jasmine’s blog

Another day on the hunt

Two years ago, a phenomenon hit toronto. People mingled on the street, walked, talked, and enjoyed life. Citizens came out to direct traffic and share melting icecream. It was the middle of August and all it took was a massive powerout that blacked out the city. And for 5 hours on a beautiful summer evening, there was community. Today’s TTC strike has produced a similar phenomenon in the 416. As I went up Yonge this morning, I saw people walking, talking, stopping in to local coffee shops, listening to music and biking. The starbucks at Rosedale was handing out water to the passers-by. My community was coming together organically, albeit briefly.

There is something very healthy feeling about such phenomena. A mix of faces, ages, a common experience. What was it that created this sense of community, the generosity, the humanity? (did I imagine this?) Is it proximity – perhaps the way we build our communities needs to make more sense. Maybe we need to slow down once in a while. We need to have common spaces where people can move, interact and relax.

What does this mean for our schools? If we want our schools to be healthy communities, we need to provide open safe spaces for the young to mix with the old; black and white with yellow and green; We need to give our communities time to share. We need to create opportunities for young people to be generous. And importantly, we need to create a culture where we value all members of a community – not just the ones with whom we best identify.