Be a Catalyst for Change!
“Rooted in Jesus…walking together with hearts to love and hands to serve.”
INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES
Edmonton Catholic Schools - District Newsletter April 2018 | Issue No. 20
We are living in a time when social awareness and inclusion are at the forefront of conversations across the globe. Movements towards equality and equal rights of humanity lead community conversations every day, everywhere. The struggle continues because the injustices of the world continue. The call from humanity is strong: to be free, to be loved, and to be accepted and valued as a human being…standing in front of you as we are. In the midst of these conversations is our own personal and communal time -- time to reflect on what is important to us, what matters in the big picture of our lives of growth and well-being. Have you spent time lately reflecting on what is important to you? I’m not talking about material things: those things help us get by day to day. I’m talking about important things. Maybe you need to define what is important to you? In the pages that follow, you will find personal stories of people and communities – standing up, finding their voice, and claiming what is important to them. Take the time to hear their stories – and to learn what is important to them:
• N’we Jinan artists: “listen to us, listen to our words” • 12-year-old Dalton Sherman: “do you believe in me?” • Olympian Adam Rippon: “for you to realize your own power” • Poet Shane Koyczan: “for you to see past the pain…to see your own beauty” • The Rhodes Brothers: “to be loved and accepted as we are” • Syrian Refugee Students on U of A Campus: “to be safe, to be seen” • Students participating in the “March For Our Lives” movement: “to be safe in school; to know that we matter” • Poet Shane Koyczan: “for you to know…you are alive inside an endless cosmos with the freedom that shines
brightest in the dark”
May you find your voice, take a stand, make a difference. You have the power. The power is within you.
What is Important to YOU?
Listen to the words of the N’we Jinan artists as they share what is important to them.
“If we join hands, we can hold strong”
Artists – Pierre Ellitt Trudeau Elementary
Important to Us I like to sing and express my soul
follow my dreams I won’t let them go When life gets tough, I know it’s not the end
because I’m not alone, I’ve got my friends
Make the best of everything you’ve got you have the power inside your heart
let’s tell the world that we’re all the same and heal together when we all feel pain
Let’s make the best of everyday we see
combine the colors of you and me Let’s tell the world, let’s tell the world
discover just what we can be
Hello, hello
is anybody listening?
Bonjour, bonjour to everybody living here
Wachiya, wachiya our home is filled with color and love
Kwe-Kwe, Kwe-Kwe …these are things important to us
No matter where you’re from
let’s fill our home with color and love because we are like the sun
and these are things important to us
I work real hard to get to where I want to be working together with my team as I follow
dreams
Important to Us
I try, try, I’m never going to say goodbye Lifting each other up, every day we fly
We bring each other down, it’s so stressful turn that attitude around, and be successful
Always remember to share and include Keeping our pride is what we’re daring to do
My friends I like to support I know that life is too short
I want to reach out and change the world around me today
I want to see progress
because all I’m seeing is the nonsense This is the process
so I’m riding with my people and we got this, our love is the food for the thoughtless
Make the best of everything you’ve got you have the power inside your heart
Let’s tell the world that we’re all the same and heal together when we all feel pain Let’s make the best of everyday we see
combine the colors of you and me Let’s tell the world, let’s tell the world
discover just what we can be
Hello, hello is anybody listening?
Bonjour, bonjour to everybody living here
Wachiya, wachiya our home is filled with color and love
Kwe-Kwe, Kwe-Kwe …these are things important to us
I want to think big because I am home
and I know this could last long If we join hands, we could hold strong
as our history goes on.
Make the best of everything we got
you have the power inside your heart Let’s tell the world that we’re all the same
and heal together when we all feel pain Let’s make the best of everyday we see
combine the colors of you and me
Let’s tell the world, let’s tell the world discover just what we can be.
Hello, hello Is anybody listening?
Bonjour, bonjour to everybody living here
Wachiya, wachiya our home is filled with color and love
Kwe-Kwe, Kwe-Kwe …. these are things important to us.
No matter where you’re from
let’s fill our home with color and love ‘cause we are like the sun
…and these are things important to us.
What’s important to us?
“listen to us, to our words”
What’s important to you? What’s important to you and your friends?
What’s important to your school community? What images and symbols are part of your message about what is important to you?
WE INVITE YOU TO SHARE YOUR MESSAGE OF
WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU. YOUR MESSAGE COULD BE INCLUDED IN A
FUTURE NEWSLETTER!
Keynote Speech: Dalton Sherman
I believe in me. Do you believe in me? Do you believe that I can stand up here, fearless, and talk to over 20,000 of you? I can do anything, be anything, create anything, dream anything, become anything – because YOU believe in ME. And it rubs off on me. Let me ask you a question – do you believe in my classmates? Do you believe that every single one of us can graduate, ready for college or the workplace? You better, because next week we’re all showing up in your schools! All 157,000 of us! What we need from you is to BELIEVE that WE can reach our highest potential – no matter WHERE WE COME FROM – you better not give up on us! No, you better not! Because as you know, in some cases, you’re all we’ve got. You’re the ones who feed us, who wipe our tears, who hold our hands, or hug us when we need it. You’re the ones who love us when sometimes it feels like no one else does. When we need it the most – don’t give up on my classmates. Do you believe in your colleagues? Do you? I hope so, because they came to your school because they wanted to make a difference too! Believe in them, trust in them, and lean on them when times get tough. We all know, we kids can sometimes make it tough! So, whether you’re a counsellor, or a librarian, a teacher assistant, or you work in the front office, whether you serve up meals in the cafeteria (my favorite), or help keep the halls clean, or whether you’re a teacher or a principal, we need YOU! Please believe in your colleagues and they will believe in you. Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe that what you’re doing is shaping not just my generation but that of my children and my children’s children? There’s probably easier ways to make a living, but I want to tell you, on behalf of all the students, WE NEED YOU! We need you now more than ever! Believe in yourself. Finally. Do you believe that every child needs to be ready for college or the workplace? Do you believe that every student can achieve? We need you, ladies and gentlemen! We need you to know that what you’re doing is the most important job today! We need you to believe in us, in your collogues, in yourselves, and in our goals. If you don’t believe, well, I’m not going there. I want to thank you – for what you do for me and so many others. Do you believe in me? Because I believe in me, and you’ve helped me get to where I am today.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
What’s important to me?
“for you to believe in me”
I Believe in Me. Do YOU Believe in Me?
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Adam Rippon, Olympian “When I was little I used to care so much about what others thought of me. I was mindful of the way I dressed, my mannerism, the way I talked. I was afraid people would think I was weak. I was afraid of making mistakes. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be welcomed by the LGBTQ community because someone like me wouldn’t be the role model they were looking for. Maybe I was too gay, and maybe I was just too myself. Throughout my life I have fallen short many times. I have felt depressed. I have felt not good enough, and I felt like there would never be a day where I would feel like I belong. I was living life afraid. I remember hearing the quote:
“what would you do if you weren’t afraid?”
I remember really hearing it and honestly asking myself, “what would you do differently?” I remember making the choice to be unafraid. I made the choice to not care what others thought of who I was. I was going to be truly me. This was the biggest and most important decision I have ever made. To live fearlessly, to take risks, to let go of my fear of what others may think of me, and to always keep learning. You will find that you will have your greatest success when you wear your scars proudly. Through my shortcomings and from my successes I’ve learned that a champion is more than a medal. It’s a mindset. To all the young kids out there – whether you are gay, straight, bi, trans, or still on a journey of self-discovery…. whether you are white, black, or any color in between:
“You are smarter than You think. You hold more strength than You maY
ever know. You are powerful. no matter where You have come from, or where You are going to, there is someone who looks up to You and theY will find inspiration in Your strength of just being Yourself. be a role
model, and never forget that You can be someone’s champion. You are a winner. when we all come together, we can change the world.”
