In the summer of 1992, Stephen Lewis presented his Report on Racism to the Premier. Here is an excerpt, Part 3:

(For a full copy of the report go to: http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/6174/lewis.html)

Part 3: Education

In every undertaking of this kind, there are memorable moments, and with the exception of the emotional responses to the criminal justice system, such moments occurred primarily within the realm of education.

One of them allows me to raise what may be the most perplexing issue of all. Apparently, in the wake of the rioting in Los Angeles and Toronto, students in every High School in the Toronto Board of Education, had a discussion of the meaning of those incendiary events. This happened, I judge, in most schools throughout Metro, and quite possibly the province. Indeed, in the case of North York, the Director of the Board circulated a thoroughly thoughtful and intelligent letter to all of the Principals in the system, acknowledging the reality of systemic racism, and urging the schools to use the public events as a way of discussing difficult issues.

In any event, as I understand it, in Toronto, after things had been debated in the various schools, about one hundred students came together at a Conference to make recommendations to the teachers and the Board. Those recommendations were subsequently conveyed to me by the Chair of the Toronto Board of Education at a meeting which I held with representatives of all the Boards in Metro, Peel and Peel-Dufferin.

The long and the short of it is that when you read those recommendations, it's as if virtually nothing has changed for visible minority kids in the school system over the last ten years. I have to admit that it stopped me in my tracks because I know that the Toronto Board, of all the Boards, has made an herculean effort to get the schools to be responsive to the startling multiracial and multicultural changes in the community.

Undoubtedly, some progress has been made. But often, as I listened to students of all ages and all backgrounds speak out at the many gatherings we had, it was as though we were back to square one. I just can't get over it. And I believe it signals the most intractable dilemma, around race relations, in contemporary education: How do you get the best of policies and programs into the individual class-rooms? It raises searching questions of communications and accountability.

Everywhere, the refrain of the Toronto students, however starkly amended by different schools and different locations, was essentially the refrain of all students. Where are the courses in Black history? Where are the visible minority teachers? Why are there so few role models? Why do our white guidance counsellors know so little of different cultural backgrounds? Why are racist incidents and epithets tolerated? Why are there double standards of discipline? Why are minority students streamed? Why do they discourage us from University? Where are we going to find jobs? What's the use of having an education if there's no employment? How long does it take to change the curriculum so that we're a part of it?

The students were fiercely articulate and often deeply moving. Sometimes angry. They don't understand why the schools are so slow to reflect the broader society. One bright young man in a Metro east high school said that he had reached grade thirteen, without once having a book by a black author on the curriculum. And when other students, in the large meeting of which he was a part, started to name the books they had been given to read, the titles were "Black Like Me" (!) and "To Kill A Mockingbird". It's absurd in a world which has a positive cornucopia of magnificent literature by black writers. I further recall an animated young woman from a high school in Peel, who described her school as overwhelmingly multiracial, and then added that she and her fellow students had white teachers, white counsellors, a white principal, and were taught black history by a white teacher who didn't like them. There wasn't a single non-white member of the staff. And then there was a Black participant, who rose shyly from the audience to say that he was a teacher and that his most touching experience came on his first day on the job, when a group of Black youngsters approached him, solemnly shook his hand, and said, "Thank Goodness. A Black teacher at last." I recite these things not to be maudlin, but to try to convey what's out there. The world has changed, and try as it may, education's having a tough time changing with it. It makes, I think, the announcement by Tony Silipo of an Assistant Deputy- Minister broadly to handle muliculturalism and anti-racism in the schools, absolutely fundamental. The sooner we get the mandatory provisions of Bill 21 through the Legislature, the better. Every single School Board must put elaborate policies in place, but the crucial thing is to monitor the performance of superintendents and principals and individual teachers. And if the performance evaluation falls short, then action will have to be taken.

