Download WORD

Learning English with CBC
Listening Lessons for Intermediate Students
Based on CBC Manitoba Radio Broadcasts
October 11, 2013
Lesson 91: Teacher’s Edition
Level:
CLB 5 and up
Topic:
Cross Cultural Adoption
Language Skills and Functions:
Listening – listening to a short interview for main
ideas, detail and implied meaning
Speaking – expressing opinions
Reading – reading a text/completing a chart
Writing
– writing a paragraph
Language Competencies:
Language Tasks:
Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Listening and Speaking
Strategies, Socio-cultural/sociolinguistic Competence
Expressing opinions on cross cultural adoption
Using new vocabulary in context
Listening to an interview on cross cultural adoption for main ideas,
detail and implied meaning
Using conjunctions in parallel structures to describe a situation
Reading a news story on a cross cultural adoption court case for fact
and opinion
Summarizing key information about people’s positions on cross cultural
adoption on a chart
Writing a paragraph to express an opinion about the ruling of the
adjudicator on a cross cultural adoption case
Essential Skills: Reading text, working with others, oral communication, writing
Worksheets1: 1. Expressing Opinions on Cross Cultural Adoption
2. Using New Vocabulary in Context
3. Listen for Main Ideas, Detail and Implied Meaning
4. Using Conjunctions in Parallel Structures to Describe a Situation
5. Read for Fact and Opinion
6. Summarize Key Information on a Chart
7. Write a Paragraph on Your Reaction to the Adjudicator’s Decision
Appendices:
1
Transcript of the podcast
CBC story: Manitoba/Filipino parents fight to keep part Métis foster child
Answers to worksheets are in the self-study version of the lesson plan.
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 1 of 19
Manitoba Memo
This lesson is about two points of view. The first is that no Aboriginal child should ever
be adopted permanently by a non-aboriginal family. The second is that no child, aboriginal or
non-aboriginal, should be moved from a foster family where a strong emotional attachment
has been formed. The principle of child welfare is that decisions should be made in the best
interests of the child. However, as these two points of view indicate, not everyone agrees on
what defines a child’s best interest.
It can be difficult for the non-aboriginal population to understand why a First Nations or Métis
agency would object to an aboriginal foster child being adopted into a loving, non-aboriginal
family. To understand the agency’s position, you have to understand aboriginal people’s
history and experience. There have been two wide scale attempts to remove aboriginal
children from their families and communities in the past two centuries. The first was through
the residential school system. It operated in Canada from the late1800‘s until the1950’s.
Residential schools tried to assimilate thousands of aboriginal students into the English
mainstream by taking young people from their communities and placing them in boarding
schools. The trauma, abuse and loss of identity that came out of the residential school
experience still affect the well-being of many aboriginal families today.
In the 1960’s, a lesser known event took place. This second historical event is referred to as
the sixties scoop. During the 1960’s and 1970’s child welfare agencies removed large
numbers of aboriginal children from their parents and communities. It is difficult to know just
how many children were affected but one study estimated that a Manitoba aboriginal
community of 800 people lost 150 children to adoption between 1966 and 1980. In many
instances, children were apprehended without the knowledge or consent of their extended
families. Newborns were literally “scooped” from their mother’s arms.
The rationale for the sixties scoop was primarily economic. Many aboriginal families lived in
poverty and housing conditions were sub-standard. The child welfare system assumed
aboriginal children would be better off if they were adopted by white middle class families in
Canada and the United States. While some children adapted well to their new families and
communities, others grew up feeling torn between two cultures. A high percentage of
adopted families broke down. Many adoptees faced psychological problems, violence,
physical and sexual abuse, and drug or alcohol abuse. Some studies speculate that the high
failure rate of these adoptions was because adoptive parents did not understand the racism
and discrimination their children faced.
Since that time, laws have changed and the child welfare system has been restructured.
Aboriginal agencies have far greater responsibility for the care and protection of aboriginal
children and families. The caseloads of these agencies are high as a majority of children in
care in Manitoba are aboriginal. It can be difficult to find culturally appropriate foster care and
adoptive parents for all of the children who need a home.
In an ideal world, all children would remain with their families of origin. In the real world, the
next best option may be to ensure that every child in the system has the right to a family with
a lifelong commitment to them. And all children have the right to their identity and to maintain
connections with their extended family and cultural community.
