Aboriginal Education in the NWT

The idea of my story came to me just about instantly, being part of a community where education statistics are not as high as most southern places, I wanted to have my idea shared within all aboriginal people whether it be Metis, Inuit and First Nations.
I believe that it may make a difference because if they see my story, being the age of 23 years old and achieving my grade 12 diploma, lets everyone know that it is never too late to finish school.
By getting other people involved I would have my thoughts on how education is very important to be expressed to those that were in the same situation as I was before I got my grade 12 diploma and using that to further my education.
What tells me that it will make a difference is that Aboriginal’s of each sort will hopefully use me as an example that every person might be different, but everyone is the same when it comes to education within our people. To also show them that education does not have an age limit.
As an Inuvialuit woman being the age of 23 years and recently pursuing my Grade 12 diploma in the NWT; I strongly believe that, not only for Aboriginal, but education alone, to every one of all ages is very important.
As an individual, developing to be a young adult while living in a small community, it can be very challenging to be committed to staying in school with all of the influences and pressures that surround us today for example; being pressured into drinking or doing drugs, this is a major issue within young Aboriginal people. It is easy to pass up an assignment or do homework to go out and hang with your friends, in which for some, sounds so much better than doing such things.
Our parents, grandparents, family members, teachers and other educators tell us how important our education is; some youth/young adults do not understand this fact until years later of dropping out or perhaps leaving for personal reasons. When they head out into the real world to find a job, they later realize that they do not want to work part-time, on and off as casual, or being somewhere where it is not in their interest of what they would really like to be doing. This is when they come to realize that they should have stayed in school to finish what they had started.
These days, it is becoming very critical that people have their Grade 12 diploma or GED to be recognized to qualify for specific job types. For Aboriginal people, we have many support systems that are available to us in being able to complete these qualification; some take advantage of the fact that we have these systems and think that they will always be there, and there are others that take the good side of this advantage and put it to good use and finish school with post-secondary diplomas, degrees, or some even their masters. There are organizations that would love to help those who want to pursue their educational goals, but they can’t do as much as they would like to, unless that individual wants to help themselves. That is a big step for Aboriginal people.
According to the NWT Bureau of Statistics, in the 2009 Community Survey, the ages between youth 15-24 years, there are 4, 321 Aboriginals, among this amount, 57.3% do not have their high school diploma. I think that this says enough to say that we can absolutely do more to help others in reaching their educational needs by talking to the youth/young adults, showing them that education can be reached at any age.
In conclusion, I want to say that Aboriginal Education is very important to all those who want to pursue their educational goals. Education does not have an age limit, I say that if you can read, write, and are willing to learn, that is what is most important to your success! Education is the key to your future.