Following the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and others in the United States and the ensuing global #BlackLivesMatter demonstrations over the past year, she decided to take action. Her petition calling for mandatory anti-racism education for teacher candidates elicited significant uptake on social media and garnered thousands of signatures. In this conversation with Faculty of Education Dean Richard Barwell, Ms. Takara talks about her experience in the Teacher Education program, systemic racism, and the urgent work needed to prepare future teachers to combat discrimination in Canadian classrooms.
RB: What prompted you to launch the petition?
ST: I started this petition because, as is the case with the police system, our education system has a history of systemic racism that it continues to perpetuate. I have always held concerns regarding the systemic racism in the education system and specifically instances within the Teacher Education program at the University of Ottawa. Comments that many who are educated in anti-racism would consider racist were commonplace in class discussions and there was a reluctance from students and faculty members to discuss issues surrounding race/racism. Moving on from the program, I can only assume that this discomfort will be carried forward in my colleagues' treatment of issues involving race/racism in their own schools and classrooms. As educators, we have a distinct responsibility and privilege in teaching the youth who will become our future police officers, doctors, teachers, and CEOs. It is irresponsible to send us into such a position of authority without ever having confronted our own prejudices and biases towards racialized groups/individuals and with the inability to safely and sensitively discuss these issues with our students. This is why my petition is asking that the Faculty of Education make an anti-racism course mandatory for all Teacher Candidates.
RB: I must say that I broadly agree with your letter and deplore the presence of racism in our programs. With respect to your observations about our anglophone teacher education program, there are places where issues of equity, different racisms and human rights should already be discussed. I’m thinking of the course on Schooling and Society, for example. What was your experience?
ST: Schooling and Society was one of a few mandatory courses in the program where issues of oppression and discrimination were addressed. While this was a great introductory course to the relationship marginalized students have with schooling, it covered such a large scope of issues and topics that one did not necessarily have the time to delve deep into a certain topic. What was interesting about Schooling and Society was the attitude my classmates had towards the course. I heard more than one person comment that the course “was not practical” and “was not teaching them anything they could use in a classroom”. There was also one comment along the lines of “why do we keep reading about Native people”. This was a theme not only in regards to people's views on Schooling and Society but any course or course component that did not offer activities, lesson plans, or other “tips” for teachers. I believe this underlies a large disconnect between what people believe teaching is and what it should be. Teaching does not occur in a vacuum. As teachers, we need to acknowledge and understand the systemic oppression schooling has and continues to enforce and reflect on our own actions within such a system. That is what Schooling and Society introduces us to and yet students write of the course as not worth the time and effort.
RB: Addressing racism will be a long term process, particularly with respect to structural issues that need to be identified and changed. The Faculty of Education is committed to this process and understands that there has been enough waiting and talking. In the past year, we have launched a year of action on anti-Black racism (in Fall, 2020) and undertaken some initial steps such as the creation of an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee in which students will have a strong presence. My hope is these first steps will create a platform for more significant change.
ST: With the creation of the Faculty's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee I hope that a continued dialogue will be possible between students and professors and other faculty members. Anti-racism work needs to be a continuous effort and not something that is talked about only when a complaint is raised to the Faculty. I also hope that this committee will be communicated to the student body across many channels so that any student feels they are able to join or at least contribute to such an initiative. This Committee does, however, still put the burden of education and justification on BIPOC students and faculty. While their voices need to be heard in such a group they must not be called upon to educate their White peers each time. I would be curious to learn what scope would this committee have in terms of the issues they would be looking at? Would it be isolated to addressing trends in racist incidents in the Faculty, looking at the curriculum being offered, etc.?
RB: I whole-heartedly agree with your comments about the committee. Part of the rationale for creating it was to ensure that equity, social justice and anti-racist thinking is proactively included in our decision-making processes, and that student voices be part of that. The committee’s mandate includes reviewing Faculty policies and curriculum as well as shaping the ongoing education and dialogue that is needed, such as by proposing activities, speakers and events.
ST: Since our last meeting, another petition (Ottawa Universities: anti-racism course as a degree requirement) with over 13,000 signatures has been officially submitted to the University of Ottawa and Carleton University demanding anti-racism courses for all degrees. I hope this additional show of support from students and the greater community ignites action from our faculty and the university at large to take the necessary next step of developing mandatory anti-racism courses.
RB: There is now a strong commitment in the University leadership to tackling anti-Black racism and other racisms at the University of Ottawa, and I can promise determined action at the Faculty of Education in the coming years. This action must include a review of our programs with changes proposed as a result. The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee will have an important role to play in this process. What else might you envision?
ST: The news of a hate crime perpetrated against a 10-year-old Black boy just outside Ottawa (Russell) has once again shown me that what my colleagues and I are championing for (mandatory anti-racism course) is necessary to ensure this type of education trickles down into all professions, teaching being one of the most important. Additionally the news of a uOttawa professor using the N-word in class speaks to the work that still needs to be done on our own campus as well.
I hope that over the next few months you will hear from students across the Faculty of Education and others on campus voice their desire for an anti-racism course and that it will come to fruition, sooner rather than later. Much like the mandatory First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education course has become something the Faculty can be proud of, I know that a mandatory anti-racism course would only add value to the program.
Bio:
Saya Takara is a graduate of University of Ottawa’s Bachelor of Education Program (B.Ed., 2019) and is working as a teacher in the elementary years. Her experience of the program prompted her to begin a dialogue about the gaps in anti-racism education offered to teachers in training.
