain, m s t be i d e n t i f i e d by t h e t e a c h e r i f they a r e ,
once aqain, t o be usc4 or mitigated.
Occasionally as w e l l , t h e a c t i o n s
pxhich t h e teacher and the student t'nink a p p r o p r i a t e r o r a s p e c i f i c
s i . t u a t i o n m y c i i f f e r ; i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of each o t h e r s 1 a c t i o n s nay a l s o
Sliffer because of t h e d i s p a r i t y between back,.;rouncis.
The r e s u l t i n g
a t t i t u d e of t h e t e a c h e r towarc! t h e c h i l d and h i s r e s u l t i n g teachin2
s t y l e w l l l have tremendous influence on t h e s e l f irm2e of t h e c h i l d and
on t h e q u a n t i t y and q u a l i t y of t h e s u c c e s s f u l e q e r i e n c e s of t h e c h i l d
i n t h e school s e t t i n g .
Xhe r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r j'nakin~t h e appropriate
response t o such a s i t u a t i o n l i e s q u i t e c l e a r l y with t h s t e a c h e r and.
t h e scliool and not w i t h t h e child.
9cutsch puts t h i s very important
p o i n t a s b l u ~ t l yand a s force:fully a s it can be put.
Iie says,
The r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r devising m e t h d s of teaching
c h i l d r e n I r o n discontinuous environmmts r e s t s s o l e l y
~ ~ i tth h
e school. If t h e c h i l d r e n a r e not I-carninq i n
school--as has been made abundantly c1ea.r. i n many studies-then t h e f a u l t l i e s with t h e cwriculum, oryanization
and methods of t h e school, not with t h e c h i l d r e n or
t h e i r parents.
(1967: v i i i )
The e t h n o c e n t r i c teacher i s aware of t h e d i f f e r e n c e s which
e x i s t between t h e behavior p a t t e r n s of t h e c h i l d r e n aux! h i s own.
However,
h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e i r a c t i o n s i s i n terms of h i s awn background
and he i s e i t h e r unaware of t h e i r a m i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o r assumes t h e y
a r e using t h e same standards as 5 i ~ s e l f . I!e i s wearinq g l a s s e s which
e i t h e r give everything a colour from a very s p e c i f i c ranSe or b l o t it
out completely.
,
The term 3eutsch uses t o desiqnate t h e c h i l d r e n he i s
referrin:
t o i n t h e a'bove reference i s 'dFsadvantazedl.
w r i t e r , ilaviyhurst, & f i n e s t h i s term a s follows:
t1
Another
.,. those who
l a c k t h e knowledge, s k i l l s and a t t i t u d e s which enable peonle t o maint a i n themselves and t o achieve econortic a d - p r s o n a l s e c u r i t y i n t h e
contemporary urban environment."
(1965:
5 ) It i s most important t o
r e a l i z e t h a t t h e majority of t h e c h i l d r e n on t h e Capilano ieserve do
not come from c u l t u r a l l y o r s o c i a l l y d i s a d v a n t a p d homes.
'There a r e
some who do come from homes where unerflployment, alcohol.ism, and poverty
a c t a s i n t e r r e l a t e d and d i s i n t e g r a t i n g f o r c e s on Eaxily morale and cohesion,
There a r e a few, from environments l i k e t h e s e , who could be
c a l l e d s o c i a l l y and economica1l.y disactvantaqed.
'lowever, usin.; t h e t e r n s
of reference s u p d i e d Erom Sahn on page f o u r of Chapter 1 of t h i s study,
t h e r e s i d e n t s of t h e Capilano Reserve could be described a s lower c l a s s
on t h e economic s c a l e ,
Thus, t h e problems mentioned beEore caused by
t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n background between t e a c h e r a i d p u p i l a r e a p a r t of t h e
_-orgate scene, even though t h e majority of the c h i l d r e n do not s d f e r
frori t h e s e v e r i t y of t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s described by w r i t e r s l i k e
Ilavighurst and. Deutsch.
\ ~ P l i l et h e r e s i d e n t s of t h e Capilano leserve have been
ascribed a lower c l a s s s t a t u s using t h e measures of income a d education,
t h e si5;nificant matter i n t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e t e a c h e r s a t
A o r ~ a t ei s t h a t t h e y a r e Indian.
*Tawthornwarns a y a i n s t confusing t h e
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c value system and s o c i a l behavior p a t t e r n s of t h e lower
c l a s s and t h e Indians.
