BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

NEWSLETTER IN THIS ISSUE Supporting Our Students’ Mental Health

WINTER/SPRING 2018 2020 1

CASJ Welcomes New Action Group: Disability Justice 2 Let’s Talk About Language: Is “disability” a bad word?

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Supporting Our Students’ Mental Health ELIMINATING THE STIGMA

By Nichelle Penney, CASJ Disability Justice Action Group and Kamloops teacher

Call for Social Justice Newsletter Articles

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Peace and Global Education Begins with Me

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Project Overseas: Unlearning to learn, disconnecting to connect

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Solidarity with Colombian Teachers 8 Hip Hop Pedagogy and Connecting in the Classroom

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I Am Not Your Ally

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Confessions of a White Feminist

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Reflections on the 2nd Annual Issue Session on Racism

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A Woman’s Right to Choose and Access Abortion Services

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Reflections on Women Deliver 2019: The Power of Women

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Building Understanding for Diversity and Inclusion in Our Community 23 Death By Gender

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Does the Minimum Wage Reduce Poverty?

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School Climate Strikers and the Duty to Not Remain Neutral

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We’re in a Climate Emergency: Let’s call it that and act

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Nisga’a Environment Heroes

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Committee for Action on Social Justice

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Are You Experiencing Racism in the Workplace?

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ccording to the British Columbia division of the Canadian Mental Health Association, roughly 17% of people are experiencing a mental health or substance abuse issue. Of the estimated 84,000 children and youth diagnosed with a mental disorder, fewer than one-third who have sought help have received support from mental health services. Couple this with the fact that waitlist times for some diagnoses can be upwards of 60 weeks, and it becomes clear that our students are quickly being left behind.

The 2019 report Mental Illness and Addiction: Facts and Statistics from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health indicates there is increasing evidence of the long-term success of promotion, prevention, and early intervention initiatives.

The report also identifies that these problems are masked by children and youth who fear being labeled. The way we understand the world influences our actions: men shouldn’t cry, girls are too emotional, people with depression or anxiety should “just get over it.”

As educators, we must help to eliminate the stigma associated with mental health issues in our schools starting by creating strong relationships and attending to the emotional and mental needs of our students. Relationships are key to attaining equity in our schools. To develop meaningful relationships, we must acknowledge that our students have very different lived experiences and modify our interactions with them based on this understanding.

When we examine the cultural bias that exists between various genders, it is no wonder that 20% iStock/ Maria Kuznetsova

British Columbia Teachers’ Federation • 100–550 West 6th Avenue • Vancouver, BC V5Z 4P2

of Canadians will experience a mental illness before they reach the age of 19, and even more alarming, 25% of our queer students will face homelessness as a result of being outed or coming out to family. “Boys will be boys” is a familiar phrase in violent situations, but this statement signals to people that what is happening is normal instead of addressing the consequences of avoiding the important work needed to reach a peaceful co-existence.

Students must encounter a variety of perspectives, experiences, and contexts to develop the ability to contribute to a peaceful future.

If gender markers are perpetuated within the classroom, then it only serves to reason that mental health conversations will be difficult for many. Media, socialization, and contextualization are making students

uncomfortable with stepping outside the box. These factors are pivotal to the power and political literacy that students should develop and teachers should support.

It is evident that when teachers become fully engaged in their students’ contexts, they can have lasting impacts on their educational environments and the students they teach. For the above reasons, I am proud to be working with three other passionate people on the newly formed CASJ Disability Justice Action Group—Lee, Leah Kelley, and Heather Sallows—to help ensure that our students are supported in the classroom, teachers are supported in the workplace, and the stigma that surrounds people with disabilities—especially invisible disabilities relating to mental health—is eliminated.

CASJ Welcomes a New Action Group: Disability Justice

By Nichelle Penney, CASJ Disability Justice Action Group and Kamloops teacher

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t the 2019 BCTF Annual General Meeting, the membership passed a motion creating the newest action group on the Committee for Action on Social Justice (CASJ): Disability Justice—DJ for short. Committee members Lee, Leah Kelley, Nichelle Penney, and Heather Sallows were appointed in August of 2019, and the members met for their first official meeting one month later. Immediately, the group set to work developing a mandate for the action group and encouraging CASJ members to pass the following two recommendations to the BCTF Executive Committee: That the BCTF resolve accessibility issues by updating the online application processes for committees, positions, and other opportunities, allowing members to save, edit, and repurpose files and providing alternatives to online applications.

That the BCTF designate accessible visitor parking for members with same-floor access to the elevators.

The first motion grew out of the understanding that the BCTF was moving towards an eco-friendly model of submitting applications in order to reduce paper usage.

The DJ Action Group wanted to ensure that moving to an online application model would not create accessibility issues. People process and express information differently and therefore should have the opportunity to apply for positions in the manner that best suits their needs.

The intent of the second motion was to ensure that all members and visitors have equitable access to the BCTF building. At the time the motion was developed, visitor 2

parking was housed at the bottom level of the parking lot with no immediate elevator access, and the closest parking spot was roughly a 150-meter walk or two sets of stairs away from the elevator.

Both recommendations were carried at the October 2019 Executive Committee meeting. The Federation is working to ensure equitable access by providing multiple options to apply for BCTF positions and by moving some of the visitor parking stalls to the same level as the elevator.

With this momentum, DJ Action Group members have already begun discussions about possible actions for future meetings.

Disability Justice Action Group mandate • Promote the understanding that full access and participation is impacted by systemic and intersectional barriers experienced by people with disabilities/disabled people, and seek to improve the conditions that compound barriers, including marginalization resulting from racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, economic injustice, environmental factors, and geographic location.

• Promote authentic inclusion for diverse learners in public education by providing or creating resources that support the development of pride in identity, familiarity with the history of the disability rights movement, a sense of belonging in the community, and an understanding of advocacy and self-determination that is essential for disabled people to thrive.

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

• Examine current and existing policies that present barriers to accessibility, including ones within the BCTF, and take action regarding ableism that may be inherent in attitudes, systems, and even the language used to discuss disability.

• Eliminate ableism by addressing and acknowledging discrimination against disabled people, supporting

the disability justice work of the BCTF, and aligning it with historical and current work of the disability rights movement.

• Promote the awareness and understanding that disability rights are human rights.

• Promote the understanding that not all disabilities are visible and that disability and access needs may shift and fluctuate.

Let’s Talk About Language: Is “disability” a bad word?

By Leah Kelley, CASJ Disability Justice Action Group, Chilliwack teacher, and SFU doctoral candidate

Excerpt from an article in the November/December 2019 Teacher magazine

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n my work as an educator and an activist, I have long wondered why it is so difficult for us to use the word “disability.” The word “special” and the notion of “special needs” are examples of the elaborate linguistic workarounds we have adopted to talk about disability. Historically speaking, the word “special” was intended to improve the language used to refer to disability, replacing more problematic words like “handicapped” and the “R” word, which in their time were designed as replacements for other problematic terms such as “stupid,” “idiot,” “moron,” and “imbecile.”

Recently, other euphemistic terms like “differently abled” or “handicapable” have come into use.

Although intended to push back against stigma, these terms are also problematic because they remain connected to underlying biases.

As many educators now realize, designating disabled people as special has done little to change these underlying biases of ableism.

Similar to the definition of racism, ableism refers to discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities. Such discrimination can be specific and overt toward

a particular person or group.

Ableism also exists hidden in structures and perceptions that are largely unexamined in our schools and communities, resulting in more systemically widespread barriers, including our language. For instance, the way disability is discussed or excluded from conversations often reinforces negative stereotypes, shaping attitudes that can limit access and opportunity for students with disabilities. Supportive practices—including nurturing a positive identity, developing selfunderstanding, and cultivating advocacy skills—are often lost in this process.

Language is shifting, but the conversation remains the same In British Columbia, we may be transitioning away from the language of special education toward that of diversity. This shift is arguably a well-intentioned attempt toward inclusivity through avoiding the language of stigma and discrimination. Framing disability as

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

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one aspect of diversity may appear to move in a positive direction, but we must ask the question: Is it possible that this shift in language might actually make things more difficult for students with disabilities?

And if so, how and why?

Identifying students with disabilities as simply a part of a wider diversity of learners may be accurate, but we must examine the implications of doing so in order to ensure the provision of space and language to explicitly talk about disability. We must resist subsuming disability into the broader category of diversity so that we do not inadvertently make it more difficult to discuss and address the specific issues disabled people face.

When I use the term “disabled,” I sometimes see people politely work to hide a raised eyebrow. I sense unspoken shock that I am insensitive enough to actually say “that word.” Perhaps this reaction 3

is tied to assumptions that having a disability is a tragedy, that disabled people are less-than, and that to use the word is an insult. I am curious about what might be possible if the term “disability” were uncoupled from pity and stigma, and the opportunities that might then be created to examine why discussing disability—and even saying the word—makes people so uncomfortable.

The following resources were used to research this article and are recommended for those wishing to learn more: Brown, L., (Last revised December 7, 2016) Ableism/Language. [Web log post] Retrieved from: https://is.gd/ZB67j8.

Cohen-Rottenberg, R., (March 14, 2018) 10 Answers to Common Questions People Ask When Being Called Out for Using Ableist Language. The Body is Not an Apology. Retrieved from: https://is.gd/m17qjL.