What’s important to me?
“for you to realize your own power”
Watch video here.
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TED Talk: To This Day…. For the Bullied and Beautiful | Shane Koyczan Click on image to access video: To This Day Project – Shane Koyczan When I was a kid I hid my heart under the bed because my mom said, “if you’re not careful, someday, someone is going to break it.” Take it from me, under the bed is not a good hiding spot. I know because I’ve been shot down so many times I get altitude sickness just for standing up for myself. But that’s what we were told. “Stand up for yourself.” But that’s hard to do if you don’t know who you are. We were expected to define ourselves at such an early age. And if we didn’t do it, others did it for us: “Geek”, “Fatty”, “Slut”, “Fag”. And at the same time, we were being told what we were, we were being asked, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I always thought that was an unfair question. It presupposes that we can’t be who we already are. We were kids. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a MAN. I wanted a registered retirement savings plan that would keep me in candy long enough that would make old age sweet. When I was a kid I wanted to shave. Now, not so much. When I was eight, I wanted to be a marine biologist. When I was nine I saw the movie “Jaws” and thought to myself “no thank you.” When I was ten I was told that my parents left because they didn’t want me. When I was eleven I wanted to be left alone. When I was twelve I wanted to die. When I was thirteen I wanted to kill a kid. When I was fourteen I was asked to seriously consider a career path. I said, “I’d like to be a writer.” They said, “choose something realistic.” So, I said, “professional wrestler.” And they said, “don’t be stupid.” See, they asked me what I wanted to be, then told me what not to be. I wasn’t the only one. We were being told that we somehow must. become what we are not, sacrificing what we are to inherit the masquerade of what we will be. I was being told to accept the identity that others will give me. I wondered “What made my dreams so easy to dismiss?” Granted, my dreams are shy, because they are Canadian. My dreams are self-conscious and overly apologetic. They are standing alone at the high school dance and they’ve never been kissed. See, my dreams got called names too: “silly”, “foolish”, “impossible”. But I kept dreaming. I was going to be a wrestler. I had it all figured out. I was going to be “the Garbageman”. My finishing move was going to be the trash compacter. My saying was going to be, “I’m taking out the trash!” And then this guy, Duke the Dumpster Dorsey, stole my entire shtick. I was crushed, as if by a trash compacter. I thought to myself, “What now? Where do I turn?” “Poetry.” Like a boomerang, the think I loved came back to me. One of the first lines of poetry I can remember writing was in response to a world that demanded I hate myself. From age fifteen to eighteen, I hated myself for becoming the thing that I loathed: a bully. When I was nineteen I wrote: “I will love myself despite the ease with which I lean toward the opposite.” Standing up for yourself doesn’t have to mean embracing violence. When I was a kid, I traded in homework assignments for friendship. Then gave each friend a late slip for never showing on time, and in most cases not at all. I gave myself a hall pass to get through each broken promise. I remember this plan born out of frustration from a kid who kept calling me “Yogi”, then pointed to my tummy and said, “too many picnic baskets.” Turns out it’s not that hard to trick someone. One day before class, I said “yeah, you can copy my homework.” And I gave him all the wrong answers that I’d written down the night before. He got his paper back expecting a near perfect score and couldn’t believe it when he looked across the room at me and held up a ‘zero’. I didn’t have to hold up my paper of 28/30. But my satisfaction was complete when he looked at me puzzled and I thought to myself “Smarter than the average bear, (expletive).”
To This Day…For the Bullied and Beautiful
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This is who I am. This is how I stand up for myself. When I was a kid, I used to think that pork chops and karate chops were the same thing. I thought they were both pork chops. Because my grandmother thought it was cute and they were my favorite, she let me keep doing it. Not really a big deal. One day, before I realized fat kids are not designed to climb trees, I fell out of a tree and bruised the right side of my body. I didn’t want to tell my grandmother about it because I was scared that I would get in trouble for playing somewhere I shouldn’t have been. A few days later, the gym teacher noticed a bruise and I got sent to the principal’s office. From there I was sent to another small room with a really nice lady who asked all kinds of questions about my life at home. I saw no reason to lie. As far as I was concerned, life was pretty good! I told her, “whenever I am sad my grandmother gives me karate chops.” This lead to a full-scale investigation, and I was removed from the house for three days. Until they finally decided to ask how I got the bruises. News of the silly little story quickly spread through the school, and I earned my first nick name: ‘Pork Chop.’ To this day, I hate pork chops. I’m not the only kid who grew up this way, surrounded by people who used to that say that rhyme about sticks and stones. As if broken bones hurt more than the names we got called, and we got called them all. So, we grew up believing no one would ever fall in love with us. That we would be lonely forever. That we’d never meet someone to make us feel like the sun was something they built for us in their tool shed. So broken heart strings bled the blues as we tried to empty ourselves, so we would feel nothing. Don’t tell me that hurts less than a broken bone. That an ingrown life Is something surgeons can cut away. That there’s no way for it to metastasize. It does. She was eight years old. Our first day of grade three when she got called ugly. We both got moved to the back of the class, so we would stop get bombarded by spit balls. But the school halls were a battleground. We found ourselves outnumbered day after wretched day. We used to stay inside for recess because outside was worse. Outside we’d have to rehearse running away or learn to stay still like statues, giving no clues that we were there. In grade five they taped a sign to the front of her desk that read, “Beware of Dog.” To this day, despite a loving husband she doesn’t think she’s beautiful because of a birthmark that takes up a little less than half of her face. Kids used to say, “she looks like a wrong answer that someone tried to erase but couldn’t quite get the job done.” And they’ll never understand that she’s raising two kids whose definition of beauty begins with the word MOM. Because they see her heart before they see her skin, because she’s only ever always been amazing. He was a broken branch grafted onto a different family tree. Adopted. Not because his parents opted for a different destiny. He was three when he became a mixed drink of one part left alone and two parts tragedy. He started therapy in 8th grade. He had a personality made up of tests and pills. He lived like the up hills were mountains and the downhills were cliffs. Four fifths suicidal, and a tidal wave of anti-depressants. And an adolescence of being called “Popper.” One part because of the pills, ninety-nine parts because of the cruelty. He tried to kill himself in grade ten, when a kid who could still go home to mom and dad had the audacity to tell him “get over it”. As if depression Is something that can be remedied by any of the contents found in a first aid kit. To this day he is a stick of TNT lit from both ends. He could describe to you in detail the way the sky bends in the moments before it’s about to fall. And despite an army of friends who all call him an inspiration, he remains a conversation piece between people who can’t understand sometimes becoming drug free has less to do with addiction and more to do with sanity. We weren’t the only kids who grew up this way. To this day kids are still being called names. The classics were “Hey stupid. Hey spaz.” Seems like every school has an arsenal of names getting updated every year. “If a kid breaks in a school, and no one around chooses to hear, do they make a sound?”
“If a kid breaks in school, and no one around chooses to hear, do they make a sound?”
