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Now, our children have to deal with anti-black racist comments during their online classes

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BY PAUL JUNOR

“I was upset. How did this happen? How are we going to prevent this from happening again?” (Concerned Parent)

Now that many school boards in Ontario have been involved in remote learning, it has exposed inherent dangers with respect to invasion of privacy.

Principal Alison Gaymes San Vincent of LC 4 Virtual School in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) was shocked when his intermediate Zoom meeting was bombed on Thursday, December 18th, 2020. On December 19th, 2020, a letter was sent to parents, which stated, “Unfortunately, at the end of the presentation, unacceptable and hateful language appeared in the chat.” The main purpose of the meeting was to provide mental health support for students as they transition from elementary schools to higher schools.

The attack on the Zoom meeting resulted in anti-black racist comments being made. As a result of this, an investigation has been launched to find out who was behind it. The letter sent by the principal to students and parents notes, “All TDSB students and staff will continue to receive education on the importance of anti-racist policies and practices in our schools and the role we all must play in eliminating all forms of hate and discrimination from our schools and society. On behalf of LC4 Virtual Schools, we acknowledge and regret the harm these incidents caused to students.”

In another development, Peel District School Board (PDSB) revealed on January 14th, 2021 that a virtual Grade 4 virtual French classroom at Chris Hadfield Public School was hacked two times with disturbing pornographic images and kidnapping threats as reported by City News.

PDSB confirmed the incidents to 680 News on January 14th, 2021 with an email, which states, “We can confirm that a class at Chris Hadfield Public School experienced two occasions where at least one unknown individual entered the online classroom without having access to the classroom link. We take all matters of online safety, student privacy and digital citizenship very seriously.” As a result of this incident, students have been transferred to another virtual classroom to continue their online learning.

City News revealed on January 14th, 2021 the contents of two emails that were sent by the French teacher to the parents and guardians. The first email sent on Tuesday, January 12th, 2021 states, “I’ m sure many of you are aware already, but I just wanted to let you know just in case your child hasn’t mentioned it to you. Today French class someone outside of the school and as far as we know, outside of our school board was able to enter the Google classroom and start sharing some disturbing images.”

In a subsequent email the next day (Wednesday, January 13th, 2021) the teacher revealed, “As I’ m sure you are aware, there was another instance of hacking today in our class. This time it was only audio and seemed to be a repeat. I asked students to leave our meet right away and reset our class code immediately. I had a long discussion with the principal and she is letting the superintendent know about both instances and IT will also be consulted to see if we can figure out why this is happening. In the meantime, it may be a good idea for students to change their passwords for their school email address just in case. I will reiterate with students the importance of never sharing passwords and class meet codes with people outside our class.”

It is unfortunate that the hacking of this virtual classroom has brought to the public arena the issue of digital safety and Internet privacy. The four major teachers’ unions and other education stakeholders have raised concerns on many occasions about this issue. The emotional, psychological and mental effects on this Grade 4 virtual class from being exposed to X-rated pornographic images is real.

With a last name that means “Faithful and loyal,” it is no wonder that Paul Junor has become a welcomed addition to the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper Team. Since 1992, Paul has dedicated his life to become what you call a great teacher. Throughout the years, he has formed strong relationships with his students and continues to show them that he cares about them as people. Paul is a warm, accessible, enthusiastic and caring individual who not only makes himself available for his students, but for his community as well.

Youth Development

Understanding the multiple layers involved in navigating education spaces Parents of Black Children launch Navigating the Education System

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BY PAUL JUNOR

The work of the advocacy group Parents of Black Children (PoBC) has made a significant and revolutionary difference by bringing issues to the forefront that help Black families at all levels.

For over two years now, it has organized events, workshops and initiatives that have provided important information to the Black community to bring empowerment, knowledge and deep understanding of the multiple layers of the complex dynamics involved in navigating education spaces.

There are five core principles that underlie PoBC understanding of racism:

  1. Racialization
  2. Racism is about power
  3. Critical racial theory
  4. Our stories matter
  5. Racism is founded on White supremacy

On Tuesday, November 23rd, 2021, they launched the document Navigating the Education System,” which was a very empowering, enriching and inspiring tool for diverse Black families. Kearie Daniels, one of the cofounders of PoBC and author of the document, moderated the launch. Furthermore, Claudette Rutherford, one of the cofounders of PoBC and author gave an extensive presentation of the details of the document, sharing useful insights, practical knowledge and interesting information.

PoBC shared a pdf document subsequent to the launch, which provided additional details in a fifty-three-page package. It contained relevant, contextual and vital resources. PoBC’s Advocacy Team supported the document, which includes Charline Grant and Xavier McLaughin.

In the introduction to the document the mission of PoBC is to “Provide support to parents of Black children across Canada and the United States. We advocate and work towards change and concrete action in our education system and adjacent systems such child welfare and the justice system.”

