If the winters of Canada weren’t bad enough, there’s a storm brewing in its biggest city Toronto, and it’s one that looks like leaving more than just superficial damage. The problem lies with an idea from new equity officer Lloyd McKell, and his suggestion that Toronto should have an all-black school added to the curriculum. This has led to supporters of both sides of the argument voicing their opinions, some more vociferously than others. So who’s right – or, more to the point, is there a right or wrong answer? The fact that it’s a city in Canada where this is happening makes it even more pertinent – after all, this is a country that’s prided itself on welcoming all races and creeds to its lands. Which, considering the immigrant history of Canada itself, shouldn’t be that surprising. So why does McKell feel the need for an all-black school in particular – why not an all-Asian, or all-white, or all-anything? Is McKell trying to just stir up controversy for the sake of it – after all, it’s what politicians and civil servants are good at – or does he have a valid point?
McKell’s argument for the all-black school is that it would allow teachers to concentrate more of their time on the students that need it most. This would be black students who are thinking of dropping out of school, and McKell’s solution would be to offer an environment with just black teachers. This would then encourage more black students to study until the end of school – in theory, anyway.
The problem with McKell’s argument is that it doesn’t get to the root of why black students – or any students – decide to drop out of school in the first place. And no amount of “have a teacher of the same colour” is going to change this problem. For example, let’s take a look at neighbourhoods as one root of the problem.
Studies show that if a child comes from a poor or rundown neighbourhood, they are statistically more likely to perform poorly at school. This is regardless of race or colour, and is true of pretty much any country in the world. The US particularly has a problem with this, with its inner-city neighbourhoods struggling.
The difference with the US compared to Canada is that black families populate the majority of its inner city “slums” – Toronto doesn’t share that problem as much. Its poor are multi-racial and multi-ethnic, with families of black, white, Chinese and European descent all sharing the same streets. So why does McKell insist on an all-black school as the solution?
Perhaps the reason is that he’s trying to divert attention away from his council’s own failings when it comes to Toronto’s black community, and the community at large. One of the biggest problems the city faces is that, unlike many other metropolitan areas, it doesn’t encourage one-parent families. There seems to be a moral belief that one-parent families are less suitable to a good upbringing than the traditional “2.5 children” families of the magazines. Because of this, the tax system in Toronto punishes single parent families to the extent that parents can’t afford to buy the books and educational tools that their children need.
On top of this, Toronto has become like so many other places, where the discipline of a child has been allowed to slide. The moral politically correct crew have won the day, and no longer can you “smack” your child for misbehaving. I remember my parents spanking me for being bad, and if it taught me one thing, it was that if you did bad things there would be consequences. Now, a parent can't so much as raise their voice without getting funny looks from the do-gooders. This is one of the biggest causes of school dropouts and poor education results - without the respect for authority, what chance do teachers have of instructing a rowdy class? Agreed, a teacher should still not be allowed to spank kids BUT maybe the kids will have more respect for authority in general if their own parents were allowed to put them in place?
Yet perhaps the biggest problem of all is the lack of values that was so prevalent in years gone by. Respect for your elders; love for your common man; belief in the law and democracy; all this and more have disappeared. To be fair, this is a worldwide problem – the UK is seeing its inner cities crumble into despair, Europe has a major problem with fascist groups, and America’s powers-that-be seem hell-bent on turning every country against them. So what can we do?
One thing that we don’t need to do is listen to the rhetoric that an all-black school is the answer. Many of Toronto and Canada’s top businessmen and women are black, proving that mixed education has worked, and continues to work. So is the answer to undo over 60 years of hard work, racial acceptance and education? No, and a resounding no at that.
Yes, there is an inherent drug and gang culture that seems to be more prevalent in predominantly black neighbourhoods, yet is this the fault of the neighbourhood? Or is it the simple result of a lack of funding and a failure of the politicians to address what’s happening in our schools? If you want an answer, look at the slums of Glasgow or Edinburgh, in Scotland, or the Harehills area of Leeds, in the UK. These are some of the poorest areas in the UK, and home to some of the biggest drug issues and violent gangs in the country. Yet Glasgow and Edinburgh slums are mostly white, and the Harehills area houses Pakistani and Indian communities. So it’s clearly not a colour problem.
Until we sort out the root of the education problem – poor funding, no support for home life, etc – we will continue to have high rates of failure and dropping out of school. While this problem affects certain communities more than others, of course the colour and race of that community will become evident when discussing the problem. Building an all-black, or all-white, school doesn’t help – if anything, it will alleviate the problem, as we ignore what’s really at fault and divide our country at the same time.