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Are they just the background noise of a soundtrack stuck on repeat when people say things like “Kids can be cruel?” Every school was a big top circus tent, and the pecking order went from acrobats to lion tamers, from clowns to carnies. All of these were miles ahead of who we were. We were freaks: lobster claw boys and bearded ladies. Oddities juggling depression and loneliness playing solitaire and spin the bottle. Trying to kiss the wounded parts of ourselves and heal. But at night, while the others slept, we kept walking the tightrope. It was practice. And yes, some of us fell. But I want to tell them that all of this -- Is just debris leftover when we finally decide to smash all the things we thought we used to be. “And if you can’t see anything beautiful about yourself, get a better mirror. Look a little closer. Stare a little longer. Because there’s something inside you that made you keep trying despite everyone who told you to quit.” You built a cast around your broken heart and signed it yourself. You signed it “They were wrong.” Because maybe you didn’t belong to a group or a clique. Maybe they decided to pick you last for basketball or everything. Maybe you used to bring bruises and broken teeth to ‘show and tell’ but never told because how can you hold your ground if everyone around you wants to bury you beneath it? You have to believe that they were wrong! They have to be wrong. Why else would we still be here? We grew up learning to cheer on the underdog because we see ourselves in them. We stem from a root, planted in the belief that we are not what we were called. We are not abandoned cars stalled out and sitting empty on some highway. And if in some way we are, don’t worry. We only have to get out to walk and get gas. We are graduating members from the class of WE MADE IT! Not the faded echoes of voices crying out, “Names will never hurt me.” Of course, they did.
‘But our lives will only ever always continue to be a balancing act - that has less to do with PAIN and more to do with BEAUTY.”
What’s important to me?
“for you to see past the hurt…. to see your beauty”
“And if you can’t see anything beautiful about yourself, get a better mirror. Look a little closer. Stare a little longer. Because there’s something inside
you that made you keep trying despite everyone who told you to quit.”
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The Rhodes Brothers: Twins Come Out to Their Dad
“With this new year, we both want to come back as authentic as possible. With something that we both wanted to share for a very long time is the fact that I’m gay…” “….and I’m gay too.” Moving forward from that, before this video is put out there, there is one more person that we have to tell. There is one more person that we need to come out to.” “We’ve come out to our entire family, except for our Dad.” “So, we’ve decided that in this video we are going to call him (he is back in Ohio, we can’t meet face to face) and we are going to let him know that we are gay.” (anxious) “Oh, my god. I’m going to pass out.” “I know, I really feel sick.” “Alright, we just really have to do it. Call. Hit the button. Just hit the button.” Son: “Hello. Hey, what are you doing?” (stalling…) Dad: “What’s going on?” Son: “Basically, we just wanted to call you because there’s going to be…. there’s going to be some stuff coming out soon and we just wanted to call and talk to you about it before…I don’t know how else to put it…but…. uh…I’m gay…and Austin is too. We just wanted to call you and tell you…. Son: “…because I wanted to have that conversation…because we are close enough…and I feel like I am at that point now to be able to tell you…and I want to be able to have you behind us 100%....and I don’t want you to not love us anymore…” Dad: “Stop it. Would you just stop. It’s the way things are, you know? You’re grown people. You grew up in a generation different then me, you know? I just don’t really know what to say. You know I love you both. That’ll never change. You’ve got to live your lives. You’ve got to do what you got to do. Being on the job I’ve been on for many, many years, it’s kind of made me more accepting of that. You know what I mean?” Son: “It doesn’t change who we are as people. I’m the exact same person. I just don’t want to be able to not feel like I can’t call you and talk to you. I still want everything to be normal.” Dad: “You are normal. What do you mean?” Son: “Right. I just don’t want it to ever change our relationship. I still want to be able to have that relationship that we have.” Dad: “I can’t undo being your Dad. You know, I was abandoned by my father, you know? How I was raised…I don’t give a damn. It’s a lot, but you know, it’s just, it is what it is. You know, I’m not going to sit here and tell you you’re not or try to say why. Or try to say change, you know? Son: “I appreciate that.”
A Story of Coming Out
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Dad: “It’s what it is, you know? You’re living your lives, and that ‘s all you can do in life…is live it. I love you both.” Sons: “I love you too. Good-bye.”
Reflection (10 minutes later) “Whew! Alright, well, we got that out of the way. I literally feel like 10 million pounds have been lifted off my shoulders. I have never been so nervous in my entire life.” “Basically, what we wanted our message to be moving forward from all of this….is to just be yourself. Whether you are gay, or bi, or transgender, or maybe you’re straight and you’re struggling with a different issue…. just do whatever makes you happy.” “Anything you want to do with your life…just do it. Anything you want to be…. just be that.”
What’s important to us?
“to be loved and accepted as we are”
Just be yourself.
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“Good Mother” Jann Arden
I’ve got money in my pocket I like the color of my hair
I’ve got friends who love me I’ve got a house, I’ve got a car
I’ve got a good mother And her voice is what keeps me here
Feet on ground
Heart in hand Facing forward
Be yourself
Cardboard masks of all the people I’ve been thrown out with the rusted, tangled dented miseries
You could say I’m hard to hold But if you knew me you’d know
I’ve got a good father and his strength is what makes me cry
Feet on ground Heart in hand
Facing forward Be yourself
Just be yourself Just be yourself
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Cooking, studying, hanging with friends. These mundane activities take on new meaning for three Syrian refugees who are putting their lives back together as U of A students
By Omar Mouallem on December 8, 2017
Bashar Aldyab, Ahmad Al-Hariri and Abdullah Altamer (from left) chat with friends at that most Canadian of locales, Tim Hortons.
[Photo credit: John Ulan]
Bashar Aldyab read the first three words of the email, “We are pleased …,” and threw his phone. The Syrian refugee living in Jordan did not speak English well enough to know the nuances of the word “please” and assumed the letter from the World University Service of Canada was yet another rejection. Since leaving Syria in 2013 during his fourth year of dentistry at Damascus University — prompted by two wrongful arrests and detentions — Aldyab had applied for three scholarships and was thrice turned down. By this point, he was so accustomed to misfortune that the possibility of anything else was impossible to imagine. Finally, after five minutes had passed, he read the full email: “We are pleased to offer you a sponsorship for the 2016-2017 academic year.”
Aldyab had received the University of Alberta President’s Award for Refugees and Displaced Persons. He was going to Canada. “I’ve been here a year and I still can’t believe it,” says the 27-year-old science student on a fall afternoon, lounging in his HUB Mall apartment with a view of the food court. His roommate Ahmad Al-Hariri nods in agreement. He also got the full scholarship, which, along with the World University Service of Canada’s resettlement program, gives them permanent residency and puts them on a path to citizenship in as few as four years. “It was too good to be true,” he says. “We do believe we did something good in our life, maybe helping other people, so God rewarded us.” After a brutal war uprooted their lives, halted their educations, killed relatives and dispersed their families across Asia and Europe, it’s not surprising that any good fortune might seem like an act of God.
The Syrian conflict, which started during the 2011 Arab Spring with protests against an oppressive regime that has ruled now for 46 years, has become a proxy war for various militias and nations, including Russia, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Iran. To date almost half a million people have died, and 12 million people have been displaced — comparable to the number of people who fled Germany during the Second World War.
