Thankful for Education: International Day of the Girl and "He Named Me Malala"

It is Thanksgiving time here in Canada and like most people my family and I take the time to pause and consider all of the things we are grateful for this weekend. I for one have many things I can name to be thankful for, but the thing that is resonating with my most today, what I’m most grateful for is education.

You see, today, October 11^th is International Day of the Girl. A day where the international community brings attention to gender justice issues around the world. It seems fitting then that the new documentary “He Named Me Malala” was released in theaters this weekend. The documentary follows the incredible story of Malala Yousafzai, who, at age 15, was shot in the head for daring to speak up and get an education.

She was shot.

In the head.

For speaking up about girls’ rights to education.

Malala lived in a world where some people don’t believe that girls and women should be educated. That they aren’t worth it. Her story of determination and passion for learning, the fight she embraced on behalf of her gender and the support of her amazing father left me stunned in the theater.

I’m lucky. I was born in Canada. I grew up in a family where education was valued. I was always encouraged to do my best and strive for excellence. Education was a given. It was never something I considered a luxury. I liked learning as a child. I fell in love with learning and education as a young adult. I earned two university degrees and have dedicated my professional career to helping other students to do their best, strive for excellence and hopefully fall in love with learning.

I have opportunities many people don’t have. I’ve been given the opportunity to travel, to find inspiration, to use my voice and follow my passions without fear of reprisal.

But in countless places around the world and for innumerable girls, this is not their reality.  For these girls, education is not a right, it’s a dangerous quest. One that could cost them everything.  

Malala was shot.

In the head.

For speaking up about girls’ rights to education.

Malala is one girl, she has one voice and she is changing the world. One of the things she said in the film is “Getting things done in this world is so hard. You try and sometimes you are not successful. But you can’t give up. You have to keep on trying.”

We, as teachers, as Canadians and as citizens of the world must fight for the rights of girls and women everywhere. We have to keep trying. We have to keep talking about gender issues and education issues.

Let’s get educated on gender issues, let’s get involved. Use our voices and speak up for change in the world.  Let’s go and see “He Named Me Malala” in theaters.  Let’s support education and gender equity for all people regardless of where they are in the world.

Education is a right. It shouldn’t cost people their lives. 

WE Day: Inspiration for Student Learning and Action

As a teacher, I believe it is important to empower my students and give them the skills, opportunity and belief that they are capable of achieving greatness. Sometimes this happens in the classroom, through carefully thought-out lessons, sometimes it happens accidentally through those spontaneous “teachable moments” that present themselves throughout the day, and sometimes, it happens through co-curricular involvement. This is why for the past four years I have embraced the opportunity to be the Me to We Team staff sponsor for my school. Each year my students engage in local and global action in association with Me to We and Free the Children. They work to create change in their community, raise awareness of issues and fundraise to support Free the Children initiatives. All of the hard work and dedication is celebrated in the Fall with “WE Day”.

At WE Day, my students, along with 20 000 other change makers, celebrate and gain new inspiration. Founders of the movement, Canadian brothers Craig and Mark Kielburger are charismatic speakers and have been inspiring students to take action to make the world a better place for 20 years!

This year my students found new motivation and inspiration once again by listening to the variety of performers. As expected, the students really enjoyed the musical performances by Hedley, Hozier, Nick Jonas and Carly Rae Jepsen to mention but a few.

Students resonated with the passionate story of Canadian author Joseph Boyden who shared his struggles with mental health issues and encouraged students to use creative releases to manage the sometimes overwhelming pressures of life. Hearing that we all have creativity inside us gives strength to students who may be struggling with similar issues.

Mike “Pinball” Clemons of the Toronto Argos reminded students that no one can do it alone; that we all need our teammates to be successful. A positive message for students and teachers alike to take back into the classroom.

Some of the most profound inspiration came from an unexpected source this year. Henry Winkler, best known as “The Fonz” shared a passionate story about how, as a learning disabled student, he was often not able to be successful in traditional academia and the struggles he experienced to get through school.  I had no idea of his personal struggles with school, but I guess that goes to show you that you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Mr. Winkler gave hope to students saying, “We all have a challenge and each of us have a different one. You are not defined by your challenge you are defined by your tenacity. You are defined by your power.”

If my students heard nothing else that day, I hope they heard him make that single statement.

