Inner City Option, 2013 – 2014

Primary/Junior/Intermediate

The Inner City Option offers a program that is strongly linked to inner city communities and schools in the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board. This option focuses on social justice through an anti-oppression agenda, which addresses the systemic power imbalances both in the educational system and society as a whole.

Toronto's inner city communities face a number of challenges which can impact learning.  Poverty, neighbourhood violence and disconnection between school and home create stressful environments for students and their families.  In Toronto at least twenty percent of all children experience the impact of economic poverty. Fifty percent of recent immigrant children and one third of children of colour experience this poverty. Although research clearly demonstrates that poverty is an obstacle to school success, this option is premised upon the belief and action that all children from all socio-economic circumstances can be successful in school. The Inner City Option will help to prepare new teachers for the opportunities, possibilities and challenges of working with inner city young people to make this success a reality.

There is a strong emphasis in all program courses as well as practicum experiences to integrate a framework of Culturally Relevant and Responsive Pedagogy and Equitable and Inclusive Teaching.  Such frameworks support our learning and help us to respond to the current achievement/opportunity gaps for racialized and marginalized students within our education system.  The Inner City option works to prepare teacher candidates who are ready to engage with the current realities of inner city schools and communities and arrive at an understanding of the many ways in which teachers can work to change this reality.

In order to provide an authentic and cohesive theory and practice learning experience, for 2-3 days of the week, classes are held off-site at George Syme Community School, 69 Pritchard Avenue (Jane & St. Clair West), and the remaining days of the week are held at OISE, 252 Bloor St. West, with placements in inner city schools throughout the Greater Toronto area.

Program Foci

The Inner City Option focuses on the following seven guiding principles:

• School communities in order to help teacher candidates to understand the history, the challenges and the strengths within inner city communities. This includes working to develop an understanding of poverty, its impact on students and strategies for learning to act on issues related to poverty in the classroom, school and community with a commitment to social justice.
• Anti-oppression education, transformative school change, research/self study and restructuring the relationship among placement schools, communities and OISE. This includes a commitment to supporting the building of strong learning communities within the partner schools/communities involving teachers, teacher candidates, community organization staff and OISE faculty.
• Strong critical content, culturally, linguistically and racially affirming pedagogies and an understanding of respectful school cultures. This includes working to understand issues of social identities, how they play out in schools and concrete ways for teachers to work against the interlocking power relations based on class, race, language, gender, sexuality and ability in the classroom, school and community.
• Understanding that high expectations for all students, teachers, teacher candidates and instructors are beliefs, actions and practices. This includes the development of theoretical understandings around the importance of high expectations and of concrete strategies for ensuring high expectations on the part of teachers and students.
• Programming for all of the students in a class, ensuring that the needs and interests of all students are met. This includes learning how to plan and teach lessons which meet the diverse learning styles of students in order to ensure equity of access to the curriculum/materials for all.
• The inner city option provides a supportive yet challenging environment for teacher candidates to learn and reflect deeply on social issues. A focus on building strong and supportive learning communities in the program.
• Treating professional education as life-long learning. Connecting the program to professional learning communities.

Major Projects

Assignments will frequently integrate learning across the curriculum, focusing on issues related to:

1) community and school relationships;
2) Culturally Relevant and Responsive Pedagogy, anti-oppression education; and
3) teacher development.

A Critical Teacher Inquiry assignment will examine community work connected to the program.

Practicum Experiences

Teacher candidates in the Inner City Option will be involved in TDSB/TCDSB inner city schools across the GTA. Teacher candidates will experience the following; 1) Daily experience in schools, 2) STEP, 3) Practicum (two 4-week blocks), 4) Internship and 5) The major assignment – A Critical Teacher Inquiry assignment. Teacher candidates in this option are encouraged to select internships connected to the inner city option focus.

Further Info

Contact: Alice Te or Sophia Dixon

Special Features: Involvement in Inner City schools in various communities located throughout the Greater Toronto area.

Location of Practice Teaching Schools: Inner city schools in the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board.