Seen/Unseen: A Story of Three Syrian Refugees
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The conflict hit the front page in Canada after the death of a three-year-old boy in September 2015. Alan Kurdi drowned after his family’s raft capsized during an escape attempt to Greece. The image of his body washed up on a beach sparked outrage around the world. The U of A scholarship was created shortly after that incident and prompted nearly $8,700 in donations. “I believe Alan Kurdi is the reason we are here,” says Abdullah Altamer, another recipient of the President’s Award, who lived with Aldyab and Al-Hariri until moving into his own apartment downtown.
In total, 14 people have received the President’s Award over the past two years, and these students are now starting to get a foothold in Canadian life. Years of turmoil crushed their plans for the future, but now their lives are developing again like a rediscovered roll of film.
Each image in this photo essay is a single frame in a single second of the last 10 months in the lives of three men who sought refuge in Canada. It captures them as they create support networks, seek new friends of similar interests, adjust to new customs and rekindle their interrupted ambitions. It also captures them learning to live independently for the first time — as when they try to replicate family recipes with the long-distance guidance of their mothers, who are still in Jordan.
The pictures show mundane tasks because that’s what peace is. Peace is a calmness that creates space in the mind to imagine a future. It’s the ability to walk through a green park, safely. To play an organized soccer game with friends and strangers, safely. To drive to the mountains or a farmer’s market, safely. (And without travel documents.) “This is all the freedom I want,” says Altamer, now a second-year engineering student.
He describes his last years as living in two distinct prisons. In Syria, his liberties were inhibited by danger — where even walking to school could be deadly and some of his friends and family were killed or arrested. As a refugee in Jordan, his liberties were restricted by having to work 48 hours a week on top of his course load to be able to afford to study. Now, in Edmonton, he has regained leisure and stability but not without consequence. He can’t stay home long without getting anxious, he says. The freedom outside is too intoxicating — even when the weather is frigid — and the four walls inside can drive his mind back to dark places.
This is what the camera can’t capture: emotional subtleties like post-traumatic stress or survivor’s guilt, an insidious consequence of freedom regained.
Not long after Aldyab witnessed the first crackdown on protesters, in 2011, police came for him and his cousin while they were sleeping; as males of battle age they were considered potential recruits for the rebels. He was rounded up with hundreds, possibly thousands of other men, he says, and beaten all the way to the detention centre. There, he was blindfolded, interrogated and burned with something hot enough to leave permanent scars. The cell was crowded with so many prisoners that men slept on their sides in a position they called “the sword.”
“When your family is killed, when your people are killed, you should have to do something.” –Bashar Aldyab
“I was expecting death at any time,” he says. Aldyab was released 27 days later and 26 pounds lighter. He stumbled through the streets in an altered state, frightening passersby, until a pitying taxi driver took him home. That he recovered enough to return to university in Syria is astonishing. Nobody would have blamed him for taking off then or, like his cousin,
“Peace is a calmness that creates space in the mind to imagine a future. It’s the ability to walk through a green park, safely. To play an organized soccer game with friends and
strangers, safely. To drive to the mountains or a farmer’s market, safely (and without travel documents. “
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joining the rebellion and dying in combat. Aldyab survived a second arrest, too. Yet, as a second-year U of A student planning for a career in dental hygiene, he says he feels like a coward.
“I don’t like fighting, but when your family is killed, when your people are killed, you should have to do something. But this is what I do now. I can take my revenge by helping bring Syrian people to get an education.” He recently helped two friends apply successfully for World University Service of Canada scholarships.
Getting here, though, is just the beginning. Adaptation is a slow process. Take something as simple as offering a cup of coffee to a friend: Canadians will either accept or decline. But in Middle Eastern countries, the friend is expected to decline — even if they want the coffee — and only accept it after repeated insistence. (Persians call this taarof and it confuses even the savviest travelers.) The overnight change to rules of society such as these young people have experienced can result in unintentional offences for both parties, though there are fewer every day for the three friends. “I love the Canadian way,” says Al-Hariri, “that when you say ‘Yes’ you mean yes and when you say ‘No’ you mean no.”
They’re also beginning to understand the many degrees of “please” and become fluent in Canada’s particular brand of politeness. This, too, takes adjusting. “Sometimes they make me feel like I’m a bad person,” says Aldyab. “It’s always ‘sorry this, please that.’” What seems like a courtesy to most of us could feel like an overwhelming pressure to be perfect, he says.
“But you know,” adds Al-Hariri, “we’re starting to hold doors now and say sorry for everything, too.”
What’s important to us?
“to be safe, to be seen”
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On February 14, 2018 a gunman entered a school in Parkland, Florida and shot and killed 17 people, injuring 14 more. The outrage lead to a rallying cry among the youth of Parkland school, leading to a national movement of #NeverAgain. From the voices of youth who lived through this day, to those who have lost friends, sons, daughters, family members in the countless other incidences of gun violence in schools– the call for gun control and safety in schools was loud and clear. A national movement lead to a #walkout across the nation, where students walked out to remember the 17 lives lost. These live moments of students being agents of change are the battle cry of youth at this moment…and the battle cries continue.
Read: “A Loud, New Voice After the Latest School Shooting: Kids Wanting to Know Why Adults Hadn’t Done More”
Read: “These Are the Victims of the Florida School Shooting”
Read: U.S. Students Stage Mass Walkouts Across Country to Protest Gun Violence: ‘Enough is Enough’ | Global Edmonton
March For Life Marching for Gun Control and Safety in School
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Click on tweet to access video.
Click on tweet to access video.
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What’s important to us?
“to be safe in school; to know that we matter”
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Instructions For a Bad Day: Shane Koyczan | Motivational Words
(Preview video prior to showing for language)
“We all have good days and we all have bad days. Hold on…and breathe.”
There will be bad days. Be calm. Loosen your grip, opening each palm slowly now. Let go. Be confident. Know that now is only a moment, and that if today is as bad as it gets, understand that by tomorrow, today will have ended. Be gracious. Accept each extended hand offered, to pull you back from the somewhere you cannot escape. Be diligent. Scrape the gray sky clean. Realize every dark cloud is a smoke screen meant to blind us from the truth, and the truth is whether we see them or not— the sun and moon are still there and always there is light. Be forthright. Despite your instinct to say ‘it’s alright, I’m okay” – be honest. Say how you feel without fear or guilt, without remorse or complexity. Be lucid in your explanation, be sterling in your oppose. If you think for one second no one knows what you’ve been going through, be accepting of the fact that you are wrong. That the long drawn and heavy breaths of despair have at times been felt by everyone-- that pain is part of the human condition, and that alone makes you a legion. We hungry underdogs, we risers with dawn, we dismissers of odds, we blessers of on—we will station ourselves to the calm. We will hold ourselves to the steady, be ready player one. Life is going to come at you armed with hard times and tough choices, your voice is your weapon, your thoughts ammunition – there is no free extra men, be aware that as the instant now passes, it exists now as then. Be a mirror reflecting yourself back and remembering the times when you thought all of this was too hard and you’d never make it through. Remember the times you could have pressed quit— but you hit continue. Be forgiving. Living with the burden of anger, is not living. Giving your focus to wrath will leave your entire self-absent of what you need. Love and hate are beasts and the one that grows is the one you feed. Be persistent. Be the weed growing through the cracks in the cement, beautiful – because it doesn’t know it’s not supposed to grow three. Be resolute. Declare what you accept as true in a way that envisions the resolve with which you accept it. Be considerate. If you are having a good day, be considerate. A simple smile could be the first-aid kit that someone has been looking for. If you believe with absolute honesty that you are doing everything you can – do more. There will be bad days, times when the world weighs on you for so long it leaves you looking for an easy way out. There will be moments when the drought of joy seems unending, instances spent pretending that everything is alright when it clearly is not. Check your blind spot. See that love is still there. Be patient. Every nightmare has a beginning, but every bad day has an end. Ignore what others have called you. I am calling you friend. Make us comprehend the urgency of your crisis. Silence left to its own devices breeds silence so speak and be heard. One word after the next, express yourself and put your life in the context – if you find that no one is listening, be loud. Make noise. Stand in poise and be open. Hope in these situations is not enough and you will need someone to lean on. In the unlikely event that you have no one, look again. Everyone is blessed with the ability to listen. The deaf will hear you with their eyes. The blind will see you with their hands. Let your heart fill their news-stands. Let them read all about it.
