Black Focused Schools? Let’s Have Canada Focused Instead.
| 2/1/2008 | Posted by Patti under Canadian News |
You know, I usually make it a practice to sort of note what is going on in the city of Toronto and then put it promptly out of my mind. I don’t live there, I do live within 90 minutes of the city and I do avoid heading to the place. My usually reason for crossing into the boundaries of the city is to cross them on my way to my sister’s place in London.
I paid scant attention to the black focus school debate. My first thought on them was that it would segregate kids, particularly immigrant kids, who should be integrating and mixing with other races and those born here in this country. It would tend to strengthen young black’s view of being apart, isolated in Canadian society. Most kids, and I don’t care what colour or race they are, want to belong, to be included — yet at the same time, kids tend to cluster according to where they attend school.
I see this in my own community. A primarily white community where kids attend two different secondary schools, in different communities. The kids hand out in the community with the kids they go to school with and the paths don’t often mix. A school that sets them apart, would keep them apart during very formative years.
I was disappointed to see that the Toronto District School Board passed the motion to have these schools but hey, it’s their money. That was until I saw the comment in the news reports that the board would then be going to the provincial government to get funding. Now, that is coming out of my pocket and “NO DAMN WAY!” is my response.
If the parents want their children to learn about the cultures they hail from, they should teach them. I grew up in a school system that taught me the history of Canada and the discovery of American North American before I learned about Canadian history. I care about my British and Irish background but I resented that I didn’t first learn about my own country. I resented that my teachers treated my country, in which they earned money to teach me, like it was secondary or without standing.
I believe that all children, regardless of where they were born or the culture they come from should be in a Canada centred school system in which learning about Canada comes first and foremost. I can understand having enough flexibility in the system to accommodate youngsters who have started their learning in a different manner in order to ease them into the way Canadians learn. The objective should not be to set anyone part, but to eventually integrate all into a system that has the goals of teaching and training young Canadians to be productive Canadians.
I’m glad to see McGuinty come out and clearly stated that the province, my tax dollars, will not go into funding this exercise in exclusiveness and in fact has encouraged Torontians to speak up against the decision. Good for him. Having said that, I think the province needs to take a close look at setting clear standards of what provincial funding is allowed to fund when it comes to programs and schools.
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I come to this from the point of view of being in an inter-racial marriage. The best thing that happened to my kids in Toronto was to have to learn how to function in a multi-racial society.
I remember the struggle for equality and desegregation of schools. Having black-focussed schools seems to me to be a step backwards into re-segregation. Black children and youth will not learn anything about living in a multi-racial society, and I seriously don’t think this will address the very real issues of racism in our country – I think it will play into the racism.
How about we recognise openly that racism exists in Canada and that there are people of other racial groups who are still disenfranchised – then work to eliminate that racism together. That, however, would take work on all sides.
What will happen to Asian or Anglo students who wish attend such a school – will they be refused?
Just a question…..
It’s a good question Fran. In many ways so called “AfricCentered” schools funded by the taxpayer will open the thin edge of the wedge. One does wonder how far the catering to so called special needs would go. Once we set people apart as different, the label sticks and in the case of race, in my opinion, makes the pratice of racism even more entrenched. It is a lot harder to be racist towards someone that you associate with as an equal and a colleague than it is when the person is kept at a distance from you.