As a teacher of students with learning disabilities, and as a student with a learning disability myself, this was the most powerful message of the day. The cheers from my students, and myself, were electric as he finished speaking. 

WE Day certainly inspired this new generation of students to head back to school and take on the challenges of the world. Already this year we have pledged to pack “no waste lunches” and use re-usable water bottles at school. The team has already packed nearly 100 non waste lunches!  We are just getting started on a month long food drive to help a local food bank in our community. My students have many other ideas which we will work together to put into action this year.

Watching my students find their voices and passion through our involvement in WE Day makes me immensely proud as a teacher. They are a tenacious and powerful group of young people and I feel privileged to be on this journey with them.

The spark of this generation is bright, and together WE WILL Change the World.

If you want to check out the Me to We and Free the Children organization, campaigns or learn more, check them out here and here.

Canadian Heroes

Canadian heroes has been a theme over the past several days at school as I celebrated two different generations of great Canadians and their contributions to history.

Last week my school celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope with a spirit day filled with fun outdoor activities including a fundraising walk in support for the Terry Fox foundation. If you don`t know the story behind Terry Fox, I recommend looking into this amazing and selfless Canadian. After being diagnosed with bone cancer as a young man and losing his leg to the disease, he was inspired to raise money to help other young cancer patients. Terry decided to run across Canada to raise money and awareness for treatment. He ran a marathon (42 kilometers!) every day beginning in Newfoundland. While this alone is an amazing feat, Terry Fox accomplished all of this on a prosthetic leg and as a cancer survivor!

Unfortunately, 143 days into his run, Terry Fox was forced to stop as the cancer had returned and was now in his lungs.  Terry Fox passed away in June of 1981 at the age of 22. Canada, and the world, lost a great man that day.

While he was unable to reach his goal of running across Canada and raising one dollar for every Canadian, Terry Fox inspired generations of Canadians after him to take up the cause. For the past 35 years, Canadian school children and communities alike have been participating in Terry Fox runs, walks and activities to raise money for cancer research. I`m proud to say that our school raised over $1500 dollars for the cause this year.

Seeing the students, and staff dressed up in their team colours, cheering for their team mates during the games and working together during the baseball game, made be proud to me a Canadian and proud to me a teacher at my school. It`s good to celebrate the accomplishments of brave Canadians.

Speaking of brave Canadians, I also had the pleasure of attending an amazing evening hosted by the Juno Beach Centre Association here in Canada and celebrate another generation of incredible inspiring  Canadians. 71 years ago, 14 000 Canadians landed on the shores of France on what we now call Juno Beach and began the liberation of Europe and the end of the Second World War. This was D-Day.

At the end of September, the JBC hosted a production of “Jake’s Gift”. This unique one woman play tells the story of a World War II veteran who returns to Juno Beach for the first time since D-Day for the 60^th anniversary. The playwright, who amazingly portrays all of the characters, delivers a beautiful and heart wrenching performance. It makes audiences realize the challenges facing veterans as well as the importance of keeping their legacy of sacrifice and peace alive. If you ever have an opportunity to see this show, please take it. You won’t be disappointed. Julia Mackey is a brilliant artist.  

Canadians owe so much to our veterans and often we forget about the sacrifices they made for us. The fact that we live in a peaceful country is their gift to us, and we often don’t take time to remember them beyond November 11^th. The truth is their sacrifice is so much greater than we give them credit for, and the appreciation of the French people overseas for the liberation that Canadian soldiers were able to provide them is remarkable. I would like to think that as Canadians we are able to express our gratitude and thanks to these brave men more often than once a year, so I challenge everyone, including myself, to show their appreciation for veterans through action all year. “Thank you “doesn’t seem like enough, but it is a good place to start.

The Juno Beach Centre is a museum on the shores of this Normandy beach in France that honours the contributions of Canadians during the Second World War. I had the privilege of traveling there this summer and it was an indescribable, life changing experience - but that is a post for another day.

To learn more about Terry Fox or make a donation to his foundation, please visit www.terryfox.org

To learn more about the Juno Beach Centre and make a donation, please visit www.junobeach.org

Finally, check out “Jake’s Gift” and the performance schedule here.

Canada is a remarkable country and we have so many heroes of which to be proud. How will you represent our Canadian heroes?