Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to rise in the House to talk about the Youth Parliament that was held April 17th to 20th here in Yellowknife. I appreciate the Legislative Assembly staff and the Speaker for putting on this amazing event.
As you are aware, the Youth Parliament provides our youth a unique opportunity to travel to Yellowknife to take on the role of an elected Member and participate in the daily workings of consensus government at the Legislative Assembly. What is impressive about this opportunity is for students in grades 9 and 10 from across the Northwest Territories.
The young lady that representing the Nahendeh constituency was Dejah Horassi from Fort Simpson. I have had the opportunity to know this young lady since she was a baby. Her dad and I have played hockey together for several years (wink wink) as defense partners. Because of each other's busy schedule, we had to move our meeting time to Tuesday at 12 noon. As she walked into the office, I asked her to take my chair behind the desk to get the full experience. To start the meeting off, she was a bit shy but as we talked, she had some amazing questions, such as:
What was your most challenging thing to do as an MLA?
Do I have challenges being a Minister and MLA at the same time?
How do you do public speaking, and do you get nervous?
We discussed the morning meeting and what motions would be coming into the House on Thursday.
Some of the tips on writing her Member's statement and how to present it in the House.
On Thursday, upon my return trip with Minister Savage, I had the opportunity to watch her do her Member's statement. She was a natural and did an amazing job.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to have Dejah's Member statement be deemed as read.
The other thing I witnessed and enjoyed watching was the youth passing notes between one another. They kept their Members, who were pages, very busy for the whole session.
Mr. Speaker, in closing I would like again to thank you and the Legislative Assembly staff for providing this opportunity for our youth. Mashi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to make a Member statement on the Fort Simpson schooling system. In my community, both of the schools have the same issues, but I will be focusing on the Liidlii Kue Regional High School and not the Liidlii Kue Elementary School.
Three years ago now, before we all went into quarantine, I was a fulltime student at the high school. During my time there I was met with an unorganized agenda, disrespect between students and teachers, and being given the wrong work for my grade. I had to leave for a better education. And while I've been away from the school, I'm afraid that it hasn't gotten any better and in fact has only gotten worse. Students are reportedly walking in the halls in an attempt to not go to class, not listening to teachers when told to go to class and messing around going on to disturb their classmates.
There is also clear activity of students needing to upgrade after graduation to get into postsecondary education.
Constant disorganization for example: Is not having control over the classroom, giving students work meant for a grade under them, and teachers not showing up on time to their classroom. These characteristics feed into a cycle of disrespect. I believe that not taking control of your classroom has something to do with how you want your selfimage to look. I saw many teachers not correcting a student’s behaviour and, in my eyes, it was because they wanted to seem cool.
Mr. Speaker, not giving students the correct work for their grade simply to "get them used to the content" further states that you are not confident in your own course work. And not showing up on time to class as a teacher disrespects students’ time and shows that they are not as valued as you want them to think they are. I should mention that the classroom doors are locked in the morning and after lunch. Leaving students to have to wait for the teacher in the halls. Bad behaviour stems from these issues. As students think that is the school won't support them in the way they need, then what's the point of even participating in it. Disrespect from students comes from a cycle of toleration. I asked a current student "How would you describe the school system here?" And all they said was "unfulfilling."
When I was attending the high school, one of my teachers (they don't work there anymore) suggested that I work through online school instead. They said that I would go further in my academic achievements if I did. And so I listened to them and now I attend school through long distance, and it was the best solution for me. But not everyone has the same option I took.
As an Indigenous community I feel that the youth deserve a better education system. I believe that fixing these problems can lead to a better future with our schooling. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
