Thank you very much. I want to thank the presenters. I'm so glad you two made it today, and in person, to boot.
K-to-12 education is a provincial matter, and yet we find ourselves talking a lot about K to 12 because it's one of the foundations for entry into the workplace and for lifelong learning. Having been a teacher all my life, I sometimes feel I'm still that even today, but in a different venue. It's a profession I've absolutely loved and I would not make any changes in my career choices.
We cannot avoid talking about K to 12 when we're talking about.... It's not just employment; it's about lifelong learning for our first nations students. I've had the privilege, and I would say a privilege, of working with first nations students as a counsellor and a teacher. I can tell you about the tears of joy I had when one of my students graduated out of grade 12 and got a really great scholarship. I still get emotional when I think of that moment because it wasn't just a big moment for us at school. It was a huge moment for the community as well. We did a big community celebration after that.
However, the federal government does have a role to play in K to 12, and that is with funding for schools on reserves, aboriginal schools. Historically, we have not done a great job. We're still busy apologizing. I believe reconciliation is a process that is ongoing. But I really worry about the shortfall in funding. I'm a great believer in equity rather than equality. As a classroom teacher teaching students from diverse backgrounds, often it wasn't about giving everybody an equal opportunity, it was about that equitable opportunity. Because when we have students who have extraordinary needs, then you need to provide the resources so that those children can live up to their potential. I think we do need a major investment to ensure greater success.
The other side comment I have to make is that after having been out of the classroom for over 10 years—I think it was closer to 12, actually—when I finished my presidency I chose to go back to a classroom on purpose. I chose an inner city school in Nanaimo. What broke my heart at that time is that things were worse for the kids 10 or 12 years later than before. One point that you made to me really struck home, and that is the need for role models for our first nations students. It's not just teaching first nations students in little rooms set aside in a school. Our first nations students need to see teachers right across the board teaching math, teaching English, teaching home economics, the whole spectrum.
What I really want to get down to right now is the work experience you mentioned that we do have in the public school system, which I believe is a great motivator and a connector for our kids. How do you think the work experience program could be implemented into the aboriginal schools so that the students can find that link to what they learn and where their passion may rest? It doesn't happen from reading a book, as much as I would want it to be. It happens from going out and doing something hands-on and having some real experiences. How do you think we could encourage or facilitate that?