Schooling as Community

Abstract

Punctuated with terms such as at risk, dropout, and disadvantaged, Western educational discourse is replete with euphemisms for the reasons that Black youth underachieve or fail in school. This article highlights some of the contemporary developments in Ontario, Canada, focusing on issues of African Canadian education. Pertinent issues of sociological and historical relevance are discussed, with implications for education in the contemporary schooling context. Education must cultivate a sense of identity within culture and community, while working with ancestral cultural knowledge retentions. This calls for a revisioning of the educational system in public schools so as to (a) introduce a more effective method of teaching diverse youth, (b) create spaces where the needs of the most disadvantaged are seriously and concretely addressed (and not glossed over), (c) promote schools with strong ties to the community, and (d) help learners build their self-, collective, and cultural identities within an environment of social excellence.