The launch of this vital document is a culmination of all the advocacy and activist work that PoBC has been extensively involved in. It serves to remind members of the Black community that there are resources, tools and supports available to ensure that Black children are able to thrive academically, excel mentally and flourish intellectually in spaces that may not be welcoming to their presence.

The document states that the navigate guide is “Geared towards families in Ontario, but the information can be applied to any jurisdiction where there are Black children and families.”

The document “Table of Contents” is useful and helpful. There is vital information on:

  • School board terms you need to know
  • Education organization you need to know in Ontario
  • Black families and the Child Welfare System
  • Black families and the education system
  • Black students and Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
  • Black students in High School.
  • Developmental delays in learning exceptionalities
  • Supporting students with learning exceptionalities
  • Selecting a school system
  • System abuse

PoBC presented a webinar on “System Abuse”. The document states,

“The system is not neutral. These systems were designed as part of a colonial framework that must be dismantled.” Furthermore, the document “Serves as a means to demystify the pitfalls within the education system and light a path towards a decolonized education system.”

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Youth Development

Toronto prepares families for COVID-19 vaccination of children

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Photo by Charles Deluvio Library on Unsplash

BY PAUL JUNOR

There have been concerns, fears and anxieties as parents, caregivers and guardians anticipate the possibility of having their children under twelve vaccinated.

The Boston Globe reported on Friday, October 29th, 2021, that the FDA approved the administration of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to children between the ages of five to eleven. These children will receive one-third of the dose administered to teens and adults.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention met on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021, in order to finalize details with respect to which children should be vaccinated first. In anticipation of these developments, Team Toronto has initiated a series of outreach and education sessions, as well as town halls in order to inform the Toronto community.

Parents of children between the ages of five to eleven who attend public schools will be receiving an email and an invitation to respond to a survey to “Support vaccine planning.”  This invitation will also be extended to parents whose children attend private independent schools as well. The survey will be administered by Toronto Public Health (TPH) and the City of Toronto VaxTO in order to “Better understand parents’ intent to vaccinate their children, how they would prefer to have their children receive their COVID-19 vaccine, and to obtain critical information on socio-demographic factors such as race and income.”

John Tory, Mayor of Toronto, is optimistic and positive about this development. He states in the press release, “While our work to get 90% of eligible residents vaccinated is continuing, we are also readying for when the vaccine will be available to protect kids five to eleven. We want to hear from parents, so we made sure we designed a vaccination program that works for kids and their families. This is just one more example of the outreach we are doing to prepare for this effort. This work is so important and will help us get kids vaccinated so they have the best protection against COVID-19 and so our schools can be as safe and as open as possible.”

Councillor Joe Cressy, Chair of Toronto’s Board of Health who has been at the forefront of advocating for the vaccination of margnizalied and at-risk communities is supportive of this campaign. He states, “At every stage of our immunization campaign, connecting with people on the ground has been critical to our success. Now, as we prepare for the rollout of vaccines to children aged five to eleven, we’re committed to engaging directly with parents, families, and community leaders to have active conversations about vaccinations for kids.”

In addition, Dr Eileen De Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health is a strong proponent of this campaign. She states,” When vaccines are approved for use and when we have supply we will ensure that we bring every resource to bear on this critical component of the vaccination campaign.”

The survey will be available as of Sunday, November 7th, 2021. It consists of fifteen questions that will be available online at s.tphsurvey.chkmkt.com in multiple languages. Parents and guardians will receive them from their children’s public school boards. In addition, there will be town halls for specified multilingual communities as well as neighbourhood-based telephone halls to ensure that the public has access to timely, necessary and relevant information for informed decision-making.

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Youth Development

Act as if what you do makes a difference. IT DOES

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BY SABRINA S. – 12 YEARS OLD

The school year is coming to an end, I’m sure that this year was hectic for everyone. Last year, we had a pandemic strike in the middle of the year and the world was sent into lockdown.

We didn’t get to go to school for the rest of the year.

Many students got to choose if they wanted to do school in-person or online, I chose online since I didn’t feel safe.

First day of school was very weird, most people don’t turn their cameras on, don’t even get me started on the wifi issues. I would lag out of the google meet many times and miss most of the instructions on the assignment. That is when friends come in handy, though I don’t get to see my friends that often, we still connect with some online games and phone calls through snap chat.

I don’t know where the time went, it just flew by. Last month was September and suddenly, I feel like we skipped eight months. I only have a week of school left! Because it is the last week of school, I have a lot of homework and final assignments to do but I know I’ll get through them and finish the school year.

I haven’t had time to go outside as well, I’ve been too busy with my assignments.

If my school year was this hectic, imagine the teacher’s year. I’m very grateful for everything my teachers have done for me and my classmates this year, they definitely deserve the three-month summer break. I’m sure my teachers doubted teaching online, but everything went okay and I learned lots.

“No matter how hard it is, or how hard it gets. I’m going to make it!”

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