'Surprised and shocked,' Muskoka students walk and learn about reconciliation
Students at Riverside Public School in Huntsville, Ont. learned about the darker chapters of Canadian history on Monday with a walk.
The students accented the walking trail with orange ribbons, each with the name of a child who died at a residential school in Ontario.
The lessons learned about this not-so-distant part of history were jarring for many.
"Surprised and shocked because I didn't know what it felt like to be an Indigenous person," said student Justin Liu.
"When I heard what they used to do, it just was scary and terrible," added student Jacqueline White.
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"It's important that our youth but also adults in Canada learn about residential schools because until we know the truth, we can't move towards reconciliation," noted teacher Meghan deLagran.
"I didn't find out about residential schools until I was in university, and I was totally shocked that it took that long to learn that about Canadian history," the Riverside teacher added.
On Thursday, staff and students will participate in Orange Shirt Day across the Trillium Lakelands District School Board.
Orange Shirt Day encourages the notion that 'Every Child Matters.'
Fri., Sept. 30 marks National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour the children who never returned home and the survivors of residential schools.
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