Streaming is and has been quite harmful to our black students. I’m not usually very vocal on Twitter, but these are not silent times. My personal reflection and thoughts below: https://twitter.com/trusteemcdonald/status/1266755691924119553

Some of you know, I grew up in a small town in Ontario. Every year, from K-OAC, I was the only black kid in class. My sister and I experienced a lot of racism, I remember the school system mindset of streaming began in grade 6 when the school admin told my parents

I would never make it to college or university because I didn’t have the same aptitude as the “other” kids. Huh? I remember being on the way home afterwards and asking my mom what the word aptitude meant.

That led to my family removing me from a school that didn’t believe in my potential and sending me to a different school in Grade 7. At that school, they claimed I had learning and behaviour problems and tried to force my parents to sign off on a psych assessment

that would stream me into a “special class”. Sound familiar? Again, moved to another school for Grade 8.. 3 schools in 3 years. In high school, the same pattern of streaming continued as they tried to force me to take courses at the general level (now known as applied).

I share this because the mindset of streaming our black students begins long before secondary. I was fortunate to have advocates, but sadly the voices of many of our black students and families have been silenced as a result of this practice.

This is the lived experience of many black students and families. Removing the practice of streaming is not political. It’s about equity and checking your privilege at the door.

It’s about allowing our black students to have voice and choice and honouring black families by allowing THEM to decide what their children can and cannot do, instead of a system of practices centred around institutionalized racism.