Taking our place in the world

Jenny Versteeg
Chair
Avon Maitland District School Board
One of the most interesting things I did in the past year was help showcase our small town to a group of refugees from Burma. They were lonely for the country but a summer Sunday afternoon visiting the wide open spaces of Huron and Perth was just what the doctor ordered.

The group of about 90 recent immigrants are known as the Karen (pronounced car-en). They spent an afternoon touring through our hospital, schools, businesses, homes and farms, learning more about their new country.

Just a few weeks ago I had the privilege to be part of a reciprocal visit to Toronto and as I chatted with the folks I had met earlier, I quickly learned the Karen are still fascinated by the schools they visited.

Eastdale Public School and Listowel District Secondary School are located next to each other. Last August the Karen were greeted by empathetic staff members who led them on tours through both schools.

The kids were surprised by the size of both the playground and the computer lab at the elementary school, but quickly found themselves at home in the familiar classroom setting. Their parents, on the other hand, found themselves overwhelmed by the potential that our high school had to offer their children.

As they passed by the electrical, wood working, welding, machine and automotive shops their imaginations took over. Was it really possible their children could learn a trade in school?
I think that’s something that we’ve learned to take for granted in our communities across the counties.  While university and college are options for scores of kids, many of our students enter the workplace either directly or as apprentices at the end of high school and are able to obtain meaningful employment very quickly.  It’s an expectation of the students, parents and guardians, and more importantly, the community at large that our graduates will be ready to be productive members of society. It’s hard to believe that anyone would be amazed that a high school education can achieve this, but the Karen were amazed.

The life stories of the Karen vary, but they don’t take much for granted. This group came from the Mae La refugee camp in Thailand, some having lived their entire lives there. The Karen were forced from their homes because the military dictatorship disapproved of their language and religion. They left behind a rural way of life very similar to our own. Many of them are well trained in the types of jobs we work at in our communities.

Our government was sympathetic to their plight, and helped the Karen relocate from the war zone to Canada. Like most newcomers to our country, they ended up in Toronto. There they took “survival” jobs to support their family, learning the ropes of living in the city, the English language and doing their best to pave the way to a bright future for their children.
The Karen parents recognized the potential that exposure to shop classes can play in a bright future and are investigating the possibility of coming to this area to take advantage of our schools. 

They are certain that no schools in Toronto can match the facilities that LDSS and other high schools in our district have to offer.

Still they are concerned about moving into an area that doesn’t enjoy the ethnic diversity that much of  urban Ontario experiences every day. They wonder how they would be accepted. I’ve told them that we teach our kids about fairness, honesty, empathy, respect, courage, integrity, optimism compassion perseverance and responsibility and that we want them to treat all people well.

Somehow the words seem very insignificant in light of the life stories of these people, stories that emanate these attributes.

In rural areas we tend to think that unless people come with mega money to farm, immigrants need to be in Toronto, where services like ESL and a variety of supports are available as people learn to work and live in our country.

We forget that many people around the world are like us – rural in culture – even if they don’t share our language. Many of us strive to keep our rural conditions. Why wouldn’t others?

For some time leaders in Huron and Perth counties have searched for ways to bring immigrants to our community as a way to augment our shifting demographics.

Wouldn’t it be something if it is our schools that literally bring the world to our doorstep? If we can take an active place in the global village, both our kids and our communities will be the winners.