I: Reflections

In doing this reading, I learned that there is a huge political component to the education of children. I did not realize that schools in 19th Century Canada were geared towards being institutions of social and political influence for the ways in which children would think later in life. Reflecting on this topic, it is evident even in the 21st Century that the school is an institution that emphasizes order and control. Depending on the location of a school, the children will be influenced in different ways, both politically and socially. Furthermore, this week I learned how school systems were tailored to the geographical locations in the country. We talked about access to education and how different policies were implemented to tailor the schooling to the unique locations in Canada. Although curriculum is standardized by province today, it is likely that differences are still seen today depending where in Canada you are teaching and learning. For example, students in the Maritimes would likely learn different material in Social Studies, for example a focus on Acadians, whereas students in British Columbia learn more about how Chinese immigrants were forced to build the railway.