A t times t h e r e i s an obvious surface s i m i -
1.55
l i t
Zowever, t h e r a t i o n a l e behind t h e a c t i o n s of t h e two :youps
may be e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t makin5 t h e s i m i l a r i t y q u i t e s u ~ e r f i c i a l .
iot only do I n d i a n c h i l d r e n share some of t h e d.iscontinuity
experienced by c h i l d r e n from lower c l a s s homes when bhey meet t h e middle
c l a s s t e a c h e r and classroon, they a l s o suffer from a sharper d i s c o n t i n u i t y
apd occasional c l a s h because t h e teacher i s from t h e dominant c u l t u r e
a s w e l l a s b e i q middle c l a s s .
Let me s t r e s s a . g a i n t h a t it i s t h e r e s -
~ o n s i ' o i l i t ;of~ t h e school an3 t h e t e a c h e r t o make school a, successful
l e a r n i n g experience f o r t h e child.
Ahere t h e t e a c h e r does not see or
cannot uiderstand t h i s d i s c o n t i n u i t y , t h i s job becolxes more d i f fi c u l t ,
Phis i s t h e ethnocentric teacher.
->
e ,X.o r e w e d i s c u s s t h e s i t u a t i o n a t T!or(:ate i n more r i e t a i l one
point m u s t be xade.
3 u r i q t h e twelve nonths
T shared a s t a f f room w i t h
thepi, t h e t e a c h e r s a t ' ' o r ~ a t edemonstrate6 c l e a r l y t h a t t h e y were prof e s s i o n a l t e a c h e r s w i t h t h e b e s t i n k e r e s t of t h e i r p u p i l s a t hearJc who
d i d t h e i r jobs conscientiously.
'!?hey were p l e a s a n t people w i t h t h e usual
mixture of human s t r e n g t h s and weaknesses such a s can be Tound i n any
s t a f f room, board room o r lunch room anywhere.
ii statement such a s t h i s
i s necessary so Lhat no c a r i c a t u r e i s made up by t h e reader from any
cornbination of statements taken from t h e e a r l i e r chapters.
c a r i c a t u r e of a t e a c h e r prcscnt i n t h a t school.
t o lidx t o y e t h e r viewpoints on t h e various t o p i c s .
reasons f o r tlxi.5.
There was no
To attenipt has been made
'There a r e three
$imt,beill? hlman, t h e t e a c h e r s were i n c o n s i s t e n t
a.nci while they acted. upon a s t a t e d conviction i n one a.rea they would
express views and a c t i o n s a t sorie variance t o t h e previous ones i n another
area.
Second, i n terms of t h e o v e r a l l theme of t h e study t h e r e was
3-56
no useFul pu-rpose t o such a lin1n'ca:i;8. Third, w i t h any lintcing t o y e t h e r
ol" viewpoints -he i d e n t i t i e s
3, established.
0;
t h e various t e a c h e r s could more e a s i l y
This was t o be avoided, s i n c e , a.gain, it could serve
n:, u s c f v l p - r p o s e and would c e r t a i n l y be unethical.
iIavin2 s a i d t h a t , it must be s t a t e d t h a t t h e e t h n o c e n t y i c i t y
of t h e ~ aJi o r i t yof t h e s t a f f w a s r e l a t e d t o t h e
1017
c q e c t a t i m s a&
was one of -t"l s i 3 n i f i c a n t c o n t r i b u t i . n ~f a c t o r s t o t h e l o w academic perfoyrnance of t h e Indian p u ~ i l s .
centric.
dot a l l of t h e stay? was equally ethno-
Sone were only r ~ l i l d l yso i n some areas.
come under t h a t d e f i n i t i o n a t a l l .
ethnocentric i s b e s t judge6
Chapters 2,
3 a ~ 4.
d
'OJJ
One teacher <id not
The degree t o which t h e staCf was
lookin2 a t t i e 5reakdvm of views i n
:lowever, where it occu:r-i.ed, t h i s l a c k of knowledge
of t h e c u l t u r a l and. s o c i a l backgrounds of t h e chilchren, t h e e f f e c t s of
t h e c o n t r a s t of those bac!:,<rolmds with t h e i r own, and t h e outcome i n
terms of behavior of bot3 t h e backgrounds and t h e p o s s i b l e c o n f l i c t s - t h i s l a c k oP li?zo>~led=e
was an ~ m d
oubted hindrance t o tlic c r e a t i o n of an
ePf e c t i v e learniry
-L
-
situation
t h e ii-divFdual n
Iad
ni
st~~dent.
w i l l use t h r e e examples t o i l l u s t r a i e t h e e'thnocen-tricity
t o which i r e f e r .
