The essay intends to be a critical analysis of how issues of racism, anti-racism, loss of cultural identity and problem stemming form them, like increase of crime and drop-out rates have been tackled in the past in Canadian schools.
As the essay proceeds, it will present arguments offered by Dian Million in Telling Secrets Sex, Power and Narratives in Indian Residential School Histories, which demonstrates the trauma caused by the implementing of certain ill-thought of state policies by studying the narratives of aboriginal victims of abuse of residential schools (Million, D., 1999.). As a counter-thesis, the essay presents the views of Daniel Yon as published in Discursive Space of Schooling, which through an analysis of the state of affairs at Maple Heights, a secondary school in Toronto, illustrates how in an active attempt of tolerance and acceptance towards immigrant students, the school has lost the its strong identity and vibrant academic spirit. (Yon. D. A., 2000.)
Multiculturalism in Canadian Schools A Successful Reality
Canada with its reputation of being a good nation has always strived at achieving fair human policies compared to rest of the countries around the world (Alexander, L. M., 2000.). Since its colonization in the 1700s immigrants have flooded to the country from all corners of the world. Besides its original English and French settlers immigrants today include Italians, Jews, Vietnamese and Indians to name a few. With such a mix of ethnicity issues of racism and unequal treatment are bound to crop up but Canada as a nation has made conscious attempts to curb this at a very early stage when in October 1971 the government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau delivered its Announcement of the Implementation of a Policy of Multiculturalism within the Bilingual Framework.. (Brown, M., 2007.)
However one particular policy adopted by the state has been proven to have resulted in devastating effects. Full residential Schooling, which was implemented in Canada in the late 1800s, hoped to benefit the Aboriginal people. Considering their unfortunate positioning in the community, it was anticipated that residential schooling would help Aboriginal children to gain a footing in white European society. (Conde, B., Kabgani, S., 200.)
However in the late 1980s narratives emerged from former students of these schools which described how they had faced sexual and physical abuse during their tenure at the residential schools. And on January 7, 1998, when the federal government of Canada announced the creation of a 350- million-dollar healing fund in an attempt to support redress the effects of the trauma faced by the residential school victims, formally acknowledging its role in tragic happenings, faith of the citizens in the states ability to do good was compromised. This was worsened by the fact that it was not the government that was accountable but also four Church denominations. (Million, D., 1999.) Such an incident is bound to raise doubts in the minds of Academic authorities regarding the validity of accepted notions of what is the right path towards multiculturalism.
On September 2009, in yet another attempt at uplifting people from a minority group, the Toronto district School Board (TDBS), established an Afro-centric Alternative School for elementary students. This was in response to their recent research findings showed the drop-out rate of Black students to be as high as 40 (particularly for the male students) Considering this high drop-out and crime rates of Black students in the regular schools, the move aimed at providing specialized education, tailored to their needs and abilities. The school intends to include the histories, cultures, experiences and contributions of people of African descent and other racial groups into the curriculum, teaching methodologies and social environment of the schools (James, C.E., 2009.)
Though this move has been attacked by considerable criticisms it is hard to ignore the fact such kind of segregation manages to avoid altogether racial issues that is bound to arise in an otherwise multi-ethnic environment.
The modus-operandi behind the residential school regulation was to dominate the up-bringing of the children from minority-group families so that their cultural identity conforms to that of a whiteEnglish child. The establishment of a segregated school for African-Canadians will result in alienating the students of the school from other ethnic groups. The ultimate outcome, nevertheless, remains the same. Both schools were intended to possess a single dominant cultural identity.
However the majority of schools in Canada today function on a different principle all together. Rather than a melting pot, it would be best described as a mosaic of cultures (Yon. D. A., 2000.) These schools have students that hail from various backgrounds, each ethnic-group bringing with it its own language, customs, and culture. In an attempt to be politically correct and uphold human rights, the policy adopted by the schools was that of tolerance and acceptance. It was the teachers that adapted to the students cultures, learning their language and altering teaching methods, rather than the other way around. The identity of the schools, more than influencing that of the students, continuously changed in order to conform to their cultures.
Maple Heights, at Toronto, the school studied by Daniel Yon, was founded as a 1955, to cater to the more affluent population residing in its surrounding areas. Today it is converted into a secondary school that also teaches traditional trades and not just concentrated on academic pursuits. This was done because of the shift in demographic around the area as more immigrants settled in.
This phenomenon, created by the consistent practice of conscious anti-racism in the school, while helping to preserve the cultural identities of the minority groups by generating a sense of belonging within them, have sprung fears of not having a single united motivation and spirit. The school is more definable as a collection of groups, which turn inwards for strength and companionship. Though this maybe a positive aspect for the minority group it is apprehended to be a danger to the National spirit.
The dominance of immigrants over the school has reached to the extent that it has created some sense of resentment among the non-immigrant students making them feel like outsiders.
The increase of crime-rate in schools has also generated some cause for concern among the citizens of the Nation. Due to negative stereo-typing, crime is generally attributed to certain ethnic groups, which in turn leads to reinforcing its reputation. This has a negative impact on teenagers belonging to close-knit minority groups, such as those that are prevalent in schools today, since they tend to modify their behavior to keep up to these reputations (whether real or imagined).
The answer to how one can create a healthy atmosphere of multiculturalism in schools seems to lie more within the second model rather than the first. Canada is blessed with a rich tapestry of cultures and much good can come out of tapping into the potential of each culture. Hence it is essential that one does not, in the pursuit of a singular National spirit, lose that of numerous ethnic groups prevalent in the country, mainly since Canada today is defined as a collective of these cultures.
The key is to make the minority groups feel secure enough in the school to be able to let go of their apprehensions and accept Canadian identities. It is essential therefore to not give importance to any one particular group, minority or otherwise (a common complaint these days is that Blacks tend to get all the attention) but have equal treatment for all.
From Daniel Yons essay it is evident that the academic community is only too eager to follow this path. Suggestions came from the teachers he interviewed at the school to not just celebrate African History Month but one for every ethnic group. This seems like a particularly good idea since tolerance after all stems on awareness.
Patriotism, represented by role models from varying cultural backgrounds should be inculcated into the curriculum. A more relatable image of what it means to be Canadian would be more acceptable to young minds.
The trends in todays youth is also helping to blur boundaries between communities as inter- racial-dating is more and more becoming a norm. Music and media (especially close to the heart of the young) are also crossing borders.
As mentioned before, Canada has always been a role model of sorts in the sphere of human rights and to adopt policies like that of imposing a culture on a minority group or segregating them from the rest should be considered un-Canadian.
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