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The missing students – A reader's response |
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Published Sunday, December 30, 2007
2007 - TORONTO, Canada
By Agatha Mason
Interesting article - quite short though! However, you touched on the critical question of where are the missing students? We all know where the 'missing' students are. I believe that the idea as to whether or not there should be school(s) in Canada that cater for 'black' students is ridiculous. Haven't we learnt anything from history?
I have always said that I would join a march with parents when they decide to rise up and hold the education system accountable for providing educational material that reflects all cultures. By separation we are letting them off the hook.
As black people, we waste our energy on issues such as 'Show Boat' and 'Caribana' which serve as a distraction to real causes.
What's about the higher percentage of blacks who complete high school and have a hard time accessing tertiary education? Many of those who make it do not get guidance regarding a profession that will make their future fulfilling or sustainable - they end up choosing the easy way out with a degree that does not support a career path - more frustrating is a huge student loan too!
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I made an error in the past and sent my children to a predominantly 'black' private school run by the Deeper Life church. It was a total disaster! All the teachers were black and 'qualified.' Up to now my children remember the 'hell.'
My children are doing well in an integrated school. The real issue which no one wants to address is that too many black/so-called minority parents do not provide a good role model. Many pay minimum interest in their children's education. Most of them only meet their children's teacher when something goes wrong in school.
Black people need to get their priorities right and start thinking and acting positively instead of trying to blame everything on the system.
Yes, there is need for improvement but parents can complement their children's education by purchasing books that reflect black history and culture instead of spending the money on soon-to-be-obsolete electronic gadgets, brand name shoes, fad fashion and fancy hairdos. They can organize reading clubs and trips to places of historical interest.
There are those who show interest in their children with emphasis on their 'talents.' They spend endless time with sports, music and singing that reach no where instead of Math and Language. Statistics show that those children who miss fundamentals in Math and Language by Grade four, fail miserably in High School.
It is great to support talent but at the end of the day, unless they get really lucky or camp out in Hollywood and exhibit extraordinary skills, it reaches a dead end. Yes, those children look cute on stage and their voices are angelic but this is still planet earth so parents much get real. Moreover, Math and Language help even the ones who make it to stardom.
Parents fail to realize that the school cannot teach everything that a child needs to learn - even in the Caribbean many parents provide extra Math and Language lessons to help their children pass the entrance examination for High School. The syllabus in Canada has less time for academic so go figure.
Is it by accident that there are so many doctors and lawyers among the Jewish population? No! They are a 'minority' population too but they have a plan and their children's education is part of that plan. Black people need a plan to get us out of poverty. Things will not improve through complaining or isolating ourselves from the rest of the population.
By the way, many of the children that drop out of school can be found in the detention centres and in the prisons -males and females; others are unemployed or in mediocre jobs.
Things will change when parents change their attitude and instead of being reactive and complacent, become proactive and plan in a united way, to influence positive change in the system.
After all, we pay taxes too - directly from pay cheques and indirectly from all our over-spending in stores owned by those that are outside of our culture.
Keep writing Camille! |
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