Residential School

Half-Day System
What is it?
 Operated on a half-day system,
 Schools that were established by the Canadian ½ day – in the class doing
government and administered by churches from 1620 up academic work, ½ day – doing
until 1996. chores (eg. Washing the floor,
 Meant for Aboriginal students milking cows)
 Many students were forced to attend & physically and  This was done to save money on
sexually abused by the teacher at school academic resources

Chores
Academic
 Students are required to do everyday
 Forced to study Christianity for long hours
 Numeracy, reading, writing were taught  Male: milk the cows, feed animals,
 Many of the things they were taught grow gardens, chop wood, repair
were completely new for them so the shoes

students had a hard time adjusting to  Female: clean, cook, do laundry, wash
dishes, sew
European style of education

Haircut
Diet Isolation
 Hair cut very first
 Food are cheap, no  Students were isolated from their families after
week they arrived
nutritional value, being brought to the school
the school
tasteless  To assimilate the Aboriginal people into European
 In order to stripped
 Many students culture
away from their
were malnourished  Could only see their family once or twice per year
Aboriginal culture
 Contribute to high  Couldn’t communicate with family when they visited
 All the students are
death rate as they have forgotten how to speak mother
given the same hair
cut no individuality tongue

Sleep Clothing

 Everyone had same clothes – no

 Had problem in sleeping due to anxiety
individuality
 Once the light was closed, they are expected to fall
 Many grew out of their clothes, but
asleep
were not given new sizes
 If they caught talking during sleeping hours, they will be
 Winter clothing provided was thin, did
punished sleep outside
not keep the children warm