Truth and Reconciliation in Schools: More Than a Pro-D Day

Reconciliation cannot be reduced to a workshop. Yet in schools across this province, it is too often treated as a Pro-D day. But Pro-D without action is just another symbolic gesture. It means nothing if the work does not extend beyond that day. We cannot sit in workshops, congratulate each other, and pretend progress has been made when school exclusions are still happening and when classrooms remain places where compliance is valued above care and belonging. When taking part in these Pro-D events, I often looked around the room and rather than transformation, what I saw were naïve colonialists trying to soothe their own guilt, erasing the damage still happening in our schools every day.

Schools in Canada were built on colonial violence. The residential school system was not about education; it was about erasure. It was designed to sever Indigenous children from their families, languages, and cultures, enforcing the belief that European ways of life were superior while Indigenous ways were seen as something to be fixed or destroyed. The legacy of this system is not in the distant past. Its impacts live on today in the ongoing exclusion, harm, and intergenerational trauma experienced by Indigenous Peoples.

Educators carry a responsibility to truth and reconciliation, but meaningful action requires far more than symbolic gestures like land acknowledgments, posters, or signage. Real commitment demands deep reflection and systemic change. Teachers must be willing to examine their own biases, beliefs, and practices in order to challenge the very structures that keep inequities in place.

Meaningful change begins with listening, and true listening requires empathy and a willingness to sit with discomfort. Inclusion is not just about making space for diverse voices. It requires recognizing, valuing, and integrating their perspectives into structures, policies, and daily interactions. Without this shift, inclusion remains a symbolic gesture rather than a transformative process that actively challenges systemic inequalities.

To move beyond surface-level inclusion, we must shift our focus from individual achievement to collective well-being. Western frameworks often emphasize personal success, but true inclusion is rooted in interconnected communities. Indigenous perspectives remind us that growth is a shared responsibility, and that education should be about ensuring entire communities thrive, not just a select few.

The truth is that Indigenous students continue to face higher rates of exclusion. They are asked to conform to the values, behaviors, and learning styles of the dominant class rather than having their knowledge, histories, and identities honored. Meanwhile, unions publicly oppose the full repeal of Section 43 of the Criminal Code, continuing to uphold a law that permits the use of force against children. This disproportionately harms Indigenous and marginalized students. This is not a minor issue. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission explicitly called for the repeal of Section 43 as a step toward justice and protection for Indigenous children. When schools and unions ignore that call, they are not supporting reconciliation; they are actively undermining it.

Education shapes human identity and development, and school systems must be designed to help students engage with these deep and fundamental questions in meaningful ways. Where do I come from? Where am I going? Why am I here? Who am I? These are the questions that can guide students toward deeper understanding, connection, and truth, but only if schools are willing to create the conditions for them to be explored with honesty.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission reminds us that reconciliation is not about closing a sad chapter of Canada’s past, but about creating new pathways rooted in truth and justice. This requires more than Pro-D workshops or symbolic gestures. It demands systemic change that dismantles policies of assimilation and exclusion, while centering Indigenous voices, knowledge, and community well-being in every aspect of education.

Justice Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Commission said, “Education has gotten us into this mess, and education will get us out.” But unless things change, we risk becoming so deeply entrenched in the same colonial systems that education itself cannot get us out. Because no matter how hard the system pushes, it will take people to create real change. Teachers can be those people, but only if they are willing to uncover the uncomfortable past, commit to building a different future, and speak up when silence allows harm to continue.