Afro-Centric Schools: Reflection 2

The appearance of Afro-centric schools has become more and more popular over the past couple of years. While they are mainly turning up in larger cities they have become news around the entire nation. Opinions on the matter of these Afro-centric schools range in great degrees. Some feel they are very important, others think they are unnecessary and many see both arguments and are unsure about the situation. There have been debates, like the one that we watched in class that end up becoming very heated. As everyone does agree that there are issues with the curriculum and that the African-Canadian student population does need some help no one can agree on what is the best way to fix the situation.

            The purpose of the Afro-centric schools in Ontario is to help African-Canadian students in that area. Studies have shown that African-Canadian students have not shows great efforts or do well in the typical education system. “A 1993 report on the old Toronto school board found that the graduation rates for black students was 44 per cent and the dropout rate 42 per cent” (Dei). These statistics show that something is not right with the system and with the help of Afro-centric schools it has been proven that the curriculum is a factor. The typical curriculum in Canada is a Euro-centric system, meaning that it is taught through the ideas of that of the Europeans while the aspects from other cultures are left on the back burner. The Afro-centric schools use the same curriculum but add in aspects from African cultures. This gives African-Canadian children their own histories and shows them important historical figures that they can relate to better than in the Euro-centric system.   

            The Afro-Centric schools have been showing to help the performance rates of African-Canadian children. “Black students at Africentric schools perform better on tests, skip class less often, show greater respect for authority and elders, report feeling a greater sense of belonging in their schools, and have a greater commitment to social responsibility and community welfare”(Dei). This shows that in ways this schooling system is working very well, but many feel that it is not right to have the separation. While these schools are not designated only for children who are African-Canadian, they are the very large majority of students in the schools. In the debate that was watched in class some felt that these schools are creating a separation among ethnic groups. Many people think that even though these schools are helping it would be more beneficial to add this type of curriculum into the school systems throughout Canada instead of only in the Afro-centric ones. There are also feelings of adding in other cultures other than African ones because there are other ethnic groups that are students that are not doing well in school as well.

            While it is very important that these children do well in school it is very evident that a solution has not yet been found. The Afro-centric school may be a valuable short term problem solver, but it is not necessarily something that is meant to last. I think that attempting to find a solution that is more permanent would be a better solution instead of putting so much effort into something that has been called a short-term solution. This is especially because Afro-centric high schools are just beginning to appear, so it is unknown if these school really are helping the problem that everyone is concerned about; the drop out and graduation rates. In the amount of time it takes for the first group of students to graduate from the Afro-centric schools there could be at least slight changes made to the typical schooling system. Although changing the curriculum is something that is not done easily, these schools clearly prove that it is beneficial.

            Afro-centric schools in Ontario have caused a major debate all across the country. Agreements on weather or not this is socially acceptable, or the best way to solve the problems is happening over and over again. The afro-centric schools are definitely helping African-Canadian children; however no one is sure whether or not this is a solution that should be used. 

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