We need to find a middle ground for all families

Parent organizer Elton Robison is back with an update from trenches in Windsor

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

By Elton Robinson

The Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) needs to find a middle ground for all families.

It’s been a while since my last Woke Watch Canada piece, however the past few months have been an eventful time here in Windsor so I have a ton to write about. Beginning with our public board meeting on May 2^nd , parent advocate Trustee Linda Qin tabled a motion to be voted on at the next meeting on May 16^th. The motion finally addressed the age-inappropriate books in our schools that parents have been speaking on since October 18^th 2022. This was welcomed by parents.

Then, on May 16^th the Trustees held a public meeting at 5:30pm without advising parents. The public had been told 7pm. Why would these elected officials exclude parents when addressing a motion created to solve an issue that parents and GECDSB have been dealing with at every public board meeting since October 18^th 2022?

 Below is what was discussed in that meeting, please keep in mind the public was not invited to this “public meeting” - wow!

Unfortunately, unaware of the secret 5:30 pm meeting, when the doors were open to parents at 7pm, they were shocked and disappointed to find out that the board had decided the motion made by Trustee Qin was out of order. I will be writing a separate article to explain this saga.

Between this meeting on May 16^th to the present, lots has happened which I will also write about soon. Around the time of the May 2^nd meeting, parents had been planning a couple events. The main one was Windsor's portion of a Canadian day of absence from all schools on June 1^st for a peaceful show of protest against Pride and LGBTQ events and/or programs that most parents feel should not be in a secular school system, just like religion is not. Then on June 9^th  , a national  day of action  across Canada was held - ours consisted of an information session at Windsor’s downtown waterfront. Additionally, our last planned action was June 20^th for a Christian Jericho walk (see flyer below), the hope of this action was to have the board meeting full of peaceful Christians showing the Trustees and GECDSB that we want to find solutions in the middle for all the issues that GECDSB has yet to address in 2022-23.

On June 9^th our day of action event included a diverse crowd. All year, I have been seeking other communities to join us in addressing issues we feel need to be addressed for our children in GECDSB. Issues that involve a departure from the values of most families in a secular school system. Going into June 9^th I was only able to get Sikh commitment. Well, that changed when CBC brought to my attention that Muslims were in attendance - I know shame on me, but I'm learning. I’ve since been enlightened in many ways,  and man let me tell you Muslim food is awesome.

Thankfully CBC brought this to my attention, and I was able to reach out to some of the Muslim parents who had attended. We spoke and they joined our group and were excited to be a part of a movement to push back on issues we all agreed  go against our beliefs (some traditional, others faith based). So we changed the Jericho walk to an all faiths walk (see flyer below). That weekend I found myself in a mosque learning about Islam. In addition I was making a lot of new friendships within the Muslim community and was looking forward to the June 20^th meeting.

Well, then came June 14^th when the GECDSB called for a lock out of the public. Parents were upset, as we would not have the opportunity to make a showing at the GECDSB as peaceful people of faith, who feel alienated and frustrated at the board's apparent lack of concern  for families with traditional or religious values. 

The Windsor Star published on June 16^th how “Trustees at a local school board are temporarily barring members of the public.” At this point, we switched strategy to a protest (see flyer below).

Now let me tell you, the last 8 months have been eye opening and I have done things I never thought I would do, like writing again. But never did I think I would be part of organizing a protest. The main reason for the protest was the following statement made in the Windsor Star:

Board vice-chair Cathy Cooke told the Star the decision is temporary and will give trustees time to establish a safety plan “to prevent any significant disruptions.” The atmosphere at recent meetings, she said, “has been tense,” with a crowd she described as a “loud minority” interrupting proceedings.

“Unfortunately the loud minority has caused some disruptions and has made some of the trustees and other people that attend the meetings feel unsafe,” she said. “They yell, they’re saying inappropriate things to trustees. In a setting like that, we need to be kind to everybody, and it hasn’t been that way.

“One of our last meetings, we had to recess because it was out of control, and trustees, including our student trustees, did not feel safe.”

The Windsor Star piece also includes a statement from a person we agree 100% with:

Windsor lawyer Daniel Ableser took to social media to express his displeasure with the local board’s decision to disallow members of the public from in-person meetings, calling it a “complete front to the democratic process” and “shameful.” He told the Star he believes the decision is a breach of Ontario’s Education Act, which says no one “shall be excluded from a meeting that is open to the public except for improper conduct.”

“I think there is no question that the school board can remove members of the audience that are behaving improperly, heckling, things like that,” Ableser said. “It can’t just be an en mass banning of the public.”

Freedom of expression, Ableser said, “is not just the right to comment, but it’s the right to be seen.” He argued decision-makers cannot “feel the heat in a room” if members of the public are watching on YouTube.

Well, now for the reason for writing this article. I recently helped True North with a story by journalist Elie Cantin-Nantel about a leaked classroom recording of a GECDSB teacher berating young Muslim students for their absence on Pride day (something many did for religious reasons). This scenario makes me even more dumbfounded at how the media and GECDSB hide the true concerns of parents from the public and label us hateful. When the board says we make them feel unsafe, don’t they ever think about how parents feel about our children being in a truly hateful atmosphere? Can’t they recognize that we genuinely want to work with them and find a middle ground?

Parents who are dedicating their time to addressing issues are not hateful, they are concerned, so are showing up peacefully to work with the board, even though in most meetings, parents have been the ones disrespected. As well, have documented the board's hateful and racist behaviour toward Trustee Linda Qin.

The Truth North article mentioned above comes with a trigger warning, these kids are 11 years old, those poor children. Thank you Elie and True North for covering this and thank you to the Muslim community of Windsor for trusting us to bring your story forward.  I am praying for God to soften the hearts of the GECDSB and Trustees to open the meetings back up and work with parents.

___

Thanks for reading. For more from this author read, Keeping secrets from parents

There are now two ways to support Woke Watch Canada through donations:

1) By subscribing to the paid version of the Woke Watch Canada Newsletter for - $7 Cdn/month or $50 Cdn/year

2) By making a contribution to the Investigating Wokeism In Canada Initiative, which raises the funds necessary to maintain and expand Woke Watch Canada’s research and investigation into Dysfunctional Canadian School Boards, Education, Indigenous Issues, Free Speech, and other areas of Illiberal Subversion and the Canadian Culture Wars.