More Divisive Ideologies From the DEI People at the Toronto School Boards
A new document receives sound condemnation from Education Ministry.
I wanted to get to this topic a few weeks ago, but too many things got in the way, specifically the perennial increase in the carbon tax, and of course the national coordinated freakout over the moon passing between us and the sun for a few minutes.
Since I started writing this, there have been developments (of course), and so I needed to slightly amend what I had begun here.
Though this may now be considered “ancient history” in our modern news cycle, I'm going to go ahead with it anyway since it never really did get the attention it deserved.
This is all about the latest bad look for Toronto schools, and it’s pretty much par for the course these days. I don’t want to say all Ontario schools are run by ideologues and quasi-religious DEI zealots, but the ones in Toronto and vicinity certainly appear to be.
Remember back in February of 2023 when Boob-gate hit the air waves? This, of course, was the world-wide phenomenon of trans shop teacher, Kayla Lemieux with prosthetic breasts the size of basketballs. Though the entire world was laughing at this incident, those at the Halton District School Board near Toronto weren’t really keen on talking about it. In fact, a local “mother” there, who also happens to be a trans-female (and who was intimately familiar with the wearing of silicone prosthetics), was a little bit miffed at the “exaggerated breast proportions” exhibited by Lemieux. So miffed in fact that when she showed up at a board meeting to voice her displeasure, the school board would have none of it. They made her alter her speech so that it wouldn’t offend their privacy rules. Yes, even trans people can’t criticize the Trans dogma, which is really just an offshoot of the general religion of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion™.
Then there was the mysterious case of the missing manuscripts at the Peel District School Board back in September of last year. Grade 10 student, Reina Takata showed up at her school in Mississauga one Monday morning and was shocked to see that there were “rows and rows of empty shelves with absolutely no books.” Turned out they were just getting rid of the old ones - you know pre-2008. Yeah. Old. Because cultural relevance don'tcha know…
Is this why they removed The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and The Very Hungry Caterpillar? Can’t be too careful, I guess.
Then, several weeks back, the Toronto District School Board came out with their latest document, A Teaching Resource for Challenging Oppression in Toronto District School Board Classrooms. It’s very enlightening, but if you’ve been paying attention over the last few years, there’s really nothing in there that would be at all shocking to you. In case you haven’t been listening, here are their Core Beliefs from page 6, (emphasis in original):
• Schooling in North America is inherently designed for the benefit of the dominant culture (i.e., white, middle-upper class, male, Christian, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied, neurotypical, etc.). The interests and needs of the dominant culture determine established behaviours, values, and traditions that are considered acceptable and the “norm” in education, other institutions, and the broader society.
• Education is a colonial structure that centres whiteness and Eurocentricity and therefore it must be actively decolonized.
• Race matters - it is a visible and dominant identity factor in determining peoples’ social, political, economic, and cultural experiences.
• White Supremacy is a structural reality that impacts all students and must be discussed and dismantled in classrooms, schools, and communities.
What’s really stunning about these statements is the fact that, if true, this dire situation of a country ruled by white supremacists has done nothing to curb the flow of non-white immigrants. In fact, the last two fiscal years have each seen an increase of about 50% over every year in the last two decades. Someone really ought to tell these poor people what’s going on here before they get on the plane…
One can only speculate as to why the words cisgender and White Supremacy are emphasized in this text. Could it be because white people and those not part of the alphabet crowd are the two most hated groups in this religion?
As I said, there have been developments, and in a shocking turn of events, it seems the TDSB has now pulled this document.
Apparently, when the Education Ministry saw the document, they “strongly” suggested that it be removed.
Stephen Lecce, Ontario's Minister of Education, had this to say:
Schools are a place for learning life and job skills, above all else. Time after time, our government has brought in legislation to prepare our students for the real world.
My message to school boards is clear: there is no place for divisive ideologies — every action they take should prioritize and support academic achievement.
While that latest document has apparently been withdrawn, those who wrote it are still there, so only time will tell what will replace it.
According to the Aristotle Foundation, DEI instruction has been shown to increase prejudice and activate bigotry among participants by bringing existing stereotypes to the top of their minds or by implanting new biases they had not previously held.
Two-thirds of human resource specialists—those in charge of overseeing DEI initiatives—report that diversity training does not have positive effects.
The way these people defend this dogma is mind-boggling. It’s unrelenting. It’s like they can’t possibly fathom that there was any hope at all for the country before the advent of institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs.
I run into individuals like this all the time online. Do they actually exist in real life? Obviously they do, but apparently they're not quite as plentiful as we are led to believe.
Regardless, conversations with these types of people are mint. I was talking with one individual about this and I made the statement that the situation in academia is nothing like it was even 20 years ago. Here’s how that went down:
DEI GUY: Regarding, “It's nothing like it was.” You mean women teachers were not fired when they got married?
KH: That's a good point. But it wasn't DEI that changed that, was it?
DEI GUY: What was it, then?
KH: It was the women's liberation movement, and their core values were nothing like what the TDSB espouses. Of course, now that movement has been hijacked by men, so…
DEI GUY: Ontario school boards didn’t hire Blacks, either. Or Jews. Or Catholics, at one time. I wonder why that was?
KH: Well gee, I don't know, man. Do you think that maybe the Canadian Human Rights Act of 1985 would have had anything to do with ending those practices?
DEI GUY: So, just so I understand, the sorts of things you are talking about happened all the time to women and Blacks and Jews, but that was all ok?
Yeah man, that's exactly what I'm saying (insert eye-roll here)…
This conversation eventually concluded with DEI GUY saying that I am welcome to my opinion, but his is different. Well, great, but that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? This guy’s opinion, while valid as far as opinions go, is based on what, exactly? Obviously not the facts or anything from real life.
Talking with people like this brings to mind a passage from Orwell's 1984:
What can you do, thought Winston, against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy?
I realize I’m quite possibly being rather charitable in assuming DEI GUY is more intelligent than I am, but I’m willing to give him that, for all the difference it makes.
I've made this observation before, and it seems applicable in far too many circumstances today: after being told the same official story over and over for years, there are those among us who simply can't believe anything else. They have invested a significant portion of their identity in believing what they do, and to deny that now would be nothing short of heresy. It would require burning it all down, and very few would ever be willing to do that. This perhaps is a topic for another time, but right now it seems clear to me that what really needs to be burnt down (or at least dismantled and rebuilt) are those ridiculous Toronto School Boards.
This is why I believe history is the single most important subject in school. The fact that the subject gets short shrift at best indicates that school boards agree. DEI Guy simply has no knowledge that any policies to correct these problems even existed before he come upon the scene.
Hey Kenny why don't you just vote Lecce out? Oh wait, you'd have to be a resident of Ontario to vote in provincial elections. Question: what led you to investigate the goings-on at the TDSB rather than a school board in your own province? Hint: it's the same reason nobody bothers reading your writing.
You're regurgitating PostMedia rage bait.
"That's woke" is just the new "that's sexithhht".
Change the name of your inconsequential blog to "The Boy Who Cried Woke"
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