"Me want skool!" is good enough for the Toronto District School Board

The Toronto District School Board (hereinafter "TDSB") is the wokest in the fairyland of Canuckistan. And in a country which includes such hotbeds of wokeism as the Waterloo Region District School Board which forbids any discussion of gender ideology, pronouns or sex change operations * [Isn't there a more PC name for that? Ed.], that's really saying something.

The TDSB is not only the wokest in the land, but the biggest. Its catchment area encompasses numerous "ethnic" neighbourhoods, including Little India, the notorious Jane-Finch `hood, and a part of Scarborough which, to look at it, is majority Chinese... and so it is.

The ultra-progressive TDSB is all in favour of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) of course. As Mr Socks sez, "Diversity is our strength!" (Cue guffaws from most Canadians. See "Shocking news: Majority of Canucks think diversity is causing problems!", WWW 25/11/23. To serve various diverse sections of the community, the Board has established several dozen Central Student Interest Programmes (CSIP), both at the secondary (opens in a new tab)and elementary (opens in a new tab)level, including those specializing in arts, athletics, science, math and many others. 

But it seems some groups need a little more equity than others. According to the TDSB website, 20% per cent of the spaces in CSIP are reserved for students who are Black, Indigenous, Latin American and Middle Eastern, while 50% cent of the spaces in math, science and technology programmes are for students self-identifying as female.

That doesn't sit well with the Chinese community (or the south Asians, for that matter), who, along with the "old stock Canadians" (read: palefaces), are regarded as "privileged", thus not deserving of extra help. Trustee Weidong Pei of Ward 12, Willowdale, told CTV News Toronto the policy doesn't address the socio-economic barriers standing in the way of enriched education, but instead creates more division in schools and waters down talent. 

What to do? The performance-based process of entry, which had been criticized for "favouring students from wealthier families" (read: racist!) had to go. So, in 2022, the Board trustees voted to move away from a model that only accepts those with demonstrated strength and/or ability, by removing all tests, exams, auditions and grade-entry requirements from CSIP applications.

In came the new, woker, "interest-based model", which is now "under review". Trustee James Li of Ward 13, Don Valley North,  told CTV, "When we implemented the program in 2023, we didn't ask the students to prove or demonstrate anything. We only asked the students to write their name down, which was disappointing." Now, he continued, "We expect them to demonstrate that they're interested in [an enriched programme] to the point where they want to go above and beyond the curriculum, and they're ready and willing to work towards it.”

Mr Pei calls the expression of interest requirement "meaningless". "The formal expression of interest is not being evaluated. An entry consisting of 'Me want skool' is given the same weight as a student filming themselves playing 'Flight of the Bumblebee' on the tuba!

"Everybody I know, including me, is concerned about socio-economic barriers, but the policies don’t adjust for socio-economics, they use self-identified race as a proxy for socio-economics. The average Asian family's income at TDSB is below the overall average of TDSB families, and South Asians' incomes are even lower. Yet Asian families are considered a privileged group."

Ah so... but Messrs Pei and Li should know that in Emperor Justin's Canada, affirmative action (read: reverse racism) is the New Equity. So let it be preached. So let it be done.

* See "Court victory for teacher silenced for transgender-book criticism", National Post, 25/11/23.