Education News | Page 13
" Even if the literature uses racial slanders , I feel there is no ground that teachers should feel comfortable to say it . When the teachers say that word , the students think it is okay to use it . Some of my friends would just say the first three letters of the " n " word and say , ' Oh , you ' re just that .'"
Kiah ' s curly hair also became an issue when she went to school : " I had a huge curly afro . I didn ’ t see a problem with it until I went to school where I was in a predominantly White community and I was the only one with curly hair . I started straightening my hair in Grade 1 or 2 . It has taken me 20 years just to start to be comfortable with that part of me and letting it be curly sometimes ," she says .
In high school , Kiah began to find her voice and to relate with many of her teachers , to feel empowered : " A lot of my teachers really saw my potential and they didn ’ t look first at the colour of my skin , or who I was on the outside , they saw what I could do . I remember one teacher in particular believed in me so much , she pulled me out of my English class one day and she said , ' Kiah , I believe in you , you are so good at public speaking , I want you to come and be part of this Business CASE competition at the U of R .' Giving me that opportunity , she understood my strengths , and let me shine . It was so amazing . Instances like that were so empowering , where teachers just believed in me for what I could do rather than seeing the front . But the opposite happened too ."
These experiences inform Kiah ' s teaching and her vision for creating environments of empowerment : " I had different privileges than someone who isn ’ t as White-passing as me . So I definitely learned where that got me in life . But there was also a battle between people who didn ’ t see me as White – passing , who saw me as Black , and then from others , somedays I would hear , ' Oh , you don ’ t even seem Black , you don ’ t even talk like a Black person .’ What does that even mean ? Hearing that I ’ m not Black enough , and not White enough meant I was constantly trying to figure out where I fit in . All youth are trying to figure out where they fit in . This experience really gave me the foundation to ensure that my classroom was a space that no matter who you were , you would fit in , you would have a place , feel safe and feel brave , and that you could have a conversation about these things ."
" Brave " is a word Kiah adopted from an ESS PD series on anti-racism with Dr . ABC : " Teachers are always talking about creating a safe space , and that ’ s great , but the idea of a brave space where you feel safe enough and then brave enough to actually go and do something — that just stuck with me , and will stick with me forever . I just really want students continues on page 14