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 2 of 19
Pre-listening activities
1. Expressing opinions and arguing positions on cross cultural adoptions
Ask student to work in small groups. Hand out Worksheet 1 and review it with the class.
2. Vocabulary
Elicit or present key vocabulary that students need to understand prior to listening to
the podcast (see suggested vocabulary and explanations which follow). You can write
the words on the board and elicit possible meanings from the class or break students
into groups and give each group a few words to review. Groups can then present the
vocabulary to the rest of the class. You can also ask students to mark the syllables
and stress for each word, identify word families and practise pronouncing the words.
You may want to ask students to think of sentences that use the new vocabulary. If
your students keep a vocabulary journal, they can copy the vocabulary into their
journal.
Vocabulary
a foster parent
A foster parent is someone who agrees to take
someone else’s child into their life/family for a
period of time, without becoming the legal parent
of that child.
to adopt a child
If someone adopts a child, they agree to take
someone else’s child into their home and become
that child’s parent/legal guardian.
Métis
The Métis are one of Canada’s aboriginal peoples.
The original Métis people were born from the
marriages of Cree, Ojibwa and Salteaux women,
and the French and Scottish fur traders. Later,
Métis ancestry expanded to also include
Scandinavian, Irish and English settlers. The word
Métis means “to mix”.
Métis Child and Family Services
Manitoba has established Métis Child and Family
Services agencies to support Métis children and
families and protect children from situations that
could harm them. The services and programs the
agencies offer are culturally appropriate.
to be culturally appropriate
If a service is culturally appropriate it means that it
is sensitive to the different needs and traditions of
different cultures.
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 3 of 19
cross cultural adoption
Cross cultural adoption refers to situations where
the child being adopted and the adoptive family
come from different cultures/races.
assimilation
Assimilation is a process by which members of an
ethnic minority group lose the cultural
characteristics that distinguish them from the
dominant cultural group or take on the cultural
characteristics of another group. For example,
Aboriginal people were assimilated into the
dominant culture against their will through the
residential school system.
the sixties scoop
The sixties scoop describes a time in the 1960’s
and 1970’s when large numbers of aboriginal
children were removed from their homes and their
birth parents. These children were adopted by
white middle class families in Canada and the
United States. Many lost their language and
culture and a high percentage of these adoptions
broke down.
Caucasian
Someone who is Caucasian is part of the race of
people who have white or pale skin.
quote unquote
The phrase “quote unquote” is used in spoken
English. Use of this phrase tells the listener that
the speaker would use quotation marks if the word
or phrase was in writing. Saying “quote unquote”
can mean you are actually quoting a source, or it
can be used to draw attention to the word or
phrase you are using.
Inuk/Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar peoples
who come from the Arctic regions of Greenland,
Canada, the United States, and Russia. They were
the first peoples to live in those regions. Inuit is a
plural noun. The singular form of the noun is Inuk.
to track down
If you are searching for someone or something, we
say you are tracking them/it down. For example:
Nicki looked for her birth mother and was able to
track her down.
a birth mother or birth family
Someone’s birth mother is their natural or
biological mother. Their birth family consists of
their birth mother, father, siblings etc.
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 4 of 19
the nature versus nurture debate
The nature versus nurture debate has been going
on for a long time. The debate centers on whether
a person’s genetics (the genes they inherit from
their birth parents) or the environment in which
they grow up has greater influence on the person
they become. It is generally accepted today that
behavior and development are influenced by both
nature and nurture.
a child in care
A child in care is a child who is temporarily or
permanently removed from their home by a Child
and Family Services Agency. That agency
becomes responsible for caring for the child,
working with the family so the child can return
home, or finding alternative placement for the child
through foster care and adoption.
MMF
MMF is the acronym for the Manitoba Métis
Federation. This organization works on behalf of
Métis people to promote, protect and advance the
political, social and economic interests of its
members.
in the same breath
This expression means “at the same time.” For
example, you can support someone’s argument
but in the same breath (at the same time), you
understand what the other side is saying.
a bunch of dynamics
A bunch of dynamics is an expression that means
a lot of things are going on at the same time which
may affect the process and/or the outcome.
Michif
Michif is the language of the Métis.
