In search of a good teacher

Within the city of Timmins, there is a lack of Aboriginal language classes for students attending elementary or secondary schools.

June 10, 2010: Volume 37 #12, Page B1

Steve Pladzyk, superintendent of schools for District School Board Ontario North East, said the issue is not with the number of students who want to learn the language, it’s trying to find instructors to teach the language.

“We don’t have enough teachers willing to come forward, at least here in Timmins,” Pladzyk said.

With a population of around 44,000 in Timmins, some say the Aboriginal population is about a quarter of the total population. Many people from First Nation communities come to the city seeking jobs, housing, healthcare or education.

Jamie Corston is an Aboriginal youth liaison officer serving the schools. Corston said the majority of people from the area are from Cree speaking communities.

She said the school board implemented an Aboriginal self-identification process to determine how many Aboriginal students there are. That identification process helps the board to determine which schools have a high Aboriginal population.

At Timmins High and Vocational School at least 10 per cent of the school population, or about 150 students, are Aboriginal.

“I think it would benefit them (the high school students) to continue on with language and culture,” Corston said. “It would be a great place to have a Cree class where they can feel at home when they hear the language being spoken.”

Elementary schools in the city have an even higher concentration of Aboriginal students.

Gloria Stevens-Champagne, Cree language teacher at Schumacher Public School in Timmins, is one of only a very few language teachers in the city. School officials say despite the growing Aboriginal population in the city, it’s often difficult to find Aboriginal language teachers for local schools.
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According to Pladzyk, Schumacher Public School and Pinecrest Public School have an Aboriginal enrollment around 30 per cent.

“The Aboriginal student population is increasing year to year and we recognize that,” Pladzyk said. “As such, we are doing different programming options around Aboriginal culture and Aboriginal awareness for those students as they increase in numbers.”

Schumacher Public School, because of the high percentage of young Aboriginal students, is the only school within the city fortunate enough to have a Cree language teacher.

Gloria Stevens-Champagne of Fort Albany teaches grades 1 to 6 in a Cree language immersion environment.

Stevens-Champagne likes teaching the children. By placing the students in a circle, she teaches stories that touch upon real life experiences. Because of the growing Aboriginal population in Timmins, she believes more can be done.

“There are so many (Aboriginal) people living in Timmins that they can have their own school,” Stevens-Champagne said.

She said many young Aboriginal students are now being raised in Timmins and they continue to take French language instead of learning their Indigenous language.

“We need young Native language teachers,” she said.

Each year the school board has posted for an Aboriginal language teacher, but there has been a lack of applicants for the position.

“By rights, we would like someone that is qualified to teach Aboriginal language, whether it is Cree, Oji-Cree, even Ojibway,” Pladzyk said.

Native language teaching qualifications are usually provided by programs such as the Native Language Instructor Program at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont., Pladyzk said. But since the loss of language is a huge concern, the school board is flexible when hiring someone to teach Native language classes.

“We are also looking for people, individuals that don’t have any teaching experience but who can speak the language and are willing to work with kids,” Pladzyk said.

An enrollment of eight to 10 students within a school is the minimum requirement to put together a language class, Pladzyk said.

School administrators remain hopeful that the right person will come along to teach the language.

“The school board is willing to take positive risks when it comes to Aboriginal education for students. It’s a challenge to get those resumes in. They need Aboriginal teachers,” Corston said.

In the meantime, the school board continues its relentless search to find prospective Native language teachers.

“We are starting to attempt to contact other school boards in the north and universities, specifically Lakehead, so we can start projecting for September to see what we will be able to offer,” Pladzyk said.

“We would be happy with just one (language teacher) right now.”

***Correction: Gloria Stevens-Champagne is from Constance Lake First Nation not Fort Albany.***