Black focused school approved in Toronto

[Kralizec]

http://www.thestar.com/article/297001

Some bits:

"Opening one school does not address the problem across the system ... (where) a significant number of students of African descent are not doing well in our schools," said board superintendent Christopher Usih, one of the report's authors.

"We have a responsibility to address the needs across the system. We see the Africentric school request as part of a bigger (plan) ... to effectively close the gap."

Children at the camp learn about African achievements – including the fact Africa had a university long before Europe – as well as read African-Canadian authors and study math using the numerical patterns of royal "kente" cloth from Ghana.

"It's not a segregated school. Anyone can attend," she said. "It's become a racial issue. It's become divisive."

Right, I predict that lots of non-black Canadians are going to send their kids to a school where they focus on teaching about how great African civilizations like Timbuktu, Nubia or ancient Zimbabwe were and where they stress that at the same time Europeans were scratching their backends with sticks. I have no idea how, but I'm sure that learning about obscure civilizations on a continent that even most black kids have never visited is going a long way to improve education.

Anybody else think this is a bad idea?

[Husar]

Well, that's certainly going to close the gap, they can get the same degree by knowing everything about africa instead of mathematics, won't only close the gap, will also help them at university or in their job. I guess there's a bit more to it though but whatever, if they think that's a good idea, let them waste their money on it.

[HoreTore]

Bah, we can't all be economists, someone's got to be in the social and history jobs too.

[Fragony]

If they want it fine, as long as it's on top of the school material that is already there and they make the same exams. Schools in general could give african history some more attention imho.

[Mooks]

If they want it fine, as long as it's on top of the school material that is already there and they make the same exams. Schools in general could give african history some more attention imho.

Schools should give more attention to every culture outside europe. Im in world history 2 right now, and after this I will take a american history. Maybe 1/20th of my textbook covers asia/mayans incans and aztecs, the rest is european.

[Mikeus Caesar]

But haven't you all heard - Europe is the only continent, other continents just sat around empty until Europeans colonized them.

Despite my above argument, i disagree with this school, and other schools like it (islamic schools and such) on the basis that they do nothing to help the social integration of other cultures.

[Vladimir]

I wonder if they distinguish between Northern and Sub-Sahara Africa.

[KukriKhan]

...they were following school board policy for establishing alternative schools that's been in place for more than 40 years.

If the board has already implemented them for First Nations people and gays and lesbians, then why not blacks, Wilson asked...

Seems like they already had a policy in place, and this is just an extension of it.

It sounds "Canadian" to me, as distinct from America's "melting pot" theory. Seems to work for them, so far.

And, as holybandit points out, World Civ courses could do with some more info about the other continents, too.

[Husar]

And, as holybandit points out, World Civ courses could do with some more info about the other continents, too.

Yes, but why make a special school for it instead of extending the courses offered at other schools?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

And why did we do the french revolution three times and the american and russian revolutions never?!?

[KukriKhan]

Yes, but why make a special school for it instead of extending the courses offered at other schools?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

And why did we do the french revolution three times and the american and russian revolutions never?!?

Point(s) taken. That would be my approach, too.

But I'm not a Canadian school policy-setter.

[Kralizec]

And why did we do the french revolution three times and the american and russian revolutions never?!?

It was the other way around for me. I know that I've had the Russian revolution at least two times when I was in high school, the French and Americans only briefly (or at least so I remember)
Neither do I recall being tought at all about Greece or Rome- if I had followed the high school program in wich you had to take Greek or Latin I would have, but you think that any pupil would get at least some education about antiquity.
Strangely they apparently felt that while Greek or Roman history was inconsequential, Chinese history was important enough for pupils having to memorize the names of all the different dynasties and to have a basic understanding of what confucianism and taoism are about

[Zim]

Interesting. When I was in high school, we covered almost all of those things, mostly in World History classes but also in some of the Social Studies classes we had to take. We sacrificed a lot of detail to cover so much, though.

It was the other way around for me. I know that I've had the Russian revolution at least two times when I was in high school, the French and Americans only briefly (or at least so I remember)
Neither do I recall being tought at all about Greece or Rome- if I had followed the high school program in wich you had to take Greek or Latin I would have, but you think that any pupil would get at least some education about antiquity.
Strangely they apparently felt that while Greek or Roman history was inconsequential, Chinese history was important enough for pupils having to memorize the names of all the different dynasties and to have a basic understanding of what confucianism and taoism are about

[lars573]

I wonder if they distinguish between Northern and Sub-Sahara Africa.

More than likely they follow that Afro-centric history "theory". IE Hannibal Barca was black, Cleopatra and her ancestor Ptolemy Soter were black. ALL Egyptian Pharaohs were black. Meaning that description is irrelavent.

I can see the logic of teaching children of African decent the history of African peoples. The problem is how much is catering too much to minorities.

[Crazed Rabbit]

study math using the numerical patterns of royal "kente" cloth from Ghana.

Wow. That's going to be useful in the real world.

CR

[Quirinus]

How stupid. While it doesn't smack of malevolent intent, the proposal is silly and condescending to blacks. It would be like giving Hispanic Americans special courses that focus on Spanish history.

...they were following school board policy for establishing alternative schools that's been in place for more than 40 years.

If the board has already implemented them for First Nations people and gays and lesbians, then why not blacks, Wilson asked...

Why do homosexuals need alternative schools? They say that as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

[Kralizec]

But haven't you all heard - Europe is the only continent, other continents just sat around empty until Europeans colonized them.

I never said that I think kids should only learn European history. It should be a ballanced package about influential events and occurrences throughout history, and Africa shouldn't be left out entirely. But frankly, what came out of Africa the last 2,000 years that justifies making it the primary focus, putting it ahead of Egypt, the near East, China and Europe?

They complain that normal schools have a white/European bias. While I think it's important that history classes also show what happened elsewhere in the world there's no denying that for the last 1,000 years at least European powers, and from some point on the Americas, were a whole lot more influential than sub-Saharan Africa. History isn't just written by, but also dictated to a large degree by the "victors".

Additionally I have a hard time figuring out why so many black Americans (including Canadians) still feel connected to Africa even though the skin color is about all they have in common with their ancestors who got shipped over.