2. Developing vocabulary using new words in context
Hand out and review Worksheet 2. Ask students to work with a partner to complete it.
Take up the answers as a class.
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 5 of 19
3. Predict what the interview is about
In this interview Marcy Markusa interviews Nicki Batzel. Nicki is Inuit and she was cross
culturally adopted as an infant. In the interview, she tells Marcy about her own
experience. Ask students if they can predict what Marcy will ask Nicki. Here are some
examples of what she could ask:
I think she’ll ask…if she had a happy childhood.
Maybe she’ll ask … if she knows anything about her birth family.
I don’t think she’ll ask…if she knows why her birth mother gave her up for
adoption.
I wonder if she’ll ask…if Nicki thinks she would have been better off in an
aboriginal family.
While-listening activities
1. Introduce the podcast
Tell students that in this podcast, they will hear two speakers. They will hear:
Marcy Markusa – host
Nicki Batzel – Winnipeg resident who was cross culturally adopted as a child
Play the podcast for the first time.
2. Listen for detail, main ideas and implied meaning
Handout Worksheet 3 and review it with students. Ask students to work with a partner
to complete it. Play the podcast as many times as needed. Take up the answers as a
class.
After-listening activities
1. Review pre-listening predictions
Ask students if they were able to predict what Marcy asked Nicki about her own
experience.
Extension activities
1. Use conjunctions in parallel structures to describe a situation
Handout and review Worksheet 4. Ask students to work with a partner to complete it.
Take up the answers as a class.
2. Read for fact and opinion
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 6 of 19
Handout and review Worksheet 5 and Appendix A. Ask students to work with a partner
or small group to read the news story and complete the worksheet.
3. Summarize Key Information about Positions on Cross Cultural Adoption on a Chart
Handout and review Worksheet 6. Ask students to work with their group to complete it.
4. Write a paragraph to express an opinion about the adjudicator’s ruling on the case
Handout and review Worksheet 7. Ask students to work individually to complete it.
Want to know more….
The background for the Manitoba Memo is from the following sources:
CBC archives has a video on the sixties scoop:
www.cbc.ca/archives/discover/programs/o/our-native-land-1/stolen-generations.html
This news story talks about the number of foster children in Manitoba:
www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/highest-rate-of-foster-kids-here-209302811.html
A good review of how Manitoba’s child welfare system has evolved is in a 2010 report by
Carrie Bourassa of Infinity Consulting. It’s called Final Summary Review of the
Manitoba Child Welfare System for the Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review:
http://saskchildwelfarereview.ca/final-report.htm
This article by Sandra Scarth raises good questions about cross cultural adoption. It’s
called Straight Talk About Aboriginal Children and Adoption was published in the Caring
Network News Newsletter Summer 2005:
www.cfncs.com/downloads/summer-05.pdf
Other websites of interest:
These two government of Manitoba websites have information on foster care:
www.gov.mb.ca/fs/childfam/fostercare.html
www.manitobaparentzone.ca/becoming-a-parent/fostering/
More information of Métis Child Child, Family and Community Services is found on their
website:
www.metiscfs.mb.ca/
CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external websites
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 7 of 19
Worksheet 1: Expressing Opinions on Cross Cultural Adoption
Think about the laws and traditions around adoptions in your community. Read and think
about the following questions. Discuss with your group. Do you have the listening and
speaking skills to participate in a discussion on a familiar topic? Can you give your
opinion and argue your point?
1. When children are adopted in your community are there specific laws dictating that the
adopting family must be the same culture or religion as the child?
2. Do you think that children should be adopted by parents who are the same culture?
The same religion? Why or why not?
3. What other factors should be considered when placing a child for adoption?
4. Should race or culture be the first consideration when deciding where to place a child?
Why or why not?
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 8 of 19
Worksheet 2: Using New Vocabulary in Context
It is important to understand the vocabulary you hear around you. Practise some of the
vocabulary items that you will hear in the newscast. Listen to the context that the vocabulary
is used in. Watch for clues. This will help you understand new vocabulary.
foster parents
Métis
cross cultural adoption
nature versus nurture
Caucasian
track down
assimilation
adoption
Look at the words in the box and choose the correct vocabulary item to match each definition.
Then use the item to complete a sample sentence.
