Black-Focused Toronto Schools Approved

[CentreHice]

From the AM 640 website. 3 ethno-centric schools planned for 2009. I certainly hope they have time to reverse this decision. The vote was 11-9.


TORONTO/AM640 TORONTO - Toronto District School Board Trustees have approved the creation of a black-focused school in Toronto.
It was a public debate, and hundreds turned up to have their voices heard.

The school is set to open in September of 2009.

Meanwhile, an influential voice is speaking out against the idea.

Lawyer Courtney Betty represented the family of slain teen Jordan Manners.

He tells the John Downs show on AM 640 Toronto Radio that the idea does nothing but isolate the black community.

"Toronto being recognized by the United Nations as one of greatest multi-cultural cities in the world, it really would be a shame to be ghetto-izing these young people any further."

He believes that the majority of the black community in Toronto don't want schools divided by race.

[CrocRob]

Apparently white people have sufficiently exploited the world that they should be excluded from access to public resources. A publicly funded exclusive school for black kids? Are you kidding me?

All I know for sure is that it wasn't a white person's idea, because that would be racist and segregationist. Thanks for bringing it up, because I'm going to be writing a letter in the morning. I don't live in the area, but my return address will certainly make it seem like I do.

[franko]

This most certainly opens the door to a court challenge re: funding for faith based schools.

Back to eubonics.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

franko said:

This most certainly opens the door to a court challenge re: funding for faith based schools.

Back to eubonics.

Not only that, Franko ... can you imagine the fallout if someone were to suggest an ALL WHITE school? No, no, no .... can't do that ... totally racist concept ...

This will also establish a precedence for other races as well. All will have a claim if this goes through.

Heck, what will be the implications of this decision being overturned? Will the black community be up in arms? I would be!

Multiculturalism my arse!!!

[CentreHice]

disgruntled70shab said:

franko said:

This most certainly opens the door to a court challenge re: funding for faith based schools.

Back to eubonics.

Not only that, Franko ... can you imagine the fallout if someone were to suggest an ALL WHITE school? No, no, no .... can't do that ... totally racist concept ...

This will also establish a precedence for other races as well. All will have a claim if this goes through.

Heck, what will be the implications of this decision being overturned? Will the black community be up in arms? I would be!

Multiculturalism my arse!!!

From all I've heard, leaders in the black community see it as segregational ("ghettoi-zing") and they don't want it.

[CentreHice]

Toronto Star Top Story

"Africentic" is the term.

The focus is on improving the estimated 40% drop-out rate among black students.

Schools: the social panacea. Over and above parenting....always has been/always will be, sadly.

There's no substitute for solid parenting....not even a substitute teacher.

One of the mothers spearheading the proposal, is Donna Harrow.

In an impassioned bid to separate rumours from the real proposal, Donna Harrow reminded trustees that this proposed school would be open to all students.

Harrow said the debate has been made overly charged by those raising the ghost of the segregated South.

"This has turned into a fiasco – we did not propose a school for only blacks, we did not propose a school with all black teachers and all black curriculum.

"Let us stop it. This is a school where all people could come and get support.

No one said little white children could not go there."


Good luck with that spin.

[CrocRob]

That their skin colour is black isn't the reason why they drop out. They drop out because they come from poor families and need to supply income to help keep themselves afloat. If you want to improve dropout rates, you need to have a demonstrable incentive to stay in school, and support the costs of education for low income families.

It might help to crack down on the gang presence in greater Toronto, too.

In response to the quote today, why the hell would they have even called it a black school in the first place if white kids are intended to go there? Then it's just a new school. Agreed about the spin job.. good luck convincing anyone of that.

[CentreHice]

Random thoughts: If it's not over-turned.

Yes, access to knowledge and education is the key to break any repressive cycle....but you have to have the parenting/family to support along the way. I wish everyone nothing but success in that regard....no matter the background.

Wonder if there'll be a dress code at these schools. Uniforms? Music code as well? iPods checked for various artists espousing violence, objectification of women, etc.?

Danger: Even though stemming the ethno-gangs would be a goal of these schools (i.e. results of better/further education doesn't include gang mentality), they could very well become a target of such gangs ("You think you're better than the rest of us?"). They have to be prepared for that.

If it's to go ahead, starting at the elementary school level is the best idea.


Between this topic and the Leafs, Toronto talk-radio has their programming set for quite a while.

[Cranky]

Where are our "Muslim Only" schools? WHERE? What kind of society allows black to be so privlidged as to get their own schools and nothing for the rest? I want Muslim schools, I want Oriental schools....and I want to have the right to fund WHICH schools get my ridicilous amount of taxes. Then it will all be fair. Right?

The b*llsh*t never ends......... *sigh*

[CrocRob]

habsaddict said:

Where are our "Muslim Only" schools? WHERE? What kind of society allows black to be so privlidged as to get their own schools and nothing for the rest? I want Muslim schools, I want Oriental schools....and I want to have the right to fund WHICH schools get my ridicilous amount of taxes. Then it will all be fair. Right?

