Comments on: The trouble with ‘afro-centric’ schools

By: hysperia

hysperia — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 03:51:12 +0000

I am in sympathy with what you say here. I am also in sympathy with those who want their children in an “afro-centric” school. I don’t think it’s a question of believing that African Canadians learn differently, but more a question of the fact that such kids need specific kinds of educational input and settings to give them the opportunity to learn and develop self-esteem and confidence that, tragically, our public schools do not provide. In determining which kids graduate and go on the university, the attitudes of parents may be important, but they’re not determinative. Socio-economic factors are likely more important. And, as a woman who had to deal with sexist attitudes while in school, I can only surmise that racism does profound damage to kids and poisons their learning environments in ways we likely can’t imagine.

I went to an all girls high school. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to do that. I know without any doubt at all that I would not, could not, have been as involved with school politics and projects had it been otherwise. I know for a fact I would have found it difficult to impossible to participate without self-consciousness in classroom discussions. I know for a fact that I would never have accomplished the things I have in my life and would likely have been completely run over in high school if I’d been in a co-ed school. Those are unfortunate facts, but I’m convinced they ARE facts.

By the time my sons went to school, the public system was in much worse shape than it was when I was an adolescent. As the years went by and we tried to deal with the terrible breakdown occuring in the education system, I thought so often that I would put them in private schools if I could. I was shocked at myself, as I’ve always been a strong supporter of the public school system. My sons never did go to private schools and I’m sorry for it. Somewhere along the way, our public education system has been left for dead. If I had responsibility for a young person right now, I would move heaven and earth to get them out of that system; parents aren’t fond of sacrificing their children to the ideals of others.

Rather than spending time opposing the afro-centric school idea, we ought to get busy concerning ourselves with changing the circumstances that make some people feel they are necessary.

Thanks for your post and the opportunity for discussion and sorry for the length of my comment – means a lot to me!

By: little miss brightside

little miss brightside — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 22:38:54 +0000

I think the reason Toronto's "afro-centric" school makes a lot of people uneasy is because segregation is not the way to make people equal. "Separate but equal" never is. It makes me uneasy because of the strong desire multiculturalism creates to see people solely in terms of their ethnic background, as opposed to a number of other socioeconomic indicators that could be related to the high drop out rate among these students. I'd love to know how these stats hold up against a test of "class" or "economic wealth" as potential sources of spuriousness. For more...

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:30:21 +0000

I’ve been trying to articulate how I feel about afro-centric schools for a while now, but you pretty much just summarized it right there.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:10:33 +0000

I totally agree with what you’ve laid out and would add something. I too am a white male from a small town, in Nova Scotia. One of the things I love about living in Toronto is the fact that I have the opportunity to be in environments where I’m constantly exposed to other cultures.
Something I’ve thought of often over the years is how great it will be for my children to go through a completely integrated schooling system, where different religions, customs, languages, and ways of life were all taught equally. To think about losing out on that kind of privilege makes me quite sad for all of us, regardless of what race or back ground.