Episode 4: Antiracist Leadership in Elementary Education
In Episode 4 of "Teacher Talk: An ETT Podcast," guests Kathy Lewis and Hardeep Shergill share their perspectives and experiences as anti-racist leaders in education. Kathy's commitment stems from her personal experiences as a black Afri-Caribbean woman, witnessing the marginalization of Black Indigenous students. Hardeep, a Punjabi Sikh woman with a disability, draws from her upbringing in an underserved neighborhood and her family's history of fleeing British colonial actions. Both advocate for a transformative education that centers student identity, caregiver voices, and sacred knowledge while challenging intersecting systems of oppression. They stress the need to bridge theory and practice, actionize anti-colonial education, and shift the narrative in schools by critically examining history and dismantling oppressive structures. The episode delves into practical aspects, with Kathy emphasizing the importance of safe spaces, trust in students, and alternative assessment methods aligned with decolonial practices. The conversation underscores the ongoing process of decolonization, collective responsibility, and the importance of humility in the learning journey for both educators and students. Overall, this podcast encourages a reimagining of schools, urging educators to be ethical learners, challenge oppressive systems, and cultivate inclusivity for a more just society. BIOS: Kathy Lewis is a Secondary School Teacher with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). As an educator with the TDSB, in the role of Curriculum Leader for Student Engagement, Equity and Wellbeing, Kathy has been critically involved in school and community activism. She has organized several professional development workshops for staff and administrators through critical inquiry, in deconstructing anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism and examining ways educators can critically engage students in a co-construction and co-production of knowledge within their own instinctual frame of understanding that is self-validating and self-affirming. Kathy is also a member of The Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies (CIARS) and was one of the panellists for the Rising up During COVID-19: Solidarity, Anti-Black Racism and Health’s panel discussion. Kathy also co-moderatored the CIARS in Conversation: Critical Cross-Racial Conversations: Thinking Through Our Complicities, Implications and Responsibilities. Kathy has completed her Masters in Education, M.Ed. in Social Justice Eduation, with a Collaborative Specialist in Educational Policy, at OISE, University of Toronto. She is now pursuing her Ph.D in Social Justice Education at OISE. Her research and practice mirror a decolonial framework that centers students’ history and cultural ways of knowing. Kathy’s unique approach to school as a community is one that is rooted in the solidarity of inclusivity, a subversive lens that embaraces sites of historical curiosity necessary in authenticating students’ lived-experiences and histories and building links of communal bonds. Hardeep Shergill is an elementary school educator with the Toronto District School Board and is pursuing her Ph.D. at OISE/University of Toronto. She is also a member of the Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies at OISE. Hardeep is passionate about actionizing anti-racist and anti-colonial education. As a child who was born and brought up in Rexdale, Ontario, an underserved community in Toronto, Hardeep is a fierce advocate of learners and families from marginalized communities. It is her hope that educational spaces become more inclusive and epistemologically multicentric for all students. See the TRANSCRIPT for this episode. If you'd like to reach out to the hosts of "Teacher Talk," or with any of the guests featured on the podcast, please send an email to teachertalk@ett.on.ca. "Teacher Talk: An ETT Podcast" is a Chey and Pav Educational Services, Inc. Production.
