The “Winter Tale” Project

Notes on Weekend Workshop: March 6th, 7th, 8th 2008

Bobby, FA, Valerie, Lucky, Michael.

Friday 6th

We discussed rules for the weekend, and research that each person did.

RULES
Everybody has equal time
No one speaks twice until everyone has spoken once
Confidentiality
Later we added the following:
Leave work in the circle (don’t talk about work during breaks)


Some techniques used during the weekend:
Listening circle
Listening pairs
Sharing personal stories: eg of high school.
Meditation on breath
Physical exercises ( to wake up the body/mind and keep the blood flowing)

RESEARCH
Violence in Schools - The Falconer report
Afro-centric schools debate.

Interviews:
Valerie and Lucky interviewed a group of young people from Western Tech
Michael interviewed a young man from his area
Bobby interviewed a young man on the phone
Frances-Anne interviewed Courtney Panchan - 18year old recnet graduate.

“It’s not a Jane-Finch problem, It’s a Canada problem.”

Saturday 7th

PERSONAL STORIES:
What do you remember of high school?

CHARACTERS:
What kind of characters do we want to see in the story.

STRUCTURE:
1) A pre-existing situation *define*
Triggers of series of events (inciting incident). Characters making good decisions, moral choices, or bad decisions/choices. Characters revealing inner strength in the face of control manipulation of others.
CLIMAX
Resolution/ending

The context: IMMIGRANT CULTURE:

Immigrants left the security of “homeland” - to live in a foreign land.
Diffiicult transition. They miss comfort and security of home, language, culture, all that is known. They left behind support of family, extended family, friends.
Isolation of new environment.

Parents working 2-3 low wage jobs to make ends meet - financial hardship. Poverty.
Parents not available for kids, who are often left to fend for themselves
Kids grow up without emotional support, abandoned traumatised by new environment even if they are born here.
Family relationships are strained under isolation and hardship of new environment Family unit breaks down: parents suffer depression, domestic violence erupts, relationships breaks down.
Children feel pulled in two directions: between heritage culture, and new culture. They may question old values, lose their religion, have generational conflict with parents.

For the kids who are not getting support at home, and are left to their own devices outside the home: It’s a jungle
They may be living in low income communities of marginalised immigrants where people are adept at finding illegal ways of making money: stealing, selling crack cocaine
Kids can work at Macdonalds or other but the role models in the communities are those who have found ways to do well despite the system.
Peer pressure: The drug dealer is cool because he has a BMW, and can get girls and has lots of friends.
Parents are seen as “slaves”. This results in generational conflct between parents and children

“Capitalism drives the immigrant dream.”
The fundamental values of immigrant culture are rooted in the fact that immigrants came here to “make a better life” ie to be rich so everybody (young and old) wants to better themselves, wants the canadian dream, wants wealth security money.

Failure of the canadian dream: Immigrants are always overqualified because of the way the immigration system works - The rules allow only the “best” to come in.
They then have to take low income dead end jobs to make ends meet and never have time to do the make up courses that will get them back on track in their personal carers and ambitions. Many get caught in this trap.
Kids are fully aware that their parents have stepped down in their careers and income level when they come to canada.
They are aware from the first of the betrayal of the Canadian dream.

Immigration rules make it difficult for family members to be together. It can take years - decades - for families to be reunited. Some family members come as “visitors” and stay as illegal immigrants, trapped and trying to con their way to survive.

LOST GENERATION Immigrants are alienated from and lack interest in becoming “part of” Canada - no integration, involvement in local/federal government, or larger society. Ghetto culture, stick to the values of the old country. Most immigrants stick to their own. They are racist against other cultures. Again this causes generational conflict with new generation who feel cut off from parents cultures, ADRIFT and LOST. The younger generation feel disenfranchised by white mainstream canadian culture. But they have no “home” to go back to. Problem of not belonging anywhere, a brittle identity.]]

They become prey to allure of criminal lifestyle and values. Kids learn to fight to survive. It becomes a way of life.


Four out of Ten Students of Afro-Caribbean background don’t graduate: The afro-centric schools debate.

Research on violence in schools

GENERAL
An apprentice drug runner – in Grade 9

JORDAN MANNERS:
Jefferys lawless: Teacher
Violence report reveals culture of fear in Toronto schools
'Busted' school system failed Jordan Manners, teacher says
'Culture of silence' cost son life, Jordan's mom says
Former teacher at C.W. Jeffreys (the school where Jordan Manners was shot) speaks out.
One year after killing of Jordan Manners, C.W. Jefferys has changed
Payne, Lister urged to heal rift
Deadly Lesson : When Jordan Manners was shot dead in his high school last May, some said it was gang related, others said it was an accident. But the root of the crime—bureaucrats playing hot potato with troubled students—is far more disturbing

FALCONER REPORT
Link to the Report
Violence in Toronto's schools is citywide: report