Think Again, Little Lloydie

   Lloyd McKell, a Trinidad-born activist, has recently been appointed as executive officer of student and community equity for the Toronto District School Board. Sheila Ward, TDSB chairperson, claims he is the "ideal candidate" for the position because of his reputation and established relationships with the diverse communities of Toronto. Never mind the fact that these are the wrong reasons for which to give a job. Let's look at some of the first statements made by this new appointee.
    He has immediately begun to express his opinions about how to go about ameliorating the problems of black teens teetering on the edge of becoming drop-outs, dropping these pearls of wisdom from the lofty heights of his new position. McKell wants shades of Wal-Mart in every school, with "an adult at every door greeting each student with a handshake". (Toronto "metro", Sept. 14) Then, he would like to see his big idea put into action. He wants the creation of a "black-focused" school, for black students only, with a black staff and an Afro-centric curriculum.
   Where do they dig up these morons? What would be the great thinker's suggestion for how to baby these kids along when they walk out of the school and find themselves among all the other people they have to live among, day after day? Maybe the next step should be the creation of a whole "black-focused" city.
   Has Dum-dum ever heard of segregation, I wonder? How about Little Rock? Has he heard of the fight to end segregation, fought here in North America by people of his own colour, as well as whites, and people of every other colour? What could possibly be his rationale for suggesting a return to separation? What good does he think it would accomplish? Aren't we supposed to be moving forward, not voluntarily backward?
   I've been there, on the front lines. I've put in time in the trenches that are our school classrooms. Separating the kids along colour lines will accomplish nothing that is good. A major overhaul of the curriculum could be one place to start. Spend some money and get rid of the Euro-centric texts that litter the schools. Have the librarians scrap half of what is currently on the shelves and send them out to "A Different Booklist" to restock the school library.
   A major clean-up of half the staffs out there could be good, too. McKell says city schools "don't do enough to make students of all backgrounds feel valued", and he's right on that, at least. I've sat in more than one staffroom and listened to teachers come out with racial slurs, before they head back to their classes. People like that are going to get their message across to the kids, even if they never come right out and phrase it overtly.
   Ontario Premier McGuinty has responded to McKell's little gem by rejecting it. McGuinty says he thinks our schools should "bring children from a variety of backgrounds together and simulate the communities in which they are living and are going to have to grow up in."
   There's a hell of a lot of work that needs to be done to win this battle, but it isn't going to be won with segregation. It has to happen with all of us in it together. Remember? United we stand, divided we fall.