Takeo Uyesugi

Education Psychology 3502

Survivor Speaks - Forced Depature

Synopsis: This story describes the experiences of children along with their parents as they were
informed about having their kids forcibly leaving their lives and families behind. It includes
families first receiving letters informing them that their kids had to attend residential schools all
the way to when they would return home and beg to not go back. Most stories discussed how
they did not want to attend, but had to because if not, it would result in their parents having to go
to jail.

Passage: A focus throughout most stories was how the children were frustrated and had emotions
escalate when they were not able to be a part of the decision-making process to go to residential
schools. These emotions rose even higher if they didn’t know why they had to go. Paul Dixon
who attended residential schools in Ontario and Quebec said,
Once he spoke to his father about his experience at the schools. According to Dixon, “He
got angry and said, ‘I had no choice, you know.’ It really, it really hit me hard. I wasn’t
accusing him of anything, you know, I just wanted some explanations.

Thought-provoking question: When are instances in the classroom when educators can let kids
have choices and help them not feel excluded from their own learning process?

Group Discussion:
My group all quickly agreed that having to leave your family and life behind without a
choice would be extremely difficult. It likely causes trauma to those individuals that we will not
be able to fully understand no matter how much we try to. We then discussed how if students do
not know why they are learning something and have a choice in their assignments or projects,
they will likely become less engaged and possibly not even care about learning. Some ways my
group talked about giving students choices in the classroom include providing opportunities for
students to express their individuality, creating opportunities that celebrate everyone’s
differences, and providing different options for kids to express their learning. Not all
assignments in English should be essays, and not all math assignments should be tests on paper.
Students will learn more and feel included when educators learn about their preferences and
strengths.
 Reference
Arthurson, W. (2015). The survivors speak: A report of the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission of Canada. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.