1. (people who are employed by the government to provide care for children who
can’t be with their birth family) foster parents
Two Winnipeg foster parents have cared for a young child since he was 6 months
old, because he can’t be with his birth family.
2. (aboriginal Canadians who have mixed ancestry, e.g. French and Cree) ________
However, the child is ______________ and the foster parents are Filipino.
3. (a legal arrangement where someone takes someone else’s child into their home
and becomes that child’s legal parent(s)) ________
While there are similarities between foster parenting and ______________, foster
parenting is usually a short term relationship while adoption requires a long term
legal commitment.
4. (when the child being adopted and the family adopting the child come from
different racial/cultural backgrounds)
______ ______________ __________
As a result, the Métis Child and Family Services Agency does not agree with this
______ ______________ __________ and wants the boy to be placed with a
Métis family.
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 9 of 19
5. (a process where members of a minority ethnic group lose cultural characteristics
that distinguish them from the dominant cultural group) _________________
In the 1960s, many aboriginal and Métis children were placed with non-aboriginal
families. This _______________________ broke apart families and was a form of
cultural genocide.
6. (people who have white or pale skin)
_________________
In this interview, Nicki tells us that as an Inuit child she was adopted by a
__________________ family, but she always knew that she was Inuit.
7. (to try to find someone)
___________ ____________
Nicki was able to ________ _________ her birth family and get to know them.
8. (the name of a debate about whether children are influenced more by genetics
inherited from their parents or by the environment in which they grew up)
___________ ____________ ___________
Most experts believe that there is no simple answer to the ________ _________
__________ debate. They believe that a child’s behavior and development is
influenced by both.
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 10 of 19
Worksheet 3: Listen for Detail, Main Ideas and Implied Meaning
Listen to the CBC interview with Nicki as Marcy interviews her on the topic of cross cultural
adoption. Do you have the listening skills to identify factual details, main ideas and implied
meanings? Read each statement and decide if it is true or false.
1. The two Filipino foster parents would like to adopt a Métis
child.
True
False
2. This would be an example of cross cultural adoption.
True
False
3. Attitudes toward cross cultural adoption have changed very
little since the 1960’s and 1970’s.
True
False
4. Nicki was in foster care for five years before she was adopted.
True
False
5. Nicki always knew she was Inuk.
True
False
6. Nicki felt it was important for her to get to know her birth
parents.
True
False
7. Her adoptive parents were supportive of her efforts to track
down her birth parents.
True
False
8. Nicki believes she would have been better off if she had been
adopted by an Inuit family.
True
False
9. Nicki thinks culture should be the only consideration in
adoption.
True
False
10. Cross cultural adoption is a complex topic.
True
False
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 11 of 19
Worksheet 4: Using Conjunctions in Parallel Structures to Describe Situations
We use conjunctions in many ways. One way is to connect phrases or words that have the
same grammatical use, for example two nouns or two verbs. We call this parallel structure
and the conjunctions we use are and, but and or.
The table below provides some examples of how conjunctions are used in parallel
structures to describe situations.
Example Sentence
Structure
The child calls his foster parents Moma and
Papa.
noun + and + noun
The foster parents are hiring a lawyer and
(are) appealing the decision.
verb + and + verb
(the second auxiliary verb is optional)
The foster parents are sad but determined.
adjective + but + adjective
When placing foster children is it better
to look only at nature or to consider nurture
as well?
infinitive + or + infinitive
The Métis Child and Family Agency is
concerned the child will lose his identity, his
community, and his culture.
When a parallel structure has more than two
parts, commas are used to separate them.
The final comma before the conjunction is
optional. If there are just two items, there is
no comma.
Use these three conjunctions to complete the sentences below.
1. The child has foster parents but they are not his legal guardians.
2. The family’s lawyer thinks that bonding, attachment, _____ other factors are more
important than culture in this case.
3. Is it better to place a child with a family based on only culture ____ to consider other
factors as well?
4. The child’s birth mother wants him to stay with the foster parents he knows _____ loves.
5. The foster parents are fighting their battle in court ____ they are hoping to succeed.
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 12 of 19
Worksheet 5: Read for Fact and Opinion
Is it fact or opinion? Sometimes it can be hard to tell. Read the story in Appendix 2 with
your group. Decide whether the following statements are fact or opinion. Here is a guide
you can use to help you decide.
