Kevin Elzinga
P.1 First and foremost Kevin Elzinga needs to be removed and sent to the unemployment line! Kevin Elzinga made $103,006 in 2022 which works out to be approximately $82 an hour, for a 30 hour work week, 10 months a year of tax payers money.
P.2 Kevin Elzinga is mandated by policies to be a professional and impartial. As a grown adult, we will assume Kevin Elzinga was not raised under a rock or in a cave and knows the difference between right and wrong, and that he is familiar with what racism is and looks like.
P.3 Let us make it very clear that racism, discrimination, prejudice, anti-Black behavior, racial profiling are not complicate issue to understand.
- the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of ethnicity, age, sex, or disability:
- preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience:
- hostile or discriminatory toward black people:
- prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized:
- the use of race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed an offense.
P.4 And instead of at least taking a minimal effort approach to stopping the anti-Black racial slurs being hurled at a Black student by a Caucasian student by simply saying “Hey stop that please!” HE SAID AND DID NOTHING!
P.5 Instead, Kevin Elzinga sat in his chair at the front of the room, watching a Caucasian student degrade, humiliate, and abuse a Black student about being his slave!
P.6 Unfortunately, knowing nothing about racial cultures or racist difficulties with Ontario schools systems is not an ethical or professional prerequisite for educators when they are hired. Regardless, this is what most parents desire, what racialized students/children require, and what strong research demands.
P.7 Kevin Elzinga acknowledges it happened and says he did nothing about it! What else is there to say about this topic?
P.8 Kevin Elzinga admits he choose not to enforce any of the Black children/students in the class entailed rights to a welcoming and secure learning environment. Nor did he enforce their absolute right to be provided a safe and inclusive learning environment. It is clearly had Kevin Elzinga had no desire or intentions of putting into practice the DSBN’s “We do not, and will not tolerate racism, discrimination, or violence in our schools or in our communities.”
P.9 And does this type of racial attitude and behavior only occur at the DSBN? You know where a DSBN employee/teacher like Kevin Elzinga sits back and does nothing while racial slurs are shouted at a Black student in a classroom without fear? Sure, it does!
P.10 “Jada, who is 18, spoke of an experience that took place during her Grade 10 drama class in Ontario, Canada. She retained a vivid memory of the incident because it was the first time a fellow student called her “nigger” to her face. Describing her emotional turmoil, Jada recalled how her shock turned into embarrassment, and then her embarrassment turned into straight fury when she was verbally assaulted by another student. “The teacher said nothing,” she explained. “It was in the middle of class, and a student walked up to where I was sitting and casually blurted out the “n word” as if it were my first name.” Jada was surprised because this blatant racial assault had never happened to her before in school, and the teacher’s failure adequately to respond made the situation even more confusing. The teacher asked if Jada was okay and told the offending student to just “take a seat.” That’s it? Take a seat, Jada said. Angered by the teacher’s callus response, Jada decided to excuse herself from the class to take a walk.”
P.11 So Kevin Elzinga’s racist behavior is not an isolated incident; it is common throughout Ontario school systems. And as Warren Hoshizaki has declared firmly, both professionally and personally, that the DSBN community is racist. It is pretty clear that we all know what is going on in school boards in Ontario.
P.12 So does Kevin Elzinga follow the mandated policies that are laid out for him? Nope!
Safety
P.13 Kevin Elzinga must NOT:
- engage in bullying behaviors, including cyberbullying;
- inflict or encourage others to inflict bodily harm on another person
- engage in hate propaganda and other forms of behavior motivated by hate or bias
Teachers and other school staff
P.14 Under the leadership of their principals, Kevin Elzinga must provide a positive learning environment and is expected to hold everyone to the highest standard of respectful and responsible behavior. As role model Kevin Elzinga is to uphold these high standards:
- help students work to their full potential and develop their sense of self-worth
- empower students to be positive leaders in their classroom, school, and community
- maintain consistent and fair standards of behavior for all students
- demonstrate respect for one another, all students, parents, volunteers, and other members of the school community
P.15 Allow us to compare the exact same situation to you, the reader. Imagine you saw and heard a co-worker at the HRTO hurled racial insults about whipping a Black coworker and calling him a slave. And you did nothing about it. What do you think will happen to you when your supervisor finds out you did not report it?
P.16 You would be out kicking rocks on your way to unemployment, period! But not Kevin Elzinga, he gets to stay at his job and everyone acts like it never happened.
P.17 And, once again, if the HRTO is truly committed to ending racism in our school boards and schools, it must impose severe financial penalties on individuals such as Kevin Elzinga that make it abundantly clear that ignoring racism in our school boards and schools is no longer acceptable—or else you and your employees, retired or not, will be held financially responsible! That you are not allowed to just sit back silently and watch as a racist Caucasian student hurls anti-Black slurs and threatens to whip his “Chocolate Timbit” Black slave!
P.18 That by ignoring the situation and allowing it to continue to happen, Kevin Elzinga knew or ought reasonably known that it was unwelcomed to the applicant who was sitting only feet away! That his failures to even address the situation made the situation even more uncomfortable, embarrassing and confusing for the applicant.
P.19 As a result of Kevin Elzinga’s refusal to address the racist Caucasian student. The Geography classroom quickly now began targeting another Black student/the applicant with nasty, ignorant, cruel and hurtful actions and behavior. And with this new and sudden increase of personal attacks against the applicant, he was forced to withdraw from the class to avoid further abuse and harm.