REVIEWS


HOW ONE TORONTO SCHOOL EMBRACED DIVERSITY


MAKING A GLOBAL CITY: HOW ONE TORONTO SCHOOL EMBRACED DIVERSITY Robert C. Vipond University of Toronto Press, 2017 249 pages, $34.95


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his history of Clinton School in inner-city Toronto is well timed to inform current dis- cussions about immigration, multiculturalism and citizen- ship. It also serves as a coun-


terpoint to the anti-immigrant narratives underlying recent political events such as the rise of Donald Trump, Brexit, European na- tions closing their doors to refugees and the political rhetoric regarding Canadian values during the last federal election. Educators will find the book a rewarding affirmation of the impact they can have on integrating immi- grant and refugee students and shaping their future role as citizens. The book chronicles how one school, in


the context of evolving provincial and school board policies, responded to different waves of immigrant students. In contrast to most Toronto schools during the period covered, Clinton’s students were predominately new Canadians, which makes the school an ideal focus for a local history of immigration poli- cies and social attitudes. The book came about because school


principal Wendy Hughes, a former ETFO ac- tivist, asked parent Robert Vipond, a political science professor, if he was interested in his- tory. He was initially intrigued but Hughes reeled him in when she told him the school


42 ETFO VOICE | FALL 2017


owned a complete set of student registration cards between 1920 and 1990 in addition to a well-organized archive that had been assem- bled in 1988 at the time of the school’s cente- nary. He also had access to Clinton alumnae, many of whom became Toronto notables, who provided rich anecdotal material. In his telling of the Clinton story, Vipond


matches the student demographics with those of the city and takes us through the decades by deftly situating the school in the broader social and political context. He also draws on academic scholarship to develop the discussion of issues related to immigra- tion and citizenship, which adds another contextual layer. Vipond organizes his telling of the Clin-


ton story by dividing it into three chronolog- ical sections based on student demographics: Jewish Clinton (1920-1952), European Clin- ton (1950-1975) and Global Clinton (1975- 1990). Through each section we learn how Clinton served, at the micro-level, as an example of how Canada has evolved in its approach to immigration and how schools contributed to this evolution.


JEWISH CLINTON


During the Jewish Clinton period, the per- centage of students who were Jewish ranged between 40 and 70 per cent. The book situ- ates Jewish Clinton in the context of the anti- Semitism still present in post-World War I Toronto. Vipond cites a 1924 Toronto Tele- gram editorial that said of the Jews: “These people have no national tradition…They are not the material out of which to shape a peo- ple holding a national spirit…” Clinton was


MAKING A GLOBAL VILLAGE


not immune to this prejudice and former students confirmed they had experienced anti-Semitism growing up. The dominant Christian religions


shaped provincial education policy. Vipond points to the Grey Book, the 1937 provin- cial education guideline, which stated: “The schools of Ontario exist for the purpose of preparing children to live in a democratic society which bases its life upon the Chris- tian ideal.” The province did not replace the Grey Book until 1974. How did Clinton respond to its Jewish


students? Former students reported that in- dividual teachers played an important role in making them feel comfortable at school, although there were exceptions. Clinton was one of the first Toronto schools to have a kindergarten program, which served to assist young immigrant children and their families adapt to their new home. Its extracurricu- lar activities in particular served to cultivate cross-cultural interaction among students. Jewish students at Clinton, like all Ontario


students, were subject to daily readings of the Lord’s Prayer and the Bible. Some former students reported they found the religious exercises offensive, but more often Jewish alumnae recounted how their families were relatively indifferent and focused on Jewish education at home. Their families felt the re- ligious exercises were a small price to pay to join the mainstream society. The issue of religious education reached


a crisis, however, in 1944 when the George Drew government invoked a regulation re- quiring all students in grades 1 through 8 to receive religious instruction for two half-


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