The b*llsh*t never ends......... *sigh*

There are Muslim schools, they just don't receive additional public funding more than a conventional private school. I think your statement is referring to fully public-funded schools, but didn't explicitly say as such.

[Skilly]

redscull said:

That their skin colour is black isn't the reason why they drop out. They drop out because they come from poor families and need to supply income to help keep themselves afloat.

Now I know there are bugs in this that need to be ironed out but the first thought that came to my head was....

Skilly Solution: You pay kids to go to school. Higher grades get more money.

[CentreHice]

skilly said:

redscull said:

That their skin colour is black isn't the reason why they drop out. They drop out because they come from poor families and need to supply income to help keep themselves afloat.

Now I know there are bugs in this that need to be ironed out but the first thought that came to my head was....

Skilly Solution: You pay kids to go to school. Higher grades get more money.

Cheating on exams just went through the roof with that.....


I was listening to AM 640 on the way into Toronto this morning....and host Mike Stafford was talking about the fact that the two women spearheading this intiative are working under the notion that the black community is being underserved by the traditional (see "white") school system and they think they should be learning more about their heritage and culture. As if that's the reason the drop-out rate is so high. They are being fed Euro lies in the current system, they say.

For an example, one of the women said that the Pythagorean Theorem was not developed by Pythagorus at all.....he took it from the Nubians in Egypt.

"Fine," Stafford said, "and how does knowing that help them apply the theory?"

All I've heard today is that these women are being very racist in their thinking.

A black man called into the station and said, "I don't care how many schools, clubs you wanna start. Until the black men in our community start taking responsibility for their actions and stop having 5 kids with 5 different women, not supporting them. leaving them to run from one welfare situation to the next....until that changes, nothing is going to help. We need a commitment to responsibility and family first."

Stafford's response, "The women also have a responsibility to keep their ankles together."

Quite the hot topic.


Watch for it: It's only a matter of time before these two women show up on "Oprah". I don't know what Oprah's opinion will be....but I have a feeling she'd rip their thinking apart.

[habmeister]

until black kids have better role models in the black community than 50 cent, barry bonds, and aspire to be more than rappers, gangsters, drug dealers or sports stars they will always have a high dropout rate. it isn't cool to stay in school and get good grades and work for the man. yes i'm generalizing, and i live in white bc, but society, mtv, etc...says that its cooler to be bad than to be good. society is a bit screwed up right now.

there is a conspiracy theory that white america keeps the black man down with drugs, alcohol etc... i don't think the truth is very far from that. its really sad that the ones that become famous are usually very pompous and arrogant, i wished that lebron james would have been more loved than he is by the black youth. kanye west makes me sick, but i buy his albums.

its now cool to be a badass and a jerk with teens, teen girls want to be strippers and teen boys want to be gangstas, i'm talking black and white, but i'm not talking about any of your kids of course . martin luther king must shed tears every day.

i used to love the dave chappelle show because he was very forthright about the problems and made fun of his own people, while also shedding light on it. he was a good role model in some ways. he was also one of the whitest black men you'll ever see. strange.

[CentreHice]

habmeister said:

until black kids have better role models in the black community than 50 cent, barry bonds, and aspire to be more than rappers, gangsters, drug dealers or sports stars they will always have a high dropout rate. it isn't cool to stay in school and get good grades and work for the man. yes i'm generalizing, and i live in white bc, but society, mtv, etc...says that its cooler to be bad than to be good. society is a bit screwed up right now.

According to the black man who called in this morning, the biggest role model is the one who's missing: Dad. And the various family situations are left to meander about in the welfare system. That's why these negative role models have such a pull. Everybody has a need to belong. And everybody has a need to survive.

Listening to gangsta rap with your pants down around your knees (any race) isn't going to lead to reputable employment outside of that industry.

The guidance, love, and affection of a responsible male parent is missing in the home.

That's why I hope these women go on "Oprah" thinking they're all that. Oprah will definitely let them know that their actions are regressive and won't solve anything.

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

I think it's a great idea for Toronna!
Why not make the Maple Leafs a Black-Focused team in the NHL. Only black players will be allowed to play on the privilaged team.
Make Terminal2 a black focused airport.
The CN Tower a black focused falic symbol.
This makes Sunni/Sheite focused schools seem trivial.
Black focused McDonalds.
Black focused water fountains and washrooms.
Who is the genius, Conrad Black?

[Yossarian]

So that all those kids that are now failing and dropping out, are now going to get great grades, graduate, and become successful, contributing members of society, because the curiculum will now be so much more interesting and more cultural sensitive and relevant? How will this happen? Am I missing something?

And haven't curricula and testing been standardized throughout Ontario? How are these schools going to deal with the basic stuff, like reading, writing, and using numbers and such?

Its pretty f'd up when city councillors don't have the presence to shoot down proposals that raise more questions than provide answers, in the absence of hard empirical evidence. I guess it is too easy to do so.....or just to difficult.