Lindemann Nelson, H. (2001). Damaged Identities, Narrative Repair. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Students with disabilities continue to experience exclusion and Trent, J.W. (2017). Inventing the Feeble Mind: A History of Intellectual Disability in discrimination that is different from the United States. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. members of other marginalized groups. What might be possible if and when the shift to the language of diversity and diverse learners is accompanied with an attitude of inquiry to understand the lived experience of disabilityrelated stigma? How do we ensure that the experiences of students with disabilities are not disregarded, disappeared, or erased, and that the same stigma and barriers are not perpetuated or simply rebranded? How might we create opportunities to better prepare our students for their futures by including disability history and the disability rights movement in the social justice curriculum?

Discussing and answering these questions would be a move toward justice. When disability and the stories and perspectives of disabled people are included in the context of human rights and social justice discussions, our understanding deepens and creates space to consider accessibility, accommodations, fairness, and bias—making our school communities more inclusive for everyone. iStock

Call for Social Justice Newsletter Articles

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o you have a story to share about a social justice activity or project that you have carried out in your classroom, local, or community? Is there a social justice issue that you would like to highlight for BCTF members?

We are currently accepting articles for the Summer/Fall 2020 edition of the Social Justice Newsletter. For more information, see the submission guidelines document on the Social Justice Newsletter web page under Publications on the BCTF website.

The deadline for the Summer/Fall 2020 edition is May 15, 2020.

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BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

Peace and Global Education Begins with Me

By Regie Plana-Alcuaz, CASJ Peace and Global Education Action Group and Nisga’a teacher

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ll social justice issues intersect with peace and global education. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals include 17 objectives that can be categorized under the different areas of social justice. These remain urgent, universal concerns. How much progress is being made towards these goals? Are we doing all we can to help achieve them?

None of the Sustainable Development Goals can be fully achieved without peace. Everyone should make the effort to educate themselves and others in their orbit about the events occurring in the world around us. Instead of relying on social media to develop pseudo-connections and to access clickbait masquerading as news, we can turn to

in-person conversations about local, real-world concerns as a starting point. At the same time, we can continue educating ourselves about relevant international issues using unbiased sources.

The PAGE Action Group members have recently updated the Peace and Global Education Begins with Me posters with new images, quotes, and links to resources and lesson plans. These posters can serve as a springboard for discussion or as a reminder of what we are all working towards.

To order free copies of these and other social justice resources, fill out the BCTF Social Justice Resource Order Form on the BCTF Member Portal.

PEACE

PEACE

PEACE

Preserve the planet

Share with others

Listen to understand

and

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Global Education begins with ME...

I fight because I know that, without water, we cannot live. I do this work for the love of my community, for my granddaughters.

and

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Global Education begins with ME...

And before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you’ve depended on more than half the world.

and

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— Martin Luther King, Jr.

— Reyna Ortiz, environmental activist in El Salvador

Global Education begins with ME...

The longer we listen to one another—with real attention—the more commonality we will find in all our lives.

That is, if we are careful to exchange with one another life stories and not simply opinions.

—Barbara Deming (U.S. author and activist, 1917–1984)

bctf.ca/SocialJustice/PAGE

bctf.ca/SocialJustice/PAGE

bctf.ca/SocialJustice/PAGE

PEACE

PEACE

PEACE

Rediscover Solidarity

Reject violence

Respect all life

and

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Global Education begins with ME...

I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.

— Audre Lorde, black writer, feminist, womanist, lesbian, and civil rights activist

bctf.ca/SocialJustice/PAGE

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

and

“

Global Education begins with ME...

I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.

—Mahatma Gandhi

bctf.ca/SocialJustice/PAGE

and

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Global Education begins with ME...

The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that’s wrong with the world.

— Dr. Paul Farmer, U.N. Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Community-based Medicine and Lessons from Haiti

bctf.ca/SocialJustice/PAGE

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Project Overseas: Unlearning to learn, disconnecting to connect

By Cindy Lister, 2019 BCTF Project Overseas participant and Saanich teacher

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t took traveling 11,818 km for me to discover a shared passion and dedication to the teaching vocation. In July 2019, Project Overseas offered Canadian teachers like me an unexpected yet transformative professional development opportunity.

A yellow fever vaccine and the purchase of a mosquito net for my bed were musts on my to-do list. Limited information was available about my destination, Togo, a small country in western Africa. Unlike my home town of Victoria, the capital city, Lomé, and the town of Kpalimé are not considered tourist destinations. I felt there were few ways for me to prepare for such a significant journey. Since all the details of my travel itinerary were organized by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF), all I needed to do was show up, be fully present, and allow the experience to unfold.

My first stop was Ottawa, where I attended a four-day training session. Meeting my Canadian team was, to say the least, exciting. The four of us knew that a commitment to participate in the workshops was important in preparing us for our upcoming adventure. Building trust in one another and in our team was instrumental, as it would soon become our one and only compass to navigate through our experiences in the Togo culture.

We then headed off to spend three weeks in the cities of Lomé and Kpalimé.

Acclimatizing to this new country was a fascinating process. All our senses had to quickly adapt.

Smells, sounds, and images were unrecognizable.

Focus and concentration were needed to visually process the overwhelming combinations of colours and patterns surrounding us.

From the moment we met, our Togolese colleagues welcomed us with kindness, thoughtfulness, and friendliness. It was inspiring to hear them talk about their dedication to the teaching profession. Through moments of sharing, we engaged in honest dialogue on a variety of topics, including what matters most for us in this important vocation, the challenges we face, and our love for our students and for the communities in which we teach.

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Project Overseas is a joint endeavor of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation and its member organizations.

The goal of this project is to support overseas partners in providing professional development to teachers. Since 1962, Project Overseas has assisted teacher organizations in over 50 countries in Africa, AsiaPacific, and the Caribbean.

The program currently places over 50 volunteers in approximately ten countries every July. In 2019, for the first time since rejoining the CTF in 2016, the BCTF funded four BCTF members to participate in Project Overseas. For more information on how to apply for future projects, visit the BCTF International Solidarity web pages.

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

Our team’s volunteer commitment in Togo was to facilitate ten days of workshops on several topics, including lesson planning, literacy, numeracy, classroom management, AIDS, young girls in school, and the scientific process. Over 80 elementary and secondary teachers from different regions of Togo participated in our workshops. They were captivated by our ideas and experiences and deeply grateful for the information we shared. Workshop participants engaged in dynamic discussions on many topics. I was most impressed by how creative they were when incorporating these new approaches to learning into their teaching plans.

Through watching and listening, I learned about tenacity, courage, and resourcefulness. Somehow, we succeeded at creating space and time for these teachers to connect with one another while simultaneously developing our own strong connection with these workshop participants.

Even though we were separated by distance and circumstances, we were alike in many ways and supported each other in education because of our shared passion for teaching and common goal of giving every student our best selves as we support their learning.

Our Togolese colleagues taught us about patience, inner calmness, gratitude, generosity, kindness, and relentless courage. Project Overseas also connected me with a talented team of Canadian educators, which helped me to develop a feeling of great pride for our shared vocation.

The precious memories that resurface at surprising moments in my life are filled with colourful scents of this beautiful country.

Thank you to the BCTF and CTF Project Overseas for this deeply inspirational professional development opportunity.

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

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Solidarity with Colombian Teachers

By Anjum Khan, CASJ Peace and Global Education Action Group and Vancouver Elementary teacher

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n November 2019, a group of BCTF delegates—together with representatives from the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, Centrale des syndicats du Québec, and the Canadian Teachers’ Federation—visited Colombia to better understand the country’s process towards peace within the context of education. Organized by the BCbased, non-governmental organization CoDevelopment Canada (CoDev), the group of Canadian delegates spent a week in Bogotá and various provincial departments participating in provincial teacher conferences, listening to stories from teacher activists, and observing their work in their communities.

“All education is political; teaching is never a neutral act.” Paulo Freire’s words in his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed never rang so true as they do in Colombia.

After six decades of struggle and suffering due to violence, mass killings, and threats to social leaders, the war in Colombia has claimed more than 220,000 lives and generated close to 5 million refugees. With over 1,000 teachers assassinated, executed, or missing in the last 30 years, Colombian teachers have been direct victims of violence. While they have always endeavoured to create schools characterized by a culture of peace, Colombian teachers have more recently dedicated themselves to building new communities where students will grow up with books instead of bullets.

The Colombian Educator’s Federation (FECODE), CoDev’s LatinAmerican partner, has implemented the project Schools as Territories of Peace with the goal of developing an alternative education system for peace in Colombia.

The project aims to reconstruct the historical memory of schools with regards to the effects of war and violence, and also strives to educate the new generation using a mindset and culture of peace and respect for human rights.

During our visit, delegates took part in FECODE’s provincial encounters of pedagogical circles, which were established to train teachers in the pedagogy of solidarity and the implementation of alternative experiences of peace.

Delegates attended various teacher conferences in

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different geographical departments where Colombian teachers presented the projects that were taking place in their communities.

The diverse and professionally developed presentations often related to the master’s thesis work teachers were undertaking and addressed the unique situations within teachers’ communities. The range of topics included environmental issues, a model United Nations, and dance and art projects, among many others. Teachers spoke about the challenges they were facing, especially in rural areas, and explained how they were helping to unite communities by creating centres for discussion. The pedagogical gatherings created spaces for teachers to share ideas, discuss successful practices, and reflect on how they were addressing the challenges they were facing.

