residential schools have brought a lot more negative effects to the children that attended them

 residential schools have brought a lot more negative effects to the children that attended them

Residential schools were government-funded religious schools founded to assimilate Aboriginal children into Euro-Canadian culture. They were publicly funded but were run by various religious organizations. Residential schools were aimed at institutionalizing assimilation by robbing Native communities of their language, culture, and family relation. The schools, however, disturbed lives and cultures, creating long-term problems among Aboriginal peoples. The purpose of this paper is to bring out the fact that residential schools have brought a lot more negative effects to the children that attended them.

First, residential schools were bad because they brought about isolation and assimilation of the children that schooled in them. Kids as young as four were ripped from their families and put in facilities that had been chronically underfunded, mismanaged, and inadequately staffed (Wilk, Maltby & Cooke, 2017). Such kids were also isolated from their siblings as they divided the schools according to gender. They too off their home clothes and all got dressed in uniforms. For boys, they were all forced to cut their hair. In most cases, it was a native-speaking offence. Christian missionary staff spent a great deal of time and effort on Christian teachings while at the same time challenging or denigrating Indigenous cultural values.

Moreover, many students at residential schools experienced abuse and violence in different ways. Some of the workers in residential schools were sexual predators. According to Ingrassia (2018), this led to several students being sexually harassed. Whenever there was any case reported by students, staff, or even parents, no severe action was taken by the church or even government officials. Police were rarely consulted, and even if officials from the government or church felt the case had substance, the response was always simply to fire the offender. On other occasions, they authorized the abuser to continue to teach. Although some workers tried to be good teachers and parental surrogates, even the best of intentions were thwarted by the institutional structure and the amount of work. Lack of patience and discipline sometimes resulted in severe punishment, such as physical violence. In some other cases, kids were severely beaten, bound, or restricted.

On the other hand, one positive effect residential schools brought is that it instilled the virtue of self-discipline among the students. At the residential schools, the everyday activities were strictly controlled by timetables (Partridge, 2010). The children woke up early for chapel attendance. This was followed by the daily chores until they took breakfast in the dining hall, which was eaten very quickly. Three hours of lessons or time of work followed before the lunch break. A similar pattern followed the afternoon schedule, with either work or classes, accompanied by more tasks before taking supper. This routine made the students more organized and more self-reliant among themselves.

Conclusion

While some children may have had positive experiences, many former students were trapped in two worlds: stripped of their languages and customs, they were left alone to deal with the trauma of their schooling experience and to try to adapt to the way of life they were conditioned to reject (Lafrance & Collins, 2003). To several, life after residential school was marred by alcohol and drug abuse, cycles of aggression, depression, rage, hopelessness, loneliness, shame, guilt, and parental incapacity. It is therefore, evident that residential schools brought no good to these kids that attended them.

References

Ingrassia, A. (2018). The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in the UK: reflecting on the mental health needs of victims and survivors. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 213(4), 571-573.

Lafrance, J., & Collins, D. (2003). Residential schools and Aboriginal parenting: Voice of parents.

Partridge, C. (2010). Residential schools: The intergenerational impacts on Aboriginal peoples.

Wilk, P., Maltby, A., & Cooke, M. (2017). Residential schools and the effects on Indigenous health and well-being in Canada—a scoping review. Public health reviews, 38(1), 8