Article in the Toronto Star by Professor Ananya Mukherjee-Read, Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Liberal Studies, provides her perspective, "as a mother and an educator," with a recipe for generating hope and success for first nations youth.
Referring to global suicide rates among this group, her Commentary piece is a plea to generate a brighter future for this population, where there is currently so much despair.
"Hope is a curiously tangible thing, as it is opposite: despair," says Mukherjee-Reed. "Hope comes from being heard, from knowing that there is support to overcome barriers, and from being valued."
Mukherjee-Reed calls for actively improving the grossly inadequate physical infrastructure and remedying the cultural inadequacy of the curriculum.
"What better trajectory can there be for transforming despair into hope? Not only for Indigenous youth, but for all youth who feel destined to undervalue their worth, diminish their futures and embrace an instrumental model of education."
Read the full article in the Toronto Star.