Although Colombia has experienced armed conflict of varying intensity since the 1960s, a peace agreement was signed in 2016. As a result of the agreement, the nation is currently carrying out a Truth Commission. The commission was created to provide a comprehensive explanation of what occurred during the conflict, to acknowledge the experiences of victims, and to underscore the collective responsibility of ensuring such violations will not be repeated. The commission is looking for as many different victims as possible to include as voices in its truth-seeking process, including Colombians living abroad. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has estimated that Canada has the fourth highest population of Colombian refugees after Venezuela, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

Colombia’s Truth Commission has undergone several budget cuts and has placed restrictions on the public funds that can be spent abroad. It relies on international co-operation, donors, and allies that can support its international work.

Our visit to Bogotá coincided with several other notable events. One of these events was the photographic exhibition “El Testigo” [The Witness] by the award-winning graphic reporter Jesús Abad Colorado. Colorado’s own story of violence began when a mob entered his home when he was a child, killing his grandfather and slitting the throat of the youngest child. His grief-stricken grandmother died four months later. The exhibition included over 500 photos, mostly black and white, taken between 1992 and 2018. The photos capture the pain of the war through stories and events of the armed conflict, displacement, and reconstruction of the social fabric in different regions of the country. The exhibit was mostly apolitical, but it strongly reflected the tragedy the war has brought to the individual lives of the people of Colombia, especially the rural population. The photographs and exhibit as a whole brought tears to my eyes on several occasions.

Colombia is one of the most ethnically, linguistically, and biologically diverse countries in the Americas. It has a very rich cultural heritage and a varied geographical landscape.

The country contains dense jungles in the Amazon Basin, towering snow-covered volcanoes and mountains in the Andes, tropical beaches, deserts, and vast grasslands. Its history includes the settlements of Indigenous peoples from the Muisca Confederation, the Quimbaya civilization, BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

and the Tairona chiefdoms among others. The intense struggles and atrocities of the country’s past are hard to imagine when you meet the warm, generous, and kindhearted people—people who have long been ready to move on from the war and killings to develop harmonious communities that begin with children learning about peace.

Within the BC or Canadian education context, many of us bring peace education to life in our classrooms and schools. We teach students the practice of mindfulness and conflict-resolution skills, and we establish peace tables within the class for children to navigate their own resolutions with guidance. Take a moment to imagine the extent and importance of this work in contributing to a peaceful community and world. Day to day, these practices may seem like small steps, but we must remember that these are skills that will stay with our students as they move into their futures and take on leadership roles within their communities.

Teaching is challenging and important work—work that makes a difference in individual lives and communities both locally and globally. Teaching is political. As teachers, we truly impact what our society will look like and strongly influence how peaceful our world can become.

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Hip Hop Pedagogy and Connecting in the Classroom

By Amrita Kauldher, Coquitlam teacher, Coquitlam Teachers’ Association CASJ Committee Member n bell hooks’ book Teaching to Transgress, she explores ways that the classroom can be a space where we are all in power in different ways. I hold that notion true to my teaching practice, but I also believe that a diversity of texts should be in power in different ways. This ideology is central to my approach to hip hop pedagogy in the classroom.

Hip hop is a product of racial oppression. Its roots emerged from the African American experience in the boroughs of New York within the context of financial cuts to social and educational programs. Hip hop music and the culture that followed were first perceived as a short-lived fad, but they instantly travelled the globe and became a platform for minority groups to give a voice to victims of systemic oppression.

My connection to hip hop comes from my graduate school research and my passion for both music and social justice. Being of South Asian heritage, I acknowledge prevalent anti-black racism within my community. For this article, however, I want to focus on hip hop as a form of youth culture and, more importantly, as a medium that reflects people of colour in positions of power.

Coming out of the teacher education program, I was eager to begin teaching in an alternative environment. As a senior English teacher, I was given the opportunity to order new resources and diversify the reading material. That summer, I read Angie Thomas’ powerful debut novel, The Hate U Give, and knew 10

it was one of my first selections. This was an important choice for me not only as a teacher of colour engrossed in police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement, but because this novel brought forward the lyrics and poetry of Tupac Shakur. Growing up, we listened to Tupac in our cars and our bedrooms. He was not a source deemed legitimate enough to analyze and interpret in the classroom. At that time, no one was making comparisons between Shakespeare’s creative language and that of rap lyricists.

Hip hop pedagogy should not be solely categorized as an urban education strategy, but as a way to align culturally relevant practices. Many of our youth are exposed to or actively participating in hip hop culture, from dance to attire and (most obviously) music.

Most recently in my current position teaching middle school, I found myself addressing hip hop in a community circle with my students. Many of them had a topic on their minds since the beginning of the week that they wanted to share: the recent death of a rap artist.

I needed to acknowledge their loss. As educators, we do not need to approve of our students’ idols, but because those idols impact their minds, we can help them understand the individuals they idolize.

I did not know much about the artists my students listened to, and I think it’s okay that there is a bit of a divide between the music from my hip hop generation and theirs. Although students may be familiar with Tupac and wear shirts with his face on it

to school, the beauty of hip hop is that it is a culture that is constantly reinventing, remixing, and reusing itself.

Nonetheless I played a song by the artist who had passed away and instantly our community circle came alive. It was extremely powerful to see and hear all my students singing along to his song in unison. I joined them in the circle afterwards, and they could see how baffled I was. I wanted to deconstruct many things with them—such as some troublesome lyrics—especially with regards to mental health. It was the strategy within hip hop pedagogy of “each one, teach one” that allowed my students to socially, emotionally, and intellectually explain the song, the artist, and ultimately their loss.

After teaching for a term at the alternative school, I walked away from that experience knowing I had connected with a group of students because of a culturally relevant approach. Soon afterwards, I found myself working for the Coquitlam School District and coincidently had the opportunity to teach The Hate U Give again. This time I knew I had to connect with a different demographic and was aware the department was taking a risk with a new resource. The beauty of this text in a traditional English department was the in-depth connections that could be made to foundational texts, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, West Side Story, and Romeo and Juliet.

My approach to teaching the novel in a tenth-grade classroom was based on analyzing popular culture through

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

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I Am Not Your Ally

By Suki Davis, Social Justice Contact and Nanaimo teacher

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work in Indigenous education, and I am white. My students come from First Nations and Métis backgrounds from all over Canada. I often wonder, “Why is a white person in this role? Do I have a deeper role than a teacher? What do the students see when they look at me?”

I have spent considerable time thinking about this.

At first I thought, “I am a bridge person bridging the cultures.” But that did not sit well. I wondered how I got this entitled position of gatekeeper to the dominant culture. The metaphor just did not work for me.

themes of race and stereotypes and making these ideas accessible to English language learners. Activities ranged from analyzing songs by Tupac to watching The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and clips from the film Fruitvale Station.

This allowed me to approach the harsh realities of racialized violence in the most culturally relevant way.

As the year came to a close, I sat down with one of the department heads and discussed strategies to teach the novel and which resources worked well. As she took notes, she reluctantly asked me if the students thought that I was reliving my past with my approach to hip hop. The answer was no, because hip hop is still relevant and, unfortunately, the racial disparities black popular culture addresses remain relevant as well.

I walked away from that meeting wondering whether someone else would be asked that question if they taught the works of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell with the same passion.

The classroom should be a space where texts, in all their diversity, are in power in different ways.

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

Then I tried following the crowd and thought, “I am an ally supporting my learners,” but that felt wrong too. I reflected on the actions of the Allies during the world wars. If I were a true ally, I would stand to benefit from their “wins.” I could enlist their support in my own struggles, and I would send my own troops into battle knowing we could profit from our combined efforts. Of course, I would maintain my own culture and thoughts and values. I would have less at stake to lose. When the battle was over, my “country” would be just the same.

I thought again about my students and determined, “I am not your ally.”

What I am thinking now is that I am a co-conspirator. In times gone by, the workers in France were unsettled by the conditions that they laboured under. One day, the workers took off their cheap leather shoes, called sabots, and threw them into the machines, sabotaging the gears. I wish I could have been there!

In that place and time, there were no “bridge people” who were supporting the French workers to understand the new way. There were no allies cheering them on and offering extra sabots to throw.

No one was “helping” with a patronizing flare. There were just the coconspirators, standing side by side with each other.

I imagine how each one might have been missing one shoe as they stood watching the machine shudder to a halt. That is who I want to be.

I want to be a co-conspirator, standing shoulder to shoulder, throwing our shoes to stop the colonial machine—not for my own personal gain and not to lift up someone lesser or different than me.

I want to conspire together to break the colonial machine that has brought with it racism, misogyny, and all manner of environmental destruction. Allies might be nice, but co-conspirators are fundamental if we want to stop this machine.

Take a look at your feet.

Are you willing to lose a shoe together?

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Confessions of a White Feminist

By Trish Mugford, CASJ Status of Women Action Group and Vancouver Secondary teacher

You do not have to be me in order for us to fight alongside each other. I do not have to be you to recognize that our wars are the same. What we must do is commit ourselves to some future that can include each other and to work toward that future with the particular strengths of our individual identities. And in order for us to do this, we must allow each other our differences at the same time as we recognize our sameness.

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women. For me, this brief history lesson became a starting point on my path to becoming an intersectional feminist— one that, I’m discovering, will be a lifelong journey.

—Audre Lorde

I confess that in 2016, when I first heard the term “intersectional feminism” coined by civil rights advocate and law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, I did not fully understand how it stood in opposition to white feminism.

It took me a while to grasp that the counterweight to white feminism is intersectional feminism, which calls for total inclusion of different types of women within the feminist movement.

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White women who haven’t examined their white privilege, or don’t want to, might say things such as: • White feminism? What’s that? Is that a thing?

• I don’t see colour; I treat everyone equally!

• Not all white people have benefited from systemic racism.