Instructions for a Bad Day
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Admit to the bad days, the impossible nights. Listen to the insights of those who have been there but have come back. They will tell you. You can stack misery, you can pack despair, you can even wear your sorrow – but come tomorrow you must change your clothes. Everyone knows pain. We are not meant to carry it forever. We were never meant to hold it so closely, so be certain in the belief that what pain belongs to now, know will belong soon to then. That when someone asks you “how was your day?” realize that for some of us – it’s the only way we know how to say –
Be calm. Loosen your grip, open each palm, slowly now – let go.
How to Be a Person Shane Koyczan
1. Find your voice. Know that not all languages contain words. Your voice could be music, it could be
dance. It will be what expresses you most sincerely. Your voice is an art. If your heart is broken, make art with the pieces. 2. You are an artist. Remember that you are an artist, regardless of how constantly the world will try to drive it out of you, or how
a ‘real job’ will try to bury the part of you that communicates your feelings when language fails. You are an artist. Whether it is with food or building robots, you will know your medium the instant you realize how in love you are with what it brings out of you.
3. Apologize. You will not always be right. You will not always be wrong. You will hopefully always be learning. Atonement is a sacrifice of pride. Explanation of why you did what you did or said what you said will not vindicate you. If the cost to heal someone is only your pride, then apologize. And be grateful that you received peace at such a bargain.
4. Forgive. Realize that some people are still learning. If forgiveness is not possible, then think of everything you have ever wanted to be forgiven for but weren’t. Hold that uneasiness in your mind until you feel your desire for absolution becoming a wish. Realize you can grant this wish for others. If you are waiting for forgiveness, be prepared to wait. Be prepared to stand in the path of time and wither. Respect that forgiveness is difficult. Not all trespassers are equal, and not everyone will heal according to your schedule.
5. Love is a vulnerability but not a weakness. Love is the volunteer in you that raises its hand and steps forward without needing to be rewarded. Love is a currency that functions in reverse, because the only way to be wealthy with it, is to give more of it away.
6. Don’t laugh to fit in. Laughter should be honest. If there is no sincerity in your joy, then your happiness will be a forgery that fools only yourself.
7. Try. The tiniest dream that you try to make happen, is worth more than the biggest dream you never attempt. 8. Be savagely thankful, and continuously in awe of the power you possess. You are alive. Inside of an
endless cosmos with the freedom that shines brightest in the dark. 9. Choices. Your choices belong to you so intimately, that they will never leave you. Know that what you choose to stand for, is
what will inform you of what you’ve chosen to stand against. So, stand. Let each foot crash land into what you believe, and plant them there firmly so they may take root in your convictions.
10. Stand.
What’s important to me?
“for you to know…. you are alive, inside an endless cosmos with
the freedom that shines brightest in the dark.”
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(This book was bought for me by a dear colleague, Rena Methuen, while she was on a visit to the National Human Rights Museum. She knew it would be a great resource to share with all.)
From the website Canadian Museum of Human Rights:
Points of View is a national juried human rights photography exhibition. The photographs tell stories of passion and protest, family and friendship, suffering and struggle, hunger and hope. Through this exhibition, Canadians share their views of human rights. The 70 photographs explore human rights within four themes:
• Freedom of Expression • Reconciliation • Human Rights and the Environment • Inclusion and Diversity
(Book Excerpt) Human rights stories are all around us. Sometimes it just takes a different point of view to bring them into focus. Points of View offers glimpses into how people perceive human rights around them – rights related to expression, inclusion and diversity, reconciliation, and the environment. Some of these images may convey viewpoints similar to your own. Others may inspire you to think about an issue in a new way. We all have different points of view. What is yours? The following pages include captures from the book:
Book of the Month
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Inclusion and Diversity How can all people have an equal chance to participate in community life? What does diversity and full inclusion for everyone mean?
Melinda 2014 In Hungary, Melinda was insulted in the streets for wearing a Hijab. Her daughter was hospitalized after being beaten by 5 boys. Neither the school nor the police helped the family. Melinda left Hungary with her children. She will soon find out if her refugee claim in Canada has been accepted. This image pursues the narrative through portraiture. Melinda’s resilience is conveyed through her peaceful gesture of prayer and her white hijab. In a climate of global Islamophobia, Melinda’s story invites a conversation about Islam, and the consequences of fear and ignorance. Pulse 2016 In Montreal, the photographer came across this tribute to the victims of Orlando’s Pulse nightclub shooting. Homophobia is a severe problem that seems to be spreading. Perhaps if we stay strong and support one another, we will be successful in overcoming hate.
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Freedom of Expression What forms can expression take? Should there be limits to free expression? What happens when different opinions conflict? These images visualize many creative ways that we can share our opinions, beliefs, thoughts and feelings with others. They also remind us of the opportunity to seek and consider others’ perspectives.
I Me Myself 2012 Rajneesh Fontana, Victoria This is my self-portrait, for all those women who experience abuse, who have no voice, freedom or equality. You can take a stand and be who you are. We all need to support each other for a better world and a better future. This self-portrait by Rajneesh Fontana vividly represents the power of expression in the re-creation of self for women who have been silenced by experiences of abuse. Through her defiant gesture and vibrant use of color, Fontana asserts her visibility on behalf of all those who have been rendered invisible. Ode to the REDress Project 2016 Students at a Winnipeg school created this installation after being inspired by Jaime Black’s The REDress Project. Blacks’ original project placed red dresses in public spaces to draw attention to the more than 1000 missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada.
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Reconciliation How does the present bear witness to historical wrongs? Can reflecting on the past contribute to making a better future? These photographs consider efforts to come together and find common ground—including in the aftermath of human rights violations. Many affirm the importance of Indigenous worldviews and traditions and point to diverse and challenging paths toward reconciliation in Canada.
Weight of the Past, Hope for the Future 2016 While teaching photography in the Cree nation of Chisasibi, Quebec, this photographer learned about the traumatic impact of residential schools on younger generations. He decided to visit the elementary school to photograph today’s students who will be tomorrow’s leaders. The Next Generation 2015 For many years, our people were restricted from gathering for pow wows. Now we are proud to host this celebration of culture and heritage every year. This is not just for First Nations – we welcome everyone. It is beautiful to see people coming together.
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Human Rights and the Environment How does a healthy environment promote human rights? What are the costs for human rights when environmental health is disregarded? These photographs explore the relationships between human rights, environmental issues, and our planet’s sustainability. They ask us to consider how our own rights are affected by the wellbeing of our shared earth.
