The news that specialized Toronto schools — arts, science, math, technology and the like — will be admitting students by lottery is like saying all Toronto homes must revert to knob-and-tube wiring. Normally, applicants are sometimes asked for some minor proof of talent, an audition or interview, a teacher’s letter, and might be admitted. Journalist Sarah Fulford wrote a Star op-ed describing the Etobicoke School of the Arts where her son studies film. “If the proposal is passed, specialty schools will be asked to overhaul their curriculum to make each school more conventional, so kids can’t specialize in their chosen subject as intensely.” That’s dumbing down and it’s fatal. Many of the kids at specialist schools are brilliant; the board is Tall Poppying them out of existence, a storied Canadian pastime.

Source: The Star May 11, 2022 08:00 UTC