HET Meets with Ontario Ministry of Education

By Alex Chumak

In implementing the recommendations of May 2009, the Toronto District School Board has completed a detailed teaching unit on the Holodomor in Ukraine of 1932-1933. This unit is available to Toronto Schools to give teachers sufficient background information about one of the darkest periods in Ukrainian history.  The Holodomor, or death by starvation, meets the criteria of genocide as defined by the United Nations. It is estimated that up to 10,000,000 men, women and children perished in what is known as “the hidden genocide.” It was a tragic example of how food can be used as a weapon to systematically exterminate a population.

The Holodomor Education Team (HET), under the auspices of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (Toronto Branch) was instrumental in having the TDSB incorporate the Holodomor in its curriculum. With the help of the community, HET successfully lobbied the Board and consequently, the teaching unit is now available.  In addition, the Board directed that the fourth Friday in November be designated as Holodomor Remembrance Day in Toronto Schools.

It would appear that HET has achieved its goal. However, as the expression goes, only the surface has been scratched.  With this in mind, HET approached the Ministry of Education, Curriculum Branch, with a view of bringing the Holodomor curriculum to every school board in Ontario. With the TDSB as a precedent, HET members were both confident and optimistic that the process would be fairly smooth.

Accordingly, a meeting was held at the Ministry office in the fall of 2009. The delegation consisted of Andrew Melnyk, retired principal; Valentina Kuryliw, former head of history; and Alex Chumak, former School Trustee. Also present was Markian Melnyk, head of history and recipient of the Governor General’s and the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Education.  The Ministry officials indicated that the request was timely since the Curriculum Branch is currently reviewing new proposals with a deadline of March 2010.  Once received, it will be evaluated and assessed by both experts and subject associations such as heads of departments and specialised teachers. If more research is required, the Ministry will contact outside sources.

Karen Gill, Manager of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Branch, who chaired the meeting, stated “that in order to incorporate new material into the Ontario Curriculum, an established process must be followed.” She encouraged HET to provide further information as required.  Once the information is collected, a period of consultation for feedback will follow giving the educators and community groups an opportunity to comment on the new curriculum proposals.  Providing that the new proposals meet Ontario standards, a period of 2-3 years will be necessary to make appropriate changes or revisions before the subject matter is placed into the curriculum.

The meeting with Ministry officials was both worthwhile and encouraging. HET will be providing further information to the curriculum departments [of the Curriculum Branch] and will monitor the developments. A positive relationship was established with Ministry staff that should make the task easier to incorporate the Holdomor into the provincial curriculum.

“We must follow the guidelines to ensure that everything is done properly and in a timely manner,” commented Andrew Melnyk. It is also imperative to keep the deadlines in mind to ascertain that the Ministry will incorporate the Holodomor into its teaching program.

There no doubt will be opposition to the HET proposal. Valentina Kuryliw summarized the task “we have started on a journey and under any circumstances we can’t let our guard down.”

As co-chair of HET, Eugene Yakovitch stated in an interview that the meeting with the Ministry “is a first significant and valuable step in incorporating the teaching of the Holodomor in the schools of the Province.”

HET has its work set out. In addition to working with Ministry officials, lobbying will continue with government representatives to assure the incorporation of the Holodomor into the Ontario curriculum.