Malaika Joudry-Martel started a correspondence course in March-this was issued by the province’s Department of Education-and started slowly this week when her mother Shalan Joudry asked to take a look.

“I’m scrolling through, and there are problems with some other languages ??in other units, and my Spider-Man feels very tingling. She said,’Mom, you don’t like aboriginal units,'” Chodry said. Spell her name in lowercase letters.

Homework requirements for boarding school “benefits”

When Joudry scrolled to the last unit, she found an assignment that asked students to read an essay, write down a personal response, and then create a chart based on the essay, listing the “pros” and the disadvantages of being placed in a boarding school.

She said that after Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation in Kamloops, British Columbia, “it was a serious moment to see this” and announced the discovery of an unmarked cemetery believed to be 215 children. boarding school.

At the end of last month, the remains of the children Was found at the scene According to Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, a former boarding school in Kamloops, preliminary findings indicate that this unmarked cemetery may contain the remains of 215 children.

Joudry said that in her small community of L’s?tkuk (also known as the Bear River in Nova Scotia), the generation of children who attended the Shubenacadie boarding school in Nova Scotia “has not gone home smoothly”.

“We are living today under the influence of this school,” she said.

The course also asked students questions such as “Why are poverty and alcoholism prevalent among the indigenous population?” And “Why are the Aboriginal unemployment rate high?”

Joudry said these materials perpetuate the racism and stereotypes of the indigenous people.

“This runs counter to the direction we want to reconcile,” she said.

‘I cried a lot that day’

Joudry-Martel said that when she saw the material for the first time a few weeks ago, she turned off the computer and cried.

“I was very at a loss. I cried a lot that day,” she said. “It hurts too much.”

She said it was disturbing to think that other students could read these materials and treat them as facts.

“They will say,’Well, this is a fact, this is true.’ So they will carry it with them, and then in the future, they will still believe because it will stay with them,” she said.

Correspondence courses are self-study, there is no teacher, but students’ work will be sent to the marker for evaluation.

Joudry wrote a post on Facebook about the content of the course on Wednesday. The post was eventually sent to Minister of Education Derek Mombourquette, who called her the next morning to apologize and told her that the material had been deleted.

Secretary of Education response

Mombourquette told CBC News on Thursday that he was not sure about the age of the course materials or what kind of approval process it went through before sending it to students.

“This is an oversight, it happened, it shouldn’t have happened. I am sorry that it made the students,” he said on Thursday.

Mombourquette said that this material was created in 2003, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission issues its recommendations In 2015.

Mombourquette said that the province is phasing out correspondence courses, but he is now ordering a review of all such courses to ensure they meet provincial standards.

He said that the content of that class did not reflect the general curriculum of the province.

“We worked closely with our Elder Mi’kmaw to design treaty education and education around boarding schools based on the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” he said.

Mombourquette thanked the family for coming forward and asking this question.

He said that approximately 75 students are taking correspondence courses and the department is contacting everyone for support.

Anyone affected by the boarding school experience and those affected by the latest report can receive support.

A nationwide Indian boarding school crisis hotline has been established to provide support to former students and those affected. People can call the 24-hour national crisis hotline: 1-866-925-4419 for emotional and crisis referral services.