Clea1-i7_inesswas mentionec: voll~.i~tari7_y
by a l l but one
02 tile t e a c h e r s durin.; t h e course ol" t h e j.ntc?rviews.
;or t h e majority
it was used. a s a ha.ndy measuring stic'c; those who wow I l , r h t clothin.;
and obviously sought a r t e r c l e a n l i n e s s were a t t r i b u t e d r;rea-ter d r i v e
and 6 e s i r e t h a n those who tended t o wear heavy pz~ll!oiersand sweaters
and. nore f r e q u e n t l y had d i r t on t h e i r hands, bekin?. t h e i r e a r s , etc.
The s i . n i f i c a n c e or" a l l t h i s i s not ~ d i e t h e r ,i n ? a c t , t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p
existed.
The s i y i f i c a n c c i s i n t h e choice of neasurcnents used.
33;
a<veratise:,ients, wliich i n d i c a t e ';he
c l a s s success syx5ols a r c
WOE
c l a s s ex~ec'cedt o buy, a.11 t h e middle
or l o s t accordin;. t o t h e y-esence or
absegce of t h e rir;ht s n e U and t h e a p p r o p r i a t e h a i r coldition.
For
i n d i v i d u a l s t o i s n o r e or be blind t o the non-endin(: '3.landishents of t h e
purveyors of t h e a i d s t o c l e a n l i n e s s , evidenced by t h e i r non-use, i s
t o proclaim a r e j e c t i o n of t h o s e yoa.1-s and t h e neans of a t t a i n i n g them.
This i s an e t h n o c e n t r i c viewpoint.
iAost of t h e t e a c h c r s d i d not urderstand t h e efPects t h e
schoolin-; of t h e o l d e r Tcm3.ian nareuits had had on t h e i r a t t i t u d e s t o w a d
t h e acadenic rxobl-ens oZ t h e cliildren o r t h e job or t h e school.
%en
thou.$ all. o_"t h e t e a c h e r s wozild have known t h a t the a n o u t OC schoolinf;
boardin'; school., t h e y s t i l l - tended t o i n t e r p r e t t h e parents1 .words and
actions i n the li:ht
of r e a c t i o n s they could have expoctcd Crotn someone
u i t h a .nic?dle c l a s s eciu-cational experience.
viewyoin t
'This i-s an ethnocentric
.
A l l or the t e a c h e r s saw t h e pre-school e x p r i e n c e oLC t i e
I n d i a n child-ren a s one of t h e ~ i a j o rsources of SiCfi_culty f o r t3ose
children.
3. considerable m a j o r i t y of t h e t e a c h e r s tended t o s e e t h e
;?ap i n !p-reparation f o r academic s u b j e c t s a s a yea-,- nissin.: f r o n t h e
ch5.1dts exyerie~?ces;t h a t i s , he was a vea:- b e l i i ~ d . ?'ow t h e r e i s no
1.58
question t h a t aaqy, not al..l, of "LC?ku:ia!i
c l ~ i l d r e l weye
l
c l e a r l y not
a s w e l l prepared f o r mary or" t h e s k i l l s -ta.u-:~ht
i n p a d e olle a s nlost of
.I-1
LOC:
::'!~ite c h i l l r e n .
onlg.
? o ~ ~ e v e tr h, i s i s bein:- behind. i n a s p e c i a l serlse
P i r s t , t h e increasifig emphasis on t r e a t i n g t h e c h i l d a s an
individua.1 means that, t h e teacher ta!ces t h e chi16 :Crom w!lerever t h a t
c h i l d may be a t t h e poj.nt or contact,
If t h i s i s t h e professed p r D o s e
of t h e toacheys, then it i s i!-loyical i n t h e broad s e m e t o say t h a t a
cliilc2 .is a year behind.
Second., i n t h e e a r l y primary years t h e cbl.bd was
expected t o adapt t o t h e school's methods am1 reasons f o r l e a r n i n ? , allof which were desic;ned with t h e majoyity of t h e children i n view--the
middle c l a s s blhite children.
