in the residential schools, students learned the same way that european kids were taught. this was very different from how first nations people taught their kids. the indigenous people used a "look, listen, learn" method of education that did not involve classrooms or books. instead, they taught their kids through games, stories, and ceremonies. the kids struggled with book-learning because that was not how their parents taught them. they were also forced to speak english and french. sometimes, they were beaten up if they spoke in their native languages.