There are so many enigmas, so many contradictions. When I met with representatives of School Boards, they would say how much they wanted to hire visible minority teachers, even in a time of restraint. But there were few or none available, and everybody was vying for the same person. And then we'd be in Ottawa, or Windsor, and at a meeting a black woman would stand to say that she had graduated from a Faculty of Education and could never get anything other than supply teaching. I don't know how to reconcile it; there wasn't enough time. But it must be pursued.

Certainly what is happening at Faculties of Education is real cause for concern. Here I think I can talk with greater confidence. Chairs and Directors of Boards alike, raised the great difficulty they've been having in getting the Faculties of Education to broaden their intake, to make their classes (and their courses) far more representative of the community. For the first time this year, I believe, the Faculties of York and U of T have entered into an agreement with area Boards of Education which will encourage the admission of many more visible minority teachers. It's being done under the rubric of something called "urban education", and while, having read the documents, I'm not really persuaded that it's enough, it is a start.

At the University of Ottawa, there is a parallel effort to broaden the intake, again a step in the right direction based upon "self-identification" of the candidates, so that more racial minority applicants can be brought in, but it's only a step.

What we have here is the opening foray into affirmative action. What makes me want to pinch myself is that it's 1992 for heaven's sake, why did it take so long? Why are there still Faculties of Education out there that rely on marks alone, that won't provide educational upgrading, or transitional help, prior learning assessment or simple employment equity in order to make our schools a reflection of our society? We're not talking about lesser applicants. Not at all. We're just talking about opening doors. Some of the Directors of Education with whom I met were considerably agitated about the exclusionary policies of Faculties of Education.

It's worthy of note, I think, that the Teacher Education Council of Ontario, with the support of various Boards of Education, advocates that 9 per cent of admission places in Faculties of Education (to reflect the work-force) be reserved for visible minority candidates, and that they be equally eligible for all other places. That seems to me a good starting-point. And while we're at questions of institutions of higher learning, perhaps I can add that something has to be done about the representativeness of Boards of Governors, particularly our Universities. It speaks, in part, to the appointments through Government-in-Council over which you have control, and the need to look again at the legislation governing four Universities where there is no provision for cabinet appointments.

Interestingly enough, the Community Colleges appear to be better on the question of representativeness of their Boards. It's by no means fully adequate yet, but so far as I can determine, better than the Universities. And the Council of Regents of the Community Colleges has just submitted to the Minister of Colleges and Universities one of the best and toughest policy statements on sexual harrassment and race relations that I have seen. If it is accepted, and it should be, I would suggest that it be applied to the entire University system.

So where does all this leave me? Well, I keep thinking of the many students who said don't wait for high school. Work on multicultural and anti-racist education in elementary schools. Reform and expand the curriculum in the earliest grades. It's already too late to change attitudes and values by the time we reach adolescence.

There's a lot of truth in that. But we've obviously got to keep trying, and to give those Boards and those educators who labour in the vineyards of change, more and more support.

I therefore recommend (and apologize for the banality):

• The Minister of Education, through his new Assistant- Deputy Minister, establish a strong monitoring mechanism to follow-up the implementation of multicultual and anti- racism policies in the School Boards of Ontario.
• The Parliamentary-Assistant to the Premier, Ms Zanana Akande, continue to pursue, with unrelenting tenacity, the revision of curriculum at every level of education, so that it fully reflects the profound multicultural changes in Ontario society.
• The Minister of Education, in conjunction with the minister of Colleges and Universities, review admission requirements to the Faculties of Education in Ontario, in order to ensure that the Faculties make every effort to attract and enroll qualified visible minority candidates. To this end, the proposals of the Teacher Education Council of Ontario should be given serious consideration.
• The Minister of Education must monitor the implementation of Employment Equity in the Schools of Ontario, as closely as he monitors its implementation in his own Ministry.
• The Minister of Colleges and Universities examine carefully the representative nature of Boards which govern both Colleges and Universities so that they reflect the changed society of Ontario.
• The Minister of Colleges and Universities give serious consideration to the race relations policy proposed by the Council of Regents of the Community Cololege system, with a view to using it, with whatever appropriate amendment, as a model for post-secondary institutions.