I have written a post about this issue back in November and a commenter provided a very compelling argument in favour of such schools:
The students who go to these school have almost always dropped out of regular schools due to persecution or have been expelled due to opposition to authority. They are in essence "special needs students" based in part on their racial background or sexual orientation. It is really no different than having "gifted schools" which also exist in many school boards for students who are also special needs and can have behavioural problems or drop out as well if left unchallenged or misunderstood.I agree with the commenter that the students' needs are not met by the regular system; but is separating them by race attacking the root cause of the problem? Or are there other non-race related issues at the root of the struggle. Moreover, I am sure there are other students from all other ethnicities and races facing similar struggles and needs. Do they not also deserve the special attention as well? Would a better solution be strengthening and empowering the existing Special Ed programs already in place in our public schools?
These schools and their premise are totally different than "segregation" or religious funding. These students are having trouble functioning in the regular system where their needs are not met. Religious schools are not for students who couldn't otherwise function.
-Anonymous commenter (2007-11-06)
Of all cities in North America, I would assume that Toronto is one where race and ethnicity causes the least conflict in all aspects of life. Growing up in Toronto, I experienced first hand and the multicultural classrooms and workplaces and am very thankful for it. A lot of Torontonians take the diversity for granted because it comes so naturally to us that we don't even think twice about it. There are very few places in the world, where you have students from different backgrounds from all over the world learn in the same classroom from the same curriculum, and are taught the same values. But with this recent vote, a big big can of worms has definitely been opened. As much as some people may not like to see this word used for this context, the students will literally be "segregated". Race and ethnicity have now entered into the realm of debate in what has been our race-neutral public education system. Like Ontario education minister Kathleen Wynne said before the vote it may also "spur other cultural and religious groups to lobby for their own separate schools within a public system".
The Toronto District School Board calls this a "pilot project". If this little experiment doesn't end up being effective, it will be extremely hard to backtrack and may end up causing more damage and generate even harsher repercussions. These already troubled students absolutely cannot be used as guinea pigs. If the schools do become a reality, the school board and the province absolutely CANNOT allow them fail. A LOT of time, planning, and feedback will be required to make them the best they can be.
Furthermore, upcoming talks, debates and discussions will have to be made carefully as race/ethnicity (including religion) is an extremely sensitive subject. Torontonians are not use to facing the issue in the context of segregation and are typically very politically correct when the topic of race does come up. If words are not chosen carefully, the fire will definitely spread, maybe even uncontrollably. Ontario PC leader John Tory most definitely got burned by such a fire during the recent provincial election campaign.
It will be interesting to see what step the provincial government and school board takes next.
1 comments:
Winnipeg Free Press just posted:
* In Winnipeg, roughly 225 students attend the Children of the Earth School, an aboriginal-focused high school that opened in 1991.
* The school, which in 2005 made Maclean’s Magazine’s list of the country’s top 10 high schools, offers Cree and Ojibway classes to its mostly aboriginal student body, and roughly 75 per cent of grads go on to post-secondary school.
* Winnipeg is also home to Niji Mahkwa School, a nursery to Grade 8 school with an aboriginal focus. Roughly 310 students attend the school, which opened in 1994.
Personal note:
I fully support all alternative schools so long as they raise the kids’ self esteem, keep the kids engaged, are relevant to the kids and families who support them and have staff who are committed to the school. A common focus creates a bond between staff, students and their families - it does not matter if the focus is arts, sports, language, culture or religion.
The many alternative schools across Canada are highly successful. One third of Ontario’s publicly funded schools are Catholic, many others are French. We have over 100 specialty schools, many of which are arts and sports-based, with plans to have 100 more.
The Africentric school model is culture/spiritually-based; it is not FOR Blacks, it is ABOUT Blacks (it will be focused on one of the many black cultures)
It should not matter what a school’s focus is - basketball or basketweaving, makes no difference to me! The key is that the kids want to be there and are learning the basic curriculum in addition to the school focus.
Premier McGuinty wins "Hypocrite of the year award" by sending his kids to publicly funded Catholic school while denying publicly funded culture/faith-based education to every other taxpayer.
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