Are We Doing Anti-Racism?
A Critical Look at the Ontario Ministry of Education’s Anti-Racism Policy and Social Studies Curriculum
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This chapter examines the new Ontario Social Studies, History and Geography (SSHG) curriculum document, released to considerable praise in 2013. MacLachlan undertakes a textual analysis of the document through an anti-racism lens. The lack of an anti-racism framework at the Ontario Ministry of Education level will be explored through the analysis of its anti-racism and Ethnocultural Equity in School Boards (AREESB) Guidelines, as well as its revised Equity and Inclusivity Education in Ontario Schools (EIEOS). There will be an investigation into the compliance of the SSHG curriculum in relation to the EIEOS document, suggesting the re-vamped policy does not accurately address racism within an educational context. The aim is to expose the SSHG curriculum as a document that excludes the voices of those who continue to experience discrimination, particularly as it pertains to racialized bodies. The assertion is that the new EIEOS neglect its anti-racist origins. While all three documents attempt to inspire teachers to create “equitable” classrooms, the language throughout reinforces the dominant narrative; the EIEOS document only moves further away from addressing and working within an anti-racist framework.