Black Only Schools Proposed

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loc...ub=TorontoHome

Black-only school proposal draws praise, criticism
toronto.ctv.ca

It was a charged atmosphere in a Toronto school on Monday night as educators, parents and students met for the second time to discuss the idea of schools designed especially for black students.

While some members of the community say it's the best way to keep more young blacks interested and engaged, others fear the concept is a dangerous throwback to the days of segregation.

The event began at 7 p.m. at Northview Heights Secondary School, at Finch Avenue and Bathurst Street.

The debate was heated at the first meeting last Thursday night at North Albion Collegiate.

One mother strongly against the concept was escorted out after an outburst.

"We don't have to go back to segregation," the woman shouted. "Come up with something else. The kids are failing school, but come up with something else."

Opponents argue the idea would segregate students, while supporters say an "African-centred alternative school" would lower the dropout rate of young black males.

But the proposal also has supporters, including one parent who said it would be a step forward from the current system, which she says alienates many black students.

You should read the rest of the article.
If this occurs then there is nothing stopping each tone of person from asking for their own school and being right in doing so.
This is an insane idea.

[monster]

Only the title says it would be a black-only school. The rest of the article states black/african-focused, which is a whole different thing.

[bluecuracao]

Some parents say an African-centred school with black teachers and role models would help black youths graduate and succeed.

The school board's proposal calls for a school from junior kindergarten to Grade 8 that would have more black teachers, mentors and a stronger focus on students' heritage.

The school would teach the Ontario curriculum and have more parent involvement.

As long as it really isn't black only--kids aren't forced to go, and it's open to everyone--I don't think it's an insane idea. It would be an opportunity for kids to learn from a non-Euro-centric perspective.

Edit: Like what Clod said in her 2nd paragraph.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by monster

Only the title says it would be a black-only school. The rest of the article states black/african-focused, which is a whole different thing.

Let them have them, then we could start some "White's Only" schools......

[monster]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Let them have them, then we could start some "White's Only" schools......

1) no apostrophe in Whites
2) for the umpteenth time, Blacks Only schools IS NOT THE PROPOSAL. It's just the title of the article and the thread and is erroneous
3) the point being made is that we already have "caucasian-focused" schools. We just don't call them that and refuse to admit it. They're suggesting some schools with a different focus to address the balance. That's all.

It's not so much to do with race as it is to do with culture. But an awful lot of people cannot get past the "racism" stumbling block.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by monster

1) no apostrophe in Whites

Sure there is, I put one there.

2) for the umpteenth time, Blacks Only schools IS NOT THE PROPOSAL. It's just the title of the article and the thread and is erroneous

Bad proposal, unless we can have "White's Only" schools... Which by the way I don't really think is a great idea.

3) the point being made is that we already have "caucasian-focused" schools. We just don't call them that and refuse to admit it. They're suggesting some schools with a different focus to address the balance. That's all.

"caucasian focused", what a crock of bull shit. Blacks and AA only represent about 12% of the US population. They should not be getting more than 12% of the attention.

[Clodfobble]

The school board's proposal calls for a school from junior kindergarten to Grade 8 that would have more black teachers, mentors and a stronger focus on students' heritage.

The school would teach the Ontario curriculum and have more parent involvement.

Sounds more like a school where they stick all the black teachers. I find it amusing that they just broadly declare that the school would have more parent involvement. Unless they set it up like a magnet or alternative school, where students have to apply to be allowed to transfer in from their standard school, this will be no different from any public school in the area, with the same parental involvement and dropout rates to be expected.

But if they want to set up a magnet school that requires applications, more power to them. The Houston school district has had a lot of success with their specialized programs in this area: there's an arts high school, and computer high school, a hard science high school, a liberal arts/literature high school... if they have enough students to fill the classes, and aren't refusing students from other races, why not a cultural school?

[piercehawkeye45]

Its potentially a good idea. I know of a black teacher and he says that it is much better for black students to have black teachers for obvious reasons.

