Launch of New Resource will address anti-Asian racism in Toronto Public Schools

BY PAUL JUNOR

The announcement  on Tuesday, February 9^th, 2021 that there will be a new document to address anti-Asian racism in Toronto public schools is good news for  education stakeholders.

This new document  was produced due to the collaboration of the Toronto District  School board (TDSB) and Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario ( ETFO). This educational  resource will be a welcome addition to the arsenal of teachers as it provides readily  accessible  tools to educators. The document is titled, “Addressing Anti- Asian Racism: A Resource for Educators.” The document, “Provides public  school teachers with tips and suggestions on how to deal with the issue in virtual or physical  classrooms.”

The news release highlights the fact that there has been a surge in anti-Asian racism, which has significantly  gone up since the COVID-19  outbreak was traced to the Hubei province  in China in December 2019.

Karen  Falconer, who is acting as the current TDSB Director of Education states in the new release, “Acts of anti-Asian discrimination are unacceptable and cause harm to the health, well-being and safety of educators, students, families and communities . This much needed resource offers new approaches to learning and innovative actions to identify, name and address anti-Asian racism in partnership with families and  communities.”

CBC News reported that Jason To, a TDSB coordinator  of secondary  mathematics who worked on the document described  the benefits of the new resource. He states, “This resource is to help educators, teachers and administrators, address anti-Asian racism in their spaces .We know that there are students in our system all across the country who are feeling like they didn’t belong. We need to make sure that all students feel like they are in the classroom.”

According  to current TDSB’s data, there are approximately  47  per cent of students who identify  as Asians. The document  focus on:

• History of Anti- Asian racism  in Canada pre-Confederation  and present
• Myths relating to Asians
• Concept of Asian people as a ” model minority”

Jason observes, “If we  have this idea that Asians need to be a certain way, otherwise they don’t fit in , then we are asking Asian people to do something that may not be themselves. This is just part of an overall system of oppression that we are now starting to see throughout our society. Anti-Asian racism fits into this overall picture. It’s not the same; of course, as anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, but all oppression is connected. That’s why, it’s really important  for a resource like this to help inform the larger picture of oppression.”

CBC News  interviewed Terri Chui, who as a PhD student  is doing research  on  Anti-Asian racism in Canada at York University. She states, “I am very hopeful that a resource will give teachers  better tools to do what they are already doing. ” Terri states, “What was really interesting to us is how micro-aggressions  have been internalized so  deeply that most people don’t recognize it as something that is inappropriate or racists. They just think, that’s part of life “

The TDSB and  ETFO document  includes:

• Conceptual framework
• Knowledge and issues
• Toolkit for school leaders, educators, community resources and relevant  practices

This educational  resource  was developed with the collaboration of Asian educators with a wide range of experience and expertise in social  justice work. It is intended to directly address the wave of  anti-Asian racism  at present.