So, I don't normally read the St Catharines Standard
As I have nothing but disdain for a lot of what goes on in the region. It's just the way I am. A lot of these people seem to think that it's the middle of the 19th Century and that poverty is a sign of moral weakness and general unfitness. Case in point? They're starting a school for poor kids. Now, if this were a University or College that had drastically reduced tuition or I could understand. This is a Middle School and, eventually, a High School.
Public education is already here, folks. It's been around for quite some time in Canada. Since the mid 1800s, really. It's generally accepted that poor folk and 'wealthy' folk are OK to blend together. It leads to all sorts of cross-cultural and cross-class interactions. That's really a good idea. Honestly, it won't result in the destruction of the delicate social fabric in which some people still put stock. People like DSBN chairman Kevin Maves, for example, who will get the FJM/Gin and Tacos treatment here:
"...Maves was neither surprised nor concerned by the feedback.
Which was, predictably, by and large massively negative as most folk have this thing called 'reason' which the DSBN clearly lacks.
"We're just thinking of the students it's going to serve," he said.
Who will not be served at all. Unless you're talking about serving them by, you know, segregating them from their 'social betters.' Oh, wait...
Comments about segregation, however, were "very unfair" in his view.
Yeah! It's not segregation if they're not coloured folk! Oh, wait. It seems as though "Blacks, West Indians, Latin Americans, some Asian groups, and Aboriginal peoples are clearly near the bottom [of the income scale]." Kinda shoots the "it's not segregation!" argument in the foot, eh?
"People will be there because they want to be there, because they see the benefits for their children," he said.
Like keeping them uppity nig- pak- spi- slo- wah- poor folk away from the upstanding whi- economically well off folk!
Maves pointed to the many partners supporting the project - the Elementary Teachers Federation, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, Brock University, Niagara College, Youth University (based at Brock University), Community Care, the Region of Niagara, Regional Public Health and the YMCA of Niagara.
The fact that four educational groups - one of whom I stole a degree from! - support this idea speaks volumes to their ideas of community development. The fact that the Region, RPH and the YMCA support this idea says that they don't want those uppity poor folk mentioned above mixing with 'their people' and, to put not too fine a point on it, 'browning up' the place.
"Our partners are seeing the benefits, and I think we're doing the right thing," he said.
Of course you do. Because those benefits are probably the fact that they can now just look at an application and say "Oh, well, the applicants from The Poor Kid school won't have the non-loan cash to pay us, so fuck 'em." Good call there.
"If we improve prospects for a number of kids, then their families and the region would benefit."
Of course, how this will improve the prospects for the kids in that school isn't stated. But then again, with the rich kids mixing only with other rich kids, I suppose they'd be 'better off,' wouldn't they?
The one thing that I'm honestly confused by is the insistence that this is a good idea I cannot think of a single, rational way that economic segregation - because let's face it, that is exactly what this is - can be put forth a good idea or even portrayed in a positive light.
Now, I'm not suggesting that the DSBN is evil, or that they're grossly incompetent in keeping to their Strategic Plan, but they're either grossly incompetent or very, very, very evil.
So, what can we do? Well, for one, you can contact the DSBN and tell them that they're out of their gods-damned minds. Some of you who are more in-tune with the community could possibly drum up support for a protest or demonstration against this. Hell, we could even get a survey going - ask 20 groups of 1000 people what they feel about the idea and figure the stats from there - and present that to the DSBN. Regardless, this shit is uncool, and we need to do something about it.
Public education is already here, folks. It's been around for quite some time in Canada. Since the mid 1800s, really. It's generally accepted that poor folk and 'wealthy' folk are OK to blend together. It leads to all sorts of cross-cultural and cross-class interactions. That's really a good idea. Honestly, it won't result in the destruction of the delicate social fabric in which some people still put stock. People like DSBN chairman Kevin Maves, for example, who will get the FJM/Gin and Tacos treatment here:
"...Maves was neither surprised nor concerned by the feedback.
Which was, predictably, by and large massively negative as most folk have this thing called 'reason' which the DSBN clearly lacks.
"We're just thinking of the students it's going to serve," he said.
Who will not be served at all. Unless you're talking about serving them by, you know, segregating them from their 'social betters.' Oh, wait...
Comments about segregation, however, were "very unfair" in his view.
Yeah! It's not segregation if they're not coloured folk! Oh, wait. It seems as though "Blacks, West Indians, Latin Americans, some Asian groups, and Aboriginal peoples are clearly near the bottom [of the income scale]." Kinda shoots the "it's not segregation!" argument in the foot, eh?
"People will be there because they want to be there, because they see the benefits for their children," he said.
Like keeping them uppity nig- pak- spi- slo- wah- poor folk away from the upstanding whi- economically well off folk!
Maves pointed to the many partners supporting the project - the Elementary Teachers Federation, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, Brock University, Niagara College, Youth University (based at Brock University), Community Care, the Region of Niagara, Regional Public Health and the YMCA of Niagara.
The fact that four educational groups - one of whom I stole a degree from! - support this idea speaks volumes to their ideas of community development. The fact that the Region, RPH and the YMCA support this idea says that they don't want those uppity poor folk mentioned above mixing with 'their people' and, to put not too fine a point on it, 'browning up' the place.
"Our partners are seeing the benefits, and I think we're doing the right thing," he said.
Of course you do. Because those benefits are probably the fact that they can now just look at an application and say "Oh, well, the applicants from The Poor Kid school won't have the non-loan cash to pay us, so fuck 'em." Good call there.
"If we improve prospects for a number of kids, then their families and the region would benefit."
Of course, how this will improve the prospects for the kids in that school isn't stated. But then again, with the rich kids mixing only with other rich kids, I suppose they'd be 'better off,' wouldn't they?
The one thing that I'm honestly confused by is the insistence that this is a good idea I cannot think of a single, rational way that economic segregation - because let's face it, that is exactly what this is - can be put forth a good idea or even portrayed in a positive light.
Now, I'm not suggesting that the DSBN is evil, or that they're grossly incompetent in keeping to their Strategic Plan, but they're either grossly incompetent or very, very, very evil.
So, what can we do? Well, for one, you can contact the DSBN and tell them that they're out of their gods-damned minds. Some of you who are more in-tune with the community could possibly drum up support for a protest or demonstration against this. Hell, we could even get a survey going - ask 20 groups of 1000 people what they feel about the idea and figure the stats from there - and present that to the DSBN. Regardless, this shit is uncool, and we need to do something about it.