In a paper by Don Drummond and Ellen Katchuck Rosenbluth, they have staggering figures to show the underfunding schools on reserves have faced for years. The figure below show the discrepancy of funding from 1996-2011 per student between provincially run schools compared to a First Nations run schools.
(https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/171129/dq171129a-eng.htm)
This figure shows how we are not allowing Indigenous children on reserve to have the same opportunities as those off reserve. This is directly impacting students daily lives and this is why there is a need for charities like Books with no Bounds, to make up for where the government is lacking. We can also look at the graduation rates of student on reserve versus off. When students live on reserve their graduation rate is 35.3% as of 2011 compared to 78% when looking at all of Canada. More recently an article by CBC news states that in 2016 it is projected that “the federal government spent $336 million to $665 million less than would be needed to provide educations comparable to those students get elsewhere.” (CBC, 2019) These are some of Canada’s most vulnerable learners and yet we are not supporting them financially.
In response to this inequality, this is where our school and Books with no Bounds can come in to help support remote reserve schools. They do not have easy access to book stores or the proper funding to buy books. We can support Books with no Bounds by providing them with gift cards to places like Indigo so they can buy the books that these reserve schools need. To help gain funds, I am proposing various classroom and school wide fundraisers for the 2019-2020 school year. In my own classroom, starting in November, I would like to start planning a fundraiser that is student led. It could be a coin drive, bake sale, bottle drive, or some other initiative that they propose. I would like to do this in November because that is a down time in the school year, before the ramp up to Christmas break. It will also allow my class to be a leaders in spreading information to other classes about Books with no Bounds. By having this be more student led, I believe that we will get more student involvement. After this fundraising campaign I am proposing a whole school fundraiser for later on in the year, possibly for the last day before spring break. This would be run through the library. I am fortunate to see every class once a week for a library prep block. I would do a lesson about Books with no Bounds to help inform students on this charity. A lesson I would do would be to show students this video from The National that hilights the Emma and Julia Mogus as well as some of the pictures from their Facebook page (https://youtu.be/O1jxTxZUnvk). After watching the video and seeing the pictures, I would ask students to do a See, Think, Wonder. Having students think critically about these young entrepreneurs, what they have accomplished so far and comparing what students on reserve have compared to themselves will help students want to help Books with no Bounds. After this lesson I would introduce each class to the whole school fundraising initiative and send home each student with the following notice.
Dear James Hill Families,
This March we will be doing a whole school fundraiser in support of Books with no Bounds. This charity was started in 2011 by two Ontario teenagers. Their goal is to send books to remote First Nations communities in Canada. This is a nonprofit charity that relies solely on volunteers and donations. These remote areas of Canada have no access to bookstores and they have a lack of funding for school libraries. To help support Books with no Bounds we will be doing a whole school fundraiser. We will be doing a “Tape a Teacher to the Wall” fundraiser. For each $5 donation, your student will get a piece of duct tape that they will be able to use to help stick Ms. Anderson to the wall. This will be all be done at a whole school assembly on March _____, 2020. Please bring in your donation by March ____ to your classroom teacher in order to guarantee a piece of duct tape. If you have any questions about Books with no Bounds, check out their Facebook page or ask Ms. Anderson at _______________________.
Thank you for your support,
Ms. Anderson
James Hill Elementary School
My goal is to raise awareness of these communities who do not have access or the opportunity to have the same type of library as we are used to, as well as raising money to support Books with no Bounds. I believe that doing these two fundraisers will help Canadian children and ultimately promote literature in both my own school and across Canada.
References:
“Books with No Bounds.” Facebook, www.facebook.com/bookswithnobounds/.
“CBC - THE NATIONAL Only in Canada - Books With No Bounds.” YouTube, 20 Dec. 2013, youtu.be/O1jxTxZUnvk.
Don Drummond, and Ellen Kachuck Rosenbluth. “The Debate on First Nations Education Funding: Mind the Gap.” Queen’s University: Policy Studies, no. 49, Dec. 2013, qspace.library.queensu.ca/bitstream/handle/1974/14846/Drummond_et_al_2013_Debate_on_First_Nations.pdf?sequence=1.
“How To Do a PTO Duct Tape Fundraiser.” PTO Today, www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/article/7922-duct-taping-the-principal-101.
“Liberals Taking New Approach for First Nations on-Reserve Education Funding | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 21 Jan. 2019, www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/first-nations-on-reserve-school-funding-1.4987134.
Statistics Canada. “Education in Canada: Key Results from the 2016 Census.” The Daily - , 29 Nov. 2017, www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/171129/dq171129a-eng.htm.
Hi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteYou've made a very convincing presentation for the program. It was a smart choice to keep the video short and to the point, it will definitely keep the attention of your audience! The letter home is also a nice addition and way of involving home with the initiative.
This is a service learning opportunity, but I think it is great that you are also highlighting the entrepreneurship aspect of the program and the fact that two young girls made a difference. Hopefully this will inspire your students in pursuing their own projects!
Katelyn
Wow Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteYou have taken great incentive in supporting Books with No Bounds and ensuring that awareness has been Brough forth to the First Nations communities of BC. I especially like that you stated that, "these are some of Canada’s most vulnerable learners and yet we are not supporting them financially." I think when it comes to the First Nations communities many times teachers do not know how to acknowledge or recognize residential schools and the current conditions of reservation First Nations schools. It is very important however that as educators we are aware that not all students are getting equal educational opportunities. I think the statistics were particularly impactful, because it painted a real picture of the situation on hand. I also like that students would be leading because by having them understand the issue you can ensure that the word gets home to parents and the community. Where you thinking of having a Books with No Bounds committee?
By- Jessica Patla
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