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Our Home and Native Land
Keeping Canada in Our Schools By Lisa Marie Metzler
Are Canadian schools keeping Canada in their curriculum, or does the curriculum contain too much of an American influence?
Donna Jagoe, mother to a daughter in grade four, doesn't think so. "I know when I was growing up in school, a lot of textbooks were written in America, and this always bothered me!" says Jagoe. " I felt that if we're learning about Canada, it should have been a Canadian writing it." Yet, Jagoe's daughter is learning more about Canada than Jagoe did when she was in school. "This could only mean a great change for the better," she says.
Joanne Smith, mother of two girls in grades seven and 10, would agree. "I feel there is a big emphasis on Canada, especially in Ontario, where our girls received most of their education," says Smith. "They were taught Canadian spelling, history and geography and read books authored by Canadians."
Shannon Webb, a teacher in Alberta, says that at least in her Alberta school, Canada is being taught in social studies, math, geography, history and language arts. "All the subjects lend themselves to having a Canadian spin on them," she says. "For example, studying the Group of Seven and other Canadian artists in art class, adding Canadian themes to physical education class and studying Canadian scientists," says Webb, are what keeps Canada in the curriculum.
Children are often given the choice of how to spell words with or without the "u." For example, in the words "colour" and "favour," the American-way of spelling these words does not include the letter "u." However, some teachers, especially in junior high and high school level, are encouraged to spell using Canadian style. Depending on the teacher, a student may be docked points for using the American-style English in their homework.
Holly Canham, a grade three teacher in Ontario, also teaches her students the differences between the popular speech patterns Americans, British and Australians use. "They know that if characters in one of their stories eats jelly and drinks soda, then that book was written by an American," says Canham. The origin of words like "favourite," "behaviour" and "neighbour" are also discussed. "It has become almost a game to see if we can spot the origin of the author," says Canham. "It is just one way of reinforcing cultural differences in the global village." 
Canadian literature is also incorporated into lesson plans by using books written by Canadian authors and poets. Often schools "adopt" a Canadian author.
Ask your child what books they are reading. If you feel your child isn't reading enough books by Canadian authors, perhaps you can suggest to your school to adopt a Canadian author. A week celebrating the works of a particular author and if possible, an appearance by the author will be a motivating factor for your children to read more titles by the author and promote a love of reading and writing. "My daughter has brought a lot of Canadian books home, including Farley Mowat," says Jagoe.