Black-focused schools

Each month I'll post a little blog about important things going on in the city. Read on to find out what this month's article is on.

P.S. Feel free to email me your opinions, doesn't matter if you agree with me or not, at tsmall@mutedmag.com.

Cheers :-)

You hear it being discussed on the radio, debated on late night television and argued in almost every newspaper in the country. Black –focused schools are definitely at the forefront of people’s minds and no one seems to agree about what the Toronto District School Board should do to deal with the issue. South of the border, our American counterparts took up the debate awhile ago and now africentric schools like the Betty Shabazz Charter School in Chicago are popping up across the country. So why is this topic just bubbling to the surface in Toronto now?

Well, I believe there are two reasons behind it 1) is that black students, are dropping out at increasing rates never seen before and 2) the Toronto School District seems to lack any viable options. As an African-Canadian female living in the heart of downtown Toronto I definitely believe there is a problem within the education system, all one has to do is visit a high school in one the proposed areas of the city to see it. The educational institution is failing members of our society but creating a separate school will only provide a temporary solution to this complicated problem. A curriculum that includes African/ Caribbean material would help students, all students, learn more about Canadian history and offer learning opportunities than the current Eurocentric one does not. However, that alone will not keep keep young adults in school. People need to look at the bigger picture and realize that budget cuts and a lack of adequate public funding affects students much more than any separate school board would.

In 2006 the Toronto District School Board announced an 85 million dollar deficit for the next year. That amount of money dictates what extra-curricular activities are available and what amount of time teacher assistants can give to each student. Budget cuts usually result with the weaker kids left behind and alienated from school. What does it matter if the curriculum is africentric if the schools cannot afford to pay for the texts used in class. It is important to note that these schools would still be funded by the current public school board, so they same budget restraints that public schools are facing will apply to the ones.

I first heard about African centered schools like most people on the TV. The initial thought that popped into my mind was the dreaded 'S' word, the ’S’ word that I'm referring to is segregation, and although many of us are too young to imagine a world where segregation existed it is not too far removed from contemporary society to still be a sensitive issue. The black-focused schools are a lighter form of segregation and could potentially lead to the introduction of other race based schools in the province. This type of education system would ultimately split the province up and destroy the multicultural society that Canada has become renowned for.