It's a day late and a dollar short, but as promised here's a little rage on the subject of afrocentric schooling in Toronto. It's an important issues to me, so no cut-tabs
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Your post illustrates the problem I have with radio call-in shows. They allow many people to reel off an ill-conceived opinion, and provide nothing to question that opinion or make these people think about what they are saying at all. In particular, CBC's "Vox Box" is just a machine that records comments and then plays them back. They do their best to have editorial comments made by the people they choose to interview, but they can't do the same for callers.
I think many of the people who are protesting the school because it "promotes segregation" haven't thought about the issue with anything but a very superficial kneejerk reaction. I think they are fueled by the media headlines and their own laziness.
If you positioned this school as "a program to aid troubled adolescents from different cultures, with emphasis on their own culture" no one would be complaining. But call it "School for Black kids" and everyone is up in arms.
I support the idea for this school in theory, however I'm extremely skeptical of the implementation, and with something like this implementation is everything. I think if you can create an environment where a certain group of students will be less likely to act out or feel disenfranchised, then that's great. But it takes more than a simple curriculum change to make that happen. It will totally depend on the teachers and other people running the place. I don't think they've shown a decent plan for how they'll make that happen yet. So far it's all been fluffy, "we'll set up a program" talk.
I support the idea for this school in theory, however I'm extremely skeptical of the implementation, and with something like this implementation is everything. I think if you can create an environment where a certain group of students will be less likely to act out or feel disenfranchised, then that's great. But it takes more than a simple curriculum change to make that happen. It will totally depend on the teachers and other people running the place. I don't think they've shown a decent plan for how they'll make that happen yet. So far it's all been fluffy, "we'll set up a program" talk.
If you positioned this school as "a program to aid troubled adolescents from different cultures, with emphasis on their own culture" no one would be complaining. But call it "School for Black kids" and everyone is up in arms.
I think many of the people who are protesting the school because it "promotes segregation" haven't thought about the issue with anything but a very superficial kneejerk reaction. I think they are fueled by the media headlines and their own laziness.
If you positioned this school as "a program to aid troubled adolescents from different cultures, with emphasis on their own culture" no one would be complaining. But call it "School for Black kids" and everyone is up in arms.
I support the idea for this school in theory, however I'm extremely skeptical of the implementation, and with something like this implementation is everything. I think if you can create an environment where a certain group of students will be less likely to act out or feel disenfranchised, then that's great. But it takes more than a simple curriculum change to make that happen. It will totally depend on the teachers and other people running the place. I don't think they've shown a decent plan for how they'll make that happen yet. So far it's all been fluffy, "we'll set up a program" talk.
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I'm also skeptical for all of the same reasons.
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Exactly.
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