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The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has voted to end the Heritage Language and Black Cultural programs in the 17 elementary schools where the programs are delivered. The devastating salvo comes only days after the end of the Black History Month celebrations showcasing Canada’s diversity.
The cuts, which are widely seen as a slap in the face of Canada’s policy of multiculturalism and a direct assault on Black cultural pride, have riled the Black community, parents, students and teachers across Toronto.
“These cuts came as a surprise to us after the TDSB promised to consult with the union,” said Lisa Skeete, a teacher at Ryerson Community School whose children also attend that school. Skeete told Share after a press conference Monday that parents were upset by the cuts and were going to keep fighting for the 600 students at Ryerson Community School affected by the move. “Keeping this program should not be a question of availability of funding but rather a matter of equity,” Skeete said. She added that the new school curriculum does not even include African studies.
Edward Chin, a parent at the school lashed out at the TDSB’s handling of the cultural question, calling it callous. “What do they know about Black culture?” he asked.
Expressing frustration at what she called “playing with the lives of the children”, angry parent Beuna Livingston noted that the threats to cultural programs at Ryerson had festered since 1999. She added that the threats faded whenever the media spotlight shone on them and resurfaced whenever the teachers, union and students thought the threat was over. “We assumed that it was over. Whatever it is they are doing, we’ll not let them hurt our children,” she said.
The leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) Howard Hampton is supporting parents and teachers in demanding that the TDSB reconsider the plans to cut the program. In a statement released from his office, Hampton called this move a “backward step in one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world”. He wondered how the Tory government could justify these cuts at a time when cultural minorities collectively constituted the majority in the city.
“At a time when racial minorities are a majority of the population in Toronto, it is unfortunate that the Conservative govern-ment’s funding formula is forcing school boards to put such vital programs on the cutting board,” the statement said.
The NDP leader urged parents, students and the community to rally behind these programs and to send the government a message.
“We need to send a clear message to the provincial government that the international language and cultural programs are essential to building a harmonious society, one that can hold its own in a globalized world,” the statement noted.
Parents believe that plans to cut cultural programs have been underway since the Tory government came to office. This year’s cuts could have come sooner but appear to have been delayed by the festivities marking Black History Month during February.
The cuts across Toronto’s elementary schools will affect approximately 7,000 students. The 28-year-old program was started as a tribute to Canada’s multiculturalism and to enhance cultural pride and self esteem among students from Toronto’s diverse communities.
The TDSB conducted a survey among the parents to find out if they wanted to keep or do away with the cultural heritage program, promising that whatever the results of that survey the TDSB would respect them. Ninety-nine per cent of the parents who responded to the survey said that they wanted to keep it.
Courtesy of Share News Online Edition
Issue 48 - March 8, 2001
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