SLOBODIAN: How Toronto teachers make students walk the Palestine talk

Fire them all. Fire the Toronto teachers who despicably pushed a personal radical agenda by forcing middle-school students to help them hijack an event last week calling attention to an ongoing, drinking water crisis affecting indigenous children.That would send a desperately needed, overdue message to radical teachers across Canada, that punishment awaits those who indoctrinate students in any and all ways with damaging ideology.Toxic methylmercury-poisoned water has severely impacted the health of generations of community members in Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek (Grassy Narrows First Nation,) a reserve on the Manitoba/Ontario border.But these teachers figured Middle East problems are more important than the health problems and shortened life spans so common among Canada’s First Nations people. These activist lowlifes seized an opportunity to divert attention from calling for justice for the indigenous community, to push personal anti-Canadian, anti-Israel bias.They lured their students aged 12 to 14 from a number of schools in Toronto District School Board (TDSB) into their web of hateful bias, forcing them to take an active role marching and chanting with protesters wearing masks and tablecloths (keffiyehs) and waving Israel-Gaza war signs.The teachers can’t plead ignorance. That the Grassy Narrows River Run was going to be infiltrated by militant protesters didn’t catch them by surprise. If it did, the teachers would have responsibly ushered students out of there. But they didn’t. How do we know they knew what was planned?Students were told to wear blue shirts identifying themselves as “colonizers” and “settlers.” Only demented minds would justify guilting innocent children and telling them they should be ashamed of their country, while forcing them to join in hollering “From Turtle Island to Palestine, occupation is a crime.”Pro-Palestinian materials were distributed.Students with better values than these clowns were chastised when they objected to participating in an event that, by the way, could have potentially endangered them. Protests can turn ugly fast.Cold. Morally wanting. Bad judgement. How low can teachers go? Manipulatively lower.Parents were duped into believing they were signing permission slips to allow their 7th and 8th-grade students to attend a field trip to “observe” a protest last week in Toronto on behalf of the long-suffering First Nation.This goes beyond an inexcusable, incomprehensible indifference to the First Nation community members. The deception and bad judgement show these teachers aren’t to be trusted with the responsibility of shaping young minds. Or protecting them.Condemnation from both parents who were there to witness what happened and angry politicians flew fast and furious.Spadina-Fort York MP Kevin Vuong wants all responsible fired.Do it! They deserve it. Video evidence clearly showing student participation proves parents were lied to. The TDSB letter, Field trip to Grassy Narrows River Run — Important details stated: “While at the event, students will not be participating in the rally itself, instead, they will observe and learn from the presentations and discussion.”“They lie, they put children in danger, and they made a mockery of Canada’s efforts of reconciliation with a National Day of Mourning quickly approaching. What the TDSB teachers did was deceitful and unconscionable,” said Vuong.Provincial Education Minister Jill Dunlop demanded a review.“Compromising the security and safety of students is unacceptable. I expect TDSB to conduct a thorough review of the situation and ensure accountability with parents and students to prevent future incidents,” said Dunlop.The TDSB said in a statement it will conduct an “internal” review of “field trip procedures to provide guidance that upholds the safety and well-being of students.” What procedures are in place now? Any that were violated?A mere review isn’t nearly good enough. An investigation must go deep. If these teachers were comfortable enough to display their divisive radical agenda so boldly in public, what goes on behind closed classroom doors?What are they teaching? How are students, Jewish and other, treated in the secrecy of classrooms? What radical ideological garbage are they being fed?The Toronto Sun reported it was told by a family member that one Jewish student objected to anti-taking part in Israel chanting. A teacher cruelly and callously retorted: “You’ll get over it.”Another student who recently arrived from India, reportedly also courageously objected to participating. Welcome, kiddo! Canada is lucky to have you. Too bad delinquent educators are foisted on you.Meanwhile, these teachers are supposed to be educated, right? Yet they ignorantly push the “colonizer” garbage. Do they even know what it means?Part of colonization is establishing exploitive control while forcing cultural values upon people. Isn’t that exactly what they’re doing by militantly bringing their toxic and hateful Middle East gripes into Canadian schools and onto its streets?And who exactly are the colonized they are feigning concern about? Certainly not the Grassy Narrows First Nations community they undermined, dismissed, and disrespected.Educated teachers taking their students on a field trip should know the distressing, unconscionable plight this community has long suffered.It goes back to the 1960s when a paper mill 150 kilometres upstream, that was formerly owned by Dryden Chemicals Ltd., dumped nine tonnes of mercury into the English-Wabigoon River.For decades, nine out of 10 Grassy Narrows residents are believed to have suffered severe symptoms of mercury poisoning from food and water.Recent research indicates discharges from the paper mill now owned by First Quality has increased levels of methylmercury, according to Canada’s National Observer.Disputes and lawsuits between the First Nation and provincial and federal governments have been ongoing. At least $200 million has been pledged to construct a mercury care facility.Years ago, residual high mercury levels were found in waterways in and around the community.But community members still don’t have clean, safe drinking water. And so about 5,000 Canadians marched last week from Toronto’s Grange Park to Queen’s Park on their behalf. They called on both levels of government to compensate them, end industrial threats, including mining, logging, and nuclear waste; restore their way of life and wellness, and shut down the paper mill.These Canadians want and deserve an end to enduring declared states of emergency, boil-water advisories that don’t remove chemicals, and bottled water.We’re talking about children who are being deprived of clean water.But that’s less important than the agenda of some Toronto teachers. Under the pretense of caring about a suffering First Nations community, they slyly enlisted children to fuel and promote soaring antisemitism in Canada. They trampled on parental rights.“It is very frustrating that elements of the anti-Israel mob are using their positions as educators to drive this agenda on impressionable children who know nothing about this conflict in the Middle East,” city councillor James Pasternak told the Sun. “Our education system must nurture young minds in a positive way and not teach them to demonize those they don’t agree with.”Moron educators who defied that last week must be held accountable just like Vuong demanded.If the TDSB, after its ‘internal’ investigation makes excuses and protects the guilty — then those board members should be fired too.The ripple effect of that no-tolerance, punitive message would reap only good for parents and their children in Toronto and beyond.It might compel the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) to cease its bleating resistance to giving up rights it has hijacked from parents.A few firings on the other side of Canada might convince the ATA to start working with Premier Danielle Smith and the UCP who are fighting hard to protect children and parental rights from a number of twisted ideological agendas inflicted on them.