Affirming Students Identities
© Next Gen Men 2019
By Jonathon Reed
One of the biggest ‘aha’ moments I’ve had since starting with Next Gen Men was from Rachel Giese’s book, Boys: What it Means to Become a Man, in which she responds to the narrative of the ‘boy crisis’ in education by saying: “In fact, research shows there is a greater difference in school achievement and graduation rates among boys than between boys and girls. The most marked contrasts in test scores, grades, graduation rates and post-secondary school enrollment are not divided along gender lines but along race and class ones.”
That’s what came to mind when a colleague shared a talk by Jeewan Chanicka, Superintendent of Equity, Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression for the Toronto District School Board.
“Education is a colonial project. The systems and structures, the laws and the cultures were created based on the beliefs and attitudes of those who were in power at that time. Some of those beliefs included pieces like Indigenous people are uncivilized and they need to be dispossessed of their land, that Black people existed for the economic benefit of those in power, that women were less than men and so they shouldn’t be allowed to vote or hold public office, that 2SLGBT-identifying people needed to be medically fixed or locked away, and that people with disabilities should be locked away. All of these were coded into the systems and structures around education. The systems and structure reflected those beliefs and attitudes and so they’re not neutral. We have to accept that they work for some and not for other children. Since identity is a common factor in who’s successful and unsuccessful, systems need to engage in learning and unlearning about identity in order to be able to change those outcomes.”
We all have a lot to do in terms of recognizing the ways the structure of the education system benefits those with privilege. This talk is a place to start.
ICYMI This Week
The pungent legacy of Axe Body Spray (Vox)
How High School Sex Ed Is Changing Post-#MeToo (GQ)
The Trans Actors Challenging Outmoded Ideas of Masculinity (The New York Times)
Written by Next Gen Men Program Manager Jonathon Reed as part of Learnings & Unlearnings, a weekly newsletter reflecting on our experiences working with boys and young men. Subscribe to get Learnings & Unlearnings delivered to your email inbox.