'I'here was a very limited attempt, i f any,
past t h e l e v e l of t h e kindergarten t o u t i l i z e t h e c h i l d ' s bacl:~roul?d.
It c e r t a i n l y d.id not f i t i n t o t n e standa-rd approach t o Learning with t h e
same ease a s t h a t of t h e childsen f r o x -3orgate Park, b u t t h a t was t h e
school ' s problem,
not t h e clzild s r e s p o n s i b i l i t y .
To he taught most e f f e c t i v e l y , p u p i l s nust be handlod i n d i v i dually.
,This i s an impossible, or a t b e s t i r r e l e v a n t aim unless a s many
f a c t o r s a s possible impinc.;ins on t h e c h i l d ' s perfomance a r e iamm and.
t h i s knowledge u t i l i z e d .
,The teachers i n t h i s school were i n t h i s s i t u a t i o n through no
r e f u s a l t o l e a r n about . t h e i r students or th:rough a lack of concorii, but
because those of them who were ethnocentric were unaware o-? t h e f a c t .
None of t h e teachers had. t h e appropriate back~roundst o make them aware
of t h e inherent dansers of ethnocentricism i n crllture contact s i t u a t i o n s .
Three of t h e teachers had had previous experience i n teaching
--
.Lndian c h i l d r e n but none T e l t t h a t t h i s was a f a c t o r i n t h e i r s e l e c t i o n
I59
f o r a p o s i t i o n a t I:lo~ti;a.te, This vle~rl.bras confiylned by an o f f i c i a l a t
t h e School 3oard who explained t h a t t h e r e was no policy of s e l e c t i m
L-,
s p e c i a l b y qualified. s t a f f f o r any elementary school i n t h e d i s t r i c t for
standarc? teaching p o s i t i o n s with t h e exception 0.f t h e t r a d i t i o n a l
a r e a s of s p e c i a l i z a t i o n , a r t , music, and physical education,
IIe
s t a t & t h a t t h e School % a d d i d not see ' b o r a t e a s a s p e c i a l or d i f Cerent school t o t h e degree t h a t it required special. a t t e n t i o n .
'This vie.c\r may seem curious i n t h e l i g h t of t h e usual academic
yecords of t h e Lndian pu:?ils i n both t h e elementary and secondary schools
of t h e D i s t r i c t , however, a s i s t r u e i n any medi.m-sized
school d i s t y i c l ,
they were simply one of a number of g r o u p of c h i l d r e n from various
a r e a s who see~neclt o be behind. t h e majority.
Oil
This view was al-so based
information supplied by t h e p r i n c i p a l s of a i l t h e schools i n t h e
d i s t r i c t which rei;istered Indian pupils.
The p:cincipalsl generalized
view was t h a t i n t e g r a t i o n was t h e lonz term s o l u t i o n t o t h e educational
problerns and it had. t o happen n a t u r a l l y and t h a t meant slowly.
Special
treatment f o r Lndian c h i l d r e n would tend t o i s o l a t e the^ a s a croup a d
t h u s ag7ravate t h e problems r a t h e r t h a n a l l e v i a t e them.
The ;parents of
t h e I n d i a n c h i l d r e n x e r e t h e main soulrce of t h e problems i n school i n
any c a s e , s o t h a t u n i l a t e r a l e f f o r t s by t h e school t o help t h e c h i l d r e n
PJOU!,~
have l i t t l e e f f e c t .
1,Iost of t h e :.,roblems: were a l s o not seen a s
r e l a t e d t o t h e c u l t u r a l backgromd of t h e Indian c h i l d r e n but were t h e
salne problems a s those suffered by o t h e r s i n t h e sane econor:lic Sackzround.
idhat can most c l e a r l y be seen from t h e situ-ation invol-vinz
Iioryate school i s t h a t when p o l i c y i s formulated and then continued on
t h e advice of those put i n under t h a t p o l i c y , a self-reinforcinp; c i r c l e
160
i s Tamed.
'The c i r c l e i s lef:iti.mat'ely no one's f a u l t and i s o d g
darnagirq when t h e p o l i c y i s i n c o r r e c t ,
'Tevertheless, t h e c i r c l e i s
there.
I b e l i e v e t h a t teachers must be matched i n t c r w of s k i l l s
and a b i l i t i e s wit5 t h e p o s i t i o n s which have t o be f i l l e d .