• I’ve had to struggle just as much, or more, as any woman of colour.

• I’ve worked really hard to get to where I am. Why can’t they?

• I’m not racist. One of my best friends is black.

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Feminist history can be divided into three waves. The first wave, in the late 19th and early 20th century, was mainly concerned with women’s right to vote. The second wave, in the 1960s and 1970s, included the fight for equal legal and social rights. The third wave, in the early 1990s, responded to the failure of the second wave to address the concerns of marginalized communities. Race, ethnicity, nationality, class, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity were virtually ignored in a feminist movement that focused primarily on the experiences of upper middle-class white

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So, back to my question: Why do so many women support an oppressive patriarchy? I am ashamed—and liberated—to admit that the oh-so-obvious answer is staring at me every time I look in a mirror and see a white feminist. Racism is a white problem. It was constructed and created by white people. The responsibility lies with white people—and white women who have helped reinforce it—to stop looking at systemic racism as someone else’s problem. Unwitting or intentional, white feminism is a dangerous, insidious, and effective weapon that benefits— that’s right—white women!

At first glance, some of these comments may not scream “Racist!” but they do show a blindness to the privilege that we, as white women, unarguably possess. Yes, it is a challenge to see the water we swim in, but we are not goldfish. We have the capacity to think outside our bowl if we make the effort. It is important to confront two

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hy do women support the very patriarchal systems that oppress them? This is a question I started asking myself years ago. It became particularly compelling during the 2016 United States presidential election and the subsequent 2017 Hollywood #MeToo movement launched

by Alyssa Milano in the wake of the first Harvey Weinstein allegations. A shallow historical dive revealed that it was actually Tarana Burke, a Black civil rights activist from the Bronx, who, in 2006, started the Me Too “movement, not a moment” on social media. This fact may have gone unnoticed by the majority of Canadian and American women. It seems that it took the power of celebrity culture and a large dose of whiteness to give this campaign traction 11 years after its incarnation.

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important misconceptions in order to fully understand the impact of racism on everyone. The first misconception is individualism: the idea that racism is limited to discrete acts of individuals. The second is the racist/non-racist binary: the notion that racism is intentional and carried out only by bad people. By putting these misconceptions aside, we acknowledge that racism is systemic, which means it is entrenched in our institutions and societal structures.

Facing that woman in the mirror and acknowledging that I am part of the very systemic oppression I thought I was fighting was only the first step in a new feminist journey which requires humility, vulnerability, and forgiveness. Not every white woman who identifies as a feminist practices white feminism, but only white women benefit from it.

Learning how to forgive myself instead of constantly asking my Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC), and LGBTQ2S+ friends and colleagues to do this emotional labour enables me to move forward instead of wallowing in useless guilt and resentment.

Robin DiAngelo’s concept of white fragility, “the inability of white people to tolerate racial stress, leading them to weaponize their hurt feelings and be indignant and defensive when confronted with racial inequality and injustice,” has no place on this journey. The perennial question must be, “How can I do better?” Trying to strike a balance between stepping up and stepping back is often confusing and difficult. When to speak, when to listen? When to do the work, when to ask for help? When to compete, when to support? Sometimes this involves

figuring out how to be. Practice, mistakes, and renewed commitment are at least part of the answer.

As a member of the Status of Women Action Group on the Committee for Action on Social Justice, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with members of the Antiracism and LGBTQ2S+ Action Groups, which has opened a broader spectrum of justice for us to work towards. I am excited to be learning and growing with an expanding group of sisters because the reward for undertaking this work is impactful. I get so much more out of this collaboration than I could have imagined and look forward to spending more time celebrating being an intersectional feminist rather than a white one. I have learned recently that the BC NDP Women’s Rights Committee passed a resolution to change its name to Women and Gender Rights Committee. The BCTF might wish to entertain a similar motion.

We choose to be a social justice union, and with that choice comes the responsibility to bring about the changes that make us deserving of that description. Being nice to people of colour is not enough. We sometimes let our good intentions exempt us from deviating from the perceived norm in our actions and practice. Deeply understanding our privileges as white women will enable us to advance awareness and tangible action. Maybe the old patriarchal proverb “man may work from sun to sun, but a woman’s work is never done” could evolve into “educators may work from sun to sun, AND social justice will be done.”

Reflections on the Second Annual Issue Session on Racism

By Linda Frank, CASJ Antiracism Action Group and Boundary teacher

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uring the first week of November 2019, the BCTF hosted its second Issue Session on Racism. Members who identify as people of colour and had attended the first session were invited, as well as 20 new participants. It was wonderful to reconnect with teachers who had participated in the last session and to meet new attendees.

Our speaker, Dr. Shauneen Pete, Indigenous Resurgence Coordinator from the Department

of Indigenous Education at the University of Victoria, started the day by providing us with some background about herself. As an Aboriginal student, Dr. Pete experienced a disconnect with the education system; she encountered discrimination and her cultural teachings were ignored. Teachers presumed that she would not amount to anything even though her parents were professionals.

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After a somewhat troubled youth, Dr. Pete’s resilience and perseverance led her to her calling. In her current role at the University of Victoria, she teaches student teachers about antiracism and how to be an advocate for racialized people. She has contributed to systemic change in education by raising student teachers’ awareness of discrimination and how people of colour struggle daily with systemic racism.

Understanding the role of conscious and unconscious bias will hopefully change the way racialized teachers and students are treated in schools.

After her inspiring introduction, Dr. Pete gave us our first assignment. We were asked to develop a definition of racism through the lens of people of colour. After lengthy discussions, we worked in groups to make posters to illustrate our collective thoughts.

Most groups identified a hierarchy where people of colour find themselves placed at the bottom.

Another common theme was the impact of meritocracy: the belief that success comes uniquely through hard work and is not influenced by other aspects of one’s identity, including race. Participants identified specific impacts of racism, including barriers to finding employment,

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obtaining good wages, finding a home, and accessing leadership roles, along with the more general impacts of inequality, harassment, and oppression.

is harder for people of colour to reach their potential because very often they are dismissed as not having the same abilities as white people.

We also discussed Kimberlé Crenshaw’s notion of intersectionality, which describes how multiple aspects of one’s identity in addition to race— including socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability—determine our experience of oppression. A key conclusion was the need to work towards a fairer social playing field. It

The second assignment was to look at what it means to be white and to have the privilege and power that come with this designation. We live in a world of white privilege where society has developed unwritten rules and regulations to hold onto political and social power. These structures help perpetuate colonialism.

White fragility, the feeling of discomfort and defensiveness white people experience when confronted with notions of racism, is an effective tool that helps white people to deny their role in racism. It is not until we have developed an awareness and understanding of these issues that we can solve problems of racism in society. To achieve these goals, antiracism teachings need to be part of the curriculum from an early age in order to create equity and inclusion in our schools and communities. People of colour need to have allies to help break down the bonds of oppression and colonialism.

Racism has been bubbling up to the surface recently with the media increasingly shining the spotlight

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

on racist incidents. While many people think that freedom of speech trumps everything—believing it is legal and acceptable to make racial slurs and demeaning comments—it is becoming socially and morally unacceptable to do so. The media has become a platform to debate racism.

On the final day of our meeting, we worked on resolutions aimed at improving our workplace and union spaces for racialized teachers and to advocate for government policies to help create a more just society.

We need to break down the legacies of colonialism by advocating for human rights and privileges.

People of colour are beginning to have allies speaking on their behalf instead of having people turn a blind eye.

One example is the recent and momentous decision of the National Hockey League to fire Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters due to his use of racial slurs towards one of his players ten years ago. Starbucks was also on board when mandatory antiracism training was provided to their employees following a racist incident. Police forces are providing antiracism training for their officers as well. Most recently, black Canadian rapper John River accused the healthcare system of racism because he was misdiagnosed as having depression even though his pain was excruciating. It was not until his family reached out to social media for help that he received the medical treatment he needed.

The report on the second BCTF Issue Session on Racism, including recommendations from this session that were carried at the December 2019 and January 2020 meetings of the BCTF Executive Committee, is available on the Equity and Inclusion web pages of the BCTF website.

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

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A Woman’s Right to Choose and Access Abortion Services

By Mary Lawrence, Women in Negations facilitator and Prince George teacher

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elegates to the 2018 BCTF AGM made the momentous decision that we are a pro-choice union:

41.B.05—That the Federation support the right of women to: 1. decide whether or when to have children, and to make decisions about abortion without interference by the state or others.

2. freely access abortion-related medical services regardless of age, relationship status, or geographic location.

3. similarly access a full range of information, counselling, and other sexual health services in their communities.

(81 AGM, p. 17) (18 AGM, p. 9) Equitable access to health care has always been a focus of the BCTF, and with the inclusion of Policy 41.B.05, we cemented our commitment to ensuring that women across the country are able to choose abortion and abortionrelated medical services, not just legally, but in actual practice.

Abortion rights are necessary for everyone’s freedom.

People who have carried unwanted pregnancies know that whispered myths, superstitions, and recipes for products that end pregnancy have been passed down orally through generations. Not only do those carrying a pregnancy tackle the physical and emotional repercussions of pregnancy and birth, they often become the principal caregiver. This means that they will be the one who carries the primary responsibility of parenthood and childrearing, and in doing so, absorb the social, physical, and professional repercussions associated with those roles.

