Basically what I’m saying is you aren’t alone, Sabotabby. ‘Course, I’m in another country. And from what I’ve seen of my classmates and student teaching cohort, there’s a distinct shortage of people interested in questioning assumptions.

I don’t know if there’s an equivalent in Canada, but the National Coalition of Alternative Community Schools makes me feel vaguely optimistic on a good day.

Huh?

What does that have to do with the price of kumquats in Tel Aviv?

Teach young Canadians or any person for that matter, that they are responsible for themselves, their choices and the only thing bigger than themselves is the life they have ahead of them.

This is the message currently promoted by the school system. Unfortunately, it does not factor reality into the equation. Not everyone has equal opportunity, privileges, advantages, and aspirations. To ignore these inequalities is to perpetuate them.

I feel very bad for every young man or woman who falls under the spell of believing that they need special attention because they are somehow inferior or “outside” of mainstream culture.

But in the same way, you believe in INDIVIDUALISM. What is the difference between being an INDIVIDUAL and requiring special attention. Should only white people of Western European descent have their culture honoured, respected, and studied? Should only white people get special attention? The call for an Africentric curriculum is nothing more than a call for black people to have what white people have had since the advent of public schools—a course of study that reflects their heritage, needs, and desires.

The problem here seems to be an issue of somewhat American-sponsored Urban-culture being made attractive to children and youth of an African background.

Just to decode your rhetoric here, are you claiming that rap music is to blame?

1. Human beings should not be identified by the amount or degree of pigmentation in their skin color.

2. One does not fight an evil (i.e., racism), by adopting and practicing it.

3. The problem here seems to be an issue of somewhat American-sponsored Urban-culture being made attractive to children and youth of an African background. The only way to combat this is through INDIVIDUALISM. Our schools along with parents, need to drop MULTICULTURALISM and promote the individual above the collective or tribe.

Young men and women need to be taught again that they are separate entities and should choose their values and identity based on their own personal values and goals.

Moreover, even if all people with dark skin identify themselves as “black” or “african”, etc., our Govn’t has no business other than to treat them as 100% equal, free and SEPARATE individuals within our society. Interest group warfare based on race, ethnicity, heritage and similarly obfuscating terms should be utterly abandoned.

4. Teach young Canadians or any person for that matter, that they are responsible for themselves, their choices and the only thing bigger than themselves is the life they have ahead of them. The days of “Hitlerian” race-wars should be put far behind us, and while some of the advocates of “Black Focused” schools may have, ahem, good intentions, they are completely wrong and immoral in their approach.

I feel very bad for every young man or woman who falls under the spell of believing that they need special attention because they are somehow inferior or “outside” of mainstream culture.

I hope that every man and woman of reason that still exists out there will abhor and fight this new twist on an old evil.

Your assessment of how Black History Month is implemented is pretty good. South of the Hair Line, teachers do try to incorporate black history and culture into the curriculum during the month of February. North of the Hair Line, there might be a Black History Month display in the library and a “black fact” at morning announcements. The rest of the time, it’s teaching and learning the usual curriculum. You can forget about the other months when discussing black history or culture.

There is no guarantee that if the Ontario provincial government implemeneted black history and culture into the curriculum that studernts would warm up to it–especially north of the Hair Line. Heck, it’s just hard enough trying to get them to warm up to any kind of history.

Black African and Caribbean culture and history in a black focused school is just one tool in getting students to want to learn. School principals, teachers, and parents who demand excellence in student content and learning skills are probably more important than the cultural and history content. I can speak from experience of trying to teach a lesson on the Holocaust to students in grades 7 and 8 in two different schools. One school was predominantly Jewish; the other was not. Where do you think I had focused students with meaningful class discussions? In the class that was not predominantly Jewish. The Jewish students were more focused on “David’s” Bar Mitzvah the previous week.

I might differ from some of your readers in that while I do believe that we should be including content from different cultures, I also do think that it should be relevant to the students in a particular school community. Samuel de Champlain explored parts of Canada is relevant. That he may have had a black navigator on his ship is irrelevant in most school communities.

There are wonderful books about black people in the world. Primary students can read about the late Celia Cruz who was born in Cuba and moved to the United States to pursue a singing career. Students can listen to her music at the same time. Another book is called “Underground to Canada.” I don’t know the author’s name but it is a great book for students in grades 6 to 8.

“The Hair Line” seems like a stupid comment to make. However, it is the dividing line between the multicultural and monocultural Ontario. It is the dividing line between attitudes on culture.

To my American friends, if you can tell me the dominant religion of Arab-Americans, you win a happy sticker. I do remember what it was in the 1990 census. I’m not so sure about 2000. I do remember that in the 1990 census, around 75% of Arab-Americans were Christians–not Muslims.

There are queer-focused schools in America? Really? I have never seen/heard of any, it’s really a shame, I absolutely would have loved to attend one!