A new graduation requirement means Richmond students must complete a full-year course – four credits – of Indigenous studies starting in the 2023/24 school year.
How students will be able to add this into their course load and why it couldn’t be incorporated into existing history and socials studies classes were some of the queries the Richmond Board of Education had about the new grad requirement.
The announcement came from the Ministry of Education just before spring break - an implementation plan is expected in August – and Jane MacMillan, executive director of learning services, updated the board of education Wednesday on the new requirements.
Some trustees pointed out this could disrupt some students who have already made a two-year plan of the courses they plan to take.
Either students will have to add an extra course to their load or drop an elective, for example, drama or shop, said Trustee Norm Goldstein.
“I don’t see any other options there – what other options would there be?” he asked district staff.
MacMillan said some students might choose a First People’s English course, which could satisfy both the English and Indigenous requirement.
While details have not been worked out yet, students could take an existing course, a First Nations language course or locally developed Indigenous-focused course, she said.
Goldstein further questioned why the ministry didn’t instead incorporate Indigenous history into its “rightful place” in Canadian history courses or Indigenous cultural components into social studies courses.
“Why create new courses when we have courses that can incorporate them properly?” he asked of staff.
MacMillan said, however, having these separate courses in Indigenous studies is the “next iteration in a dedicated way to support deepening that learning,” after Indigenous content has already been incorporated into many aspects of the current curriculum.
After this question, the board chair, Sandra Nixon, told Goldstein that questions should be about the school district and not the intent of the ministry.
“I just want to offer a gentle reminder if we can focus on the work that the district does. Questions to do with the mindset of the ministry or the government probably are probably best addressed to them, not to our staff,” Nixon said.
Students have to complete 80 credits of coursework between Grades 10 and 12 to graduate of which Indigenous coursework will be four credits, equivalent to one full-year course.
But the new requirement doesn’t change the number of credits students need to graduate.
Trustee Donna Sargent said she expects there will be a lot of “why” questions around this decision, and she urged principals to speak with parents to explain why the ministry would “dictate” this graduation requirement.
“I think our community may be confused or not understanding what this is really about,” Sargent said. “I think it’s the big ‘why’ - and it’s a really, really big ‘why,’ as we know, a deep ‘why.’”
Trustee Richmond Lee suggested two reasons that could explain this decision to require an Indigenous-focused course as a graduation requirement; firstly, Indigenous people are asking for it, and, secondly, it has been overlooked in the past.
