Citizenship Democratic Education by https://padlet.com/fkhan013/tzvesfqz2i3x EDU5253 en-us 2019-06-08 20:17:23 UTC 2019-06-18 00:45:11 UTC hello@padlet.com Diversity in the classroom fkhan013 https://padlet.com/fkhan013/tzvesfqz2i3x/wish/366513783 Fahim - It is important to understand that as an educator, I need to be sensitive to the needs of others in the classroom. This means that for English Language Learners, I need to make sure that there are technologies in place (I-pads with Google Translate) that will make it easy for them to write down a question in their language and translate it to English. This creates an environment of inclusiveness where nobody is left without understanding. I have used this effectively in the classroom.]]> 2019-06-08 20:19:54 UTC https://padlet.com/fkhan013/tzvesfqz2i3x/wish/366513783 Religious diversity in the classroom https://padlet.com/fkhan013/tzvesfqz2i3x/wish/367220059 Mira - Last year, I was approached by a fellow french teacher who was teaching a group of government employees French as a Second Language. One of his students was a Muslim woman. When he was introducing himself, he put his hand out with the intention of shaking her hand. She respectfully declined to do so because it isn't religiously acceptable in Islam to have physical contact with the opposite sex, excluding family members of course. Since I am a Muslim woman, he wanted to understand why that happened saying that he felt embarrassed and offended. After I explained it to him, he completely understood and went to apologize to her the next day by the way he reacted. This is something that has happened to me many times in the past, which is why exposing children to all diverse cultures should be a mandatory thing in Canada. As a born an raised Canadian, I pride myself in living in a country so multicultural and diverse and this should be reflected by raising more awareness on these issues.]]> 2019-06-12 16:25:19 UTC https://padlet.com/fkhan013/tzvesfqz2i3x/wish/367220059 How can a teacher explain religious diversity to young students ? https://padlet.com/fkhan013/tzvesfqz2i3x/wish/367460395 One of my friends had an interview at York University for B.Education program. By the end of the interview, they asked her a question about her outfit ‘What will you tell the young children about your outfit being cover? Why are you dressing like that? How will you explain that to the kids?’. She was wearing the abaya –long dress with long sleeves – and covering her head – Hijab. 

She explained to them that first, she needs to teach the kids according to their level. If they are at the high school level, they will understand by talking to them. She will let them explore on the net about her culture/ religion. If students at a young age, primarily level, she will grab some books story about a different culture and show them how each culture has its outfit. For example, an Indian woman wears a specific outfit called sari. A Japanese woman has a particular outfit too.  Also, she added that the teacher could create an activity such as locating different culture on the world map and let students read or research about that culture such as food, outfit, select game, etc. 

]]> 2019-06-13 17:54:03 UTC https://padlet.com/fkhan013/tzvesfqz2i3x/wish/367460395 Different Perspectives https://padlet.com/fkhan013/tzvesfqz2i3x/wish/368012220 Julie - A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to attend a two day equity and inclusion workshop in Toronto. One of the speakers was Shakil Choudhury, authour of Deep Diversity. Listening to him was challenging because I felt vulnerable as he uncovered how implicitly biased I am based on my privileged position in society. I took many notes that day that inform my practice today.

Choudry proposes that:
  • We react emotionally to the identities of people even without our awareness
  • Our brains tend to register racial others-especially minorities-as objects/things rather than humans
  • Us and Them exists inside us; it is a vulnerability that we all have
  • Hate is not taught in the classical sense, but is a vulnerability that exists within all of us and can be provoked with the right conditions
  • Love, compassion and care have to be taught similarly to reading and writing   
These are principles I try to keep in mind as I work with students and families.
 

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