Family planning is thus a tool of liberation by allowing women to decide when and how they bring children into their lives and permitting them to shake off the constraints that come with social conceptions of motherhood and parenting. Safe and accessible abortion means more than ensuring that women have control over their bodies; it

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While the BCTF has been publicly in support of “reproductive freedom” in the past, this AGM decision made the important distinction of naming abortion specifically. This is a commendable choice—one that resists the anti-choice push to silence those striving for reproductive justice through the purposeful and malicious stigmatization of the language needed to express our rights and freedoms. The anti-choice movement has wielded language like a weapon. Physicians who provide abortion services are called “abortionists,” embryos are called “babies,” and patients labeled as “murderers.”

In response to this stigmatization, advocates for abortion and increased access to abortion have blanketed their goals in language that seems more palatable to the public.

The strategic stigmatizing of medical language, particularly the word “abortion,” has worked in favour of anti-choice organizations who know that we cannot advocate for what we cannot name. When this motion was passed and Policy 41.B.05 became the official position of the BCTF, we showed those intent on stripping women of their rights and autonomy that we will not be afraid to name what we are fighting for. We will not allow them to succeed in their attempts to stigmatize us into silence.

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BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

gives them control over their lives. Without this control, gender equity can never be attained.

Regulating abortion is a tool of control. For years, anti-choice advocates in the United States have been chipping away at Americans’ reproductive rights through Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws. These laws work within the confines of Roe v. Wade—the 1973 US Supreme Court ruling that a woman’s right to choose an abortion without excessive government restriction is protected by the constitution—to slowly expand states’ ability to restrict abortion. In May 2019, anti-choice advocates took their campaign a step further, introducing sweeping abortion bans with the hopes of “challenging Roe v. Wade,” as Alabama state representative Terri Collins stated.

Since the first of these laws hit a state congress floor, prochoice advocates have fought back. The American Civil Liberties Union launched a legal challenge in Alabama, pro-choice protests have erupted in the affected states, and solidarity protests have taken place across the United States and Canada. While these laws have been challenged and halted in the courts, challenges are succeeding in pushing the issue closer to the Supreme Court, increasing the potential to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The recent passing of these American bills has incited Canadians to question their own relationship with reproductive justice. Canada decriminalized abortion half a century ago. Because of this relative stability in the legality of abortion, those who support women’s autonomy but may not be active advocates have grown comfortable in the absence of any substantial threat. Prochoice activists who fought for and attained legalization in 1969 often speak of the fight in the past tense.

While women’s legal right to choose is arguably one of the most important achievements for Canadian women of the 20th century, women in most areas of our province struggle to access this integral part of reproductive health care. Legal access is only the beginning of enabling Canadian women the right to choose because a choice that is inaccessible is no choice at all.

In Prince George, there is one doctor who provides abortions on a part-time basis, and her patients come to her from across northern British Columbia. Two days a month, she welcomes patients to the University Hospital of Northern BC (UHNBC) after explaining the procedure and counselling them on birth control options going forward.

She struggles to find a medical team willing to perform the necessary tasks to ensure choice for northern women.

Before her arrival, Prince George did not have a physician willing to perform abortions, and she does not know who will take over the work when she retires.

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

I’ve lived in cities for most of my life and have spent most of my life knowing that the services I needed were right at my fingertips. That changed in 2014 when I moved to Mackenzie, a town two hours north of Prince George. I found out I was two months pregnant during my first month as a teacher. I had just gone through a crosscountry move and was starting a new career, so I chalked up my symptoms to stress and anxiety. I found myself on the opposite side of the country from my support network and a two-hour drive away from UHNBC. I had no car and was recovering financially from my move.

Choosing to terminate that pregnancy was the easiest part of a long struggle.

Getting an abortion required three trips to Prince George.

This meant 12 hours on the road, six greyhound bus tickets, three nights in a hotel, and three days of being unable to work. While the procedure itself was covered by the Medical Services Plan, accessing it cost hundreds of dollars that I did not have, forcing me to rely on the generosity of community groups and family. On the day of my procedure, sitting in the waiting room in a robe with crying women on either side of me, I was told by a nurse that I may not be able to receive their services that day because I did not have anyone to pick me up.

That was the only time I cried. I cried until the doctor, the only person in Prince George who could help me, sat with me, held my hand, and promised me that she would make sure that when I left the hospital I would no longer carry this worry on my shoulders. She fought to find me a bed in the hospital for the night so that I could recover under the care of nurses. I found out afterwards that I was at 12 weeks of gestation. If I had been one week later, I would have been forced to travel to Vancouver, which is the closest city where second trimester abortions are performed.

This is only one story among many. If you look at a map of abortion providers in British Columbia, you THE REST will see two % OF BC competing stories: that of Victoria, Vancouver, and VANCOUVER Kelowna, where % VICTORIA 91% of abortion KELOWNA providers are located, and that of the rest of BC, where the remaining 9% of providers support women in the vast geographic area that makes up the rest of the province.

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You will also notice an abundance of empty spaces. The top third of the map, as well as the central coast and western interior, are empty. This means long and difficult journeys for women where public transportation is limited and inconsistent, if it is available at all.

Ramifications due to distance and resulting travel disproportionately affect women from marginalized groups. Women with lower incomes are more likely to have to travel greater distances. Young women and girls are more likely to travel over 100 km to reach an abortion clinic and are more likely to report a difficult journey. First Nations and Métis women are almost three times more likely than non-Indigenous women to travel over 100 km to an abortion clinic. Sadly, the further a woman lives from abortion services and the further she must travel, the less likely she is to be successful in procuring an abortion. Also, for women with no provincial medical coverage, an abortion procedure can cost up to $1,300 in addition to travel expenses and lost wages.

Many northern providers wrestle with long waitlists, so women often have to travel to a more distant clinic because a closer provider cannot fit them in. There have been instances of women waiting so long that they enter the next trimester of their pregnancy, forcing them to travel even further to access more complicated procedures. Women living in northern BC are also less likely to have access to convenient modes of transportation. Since the closure of Greyhound bus services in the province, travelling between remote and rural areas and urban centres has become increasingly difficult, and infrequently scheduled trips create an increased need for accommodation and more time off work.

Fortunately, there is hope. In 2018, abortion providers and women’s health advocates in BC applauded the provincial decision to fund Mifegymiso, a drug used to terminate pregnancies in the first nine weeks of gestation. While those looking to access the drug must still undergo an ultrasound—which can be a significant barrier—the availability and coverage of the drug is an important step in attaining reproductive justice and equity across our province.

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When the BCTF passed the aforementioned motion, it showed that abortion care in BC continues to be out of reach for many women, especially those most vulnerable who feel the weight of inaccessible abortion care. While the legal right to decide what to do with our bodies was attained by our mothers and protected by us, we must remember that the fight has not been fully won. This battle is not a historic victory, but a daily struggle to ensure that British Columbians have access to the medical care they need regardless of their postal code.

This struggle is not a trivial one. When a student recently asked me why feminism is necessary in a country where gender equity is written into our constitution, I explained the divide between legality and practicality.

This divide was recognized by our union at the 2018 AGM. I remain proud to be part of a union that recognizes that legal choice without affordability and accessibility is no choice at all.

The BCTF supports the work of Options for Sexual Health, a strong advocate for women’s sexual health rights.

To support Canadian organizations working to defend the right of Canadians to abortion services, as well as those working to ensure that abortion is accessible to all, consider donating to the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, Maritime Abortion Support Services, or the Pro-Choice Action Network.

Grassroots organizations that support abortion providers and patients in the United States include the Yellowhammer Fund in Alabama, Kentucky Health Justice Network, NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, and Ohio-based Women Have Options. For more organizations doing on-the-ground work in affected states, check out Robin Marty’s Handbook for a Post-Roe America, which is available online.

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

Reflections on Women Deliver 2019: The Power of Women

By Angela Marcakis, CASJ Status of Women Action Group, BCTF Women in Negotiations, and Surrey teacher

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ast June, I had the privilege of attending the Women Deliver Conference. Over 8,000 delegates from more than 165 countries explored how power can drive (or hinder) progress and change for a more gender-equal world.

The Power of Gender Equality The buzz of a room full of powerful feminist leaders from around the world surrounded me as I anxiously waited for the opening plenary to start. As a hush fell over the crowd, the evening began with a powerful welcome by women leaders from

the Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, and Squamish First Nations.

Katja Iversen, President and CEO of Women Deliver, set the tone with her inspirational words: “We are here to demonstrate the power of gender equality for and with millions of women and girls. A gender-equal world is healthier, wealthier, more productive, and more peaceful. In a gender-equal world, everybody wins.”

When Prime Minister Trudeau took the stage, I was glad he acknowledged the report and

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recommendations on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls by recognizing the genocide of Indigenous people.

The evening ended with a panel of world powerhouse leaders. The takeaway question for the night was, “How will you use your power to change the world?”

The Power of Education I began the conference by listening to a panel discuss gendertransformative education and the power of education to deliver gender equality. In Ghana, the

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school environment isn’t suitable for girls at all. How can girls go to a school where they have no access to feminine hygiene products, where sexual harassment runs rampant, and where there is no freedom to choose what they want to be?

If the future is technological, then it is a real challenge to our future equality that so few girls have access to technology education now. The primary textbooks in India don’t have a single picture of a woman that is in an industry, business, or banking position. What message does that send to girls? As one panellist noted, “We can’t be what we can’t see.” If we want to see women as presidents and in senior positions, girls need to begin receiving training early in their education, and we need to make schools safe.

“The first Women Deliver was about women delivering babies. Now we deliver so much more.”

—Melinda Gates The Power of Indigenous Families A notable session was on intergenerational and lifelong trauma from child apprehension.