Precarious Childhood 2012 Sisters Amenia and Moyna live at garbage dump west of Dhaka, Bangladesh. They spend entire days searching for food amidst the garbage. Deprived of education and healthcare, and exposed to illnesses in this environment, they face an uncertain future. Nanunnguaq 2011 The tundra no longer extends beneath my paws. I now swim for humans. Don’t they understand their freedom is interconnected to mine? Human rights cannot be separated from the protection of the environment and animals.
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9 Phrases Allies Can Say When Getting Called Out Instead of Getting Defensive May 29, 2017 Sam Dylan Finch
Real talk: No one likes being called out. It’s difficult to grapple with the idea that we may have gotten it wrong – that, despite our best intentions, we’ve done real harm. And I know from personal experience that our gut reaction isn’t always effective. I often can’t help but feel a surge of defensiveness, because sitting with my mistakes can be a real uncomfortable experience. What I’ve learned along the way, however, is that this discomfort can be a good thing. All the best opportunities for growth and reflection involve some level of discomfort. Being called out (or in) can be a gift, as it calls on us to rise up and be better—to tap into our empathy and do the serious and critical work of interrogating our own beliefs and biases. This is how we align our values with our actions. Respond to a call-out involves slowing down. It requires decentering of our own feelings and tuning in, which takes a certain amount of practice and skill. This can be difficult to do when we’re feeling fragile and vulnerable. When I first started writing publicly, I had no idea how to navigate those feelings, but I’ve been fortunate enough to have the chance to flex those muscles and learn as I go along. One question I get often – especially from folks who already struggle with anxiety and dealing with conflict – is ho to first respond without doing further damage. When our emotions put up a wall in front of us, it can feel like we’re cornered or trapped, and we become reactive instead of thoughtful. We can wind up rambling, making excuses, denying the impact, and even gaslighting – all in a frantic attempt to deescalate the situation. And unfortunately, we end up perpetuating the harm that prompted the call-out in the first place. I actually think the best responses are deceptively simple. Don’t know what I mean? I’ve compiled a list that I’ve picked up (as both the one has been called out and the one doing the call-out) that can facilitate healing. While this is by no means an exhaustive list, it’s a place to start – and often times, getting started I the most difficult part. The next time you’re called on to do better, take a deep breath (or better yet, a lot of deep breaths, and consider the following responses:
“Discomfort can be a good thing. All the best opportunities for growth and reflection involve some level of discomfort.”
Nine Phrases Allies Say
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1. “I recognize that I have work to do.” Your first instinct might be to say something like, “I didn’t mean to!” This is a super common gut reaction, and you’re not alone there. But while it may be true that you didn’t purposefully harm anyone, you aren’t actually acknowledging the harm that you’ve caused when you become defensive. You can express the exact same sentiment, while still acknowledging that you messed up, by simply saying, “Wow, you’re right. I need to work on this.” “I have work to do,” is a great response on many levels. It validates the concerns that have been raised, and it also affirms that the responsibility to fix the situation rests with you, and not the marginalized who have called you out. It’s a way of saying “I really didn’t mean to” and “you’re absolutely right” at the same time – which allow you to express your intention but, most importantly, still own the impact your actions have on others.
2. “I’m going to take some time to reflect on this.” Sometimes in the moments after a call-out, we aren’t ready to respond. This is especially true of folks who already struggle with conflict and anxiety, and in the immediate moment, are perhaps too emotional – or even fragile – to engage. (Trust me, I’ve been there many times. Call-out culture hasn’t always been kind to neurodiverse folks for whom these moments can be especially difficult to navigate). It’s absolutely okay to step back until you’re ready to tune in to what is being said. Take the space you need to reflect, research, reexamine, and breathe. Let people know that you’re engaged, and that you’re going to take a minute to think about what’s being said. “I’m listening and really appreciate what’s been said so far,” you might reply. “I’m going to take some time to reflect before I respond.” As long as you’re actually committed to circling back around (don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep!), this is always a better choice than getting swallowed up in conflict that you aren’t prepared to handle. 3. “I appreciate the labor you put in.” Call-outs involve a lot of emotional labor. Whenever I’ve contacted someone and asked them to recognize harm, I often have to open my own wounds wide open and take on the role of an educator as I try to explain where they went wrong. I by no means delight in doing this. I put in the time and effort, though, because I believe that this person can do better. It hurts when someone takes that labor for granted. It hurts when they ignore the fact that I’ve invested in them, and they instead ignore me. When marginalized people take the time to teach you something, it’s essential to recognize their labor. Name it explicitly – yes, even if in the moment you still don’t understand, didn’t ask for it, or are struggling with your emotions about it. This labor was done for you, because someone believed in your ability to do better. If nothing else, take a moment to appreciate the effort that was made. 4. “I apologize, I’m going to do better.” This video on how to apologize is required for anyone and everyone who aspires to be a decent person. Apologizing isn’t just about saying “I’m sorry” – it’s a skill that takes a lot of practice and reflection. Knowing how to apologize thoughtfully and authentically is a key part of being an ally.
Apologizing is an essential part of responding to call-outs, but I should always be accompanied by a commitment to do better. Just saying “I’m sorry” isn’t enough – you need to also express your investment in the community that has called on you.
Apologizing isn’t just about saying “I’m sorry” -- it’s a skill that takes a lot of practice and reflection. Knowing how to apologize thoughtfully and authentically is a key part of being an ally.
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Let them know that you’re not only sorry for the harm you caused, but that you’ll learn from this experience and change your behavior. Because real talk: an apology is useless if you don’t intend to make a change. 5. “How can I make it right?” For the record, no one calling you out is required to educate you further or assist you in creating a plan of action. It’s your responsibility first and foremost to make things right. However, in some cases, it doesn’t hurt to ask what you can do moving forward and see if actions can be taken to address the harm that was caused. “I want to make this right,” you might say. “If you have the energy or time, please let me know if there’s anything I can do.” Pairing this with a sincere apology and a recognition of labor that was already done on your behalf definitely doesn’t hurt. It’s important to remember, too, if you aren’t actually willing to take action, don’t ask people to make suggestions that you won’t follow up on. Make sure you mean it before you solicit advice – you’d be surprised by how many people are all talk.
6. “What I’m gathering is (insert what you’ve learned).” You can say “sorry” until you’re blue in the face, but if you don’t really know what you’re apologizing for, it’s meaningless. Part of actually engaging with a call-out is actually learning from your mistake. This is why being able to share what you’ve learned is important. It’s not only a great way to validate and appreciate the people who’ve called you out, but it can also teach others who don’t ‘get it’ so they don’t make the same mistake. (Hint: It’s also never too late to use this response. Even if your initial reply wasn’t ideal, you can always come back around and share what you’ve figured out.) “What I’m gathering is that I not only perpetuated an anti-Black stereotype,” you might say, “but my defensiveness only caused further harm.” This lets people know that you’re not all lip-service – you have paid attention to what was said, and now you’re doing the work to make it right. 7. “Do you have resources you’d recommend?” This is a response that should be used very carefully. You never want to imply that the people who are calling you out are required to give you an extensive education or invest even more labor on your behalf. That isn’t an appropriate response – that’s entitlement. At the end of the day, you aren’t owed anything, and it’s your responsibility to try to educate yourself to the best of your ability. That’s why posing this question should be an invitation, not an expectation. “I appreciate everyone’s thoughtful responses,” you could say. “I’m doing some research now, but if anyone has a favorite resource on this topic that they’d like to share, I’m totally open to it!” 8. “Thank you.” You should never respond to a call-out without thanking the people who took the time to educate you. Seriously. If you aren’t sure why, re-read response #3. No one is required to correct you or engage with you, but their belief that you could do better led them to invest in you – and that investment matters. Thank you says, “you didn’t have to, but I appreciate that you did.” Thank you says, “I don’t take you for granted.” Thank you says, “what you did has real value and importance to me.”
