| Gai Hon Nya Ni: Amos Key Jr. E-Learning Institute http://www.amoskeyjr.com/ |
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Gai hon nya ni: the Amos Key Jr. E~Learning Institute’s primary mission is to partner with the Ontario Ministry of Education and the Niagara Peninsula Aboriginal Area Management Board Inc. to establish a regulated private secondary school, in order to offer the suite of existing Ontario secondary school credit courses so one can attain their Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Secondarily, its mission is to partner with stakeholders and partners to create and craft new, vital, dynamic and timely credit courses in order to elevate standards for Aboriginal Youth of Ontario, so they too may enjoy a just future and a quality of life that is second-to-none! Gai hon nya ni: the Amos Key Jr. E~Learning Institute’s vision is to provide an exciting educational opportunity for Ontario Aboriginal youth to acquire and attain their Ontario Secondary School credits and Diploma. This will achieved by harnessing and implementing state-of-the-art technology and software in a virtual yet synchronous educational environment, using the internet to offer Ontario secondary school credits online.
History
Gai Hon Nya Ni: the Amos Key Jr. E-Learning Institute and Foundation are now in their fourth year of operations. The programme was proposed to the Niagara Peninsula Aboriginal Area Management Board (NPAAMB) as an idea to assist in addressing the educational gap within our communities after Amos Key Jr. saw a presentation from Sunchild E-Learning in Alberta. NPAAMB saw this as a chance to provide seed funding to an organization that could catch students who have fallen through the mainstream educational cracks.
It was the NPAAMB Board of Directors (with the exclusion of Board Member, Mr. Amos Key Jr.) who unanimously voted to name the E-Learning Institute after their fellow colleague, Mr. Amos Key Jr. for his many years of honorary achievements, exemplary leadership and public service in the education sector.
The name “Gai hon nya ni” originates from the Iroquoian Cayuga Language and translates to mean “they are learning.”
A Model for Success
Our experienced certified teachers have a passion for teaching First Nations students and facilitating teaching using online synchronous classes. This allows us to be able to accept students from anywhere there is internet access. Mentors will help students with technical support and encourage student participation for their ultimate success by hosting online student body assemblies and holistic learning opportunities.
Our e-learning model is unique as it allows direct interaction between students and teachers on a regular basis in real time. Within this engaging and interactive educational model, a virtual classroom is formed.
Gai hon nya ni is committed to instilling a holistic foundation of education for future leaders and citizens of tomorrow. To meet this philosophy Gai hon nya ni offers and embeds social, emotional, civil, linguistic, artistic, ecological and spiritual intelligences throughout their course offerings. Alumni will graduate with a solid foundation, a developed moral compass and an intellectual spirit.
By marrying indigenous and non-indigenous ideologies from their civilizations, alumni will graduate with a sense of history, nationalism, patriotism and humanity that is second to none.
Gai Hon Nya Ni armed with its quiet diplomacy is now embarking on this educational initiative in an attempt to respond to and address the ‘Moral Imperatives’ facing this country regarding Aboriginal Youth.
A few Moral Imperatives include:
- High school drop-out rate
- Disenfranchisement (with no ‘organized voice’) of parents and their young people as they migrate to the urban centers
- High teen suicide rate
- High incarceration rates
- 16 Year education gap
- Removal of young people from their communities to get an education
- Pride in who we are as First Peoples
At Gai hon nya ni our students will become knowledgeable in emotional intelligence. The emotional quotient inventory (EQ-I) is not only embedded in our courses but also offered as a component in Grade 9 and Grade 10 Learning Strategies (GLS10 & GLS2O).
Gai hon nya ni encourages students to explore their capacity for learning. The exquisite teaching style at Gai hon nya ni guides our students to become emotionally intelligent while achieving academically. Emotional intelligence is the key to greater success and emotional awareness allows students to be the guide of their own moral compass.
Students have the opportunity to acquire four credits in Native Languages. Fall language class will be Cayuga and spring language classes will be Mohawk and Ojibway. Native languages are our passion so expect to see many more language courses developed as we grow.
We ensure that our students are exposed to contemporary native studies and native literary authors. This instills a sense of pride in who we are as First Peoples and offers an awareness of our modern day issues.