Last night, after an intense discussion that included 20 speakers, the Toronto District School Board voted 11-9 in favour of an alternative Africentric school. In addition to the Africentric school, the board passed other measures (all by wide margins) to combat the 40% dropout rate of Toronto's black students. These included an action plan to help all black students improve, pilot programs covering subjects from an Africentric perspective in regular schools, and establishing a research program (with York University and community groups) to determine how to reduce the disparity between black children and their peers of other races when it comes to academic success.
I discussed this topic in November when it was first proposed, and despite the board's decision and the clarifications that were made, I stand by my original position that this is a mistake, and cannot benefit anyone in the long run. While the plan may not be traditional segregation in that the school will be open to students of all ethnicities, with a mandate to have a predominantly black staff and curriculum, other ethnic groups cannot help but feel excluded.
Instead of restating my arguments, I will leave it to Loreen Small, mother of Jordan Manners:
"This black school thing – no, it ain't right ... Don't propose it – Martin Luther King thought we could sit at the front of the bus together ... My son died at C.W. Jefferys in 2007. If we can all just come together and be as one ... If black kids need to graduate, let's get teachers in there and learn how to interact with black kids."
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I think I agree with you in that it seems alot like segregation. Better to amend the curriculum to be more inclusive, and teach it to all.
Posted by: mama drama | February 08, 2008 at 01:57 PM