While Aboriginal children make up less than 7% of the population, they represent 48% of apprehended children. We are in a national crisis with a system that is geared to removing Aboriginal children from their communities and placing them in homes with no knowledge of their culture and history. Indigenous women have to jump through several hoops just to visit with their apprehended children. Aging out of foster care is one of the scariest things for apprehended youth, and they are dying because there are no supports in place for them.

We need to stop removing children from their families and instead help support the parents who are 20

struggling due to the trauma from colonization. If we view parenting struggles through a holistic lens and start supporting both the child’s and the parents’ needs, we can keep families together by fostering the whole family—a method that acknowledges colonial history and accountability. After all, the best interest of the family is also the best interest of the child.

The Power of Movements One of the most powerful sessions I attended was “In the Wake of #MeToo, What Does the Workplace Look Like Now?” The number of reported cases of workplace harassment and the number of

women accessing legal assistance have grown since the #MeToo movement shone a light on harassment in the workplace. When asked who in the room had directly or indirectly experienced workplace harassment, nearly every audience member raised their hand.

Despite the courage the #MeToo movement has given victims of harassment, retaliation is still a major issue. Those with the courage to report can become targets, which affects their future job prospects, their self-esteem, and their sense of purpose. We need to keep supporting those who are brave enough to come forward and share their stories.

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Some men’s sense of entitlement, presumption that women won’t report or fight back, and reluctance to support and speak out when witnessing workplace harassment has exacerbated the power imbalance in the workplace. Until we close the power gap, sexual harassment will continue. In order to combat this, we need to build a culture of respect and equality. Yes, it will take a lot of work! Based on our progress so far, we are still 108 years from gender equality.

harassment, yet they are less likely to be believed. LGBTQ2S+ people are also more susceptible but have less access to the justice system.

As a result of the #MeToo movement, the percentage of male managers who identify as feeling uncomfortable interacting with women has increased from 32% in 2018 to 60% in 2019.

Some men avoid interacting with women, claiming to be victims of the #MeToo movement and fearful of being accused or falsely accused. Yet only 2–8% of sexual harassment accusations are false.

The movement isn’t about ruining men—it’s about men taking accountability.

I also attended a plenary called “The Power Of Movements: What happens when many demand change.” I was immensely moved by this incredible panel of women leading movements for the rights of women, girls, and gender and sexual minorities.

“Power is being believed no matter how little sense you make and how little evidence you have. Powerlessness is not being believed no matter how much evidence you have and how much sense you make.”

—Catharine MacKinnon

Indian journalist and moderator Barkha Dutt reminded us of the power behind our stories. “No matter where we are, we are in battle. There’s one thing that unites

all movements, and that is breaking the silence. I stand here to tell my story because movements cannot be driven by silence. Movements can only be driven if we decide to take a pledge to break our own silence.”

Ailbhe Smyth, who steered the abortion referendum in Ireland, continued the discourse on the power of personal stories: “Sharing our stories with each other turned our hearts over. Then we grabbed the issue by the throat and fought for abortion access in five years. We got it in four-and-a-half years.”

Tarana Burke reminded us that there is also power in holding your story and using it when you want to.

Having to tell our stories publicly is an undue burden on women. She urged us to be careful and thoughtful, and to not feel intimidated into sharing our stories in order to move along the movement. “Me too”—the words are simple; the power behind them is not.

“Men are afraid now in the workplace?

Well, women have been afraid this whole time!”

—Wade Davis We also need to remember the forgotten women.

The movement started with Tarana Burke who began the #MeToo movement to empower black women and girls. Women of colour are more vulnerable to workplace BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

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power and then gain rights.” Some of these union-won rights include weekends, sick leave, parental leave, and paid vacations.

I was so inspired by the unity of these feminist activists who have built global movements that have strengthened our front in the fight against patriarchy.

The Power of All The closing plenary, “The Power of All,” was a celebration of the Women Deliver 2019 Conference. I was sad to see it ending. It felt like if we could just spend more time together, we could really change the world.

Katja Iversen, founder of Women Deliver, concluded by expressing her hopes that the conference would make our advocacy stronger: “As big as this week has been, it’s only one moment. It’s not the summit, but a start, and we’re going high. A gender-equal world is in reach. So, let’s vote with our ballots and our wallets for gender equality. Let’s break down the silos, work across generations, and engage more men.

Let’s get more people on board and inspire the world to harness its power for good. When we do things together, it’s far better than dreaming it alone. Use your power for good every day. Be ambitious!

We can’t wait to see what you all do on your journey.”

Yvonne Leina Chi shared her story about breaking the silence around breast ironing in Cameroon, a traditional practice aimed at preventing sexual harassment and teen pregnancy, impacting 3–4 million women and girls. When Yvonne was just 14, she witnessed her grandmother taking a hot coal from the fire and burning the breasts of her cousin repeatedly, despite her excruciating pain. A few months later, when her grandmother asked her to remove her shirt while she held a

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hot coal in her hands, Yvonne yelled “NO!” and startled her grandmother into dropping the stone. It was at this moment that she realized the power of her voice.

Haldis Holst, Deputy General Secretary of Education International, spoke about the power of unions.

“Unions were the first movements.

Never forget that. The foundation of the union movement is knowing it was through collective power that women could achieve individual

How Will You Use Your Power?

As a teacher, I will continue to work with the power of youth engagement to drive solutions for gender equality around the world. In order to create meaningful change for girls, we need to listen to, engage with, and cocreate for young people.

As a member of the Surrey Teachers’ Association’s Executive Committee, I will continue to work with the power of the union to fight for our femaledominated profession and make our privileges universal for all women and girls across the globe.

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

Building Understanding for Diversity and Inclusion in our Community

By Shelby Calman, 2nd Vice-President of the Vancouver Secondary Teachers’ Association and Local Social Justice Grant recipient

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n April 29, 2019, the Vancouver Secondary Teachers’ Association (VSTA) co-hosted a professional development day with the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers’ Association’s (VESTA) Social Justice and International Solidarity Committees and the Vancouver School Board’s (VSB) Diversity and Indigenous Education Teams. VSTA contributed the entirety of their funds from a BCTF Local Social Justice Grant alongside a contribution from the VSB’s budget. The event was called Building Understanding for Diversity and Inclusion in our Community. It was an opportunity to provide Kindergarten to Grade 12 teachers with tools to discuss issues surrounding social and environmental justice, diversity, and inclusion in their classrooms, schools, and communities.

In the morning, the participants heard from keynote speaker Cicely Blain, who presented on diversity and inclusion. The participants then had the opportunity to either attend a living library or the screening of the documentary The Radicals.

During the living library, teachers, academics, and various members of the community acted as “human books” that were on loan for short conversations with participants. Participants could choose which human book to speak to and rotated on to a new book when the time was complete. It was a good networking opportunity for teachers to be able to learn about community and curriculum resources that they may not have been aware of before the session. The human books came from a variety of backgrounds and included advocates for climate justice, members of various social justice organizations, and representatives from non-profit organizations that address equity and inclusion in schools and the community.

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

The Radicals was created by a nonprofit environmental organization called Beyond Boarding. The film highlights the damage that offshore fish farms are causing to the environment and to Indigenous ways of life on the coastal territories. Tamiko Suzuki, the mother of one of the filmmakers and daughter of David Suzuki, spoke after the screening. More information about ordering the documentary for a screening is available on the Beyond Boarding website.

In the afternoon, participants could sign up for two different workshops from a variety of offerings. These included Unlearning Anti-Blackness, Indigenous Allyship and Reconciliation, Out Loud: Bringing Curriculum Out of the Closet, Women and Leadership: Intersectional Feminism, How to Be an Ally in Your Classroom to First Nations’ Peoples, Out in Schools: Indigenous Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality, Cultural Diversity Awareness/ Antiracism Education, and Our Stories Project.

Without this BCTF Local Social Justice Grant, we would not have been able to pull off such a comprehensive, large-scale event. On behalf of the VSTA’s Social and Environmental Justice Committee and Vancouver public school teachers, we are thankful to the BCTF for this opportunity, and we are looking forward to putting on more social justice professional development days in the future.

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ED MAY GRANTS

These projects were funded by the BCTF Ed May Social Responsibility Fund and Local Social Justice Grants. Visit the BCTF website for information on how to apply for one of these grants.

By Dale Hardy, Social Justice 12 teacher at Riverside Centre Continuing Education School in Maple Ridge and Ed May Social Responsibility Grant recipient

We have been giving out Naloxone kits since and not masculinity, is at the “ “ Objectification, 2014. Mostly women come in to pick them up root of all human cruelty. The feeding of to support a female friend with addiction. division has never made the world better.

We see this much less often with men.

Closing gaps through compassionate “

understanding and connection is the only way out. “

—Polegate A., Executive Director, Alouette Addictions Services

—Mental Health Outreach Worker

OUR PURPOSE

OUR PROCESS

The 2017 BC Coroners Service’s report on the opioid crisis documented 1,446 overdose fatalities. Of the victims, 1,191 were men and 255 were women. Fentanyl was involved in over 80% of these deaths, and over 90% of the victims were using alone. The overall number of overdose fatalities represented a 43% increase from 2016.

Over a five-month period, our Social Justice 12 class conducted over 24 interviews at Riverside Centre Continuing Education and out in the community, both in Maple Ridge and Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

We also researched online using sources that various interviewees shared.

When Mark Goheen, a clinical specialist at Fraser Health Mental Health and Substance Use Services, shared these statistics with my Social Justice 12 class, we formulated the following questions: • Why are males overrepresented in opioid fatalities?