F
fact
A fact is a statement that can be proven true or false, by using an
objective standard.
To determine whether something is a fact, ask yourself: Can I prove it?
Can I check whether it is true? Can I find statistics on this topic?
O
opinion Opinions are ideas or beliefs about a subject that someone believes to
be true but which cannot be measured against an objective standard.
People often believe opinions are facts when others share the same
opinion. But if it can’t be proven, it’s not a fact, it’s an opinion.
Words such as always, never, should, all, none, most, least, greatest,
best and worst are often used to express an opinion.
Statement
Fact or
Opinion?
F
1
Two foster parents are fighting a legal battle.
2
The system is treating them unfairly.
3
They have been caring for the child since he was six months old.
4
It is in the child’s best interest to stay with the foster family.
5
Cross cultural adoptions don’t work.
6
There is a Métis family willing to adopt the child.
7
In this case, the agency is not acting in the best interest of the child.
8
The most important thing is the bond that has developed between the child
and the foster parents.
9
The decision on what will happen to the child will be made by an
adjudicator.
10
Many cross cultural adoptions of aboriginal children into non-aboriginal
families have broken down.
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 13 of 19
Worksheet 6: Summarize Key Information on a Chart
Can you summarize key information from the story in Appendix 2 on a chart? Which of the
individuals quoted in the news story support keeping the foster child with the Filipino family?
Who is opposed? Can you find a reason for each person’s position in the text? The first one
is completed as an example.
Name
Support or
Oppose Keeping the
Child with the Filipino
Family
Reason
the foster parents
support
- they are very attached to the child
Billie Schibler
Paul Walsh
the child’s birth
mother
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 14 of 19
Worksheet 7: Write a Paragraph on Your Reaction to the Adjudicator’s Decision
The adjudicator has made a ruling on this case. She ruled in favour of the foster family
keeping the child, at least for the time being. Here is some of what she said:2
Adjudicator Jennifer Cooper wrote in her decision the boy "loves his foster
parents and they love him. That love should be given an opportunity to
continue and blossom." She did acknowledge the parents speak Tagalog
primarily at home and the child understands and speaks both English and
Tagalog. She also said he has little knowledge of Métis culture, something
she said she hopes will change.
She recommended the family embrace the child's Métis culture going
forward. She also recommended the CFS agency consent to the couple
adopting the boy after seeing "sincere efforts of the foster parents to
assist [him] in understanding and honouring his cultural and racial heritage."
She also said it appeared the parents were "sincere, honest and
hardworking individuals who were deeply in love with [the child.]"
Can you write a paragraph summarizing how you personally feel about the adjudicator’s
decision? Use the format below to help you.
Opening sentence
to introduce the
topic
When I first read that the Filipino foster parents had won their case,
I felt very (happy/sad) because_____________________________
______________________________________________________.
Supporting
point/argument
I think the adjudicator made the (right/wrong) decision
because _______________________________________________
______________________________________________________.
When I think about the future of this child, I hope that _______
Concluding point
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________.
2
Adapted from a CBC online story: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/filipino-parents-win-fight-to-keep-partm%C3%A9tis-foster-child-1.1876137
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 15 of 19
Appendix 1: Transcript
September 24, 2013 (broadcast date)3
Speaker
Podcast
Line
Marcy
Hi I'm Marcy Markusa and you're listening to Learning English
with CBC. Two Winnipeg foster parents would like to adopt the
child whose been living with them for two years. But the
couple is Filipino and the child is Métis. Métis Child and Family
Services believe the boy would be better off if he was placed
5
with a culturally appropriate Métis family. My guest today,
Nicki Batzel, shares her personal experience on the topic of
cross cultural adoption.
Marcy
So tell me a little bit about your own experience of adoption.
Nicki
Well I was born in 1970, up in Churchill Manitoba. I think um
10
the general thinking around adopting and child care was quite
different in those days. I think ah we were just coming out of
assimilation and children being taken in the sixties scoop and
all that kind of situation. I was ah my birth mother could not
keep me so I was in foster care until I was five months old and
15
then I was adopted and ah flown down to Winnipeg and raised
here in St. Vital in Winnipeg.
Marcy
By a Caucasian family?