' T o r ~ a t er e -
q u i r e s t,eachsrs who, l i k e any good t e a c h e r , are s e n s i t i v e to t h e needs
of t h e ind.ividua1 p u p i l , b u t , a s w e l l , have t h e t r a i n i n ? , pre-service
or in-service or both, t o u t i l i z e most e f f e c t i v e l y t h a t s e n s i t i v i t y t o
zuide s t u d e n t s whose c u l t u r a l and s o c i a l back~round*{ive them c e r t a i n l y
d i f f e r e n t , and a t times p e a t e r problems t h a n t h e c h i l d r e n around them
from Lorgate Park,
It i s t r u e t h a t education i s t h e v i t a l key to t h e padlock on
t h e door of equal opportunity i n t h e dominant s o c i e t y ,
T-Tordeve.r,s i n g l i n g
out t h e I n d i a n c h i l d r e n by s e l e c t i n ? t e a c h e r s equip-ped t o t u r n t h e key
i s not t h e same as p r o v i d i n ~%he Indian c h i l d w i t h a push throuzh t h e
d-oor,
The e x t e n t t o whi-ch t h e c h i l d and t h u s t h e a d u l t of tonlorrow
wishes t o i n t e g r a t e i s a d e c i s i o n e x c l u s i v e l y h i s .
?awthoTn s p e l l s out
t h e balancing f a c t o r s and f o r c e s v e r y neatly.
,\lthoq;h t h e school n e c e s s a r i l y teaches techniques and
values Prom t h e Ilhite c u l t u r e , it need not c r e a t e a dilemma
i n which it m u s t l i n e up i t s o b j e c t i v e s exclusivel.y e i t h e r
wit'n t h e values of t h e kjlnite o r those of t h e Indian cult u r e s . I n a number of ways t h e f amilry and t h e c h i l d ?nust
make choices between c u l t u r e s . The school, however, need
not t r y t o make t h i s choice f o r them. I t s most u s e f u l
r o l e i s civing t h e c h i l d t h e equipment s o t h a t he has a
r e a l p o s s i b i l i t y 01choice i n jobs, i n speech, i n a s s o c i a t e s
and i n conrunity. The school can b e s t achieve t h i s by
m p h a s i z i n ~i n d i v i d u a l g;ro+rth r a t h e r t h a n c ultur-a1 change.
( ;lawthorn 1958: 639)
The aim of education t h e n , i s broazer t h a n t h e democratization
of o ~ p o r t u n i t g ,or even t h e t r a i n i n ; needed for d e c i s i o n makin? by
education, Indian education included, with a r a r e c l a r i t y a& beauty.
They do not give a point by point program t o success; r a t h e r , they
give t h e funciamental d i r e c t i o n with which a l l s u c c e s s f u l proyams
must be aligned.
The underlying aim of education i s '60 f u r t h e r man's
u n e n d i . i search f o r t r u t h . Once he possesses t h e means t o
t r u t h a l l e l s e i s w i t h i n h i s grasp. !Jisdo:r and understarkling,
s e n s i t i v i t y , compassion, and responsi'oility, a s w e l l a s
i n t e l l e c t u a l honesty and personal i n t e i ~ r i t yw i l l be h i s
~ u i d e si n adolescence andl h i s companions i n maturity.
...
This i s t h e messa:e which must f i n d iJcs way i n t o t h e
children. This i s t h e key t o open a l l
minds of a l l
doors. it i s t h e i n s t r m e n t which w i l l break t h e shackles
of ignorance, of doubt and of f r u s t r a t i o n ; t h a t w i l l t a k e
a l l who respond t o i t s c a l l out of t h e i r poverty, t h e i r
slums, and t h e i r d e s p a i r ; t h a t w i l l spur t h e t a l e n t e d t o f i n d
h e i z h t s of achievement and provide every c'rild with t h e
experience of success; t h a t w i l l g i v e mobility t o t h e c r i p p l e d ;
t h a t w i l l i l l u n i n a t e t h e dark world of t h e b l i n d and bring
t h e deaf i n t o com%union with -the hearin.;; t h a t w i l l c a r r y
of
solacc t o t h e disordered of mind, imagery t o t h e s l a ~
w i t , ax! pcace t o t h e emotionally d i s t u r b e d ; t h a t w i l l
nake a11 men b r o t h e r s , equal i n d i g n i t y i f not i n aSili"6y;
a-mi w i l l not t o l e r a t e Z i s p a r i t y of r a c e , colour or crecd.
(Ontario 1963: 9)
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