Are we going to continue to teach Euro-centric history classes to students in other schools?
Will non-black students be allowed to attend the African-centric school? (Might sound odd, but it addresses a lot of the objections.)
Does anybody really think that a slant in history classes is what's causing a 40% drop-out rate?
I didn't attend a Canadian high school, but it seems fairly widely known that Lt.-Gov. Simcoe abolished slavery in 1793, shortly after the creation of the province of Upper Canada. Maybe this is only widely known in Toronto, but we are talking about Toronto schools. In the absence of specific evidence on this I'm not buying a blogger's assertion that Canadian schools don't teach relevant points of Canadian history.
I don't see evidence to suggest that the schools are the cause or the solution to the cultural and economic problems that are creating the high drop-out rate.
Broadly speaking, problems of discrimination and inequality are resolved when we broaden the definition of "us" to include some of "them". This proposal works against that. Voluntary segregation is still separatism; it just validates existing discrimniation from the other direction. I don't see this as a solution. There are relevant American experiences here that should not be ignored.
First, I know nothing about racism in Canada so my comments will really be tempered by my awareness of that. I find most idealism, regardless of which end of the spectrum to be distasteful in general but, removing the writer's ideology from the equation, I agree the idea has some merit but I have questions:
1. Is this a temporary measure that shows the school system and public in general a more positive way to design curriculum or is this a permanent solution because government / activism does not ever believe there is solution that sees one school system teaching children of all racial backgrounds?
2. What happens when white radicals, seeing this as the kind of place they want their children educated, start going to these schools in droves? Is it possible that at some point these schools could be overrun by white / east Asian children seeking a generally better environment, thus again pushing children of African descent to margins? For that matter if the school is getting good results from all across the board, non-radical whites might seek it out as well.
3. Is this empowerment or imposition? Are these schools here to see everyone gets a fair chance or are they there to educate a proscribed ideology? It happens in the normal school system (and oddly like American media, the conservative or liberal nature of a school system is a matter of point of view) and it can certainly happen in these schools as well. Hatred, no matter who is being hated or how its taught, is still hatred and therefore destructive.
4. Is this what the black community wants or is it what the activist and black 'leadership' want? I ask this because here in the States, if you bother to ask African-Americans, they will tell you the so-called black leaders do not speak for them. Again this ranges from more conservative blacks to radical ones. There is a disconnect there. Now the situation may be totally different in Canada, I do not know if it is or is not. I can say from experience that the common Human being is often able to come to sane and beneficial conclusions even on wildly varying ideas where the activist/government/leadership cadres often cannot.
5. What of funding? I will allow a slight bit of radicalism into my questions here and ask, what happens if funding for these schools is cut? These schools could be "traps" as sinister as that sounds where certain sectors allow them to be built and then see that they are only funded enough to keep them open, but not enough to succeed in its goal. Is there strong enough support to take up that slack if the government falls short?
Ultimately if something achieves its goal and is not creating rifts in society, then it is a good thing and successful. I just think, from my POV, that its a very dangerous idea. Which is not saying it isn't the right idea for this situation.
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Date: 2008-02-01 03:42 pm (UTC)Will non-black students be allowed to attend the African-centric school? (Might sound odd, but it addresses a lot of the objections.)
Does anybody really think that a slant in history classes is what's causing a 40% drop-out rate?
I didn't attend a Canadian high school, but it seems fairly widely known that Lt.-Gov. Simcoe abolished slavery in 1793, shortly after the creation of the province of Upper Canada. Maybe this is only widely known in Toronto, but we are talking about Toronto schools. In the absence of specific evidence on this I'm not buying a blogger's assertion that Canadian schools don't teach relevant points of Canadian history.
I don't see evidence to suggest that the schools are the cause or the solution to the cultural and economic problems that are creating the high drop-out rate.
Broadly speaking, problems of discrimination and inequality are resolved when we broaden the definition of "us" to include some of "them". This proposal works against that. Voluntary segregation is still separatism; it just validates existing discrimniation from the other direction. I don't see this as a solution. There are relevant American experiences here that should not be ignored.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-01 03:48 pm (UTC)1. Is this a temporary measure that shows the school system and public in general a more positive way to design curriculum or is this a permanent solution because government / activism does not ever believe there is solution that sees one school system teaching children of all racial backgrounds?
2. What happens when white radicals, seeing this as the kind of place they want their children educated, start going to these schools in droves? Is it possible that at some point these schools could be overrun by white / east Asian children seeking a generally better environment, thus again pushing children of African descent to margins? For that matter if the school is getting good results from all across the board, non-radical whites might seek it out as well.
3. Is this empowerment or imposition? Are these schools here to see everyone gets a fair chance or are they there to educate a proscribed ideology? It happens in the normal school system (and oddly like American media, the conservative or liberal nature of a school system is a matter of point of view) and it can certainly happen in these schools as well. Hatred, no matter who is being hated or how its taught, is still hatred and therefore destructive.
4. Is this what the black community wants or is it what the activist and black 'leadership' want? I ask this because here in the States, if you bother to ask African-Americans, they will tell you the so-called black leaders do not speak for them. Again this ranges from more conservative blacks to radical ones. There is a disconnect there. Now the situation may be totally different in Canada, I do not know if it is or is not. I can say from experience that the common Human being is often able to come to sane and beneficial conclusions even on wildly varying ideas where the activist/government/leadership cadres often cannot.
5. What of funding? I will allow a slight bit of radicalism into my questions here and ask, what happens if funding for these schools is cut? These schools could be "traps" as sinister as that sounds where certain sectors allow them to be built and then see that they are only funded enough to keep them open, but not enough to succeed in its goal. Is there strong enough support to take up that slack if the government falls short?
Ultimately if something achieves its goal and is not creating rifts in society, then it is a good thing and successful. I just think, from my POV, that its a very dangerous idea. Which is not saying it isn't the right idea for this situation.