9. “I believe in you.” Often times, when marginalized people in particular call out their allies, a big part of that labor is being vulnerable enough to share how an issue personally affects them. But because of the oppressive systems we live under, marginalized people are often met with disbelief when they’re courageous enough to share their experiences. When you respond to a call-out by rejecting those experiences, you’re effectively re-traumatizing the community you’ve already harmed. Don’t be that person. Don’t deny their experiences. Don’t presume to know their lives or their pain better than they do. Say, “I know this is painful for you to share, and I want you to know that I believe in you. And mean it – believe them.
Thank you says, “you didn’t have to, but I appreciate that you did.” Thank you says, “I don’t take you for granted.” Thank you says, “what you did has real value and importance to me.”
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Acknowledge the work you have to put in. Take the time to educate yourself. Express gratitude for the labor. Apologize and make a commitment to them. Take concrete actions to address the harm. Do your homework, share what you’ve learned, and lead by example
10 Tips for Talking About News, Politics, and Current Events in Schools
Dani Bostick
March 1, 2017 TEDEd Lessons Worth Sharing
In schools everywhere, students are deeply affected by current events. Certain policy changes and related commentary can cause
children to experience fear, confusion and anxiety. For example, some kids might fear deportation. Others might be upset about
hurtful generalizations they hear regarding their cultures and countries of origin. A lot of kids might fear the loss of rights.
Teachers around the world have shared that having conversations about these topics is challenging, and sometimes they end up
avoiding these conversations altogether. So how might teachers facilitate a classroom discussion that allows students to express
their perspectives and work through their emotional distress? It’s important to note that an emotionally charged conversation
requires a different set of skills than leading an academic class discussion. Here are 10 tips for success:
1. Come up with class norms. It is hard to have a spontaneous conversation about a controversial issue. Classroom procedures
for conversations and discussion can help your conversations go smoothly. At the beginning of the school year, establish guidelines
Ten Tips for Talking About News, Politics and Current Events in Schools
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for class discussions with your students’ input. What are the qualities of a good listener? How can students feel heard and
understood? What happens if someone becomes overly emotional? Post the guidelines in your classroom, review them
periodically, and stick to them during discussions. If you have guidelines in place, students won’t feel singled out if you have to
give them feedback about their style of participation.
2. Make sure everyone has the same basic background information. Not all students are politically minded or have access to
news media. Before starting a class conversation, provide a basic summary of events. Students are less likely to tune out if they
understand what the conversation is about.
3. Provide explanations and clarifications. Sometimes students’ emotions are rooted in confusion, fear, and misinformation.
Students look to teachers for information and clarification, so don’t forget your role as an information source. Even if you don’t
have an answer, you can search for it alongside your students. If fake news seems to be at the root of the problem, empower your
students to evaluate news sources. PBS has an excellent lesson plan for that here.
4. Avoid debates. There will likely be a variety of viewpoints in your classroom. Debates can be a constructive activity in the
context of an organized, structured lesson. Yet when students are emotionally charged, debates can often devolve into arguments
and personal attacks. Shift the focus from changing minds to exchanging ideas. Frame the conversation as an opportunity for
understanding and empathy.
5. View yourself as a facilitator. If you view yourself as a facilitator, you can provide a comfortable space for students to express
themselves and develop their own opinions. Your role is not to persuade students of a particular point of view. Instead, you are
providing a safe, structured space for students to work through a specific topic.
6. Reflect what you hear and encourage students to do the same. Simply repeating back what you hear can be tremendously
helpful. It can help students understand their emotions and thoughts about particular issues and events and it can help deescalate
emotionally charged situations by showing that you have heard and understood your students. Model this technique for your
students and encourage them to repeat back what they have just heard before they respond to a classmate.
7. Provide space for students to experience their feelings. If students are experiencing strong emotions, that is OK. Oftentimes,
adults try to cheer kids up when they are angry or sad. This can send the message that they need to suppress their emotions so
that the people around them aren’t uncomfortable. Acknowledge their emotions and encourage classmates to do the same. When
students judge each other’s emotions with comments like, “You have no right to feel that way,” encourage them to recognize the
emotion of their classmate instead. Remind them that people do not all have exact same experience. When you establish your
classroom norms, this can be an important point to cover. Brene Brown’s video resource on empathy can help show the
importance of allowing others to experience their emotions.
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8. Provide time for independent reflection. Give students some time to write (or create an audio file, drawing or other product)
independently so that they have a chance to process the conversation. Let students know that this isn’t a graded assignment, and
that you are open to feedback about ways to improve the classroom discussion.
9. Check in with distressed students. If a student is particularly anxious or upset, check in with that student privately. If you are
worried about a student, avail yourself of other resources in your building and district so that students get the support they need
to function well during the school day.
10. Consider a class project related to the discussion. A class project can help build cohesion and a sense of community in your
classroom. It can also show that even in the midst of controversy and disagreement, people can work together for a common goal.
The project does not have to be complicated or expensive. For example, TED-Ed Innovative Educator Kristin Leong created Roll
Call, a project that highlights the commonalities between students and teachers.
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What is important to YOU? Look at some of the stories shared earlier in this newsletter to learn how people are sharing their voices to define what is important to them.
What is important to you? Below is an example of what is important to youth at Austin O’ Brien: their GSA Crusader’s Pride. It is a safe space to be themselves, to support each other, and to support LGBTQ youth inclusively.
Classroom Circle Discussion Topics
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Blog Post: “Stand Up First: On International Women’s Day, Let’s Show Girls We Stand With them
Inclusion and the Caring Community
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Click on tweet to read article.
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This segment offers a connective platform to song lyrics that may provide opportunity for readers to: • Provoke new insight on a topic • Make personal connections to the words or story told • Gain inspiration through storytelling • Practice your own storytelling skills through songwriting!
