Tercer Trámite Constitucional: Cámara de Diputados

Resistance to learning about Treaty Education was also perceived to be a barrier. This resistance came in the form of parents who questioned or pushed back on Treaty content.

Sometimes teachers feel that parental influence when they are covering Treaty Education content. Morgan: I think some of the barriers for Treaty Education stems from

generational difference. A lot of the parents of kids who are in school right now learning this information, they didn’t have this education, so they’re stuck in more old-fashioned ideas. Or racist ideas, without realizing it. Then those ideas get passed onto the kids, and I find it hard to get past that. The information being handed down is one of the barriers for sure.

Racism is learned, and Morgan believes that parents are teaching their children racist views. These views become barriers to the learning.

James has also faced resistance from students. He believes that it stems from students learning something that their parents never learned.

James: It starts with students usually, but I think it also comes from a different

worldview at home. The students are getting two different messages. That seemed to be the biggest challenge that I’ve had. The student come to school and say, “That’s not important, that’s not what my parents think is right, or is what happened.” That’s the biggest challenge.

Perceiving parental resistance through students can be daunting for teachers who worry about confrontations and backlash. These moments are tense for teachers who question what they are covering and if they will be supported in the face of a parental challenge. For James, he felt lucky

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to have the support of the Indigenous Student Advocate. That person’s job is to represent

Indigenous students when there is a conflict between an Indigenous student and a teacher. James went to her for advice on how to deal with parental push back. She advised him to phone the students’ parent.

James: So, I went to the Indigenous Advocate and asked, “How would I handle

this?” She said, “I experience this all the time. Why don’t you call the parents? So, I went back up and called the parents right away. And just opening up those discussions. And soon as you open up the discussion, sometimes they’re difficult, and you just start to listen and hear the point of view and give a few simple reasons for why you’re doing it. Real basic. Don’t try to go into the depths of Treaty Education, but reasons why learning different world views, cultures, and ways of life are important. It slowly starts to break down.

In this scenario, James was able to diffuse the pushback with dialogue and explanation. In some situations, this is not always the case. He explains a time when a student resisted so strongly that they refused to attend school.

James: But with one student, in particular, they became so resistant, stopped

coming to class. Didn’t wanna learn about Treaty, didn’t want to learn about what happened on this land. That was history class. So, then we had to get the parents in, have a meeting with admin and the Indigenous Student Advocate. In this case, with the support of administration and others, the student was able to return to school.

Participants also described that another form of resistance to Treaty Education is students’ complaints. Sometimes students complain that they have already learned Treaty Education

material and wonder why they have to continue learning the same thing every year. Morgan: I think a big obstacle, specifically at [her school] is the feeling that

there is too much. They’re tired of learning about it. But when I ask them basic questions about it, they can’t answer them. So, on the one hand, they’re saying ‘oh, we don’t want to learn about this anymore,’ but on the other hand when I ask them basic questions, they don’t know enough. They’re still fighting with the knowledge. They don’t have the knowledge to make decisions. But, for us to reach the goal of Treaty Education, we’re not there.

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It would be easy to dismiss the students’ complaints as ordinary–– students complain often about having to learn about a variety of topics. However, these complaints should not be dismissed so easily, as Morgan points out.

Morgan: I hate that it’s their reaction. But it is a part of their experience that

can’t be ignored either. What’s the perfect amount of learning about it, or the best way to learn about it, without it becoming something they’re sick of hearing about? Because you don’t want it to fall on deaf ears.

When asked if this may be happening because educators are teaching the same things over and over in different grades, Morgan mentioned that her students struggled with concepts around power and privilege. She thought that the issue was so important that it had to be tackled more than one time. She also spoke to the resourcing of Treaty Education and anti-oppressive education.

Morgan: I think anything that can be simplified, and we should avoid repetition

in it. Make very easy, teacher ready things. Like copy this, here’s a video, here’s some questions to go with it. Just to make it really easy for people who are diving into it for the first time.

Morgan felt that the push back against Treaty content from students is not something that we should dismiss, but instead address to find a solution. As well, she points out that better resources will help teachers who want to teach Treaty Education but have yet to do so.