TORONTO, Ont. – The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is looking to hire more male and minority teachers, according to the Globe and Mail.
A memo sent to staff and obtained by the newspaper said that interviews will also be granted to teachers with French and music qualifications, and those who are aboriginal.
“The first round of TDSB interviews will be granted to teacher candidates that meet one or more of the following criteria in addition to being an outstanding teacher,” the memo said.
TDSB spokesman Ryan Bird told the newspaper that there is a provincewide need for teachers that are male or aboriginal to better represent the local community.
And a lawyer said the policy could even be “non-discriminatory,” and may actually help the board achieve diversity quotes.
The TDSB would not confirm with CityNews that it sent out the memo, but issued the following statement:
“Through our employment equity policy, we encourage a number of different groups to apply so that our staff may better represent our school communities, however, it is not to the exclusion of any other groups.”
Chris Spence, the former head of the TDSB, has said that the traditional education system is failing boys and more male role models are needed.
Spence, who was forced to resign after plagiarism allegations, told CityNews that a focus on boys would improve learning and test scores and keep them in school longer.
Two hopeful white female teachers had opposing views of the memo when queried.
“Spending all of this money to go to teacher’s college and not being able to come out with a job is frustrating,” said Megan MacDonald.
Catherine Cummings said she sees “the social justice value in it and if that means I have to be sacrificed, that’s OK, I accept it.”
With files from Francis D’Souza
Do you agree with the policy? Let us know in the comments.
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First of all, teachers that do apply and get the job should all have teaching qualifications. The board can’t judge every applicant to see which is the best (based on their application), there has to be some screening methods. Secondly, some students do look at the sex and skin colour of their teacher. They might not have a conscience sense of it, but there is some reaction more to some then others.
This is discriminatory!!! Women have fought long and hard to be hired equally. This is a step backward. Gender and race bias is wrong.
Thought.
Hire the person that is best for the job, not a person who fits a physical description.
Maybe they should ask the parents what they would prefer; someone who can teach their children the best or someone who looks a certain way.
I teach grade one and I can tell you from years of experience, that kids don’t care if their teacher is male or female or what colour their skin is, they care that their teacher loves them and does a good job of getting the info out to them. They don’t notice the physical stuff.
This is exactly why my son, a white male, fully qualified teacher paying his OCT dues, has to live and work in another country! I guess it is ok to discriminate against Canadian born white qualified males trying to make a start in life. Really, what is ‘fair’ about this?
While, in an ideal world, teaching qualifications and not sex or race would be more important in making hiring decisions, this is not an ideal world. I’m not saying the TDSB currently has too many white teachers of both genders, but one thing is obvious, the student population is vastly more diversified than it was when I was in high school. I hear complaints of not enough male teachers in the younger grades and not enough teachers of colour all around. Whether this decision is the right thing to do, time will tell.
It is not fair to blame the white qualified females. If they are best for the job they should get it. Not someone who is not as good at the job, just because of their sex or colour.
Teaching qualifications, not sex or race, should always be most important when it comes to educating our youth.