• Why are trade workers overrepresented in opioid fatalities?

• What strategies are female drug users employing that serve as harm reduction?

• What role does gender and gender socialization play in minimizing or maximizing risk?

addicts will support “ Female each other when one is dope

sick. Reciprocity kicks in. It is rare to see that kind of sharing with male addicts.

OUR CHALLENGES • Many interviewees had not considered our topic of investigation, and they initially offered few insights. Some participants who worked for government agencies or non-profit societies were either reluctant or refused to be quoted, fearing administrative or funding repercussions.

• Many of the things we witnessed and learned were overwhelming. These included the death of a 27-year-old support worker with whom my class had developed a strong connection, witnessing a man experiencing an overdose on the street, learning that 14 people had overdosed in one night at the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), and hearing of the intense grief VANDU staff were experiencing due to the death of a staff member.

“

—Woman with addictions

iStock

ED MAY GRANTS

Death by Gender

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BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

OUR CONCLUSIONS

• Many people seeking overdose treatment have a significant mental health burden, with over half using mental health services. Depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts are the most common reasons for seeking care, but some individuals are also receiving treatment for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or psychosis.

• While depression is as prevalent among men as women, its symptoms are different in men. They include irritability, risky behaviour, and escape mechanisms such as workaholism and alcohol abuse.

• Men are 3–4 times more likely to commit suicide than women. More than 3,000 Canadian boys and men commit suicide every year—about one every three hours.

• North American men going through a divorce are eight times more likely than divorcing women to commit suicide. Many men internalize the relationship breakdown as weakness and failure on their part. They might also externalize their grief through aggression or self-medicate with alcohol and other drugs.

• Many people who overdose have histories of injury and pain management.

• Mental health disorders and substance use issues are often treated as moral or criminal issues rather than health concerns.

• 70% of Canadians who seek mental health treatment are women. This may be due in part to a lower degree of societal acknowledgement of problems that men often face compared to problems women typically face.

• Men 19–59 years of age are most affected by overdose and do not frequently use healthcare services.

• Paedophile rings exist in the community and play a role in compounding trauma, addiction, and suicide.

• Contrary to popular belief, 90% of overdose deaths take place indoors, with 70% occurring in private homes.

• One effect of the shift to a service economy on men in lower socioeconomic groups is reduced access to jobs that allow for the expression of the socialized view of masculine identity and pride.

• We need to move from blaming men for not reaching out to services as frequently as women to designing projects and public services that can help men.

• While some socialized ideals of masculinity based on emotional stoicism and not expressing sadness can get in the way of men’s progress with mental health and addiction, support workers can still connect with men’s yearning for healthy lives by appealing to other socialized masculine values, such as working hard, taking action, and showing courage.

RESOURCES The following websites offer useful resources on the topic of men’s mental health: • HeadsUpGuys • Man-Up Against Suicide • The Men’s Centre • www.stopoverdose.gov.bc.ca • www.fraserhealth.ca/overdose • www.crisiscentre.bc.ca/get-help • “Men stave off depression through provider role” (Vancouver Sun).

iStock

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

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ED MAY GRANTS

OUR FINDINGS

Does the Minimum Wage Reduce Poverty?

By Richard Pesik, CASJ Economic Justice Action Group and Port Alberni teacher

I

n 2015, the Fraser Institute, a Canadian think tank identified by many as having a right-wing agenda, published a study in which the authors disagreed with the assertion that raising the minimum wage is a tool that can be used to eliminate poverty and help those experiencing economic hardship. The arguments in the study were based on the belief that most workers earning the minimum wage are young and live with their parent(s). Using data from Statistics Canada, the study pointed out that of the almost 65% of minimum-wage workers in Canada who are between the ages of 15 and 24, 85% live with their parents. The study did not take into consideration the main reasons why young people stay at home, which is their inability to live on their own due to a low minimum wage and the high cost of accommodation.

The article also argued that, based on recent studies, increasing the minimum wage would result in a decrease in employment. Based on evidence in Canada, the study concluded that minimum wage increases lead to an increase in poverty levels.

Similarly, the Cato Institute, which describes itself as “a think tank dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace,” is not in favour of raising the minimum wage. A report from this institute predicts that raising the minimum wage would produce job loss, negatively impact low-skilled workers, have a negligible influence on poverty levels, and could lead to an increased cost of living.

Both of these think tanks embrace a neoliberal view that measures human progress in terms of economic growth achieved though deregulation, free-markets, and privatization of public services. Fortunately, the assertions of these think tanks are contradicted by other studies that suggest that increases to the minimum wage would indeed reduce poverty. In a 2014 Washington Post article, economist Mike Konczal pointed out that many economists agree that a minimum wage increase reduces poverty. He suggested the positive benefits of increasing the minimum wage were in “reducing extreme poverty and reducing inequality.”

In addition, the idea that the increase of the minimum wage will result in job lost is incorrect. When the Alberta NDP government proposed an increase to the minimum wage, the predictions were that between 53,000 and 195,000 jobs would be lost in the province. These predictions did not materialize. In his 2018 article, Parkland Institute Research Manager Ian Hussey noted that jobs were actually added to the economy. These findings coincide with studies in the United States between 1972 and 2007 that concluded that the effect of minimum wage increases on employment were negligible.

Contrary to the neoliberal standpoint that opposes any minimum wage increase as a tool to reduce poverty, an increase in the minimum wage has a positive impact not only on the growth of the economy by producing a higher purchasing power, but also on the psyche of those living in poverty by lifting them above the poverty line.

The following articles were used to research this article and are recommended for those wishing to learn more: Fraser Institute, Minimum Wages Don’t Help the Poor Mike Konczal, Economists Agree: Raising the minimum wage reduces poverty Ian Hussey, Minimum Wage Hike a Success Despite Gloomy Predictions Ian Hussey and Jack Mintz, Ian Hussey Anticipates Benefits

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iStock

Cato Institute: Four Reasons Not to Raise the Minimum Wage

School Climate Strikers and the Duty to Not Remain Neutral

By Violette Baillargeon, BCTF Member-at-Large and Surrey teacher, and Julia MacRae, 1st Vice-President of the Surrey Teachers’ Association

Adapted from an article in the Surrey Teachers’ Association publication The Advocate

O

n March 15, 2019, more than one million people participated in a global, student-led climate strike.

Around 2,200 strikes were organised across 125 countries.

In Vancouver, about 50 of our students marched to Vancouver City Hall to meet with the newly elected mayor Kennedy Stewart and demand that council declare a climate emergency.

Since then, the determination of students around the planet and of those in our own communities has not abated. A series of co-ordinated strikes has been organized and well attended. Of note is the Vancouver climate strike on September 27, 2019, when over 100,000 strikers shut down the Cambie Street Bridge and marched to the city core. Many students continue to strike every Friday, protesting government inaction in the face of what has become the most pressing social justice issue facing our planet and our youth today.

As a teacher, how can I best support students who are taking this courageous step? Are there any professional limitations?

Supporting students who are striking for climate action means taking the initial step of teaching the elements of the climate emergency in schools. The good news is that because of the work done by countless teachers before us, BC’s public school teachers possess the professional autonomy to do so without limitations. Thank you, union activists of the past!

Today we face an impending climate catastrophe that defies all predictive models. The scientific community has reached a consensus—something that is rarely achieved among scientists. Human activity is the cause of global warming, and the impact on the climate and the planet’s inhabitants, both human and non-human, will be catastrophic.

The reality is that climate change is already dramatically impacting certain parts of the world, including the global south and Indigenous communities. This has led to mass migration, species extinction, armed conflicts, fires,

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

droughts, and food insecurity. Therefore, the work of teachers is to tell these stories or make them accessible to students, and to help them learn what they will need for their futures. In every subject area and at every stage of learning, children need to prepare for solutions that will require massive participation.

Isn’t it intimidating to wade into something as complex as climate change without the necessary qualifications?

It is certainly overwhelming, but this crisis requires all of us to act. Advocacy, education, and inquiry cannot be left only to those who have the scientific background because it is not solutions that are lacking, but rather awareness and political will. Once made aware and empowered, our students have shown they are worthy contributors to a conversation that needs to happen, and one that, if ignored, stands to deliver the harshest of consequences to those very students.

Are there supports teachers can use in their classrooms to tackle the climate emergency?

Yes! One month after the first global climate strike, Vancouver City Council unanimously declared a climate emergency with a throng of students gathered outside in support. City Councillor Christine Boyle, mover of the original motion, later suggested that the students had been integral to the resolution being passed. Our students are already leading this struggle. It is time we support their efforts and use our professional autonomy for good by both naming the crisis and advancing solutions that will determine its outcome.

Part of the response to the climate emergency requires teachers to act. Students need us to change our classroom practices by becoming more courageous, learning new things, and helping children see what lies ahead more clearly. Not only do we need to retool the entire economy and transportation system to counteract climate change, our tools, ideas, and pedagogy need to adapt.

Join us!

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We’re in a Climate Emergency: Let’s call it that and act

By Tara Ehrcke, CASJ Environmental Justice Action Group and Victoria teacher

Adapted from an article appearing in the June 2019 edition of the Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association publication The Advocate

I

t is no wonder that students and youth are feeling immense stress and anxiety related to climate change. It is also no wonder they are taking to the streets. As 16-year-old Greta Thunberg has so forcefully pointed out, the one thing that can relieve the depression of the climate news cycle is the emancipatory act of doing something about it. While the student strike movement has taken the lead in putting pressure on society for the type of urgent and massive change required to confront the climate emergency, it is time for us adults to get on board.

