Are these schools ethical?
My ridiculously busy work schedule has prevented me from writing a blog for a very long time. I'm happy to be teaching again, and it has reminded me how involved I get in the teaching process, it's pretty wonderful. I am back now to discuss a topic that has been in the media a lot lately: gendered and racially separate schools.
I started thinking of this topic following a Question and Answer article in the Autumn 2009 UofT Alumni Magazine. The interview was with Professor George Dei on the opening of an Afrocentric school in Toronto. What was important in the discussion was the emphasis that these schools are not solely for African-Canadian students, but rather these schools are seen as a movement from a mainly Euro-centric pedagogical view. The pedagogical philosophy of the Toronto Afrocentric school is to educate by reference to the cultural and historical experiences of African peoples. I in turn started to realize the ethicality of Afrocentric schools. It is based on an inclusiveness that could be seen to be lacking in the traditional pedagogy of other TDSB schools. It is about creating a different dialogue, a space where other opinions and experiences are taken into account. Dr. Dei's discussion of ethno-mathematics was very enlightening and reminded me of feminist math concepts and how I would receive snide looks and laughter when I would mention the concept of feminist math. "How can math be feminist?" people ask, well feminist math not only focuses on making math more accessible to women but also focuses on the process rather than the proof. Feminist math is about accepting that there are different ways to get to the same result. Thus, Afrocentric schools, like feminist math, creates an alternative space for learning, a space free of traditional confines. It is in my opinion an option well worth exploring and another way of creating an ethical pedagogy that is inclusive.
I guess this is why I got my back up a bit when I read that the TDSB director was pushing for the creation of all-boys schools, classes, and programs. Why get your back up you ask, isn't this the same as above: the creation of a new space for learning? Well in a word: NO. Well at least not in my opinion. The motivation behind this movement is because boys have statistically been doing poorly, mainly on a behavioral level, with more expulsions and suspensions than the girls. Chris Spence, the TDSB director, argues that all-boys schools would decrease this trend, and give boys the space to be themselves amongst their peers. Interestingly Dalton McGuinty supports Mr. Spence's idea, whereas he has not been in support of Afrocentric schools. So what's my beef? A lovely letter to the editor written by the executive director of Women's Habitat, Rhonda Roffey, from the Oct 24th Saturday Star, echoes my feelings on all-boys schools:
"The lonely looking little guy on the front page of Wednesday's paper, surrounded by smiling little girls, should perk up. Statistics show that even if those little girls do better in school, he will be their boss." (IN7, Toronto Star, Saturday, October 24, 2009.)
Afrocentric schools were created to give an alternative to Euro-centric learning, but I fail to see how the creation of an all-boys school promotes an alternative to the deeply rooted male-centric learning and pedagogy that is found in most schools today, in fact it will seemingly reinforce it. This seems more exclusionary than inclusive and thus would not be an ethical pedagogical space. Ethical learning spaces must take into account all points of view available and create an open dialogue. All-boys schools could help address behavioral problems (and I emphasize the could) but I don't see how pedagogically it would differ from what is being taught already in TDSB schools.
It comes down to the "dead white guy factor". Traditionally in schools from elementary to post-secondary, we learn about a lot of dead white (mainly European) guys; what they said, how they wrote, what they believed. I think it is time to move away from this dead white guy paradigm, for then other opinions come into play, other cultural experiences, other gendered experiences. This is ethical learning, this is what we should be striving for as educators.
I started thinking of this topic following a Question and Answer article in the Autumn 2009 UofT Alumni Magazine. The interview was with Professor George Dei on the opening of an Afrocentric school in Toronto. What was important in the discussion was the emphasis that these schools are not solely for African-Canadian students, but rather these schools are seen as a movement from a mainly Euro-centric pedagogical view. The pedagogical philosophy of the Toronto Afrocentric school is to educate by reference to the cultural and historical experiences of African peoples. I in turn started to realize the ethicality of Afrocentric schools. It is based on an inclusiveness that could be seen to be lacking in the traditional pedagogy of other TDSB schools. It is about creating a different dialogue, a space where other opinions and experiences are taken into account. Dr. Dei's discussion of ethno-mathematics was very enlightening and reminded me of feminist math concepts and how I would receive snide looks and laughter when I would mention the concept of feminist math. "How can math be feminist?" people ask, well feminist math not only focuses on making math more accessible to women but also focuses on the process rather than the proof. Feminist math is about accepting that there are different ways to get to the same result. Thus, Afrocentric schools, like feminist math, creates an alternative space for learning, a space free of traditional confines. It is in my opinion an option well worth exploring and another way of creating an ethical pedagogy that is inclusive.
I guess this is why I got my back up a bit when I read that the TDSB director was pushing for the creation of all-boys schools, classes, and programs. Why get your back up you ask, isn't this the same as above: the creation of a new space for learning? Well in a word: NO. Well at least not in my opinion. The motivation behind this movement is because boys have statistically been doing poorly, mainly on a behavioral level, with more expulsions and suspensions than the girls. Chris Spence, the TDSB director, argues that all-boys schools would decrease this trend, and give boys the space to be themselves amongst their peers. Interestingly Dalton McGuinty supports Mr. Spence's idea, whereas he has not been in support of Afrocentric schools. So what's my beef? A lovely letter to the editor written by the executive director of Women's Habitat, Rhonda Roffey, from the Oct 24th Saturday Star, echoes my feelings on all-boys schools:
"The lonely looking little guy on the front page of Wednesday's paper, surrounded by smiling little girls, should perk up. Statistics show that even if those little girls do better in school, he will be their boss." (IN7, Toronto Star, Saturday, October 24, 2009.)
Afrocentric schools were created to give an alternative to Euro-centric learning, but I fail to see how the creation of an all-boys school promotes an alternative to the deeply rooted male-centric learning and pedagogy that is found in most schools today, in fact it will seemingly reinforce it. This seems more exclusionary than inclusive and thus would not be an ethical pedagogical space. Ethical learning spaces must take into account all points of view available and create an open dialogue. All-boys schools could help address behavioral problems (and I emphasize the could) but I don't see how pedagogically it would differ from what is being taught already in TDSB schools.
It comes down to the "dead white guy factor". Traditionally in schools from elementary to post-secondary, we learn about a lot of dead white (mainly European) guys; what they said, how they wrote, what they believed. I think it is time to move away from this dead white guy paradigm, for then other opinions come into play, other cultural experiences, other gendered experiences. This is ethical learning, this is what we should be striving for as educators.
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