I've also heard bad things about magnet schools but I don't know much about them.

[Bullitt]

To me it makes sense that students will/do perform better when they have an instructor that they can identify with and who appears to have a genuine concern for the students' progress. On the other hand, people should not expect these schools to be the magic pill that fixes the dropout rate, etc. The only things can fix these problems are correct and adequate parental involvement, sufficient funding for all schools, and competent leadership for the school system.

It's all about instilling in these kids the idea that they really can succeed in life despite troubled backgrounds, and then providing them with the necessary knowledge to do so. After that it is really up to them whether to be complacent with their current life, or to strive for something better and work hard to get it.

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

Its potentially a good idea. I know of a black teacher and he says that it is much better for black students to have black teachers for obvious reasons.

I've also heard bad things about magnet schools but I don't know much about them.

In no way is it a good idea.
How, in anyone's mind, will this prepare any of them for the world or fight the problem of stereotyping?
If they want the kids to have black role-models they need to actively recruit black teachers, without affirmative action, of course.

[monster]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

I've also heard bad things about magnet schools but I don't know much about them.

What sort of things? My kids go to a magnet school and it rocks. The only problem is bussing -becasue it is a public school, they are entitled to be bussed there, but because kids are scattered over the entire school district, that's a logiostical and financial nightmare and some journeys are over an hour long.

Oh and we have fewer black kids than we should. Demographically speaking. Why? Well, the families we have spoken to -who have left the school or got a place then decided not to come- say that they are happier to have their kids in school where there are more black kids. We are too white/asian. Vicious circle.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

I've also heard bad things about magnet schools but I don't know much about them.

We've got a magnet school two blocks from our house. The parents of the kids who attend it love it.

We (the neighborhood) don't care for it too much. You have to enter a lottery to get in and there is only something like a 30% acceptance rate. (We chose not to apply, because we wanted our kids to have friends in the neighborhood instead random connections all over the county. Also, all the schools around us are good, so we saw no need to get into this "good" school.) What ends up happening is that everyone in our neighborhood gets bussed to another (good) neighborhood school a few miles away, and there's a large influx of strangers zooming into our neighborhood every morning to drop their kids off at the magnet school. It's not thier neighborhood, so they don't care about the people who live there or obeying the speed limit. On some occasions, late parents dropping their kids off at the magnet school have blown past our school bus stop as our kids are climbing onto the bus with its lights flashing.

Every couple of years, they look at the enrollments for all the neighborhood schools and shift the boundaries around to get rid of overcrowding in some of them. Since our neighborhood has no school to call its own, we are the ones who always end up getting moved around in order to make things even at all the schools.

So I am bitter at the elitist magnet school families here. I take a skeptical view of magnet schools in general. They are self selecting, so any heightened test scores they have is really just because the best students were removed from the other schools and pooled in one location. This lowers the scores of the other schools and heightens the score at the magnet school.

If you have a kid in a magnet school, it is probably a good thing for them, because they are surrounded by the "best and the brightest," but I think magnet schools may be bad for the school system overall, and there is little or no proof that they offer a better education in an area with already decent schools.

[Michaela]

Our magnet schools are listed as the schools that sceialize in one area or two like math and such. Math genuises go there, etc

[Aliantha]

There have been some really good points here. I agree with most of them on both sides of the argument to be honest.

The only thing i would add is that there are Jewish schools and German schools and Greek schools. Why can't there be black schools? You don't have to be any of the above listed to go to the schools, but they're there for those who wish to patronize them.

I really don't see what the difference is. If it's ok for one, why not the other?

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by rkzenrage

How, in anyone's mind, will this prepare any of them for the world or fight the problem of stereotyping?

Do college-level African Studies programs churn out people who are unprepared for the real world?

You can't solve all problems at once, and the problem of other people stereotyping these kids is obviously pretty low on the list for this community: their goal right now is just getting the kids to attend class and graduate at all. Before they can prepare them for the diversity of the real world, they have to ensure that they actually end up in the real world instead of, say, prison.