Some of the classics you grew up reading in high school are about to be replaced, at least for students in Canada’s largest public school board.
On Feb. 1, Toronto District School Board (TDSB) trustees voted to replace the current Grade 11 English curriculum with a mandatory course focused on Indigenous literature. In effect, Grade 11 students in Toronto shall study Shakespeare, Dickens and company no more. Although their decision will leave the English curriculum in Grades 9, 10 and 12 unchanged, it is still flawed.
Indigenous education is important, but this new curriculum will diminish students’ education in English classics as a result. It could also serve as the impetus for future dismemberment of tried and tested English curricula. I am a TDSB high school student, and I oppose this curriculum overhaul.
The student trustee who advocated for this curriculum change has said some of his friends believe the works of William Shakespeare are no longer relevant. This I can certainly believe. High school students frequently groan when their teachers introduce a Shakespearean play. However, many students also groan about upcoming math tests. That certain students dislike the classics is not justification enough to cut back on them.
If the classics can be disposed of from one grade, the woke could soon attempt to dispense with them in all grades. And contrary to the belief of some, Shakespeare and other classics remain relevant today.
Some would argue otherwise. They would argue that the classics tell stories that could be perceived as hurtful by any number of people, and therefore they are not relevant in the modern classroom. I concede, they may offend and even hurt. But anything that is capable of pleasing everyone can do so only because it has no substance. It is precisely because the classics hold substance that they sometimes offend: they stand for something.
Charles Dickens wrote of the horrors of poverty, and Jane Austen told tales of sisterhood and love, not to mention the countless other relevant themes enunciated by writers of their ilk. Are the sufferings of the impoverished not relevant today? Are love and family not still relevant?
Canada’s Indigenous people suffered at the hands of colonists, and it is important that students receive an education on how deep their pain runs. Instead of delivering this education by replacing classic literature however, greater emphasis should be placed on Indigenous history within the Grade 10 Canadian history course, which is already mandatory for all students.
The TDSB should also ensure teachers incorporate Indigenous texts into their English syllabi to complement — not replace — the classics they are currently teaching.
All sensible Canadians acknowledge that Indigenous people have been historically mistreated. We understand that more must be done to right these historical wrongs. But the TDSB must consider whether its curriculum overhaul is in the best interest of its students, or whether it is simply politically expedient.
The traditional Grade 11 English course must not be replaced.
Special to National Post
Daniel Manandhar is a Grade 9 student in Toronto.
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