Aboriginals in Residential and Adult Schools

This paper is an analysis of the aboriginals found in Canada. It consists of an annotated bibliography of their lives and experiences particularly in residential schools and literacy offering institutions for the attainment of entrepreneurial skills. It also mentions briefly on the part played by the truth and reconciliation commission in ensuring their peaceful settlement and regained feelings of self-worth. The National Aboriginal Design Committee also plays a very vital role in this paper as it works towards ensuring that all the aboriginals access basic literacy. Education to them is considered more as a tool of adding wisdom about the world rather than a pathway of gaining cognitive knowledge. According to this paper, a big number of aboriginals believe on the notion that knowledge is sacred as it is an important aspect derived from creation.

The aboriginals in Canada have been categorized to include to a large extent, Inuit and Metis. These two communities have for a long time served as the role models for the aboriginal community as a whole. The have assisted in sharing their culture and have also acted as perfect examples of the illiteracy levels in aboriginals as well as their predicaments in residential schools. The selected articles in this paper clearly show the impacts of implementation of literacy institutions to the aboriginals.

Annotated bibliography:

ATB 2 Aboriginal Adult Literacy: Nourishing Their Learning Spirits - Literature Review  (Nov. 2008)

This article analyses the success realized in implementing literacy to the aboriginals. It also responds to the objectives and wants of the aboriginal learners. It appreciates their identity as aboriginals and their intellectual traditions collectively. It provides comprehensive information concerning the literacy field as well as the stakeholders concerning understanding and nurturing the Learning Spirit. Family literacy has been addressed as a lifelong learning and thus begins even before one is formed in the womb including all ages. The aboriginals also have a belief that learning continues even after death in the spirit world and thus the strong bond among their society in all generations.

This review is of great importance at shows the impacts of learning in the creation of individuals with much accountability. Literacy plays a great role in determining the course of people, their future and specifically empowers the society in gracing the future. Self-doubt has been minimized in aboriginal students, and thus they easily discover and make use of their inherent capacities and gifts. Literacy initiates a positive cultural identity especially to the adults and in the process they unlearn the already internalized information.

Position Paper on Aboriginal Literacy Prepared by The National Aboriginal Design Committee October 2002

This paper is concerned with the issues discussed and analyzed by the National Aboriginal Design Committee (NADC) when they met in Toronto in October 1998. They surveyed the over ninety already set up aboriginal programs that were also run by aboriginals. This article also focuses on practitioners in the non-aboriginal program and how they seek assistance from NADC since some aboriginal learners are often found learning at their institutions. Additionally the non-aboriginal practitioners have already engaged themselves in teaching their students literacy that include both quantitative and qualitative results like the aboriginals thus the more reason they need NADC assistance. This paper has also analyzed how programs have been made to be community-based and learner-centered and in the same case have focused on the implementation of a holistic approach through literacy.

Several impacts can be drawn from this paper including the fact that NADC has managed to a certain level to place literacy into culture instead of the other way round where culture is fit into literacy.  The aboriginals also have been assisted greatly since they have maintained a positive cultural identity. Additionally, literacy has been identified as the basis for the aboriginals to promote entrepreneurial skills, to create jobs and as a means for the provision training programs for future success of the nation at large.

The Transformative Nature of Culture-based Literacy Provision in Native Literacy Programs

Master of Arts 2006 Nancy Lorraine Cooper

This paper supports the aboriginal’s point of view that education goes beyond the mere accumulation of cognitive knowledge around the physical world. It explores how the literacy programs are related to skill building and the outcomes of cultural teachings and culture being the origin of learning. The transformative effects of learning to both the native adult learner and the literacy practitioner are also closely examined.  Effective methods that assist the native adult learners to achieve their goals in education and repossess their cultural identity are also provided.

This paper has shown great significance to the society. It is a reliable paper that is very much relevant with the issue being discussed. Social networks have been improved greatly while the aboriginals have had a sense of belonging with the improved environment that seems to appreciate their worth and encourage the acquisition of knowledge. It has encouraged the research of effective practices for the native adult learners in order to facilitate the best services to be offered by the practitioners.