The question is more than urgent.

We now know, based on scientific

28

consensus from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that even if the commitments from the Paris Agreement were to be met, we are looking at over 3° C of warming in 80 years. This amount of warming would elicit a planetwide economic, environmental, and social catastrophe. This is why the November 2018 report from the IPCC urges warming of no more than 1.5° C in order to limit the climate risks of water scarcity, fisheries decline, animal and insect habitat loss, and extreme heat.

This report also gives us a timeframe.

Ten years remain to complete a massive transformation of how we organize our economy, transportation systems, infrastructure, buildings, land use, and energy sources. The report calls for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by one-half by the year 2030, net-zero emissions by 2050, and net-negative emissions in the second

half of the century. This is a significant acceleration from the targets set out in the Paris Agreement.

In the last year, we have seen municipalities and even entire countries—the United Kingdom, Ireland, and, more recently, Canada— declare a climate emergency. It is time for school districts to do the same.

We need every governing authority at every level to be part of this mass transformational change.

Many school districts in BC have climate action plans, but they are woefully inadequate for the task ahead. Most rely heavily on purchasing carbon offsets to achieve carbon neutrality. The IPCC, however, has told us that we need to meet the reduction targets and then implement substantial offsets as well.

We cannot use offsets to replace reductions; we need them both. This is what is necessary to be in alignment with the current IPCC targets.

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

In addition, school district emissions are underestimated. For example, the emissions accounting includes school bus fleets but not emissions produced when children are driven to school. Yet school boards have direct influence over parental driving patterns by setting boundary catchments and are in the best position, in co-operation with municipalities, to offer alternative transportation. Even with the shortcomings of the current planning and reporting systems, based on what is reported, school districts do not all have specific targets and are far behind the necessary timelines to meet reductions required for a 1.5° C world.

Given the dire statistics, the message is clear: We need to act, and we need to act now. It is time for every school district in BC to declare a climate emergency. With these declarations in place, school districts will then be ready to seek public, stakeholder, and staff input to develop emergency action plans.

In June 2019, members of the group Parents 4 Climate!, under the leadership of Victoria teacher and climate activist Tara Ehrcke, were successful in their campaign to convince the Greater Victoria School Board to declare a climate emergency.

In making this declaration, the school board committed to developing and implementing a climate change action plan that would include strategies to decrease schools’ greenhouse gas emissions in line with the recommendations from the IPCC. The board also agreed to encourage other school districts and government agencies to develop similar action plans.

Victoria was the first school board in the province to declare a climate emergency, but several other school boards and municipal governments have followed their lead and made similar declarations. At the time this article was written, six school boards and 30 municipal governments in the province had declared a climate emergency. For an updated list, visit the Climate Emergency Declaration and Mobilisation in Action (CEDAMIA) website.

It took time, patience, and planning to achieve this goal. Ehrcke was able to access release time to develop and implement a plan to advocate for a climate emergency declaration through funding from a BCTF Local Social Justice Grant. See the full 12-step plan on the Environmental Justice Policies page of the BCTF website.

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

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Nisga’a Environment Heroes

DEVELOPING AN ENVIRONMENTAL MINDSET IN PRIMARY GRADES

By Regie Plana-Alcuaz, CASJ Peace and Global Education Action Group and Nisga’a teacher

M

any organizations provide financial support for classrooms.

An email from one such organization found its way to my inbox. The World Wildlife Fund offers a Go Wild School Grant for students in the amount of $500 for educational, hands-on projects that bring students out into nature. The project I proposed for my Grade 3 class to be Nisga’a Environment Heroes by picking up trash at the Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park was one of the projects that received this grant.

Anhluut’ukwsim Laxmihl Angwinga’asanskwhl Nisga’a has major historical significance for the Nisga‘a because their ancestors were buried there as the result of a volcanic eruption that occurred approximately 250 years ago. According to legend, some Nisga’a children tortured salmon in the river by placing burning sticks and stones on their backs. An elder cautioned them against doing this but was ignored. As a result, the Tseax Cone volcano erupted and covered two villages, diverted the Nass River, and killed more than 2,000

Nisga’a. Nowadays, it seems that the equivalent to those children are the people who litter in the park and dispose of trash improperly while driving along the Nisga’a Highway.

The lava beds are home to a variety of wildlife and interesting plants. For example, we learned from a resource person who spoke to our class about the biodiversity in the park that trees vary in growth depending on the amount of water they can access. For this reason, trees are taller on one side of the park than on the other. Our visitor brought in some plant samples, including Old Man’s Beard lichen and moss. These plants fascinated our third graders, who identified them while we were collecting trash in the park.

My students and I designed the capes that we would wear for visibility while out on the lava beds and then had them made at a store on Granville Island in Vancouver. Each student had a grabber and each small team carried a bag to collect the rubbish. They went about enthusiastically picking up the debris found in the park. My

students identified the different types of waste, leaving items that would easily decompose into the soil and gathering the ones that were likely to stick around for a long time. We found plenty of single-use plastic materials as well as styrofoam containers, metal cans, broken glass, labels, and wrappers. The students were eager to walk around and find scraps, but they were also dismayed at the quantity of trash other people had left behind.

The RCMP came by and helped us out, providing each student with a whistle that had a little light for added safety. One of our board members, who had inspired this project through her passion for cleaning up the lava bed with her husband, also joined our group, guiding one of the teams around and showing us what to do.

She had spoken to my class a few months earlier, explaining what she did at the park to help clean it up and describing what she had found. She selected the safest location for the students to pick up trash and assigned us different areas. After an hour, we came back and assembled at the sign to take a few photos.

Among the lessons the students learned from this activity was that it is important to dispose of litter properly in order to respect our environment and keep the park free of unsightly filth. As part of this outing, we also learned about the effects of using plastic and how unhealthy this practice is for Mother Nature. It was with a sense of pride that we did our best to be part of the solution. We will try to make it a habit and will teach our families why we should maintain the cleanliness of our surroundings, especially our provincial parks.

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BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

COMMITTEE FO R

E (CASJ) TIC US

N ON SOCI TIO AL C A J

Antiracism Action Group Nimfa Casson Rozhin Emadi Linda Frank Chanelle Tye Workshops • Bafa Bafa Rafa Rafa • Incorporating Antiracist Strategies into BC’s Revised Curriculum • Responding to Racism in the Workplace and the Classroom

Status of Women Action Group Angela Marcakis Serena Mohammed Trish Mugford Sheena Seymour Workshops • Engaging Men and Boys to Prevent Gender-based Violence • Promoting Healthy Youth Relationships: Educating against gender-based violence

Economic Justice Action Group Tyler Emoff Richard Pesik Kati Spencer Marcus Tse Workshops • Help End Child Poverty in BC’s Classrooms, Schools, and Local Communities • Poverty is a Classroom Issue

Disability Justice Action Group Leah Kelley Lee Nichelle Penney Heather Sallows

2020–21 Committee for Action on Social Justice (CASJ) • advises the BCTF on social justice issues • facilitates and promotes social justice workshops • liaises with community groups and NGOs • develops policy on emerging issues • reviews and develops materials for classroom teachers • develops and supports networks of social justice contacts in the following action group areas: Antiracism, Disability Justice, Economic Justice, Status of Women, LGBTQ2S+, Peace and Global Education, Environmental Justice • co-ordinates the work of the seven action groups.

Environmental Justice Action Group Tara Ehrcke Mary Hotomanie Sarah Newton Charity Peal Workshops • Teaching Green: Integrating Environmental Justice Issues across the Curriculum (five modules available: Climate Justice Heroes, Food Security, Sustainable Resource Use, Sustainable Transportation, Water Rights)

Intersectional Workshops • Advancing Equity and Inclusion in Our Schools and Community • Creating Inclusive Spaces: Applying an equity and inclusion lens • Strategies for Discussing Controversial Issues • Developing Allyship Skills to Break the Cycle of Cyberbullying • In the Shoes of the Bully, the Bystander, and the Victim

Peace and Global Education Action Group Regie Plana-Alcuaz Anjum Khan Shailly Sareen Amy Ashlyn Workshops • Creating Cultures of Peace • Global Education: Bringing global perspectives into your classroom

LGBTQ2S+ Action Group Kamaron Birkett Heather Kelley Lee-Ann Locker Trevana Spilchen Workshops • Creating a Gender-Inclusive School Culture • Promoting Healthy Youth Relationships: Educating against gender-based violence • Reach Out, Speak Out on Homophobia and Transphobia • Sexual Health Education: It’s fun!

Important SJ dates to celebrate March 8–14: International Women’s Week March 22: World Water Day April 8: International Day of Pink May 17: International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia June: LGBTQ2S+ Pride Month June 21: National Indigenous Peoples’ Day See the BCTF Calendar of Events online for more dates.

Please note: The BCTF is not responsible for the content or links found on any external website. Opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the author.

BC Teachers’ Federation 100–550 West 6th Avenue Vancouver, BC V5Z 4P2

Editors: Barb Ryeburn, Todd Patrick Copy editing: Lynda Tierney Design: Jennifer Sowerby

BCTF Social Justice Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2020

This newsletter is available online at bctf.ca/SocialJustice.aspx?id=6352 Winter/Spring 2020 PSI20-0008 31

ARE YOU

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This pamphlet provides information on how to find support to address workplace racism at your school, in your local teachers’ union, and within the BCTF. To request free copies of this resource, fill out the Social Justice Resources Order Form on the BCTF member portal at bctf.ca/mybctf/sjresources.