[Cranky]

redscull said:

habsaddict said:

Where are our "Muslim Only" schools? WHERE? What kind of society allows black to be so privlidged as to get their own schools and nothing for the rest? I want Muslim schools, I want Oriental schools....and I want to have the right to fund WHICH schools get my ridicilous amount of taxes. Then it will all be fair. Right?

The b*llsh*t never ends......... *sigh*

There are Muslim schools, they just don't receive additional public funding more than a conventional private school. I think your statement is referring to fully public-funded schools, but didn't explicitly say as such.

I was being sarcastic.

I am sick and tired of hearing all this crap. No matter what happens in our society, it seems that no one wants to look at the root cause if there is any "political incorrectness" to it.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

habsaddict said:

redscull said:

There are Muslim schools, they just don't receive additional public funding more than a conventional private school. I think your statement is referring to fully public-funded schools, but didn't explicitly say as such.

I was being sarcastic.

I am sick and tired of hearing all this crap. No matter what happens in our society, it seems that no one wants to look at the root cause if there is any "political incorrectness" to it.

I'm keeping an eye on what Mr Mansur might have to say on this. Nothing yet but I'm hoping soon.

Cheers.

[Cranky]

centrehice said:

According to the black man who called in this morning, the biggest role model is the one who's missing: Dad. And the various family situations are left to meander about in the welfare system. That's why these negative role models have such a pull. Everybody has a need to belong. And everybody has a need to survive.

Listening to gangsta rap with your pants down around your knees (any race) isn't going to lead to reputable employment outside of that industry.

The guidance, love, and affection of a responsible male parent is missing in the home.

If you look at the root cause then you are putting the blame on WHO and WHY. Have you not been indocrinated enough to know that you can NOT blame "non white" people or woman? If you can stretch your imagination to blame yourself for everybody's else's problem then you are truly enlightened. Pffft.....

[Skilly]

centrehice said:

skilly said:

Now I know there are bugs in this that need to be ironed out but the first thought that came to my head was....

Skilly Solution: You pay kids to go to school. Higher grades get more money.

Cheating on exams just went through the roof with that.....

If ya ain't cheating, ya ain't trying ... ;D or so Bill Belichek tells me ...

[Disgruntled70sHab]

habmeister said:

until black kids have better role models in the black community than 50 cent, barry bonds, and aspire to be more than rappers, gangsters, drug dealers or sports stars they will always have a high dropout rate.

The image some rappers convey is a major problem. It influences their young followers to the point where they believe it to be a way of life. And I know a lot of young white rappers as well. The message I get from it is, "... my poop don't stick ... providing I've got the gang to back me up ..."

But, what's worse is the impression young rapper followers leave with me. Very honestly, I've already made my judgement when I see a group of 4/5 young black kids with hats on sideways, pants bearly showing the crack of their arses, jackets open, hanging in groups, not saying a word to each other. They look cool and mean just like the DVDs.

I've worked with a lot of American soldiers during my career and some of them actually think there's and, like the young rappers, they feel they have an image to uphold as well. I'm not talking about the professional image of a soldier, but the Hollywood image of it. We could identify the Hollywood soldiers right away. Like the young rapper disciples, their poop didn't stink.

it isn't cool to stay in school and get good grades and work for the man.

I used to think this was a teenager thing ... but the teenager thing is a completely different scenario nowadays.

yes i'm generalizing, and i live in white bc, but society, mtv, etc...says that its cooler to be bad than to be good. society is a bit screwed up right now.

Dis Jr is a teenager-going-on-25. He talks back to his mom, would rather hang out with his friends than do homework and neglects his chores. Something like me when I was his age.

But, Jr is also a real stand-up guy for his age. He's fiercely protective of his family and friends. If he thinks one of us is getting a raw deal, he's right in there at the forefront. This is going to help him when he's older. But nowadays stand-up guys like him could be a threat to whatever gang deems him as such. I've asked if him if there were gangs in his school. He said there were and he just avoids them. But, I'm ruing the day one of these groups picks on his girlfriend or friends.

there is a conspiracy theory that white america keeps the black man down with drugs, alcohol etc... i don't think the truth is very far from that.

Living in Charlottetown back in '84. The tall ships came into port and one of the smaller ones was flying a Confederate flag. We ended up in the same pub as a lot of the crews that night and it wasn't hard to figure out who was from that crew.

But, prejiduce isn't only confined to the southern USA. I've seen it right here in Kingston; in the mall and on the golf course.

its now cool to be a badass and a jerk with teens, teen girls want to be strippers and teen boys want to be gangstas, i'm talking black and white, but i'm not talking about any of your kids of course . martin luther king must shed tears every day.

And the term "freedom of expression" is pushing them right in the back. One of the first things young people understand these days are their rights. Our son had a primary school teacher who flogged a simple message, "... if you don't agree with something, say so. If you think your parents are wrong, then tell them why ..."

And she's still teaching.

Cheers.