Nicki
Yup, that’s right.
Marcy
And so ah when you were raised were you aware that were
20
differences between yourself and your Mom and Dad?
Nicki
Ya, my Mom and Dad are both white, quote unquote white,
and I had two older brothers who were also their own children.
Marcy
Were you raised ah with cultural awareness of the fact you
were Inuk?
3
25
For the complete interview or other recent CBC Information Radio podcasts, go to: www.cbc.ca/podcasting/includes/mbinforadio.xml
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 16 of 19
Nicki
My parents told me I was Inuit my whole life. All we had was
books because there were very few resources for Inuit people
down here in Winnipeg.
Marcy
Now you eventually tracked down though and reached out to
your birth family. Why did you do that?
Nicki
30
To me, the cultural connection was important. And my parents
were very open and sort of encouraged me to do it, so I felt
very free to find them. Just to be able to – I think part of it is
identity – there is that whole nurture versus nature way of
thinking out there.
35
Marcy
Would you have been better off adopted into an Inuit family?
Nicki
I dunno and but I’m very happy where I was. I mean I’m
certainly glad I was adopted and not a child in care my whole
life.
Marcy
Should the race or culture be the first consideration when
40
deciding where to place a child?
Nicki
I dunno know about the first and only consideration. I think it
can be a consideration for sure and I think that partly has to do
with our history here, so much power was taken away from
people, that people wanna say that they have the power to
45
decide where their children go. So I appreciate where MMF is
coming from and where Métis people are coming from. But in
the same breath, there’s a whole bunch of dynamics that make
a good life for a child.
Marcy
What did you first think when you heard about the current
50
case?
Nicki
I was kind of upset. I understand where they’re coming from,
saying that the family should be Métis but if the child has been
with the Filipino family for two and a half years and they’re
connected, like what does it mean to be Métis? Does that
mean they have to speak Michif?
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 17 of 19
55
Appendix 2: Manitoba/Filipino parents fight to keep part Métis foster child4
Two Winnipeg foster parents are waging an emotional legal battle to keep the child they have
been raising for nearly two years. They have been in love with the 2½-year-old boy they have
been caring for since he was six months old, and they would like to adopt him.
But the child's guardian, an agency under the Métis Child and Family Services Authority,
objects.
The foster parents have been told that since they are Filipino and the child is part Métis, his
long-term interests would be better served by placing him with a "culturally appropriate" Métis
family.
Appealing child's removal
Last spring, the foster parents were told a match had been found and that the boy would soon
be placed with the new adoptive family that is Métis.
That's when the foster parents launched legal action, appealing the removal of the child.
Billie Schibler, chief executive officer of the Métis Child and Family Services Authority, says
many past adoptions of aboriginal children into non-aboriginal homes have broken down over
the years, with the children seeking their cultural identities and communities when they are
adults.
The foster mother said the little boy now calls her and her husband "Mama" and "Papa."
"We are disappointed. We feel sad," she said, adding that losing the child would be
devastating.
The couple’s lawyer, Paul Walsh, said a bond has developed between the foster parents and
the toddler over nearly two years, and that should be a bigger factor in his placement than
one part of his cultural background.
Aiming to preserve culture
Billie Schibler, chief executive officer of the Métis Child and Family Services Authority, said
that if a primary caregiver identifies as Métis, the mandate is to place the child in a Métis
home long-term.
"We want to always do what we believe is in the best interest of children, but we also want to
ensure that with every effort we are preserving our culture and our families, because that's
what our communities are built on," said Schibler.
4
Adapted from a CBC online story: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/filipino-parents-fight-to-keep-partm%C3%A9tis-foster-child-1.1862980
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 18 of 19
Birth mom wants boy to stay with couple
However, the boy's birth mother said that shouldn't matter in this case.
"Why does it have to be Métis? Métis is only one small part of him. The rest of him is the
bigger part," she said.
The birth mother said she would like to see the boy stay with the foster parents he knows and
has grown to love.
The arbitration hearing in this case wrapped up Sept. 12. The adjudicator has 15 days from
that date to make a decision on the foster parents' appeal to have the boy remain in their
home.
In the meantime, Walsh said the couple are filing a petition for guardianship of the boy.
Cross Cultural Adoption
Learning English with CBC
Page 19 of 19