BY: SHERI ALCORDO’S GRADE 7-8 CLASS
November 27, 2021
Dear Editor,
Good morning, I'm a Toronto Grade 7 student in Mrs. Alcordo’s Class at Gulfstream PS. I'm going to talk about Truth and Reconciliation Day today. You might wonder, "What is Truth and Reconciliation Day?" It's a day to honour the Indigenous children who have passed, survivors of the residential school system, as well as their families and communities. The first Truth and Reconciliation Day was recognized this year. On September 30. It was originally known as "Orange Shirt Day". Phyllis Webstad established Orange Shirt Day in 2013. Her grandmother had sent her an orange shirt as a gift. She then wore it on her first day at the residential school, where they took her clothing and substituted them with a uniform. The orange colour eventually became a symbol for Phyllis' trauma. The first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was held on September 30th, 2021. This gives an overview of Truth and Reconciliation Day.
"Why should we educate ourselves and honour residential school survivors, children who have died, their families and communities on Truth and Reconciliation Day?" you might question. First, we must educate ourselves because we must understand the history of these individuals in order to avoid making the same mistakes. Since it is so important for the younger generation to learn about the past, something like this cannot be accepted. Imagine being removed from your family and forced to follow a religion you don't believe in. Imagine being punished for speaking your own language. Consider this: we are all human, that every child matters, and that we must all try to improve as a community.
The only thing we can change is the now and future; history is history. Let's not make the same mistakes again! Instead, let's make the world a better place. Though we will not forget what has been done in the future, we must bring attention to this situation and honour those individuals since they are a part of our past and now. Let us remember those who have died, their families, and their communities not just on the next Truth and Reconciliation Day. Hopefully, you learnt something important about Truth and Reconciliation Day, as well as some of the history of the First Nations people.
Sincerely, Grade 7 Student, Mrs. Alcordo’s Class, Gulfstream PS
November 22, 2021
Dear Editor of Downsview Advocate,
I am a student in Grade ⅞ in Mrs. Alcordo’s class at Gulfstream Public School and this letter is to inform readers about Truth and Reconciliation day, which was declared a national holiday in honour of the Indigenous peoples who had their children taken away from their families.
Hearing that the children were being taken away from their families when they were very young hurts me, as I am also a child and I get nightmares about it, as who would want to be taken away from their families? I also read a book about this called The Secret Path, and got very scared, and I thought the Indigenous children must have felt the same way. I also read in some books that they were forced to abandon their heritage and follow another culture, with no choice. . I also read that they suffered from different diseases, not just physical, but emotional, like depression and anxiety. If they didn’t follow the rules, they were tortured and forced to do chores.
It is important to know about this, to learn from the mistakes of the government, who took children away from their parents. Also, we are the next generation, who are learning to be responsible for our actions, and it is important for people to acknowledge the youth, as well as the adults.
We could promote a book club and talk about how Indigenous children were treated in residential schools and how we can prevent it from happening again. It would be very motivational, and encourage reading and better writing. I hope you appreciate my suggestions.
Sincerely,
Alaia, Gulfstream PS
I am a Grade ⅞ student in the Toronto area and am writing to you to express my views about Truth and Reconciliation day that took place on September 30.
My thoughts are that it is important to make this day recognized in Canada because the First Nations and Indigenous people have been through a lot. Many Indigenous children were taken away from their parents, punished (sometimes) and some actually died in the residential schools! Kids shouldn't be harmed in a harsh way, like they were. I feel bad for them so it's important to make this day a holiday to honor the First Nations and indigenous people.
I just want to make this day a very special day because we know how the First Nations and Indigenous people were treated and we want to honor them because their past was very bad and we want to treat them with respect, after all that happened.
Sincerely,
JC, Grade ⅞ student in Toronto