Hotashi

I haven’t been following the whole debate (some would call it a controversy) over the recent approval of an Africentric school in Toronto very closely, but it really intrigues me that this is such a huge issue. Why are people so against a school that recognizes the need to recognize how prevalent and important issues of race and ethnicity are to education and the current curriculum? Especially with regards to the inherent racism and Eurocentracism that is embedded in the Ontario curriculum. I mean most, or at least a good portion of people, have quite strong opinions on the approval of this school. Some of the arguments made against this school is that it is segregating and that it should not be publicly funded.

Personally, I think the first argument is pretty weak considering that we already have schools segregated by class, gender and religion. We have private schools for those who can afford it [class]. We have all-girls and all-boys schools [gender]. And we have religious schools [publicly funded Catholic schools and numerous privately funded schools]. So why is race and ethnicity such a touchy subject? Well, publicly funding religious schools was an issue in the last provincial election, but I believe it was more of a race issue than anything else. Sorry, I digress. So if we have all these other forms of educational spaces, then why is a racial/ethnic social space so threatening? Could it be that the embedded racism that exists in the curriculum also exists, and is perpetuated by, the racism held by a good portion of Ontario residents? And just to clarify, the school is not only for Black students. It is open to everyone. So how exactly is is segregating?

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