Knocking at The Door The Arkells
Got the North Star guiding me It's the fire burning inside of me
No, I don't need a miracle I got something far more powerful
And in this collective I've got a brand-new perspective
Some news that might break the tension Can't walk on water
But I'm walking through an intersection All aboard, I heard my brother say All aboard, like it's some parade
That's me, I'm knocking at the door I'm thirsty
For more, for more, for more That's me, I'm knocking at the door
I'm knocking at the door I'm knocking at the door
That's me
What about the time you were broken? I regret the hours that were stolen
So how'd you keep going? I put my shoulder to the wheel
And I just kept rolling You can call it religion
Walking into the mystic When the power is with people
I don't get pessimistic
Standing shoulder to shoulder
I hold me head high Standing shoulder to shoulder
As we walk across the finish line All aboard, I heard my sister sing
All aboard, and bring your offerings That's me, I'm knocking at the door
I'm thirsty For more, for more, for more
That's me, I'm knocking at the door I'm knocking at the door I'm knocking at the door
That's me
From the ground, up From the people
Turn the sound up Like we mean it
Rise up, oh rise up Rise up, oh rise up
Rise up, rise up, rise up, rise up That's me, I'm knocking at the door
I'm thirsty For more, for more, for more
That's me, I'm knocking at the door I'm thirsty
For more, for more, for more That's me, I'm knocking at the door
I'm knocking at the door I'm knocking at the door
That's me
Music and Lyrics
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You Will Be Found
Dear Evan Hansen Cast Lyrics
Have you ever felt like nobody was there? Have you ever felt forgotten in the middle of nowhere? ? Have you ever felt like you could disappear? Like you could fall, and no one would hear? Well, let that lonely feeling wash away Maybe there's a reason to believe you'll be okay 'Cause when you don't feel strong enough to stand You can reach, reach out your hand And oh, someone will come running And I know, they'll take you home Even when the dark comes crashing through When you need a friend to carry you And when you're broken on the ground You will be found So let the sun come streaming in 'Cause you'll reach up and you'll rise again Lift your head and look around You will be found You will be found You will be found You will be found You will be found Even when the dark comes crashing through When you need a friend to carry you When you're broken on the ground You will be found
So let the sun come streaming in 'Cause you'll reach up and you'll rise again If you only look around You will be found (You will be found) You will be found (You will be found) You will be found Out of the shadows The morning is breaking And all is new, all is new It's filling up the empty And suddenly I see that All is new, all is new You are not alone You are not alone You are not alone You are not alone You are not alone (You are not alone) You are not alone (You are not alone) You are not You are not alone (You are not alone)
So when the sun comes streaming in 'Cause you'll reach up and you'll rise again If you only look around You will be found Even when the dark comes crashin' through You will be found When you need someone to carry you You will be found You will be found
Video: “You Will Be Found”
Video: “You Will Be Found” Virtual Choir
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This Is Me Keala Settle, The Greatest Showman Ensemble
I am not a stranger to the dark Hide away, they say 'Cause we don't want your broken parts I've learned to be ashamed of all my scars Run away, they say No one'll love you as you are But I won't let them break me down to dust I know that there's a place for us For we are glorious When the sharpest words want to cut me down I'm going to send a flood, going to drown them out I am brave, I am bruised I am who I'm meant to be, this is me Look out 'cause here I come And I'm marching on to the beat I drum I'm not scared to be seen I make no apologies, this is me Another round of bullets hits my skin Well, fire away 'cause today, I won't let the shame sink in We are bursting through the barricades And reaching for the sun (we are warriors) Yeah, that's what we've become Won't let them break me down to dust I know that there's a place for us For we are glorious
When the sharpest words want to cut me down Going to send a flood, going to drown them out I am brave, I am bruised I am who I'm meant to be, this is me Look out 'cause here I come And I'm marching on to the beat I drum I'm not scared to be seen I make no apologies, this is me This is me And I know that I deserve your love There's nothing I'm not worthy of When the sharpest words want to cut me down I'm going to send a flood, going to drown them out This is brave, this is proof This is who I'm meant to be, this is me Look out 'cause here I come (look out 'cause here I come) And I'm marching on to the beat I drum (marching on, marching, marching on) I'm not scared to be seen I make no apologies, this is me I'm going to send a flood Going to drown them out
Video: This Is Me/You Will Be Found (Mash-Up)
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• April 2: World Autism Day Autism-friendly events and educational activities take place all month to increase understanding and acceptance and foster worldwide support.
• April 2: International Children’s Book Day
Consider introducing topics of diversity and inclusion through story, such as: diverse families, diverse communities, diverse languages, diverse identities.
• April 4: Day of Hope Every year millions of children around the world are victims of abuse and neglect. The Day of Hope is a day to remember children who are vulnerable to abuse and neglect.
• April 6: International Day of sport for Development and Peace Development and Peace recognizes the growing contribution of sport to the realization of development and peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect and the contributions it makes to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals and communities as well as to health, education, and social
inclusion objectives.
• April 7: World Health Day This year’s theme is ‘universal health coverage: everyone, everywhere’.
• April 7: International Day of Reflection on the Rwanda Genocide Originally established in 2003, the International Day of Reflection remembers the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda.
• April 21: World Creativity and Innovation Day
• April 22: Earth Day / International Mother Earth Day International Mother Earth Day is celebrated to remind each of us that the Earth and its ecosystems provide us with life and sustenance. It also recognizes a collective responsibility to promote harmony with nature and the Earth to achieve balance among the economic, social, and environmental needs of present and future generations of humanity.
• April 27: Day of Silence
This Day of Silence was established in 1996 to bring attention to the silencing effect of bullying and harassment on LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) students.
April Calendar Events
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How can you bring articles, videos, topics into your classroom discussions on Diversity and Inclusion? Brainstorm with colleagues on ways to use Current Events to cultivate discussions on Inclusive Communities. Help youth navigate real life events that impact their lives and their wellbeing by providing a platform to talk and learn together.
News Articles For Ulukhaktok Transgender Teen, Community Acceptance “Means A Lot’ | CBC North | 04-02-18 Why Transgender Visibility Matters to Me | Teen Vogue | 03-31-18 Paul Simons: A New Feeling of Pride at the University That Once Fired Gay Instructor | Edmonton Journal | 03-30-18 Wikwemikong Man Says Day-to-Day Racism is a Sad Fact of Life for Indigenous People | CBC News | 03-27-18 Paula Simons: Gay Rights Pioneer Delwin Vriend Didn’t Set Out to Be a Hero. He Became One Anyway | Edmonton Journal | 03-22-18 The Story of a Trans Woman’s Face: For One Trans Woman, Wishing to Look Decisively Feminine Was In Part a Desire for Personal Safety | The New Yorker | 03-19-18 How 5 Transgender Men Really Fell About the #MeToo Reckoning | Refiner 29 | 03-15-18 He Fell and Smashed His Head. She Stopped When No One Would. Now Their Story’s Gone Global | Global Edmonton | 03-14-18 Philly Teens to Florida Teens: Would You Have Stood in Solidarity with Us? | The Inquirer | 03-13-18 10 Ways to Be an Ally to Indigenous People | Loose Lips Magazine | 03-12-18 10 Tips for Talking About News, Politics, and Current Events in Schools | TedEd | 03-01-18 ‘Stop Hunting Us, Stop Killing Us’: Hundreds at Vancouver Rally Demand Justice for Tina Fontaine | CBC News British Columbia | 02-24-18 Cree Leaders Show Public Support for LGBTQ, 2-Spirited Community | CBC News North | 02-19-18 Paula Simons: Outdated Stereotypes Not Enough to Acquit Someone of Sexual Assault | Edmonton Journal | 02-16-18 Want to Keep Youth in Foster Care Safe? Give them a Voice, Professor Urges | CBC News Ottawa | 02-16-18 A Loud, New Voice After the Latest School Shooting: Kids Wanting to Know Why Adults Hadn’t Done More | Washing Post | 02-15-18 Metis Priest Seeks Reconciliation for Residential Catholic Schools | Vancouver Courier | 09-19-13 A State of Race: Introducing a Seven-Part Series | Regina Leader-Post | 12-23-17 Seen/Unseen: Cooking, Studying, Hanging Out with Friends – These Mundane Activities Take On New Meaning for 3 Syrian Refuges Who Are Putting Their Lives Back Together As U of A Students | University of Alberta New Trail | 12-08-17
Current Events Discussion Topics
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Blog Posts How to Build Boys’ Self Confidence; boys Face Their Own Set of Gender-Based Challenges | Child Mind Institute Fresh Starts for Hard-to-Like Students | Edutopia
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