York Region District School Board (YRDSB) teacher Tubie Wong asked her Grade 8 students to engage in active allyship. .“This material was presented to 8th graders at Silver Stream Public School (YRDSB), Richmond Hill, during their ‘novel study’ on ‘This Book is Anti-Racist’ last year,” tweeted former Ontario high school teacher Chanel Pfahl. .Wong defined active allyship as “demonstrating intentional advocacy for underrepresented and underacknowledged communities (also referred to as marginalized groups).” .“Anyone who isn’t a member of either group but takes action to support that group can be an ally and create significant impact — often with a single action,” said Wong. .She admitted there is no one-size-fits-all approach to allyship. It starts with recognizing and understanding privilege and using it to call out harmful behaviours that perpetuate bias and oppression. .Some examples she offered were a student explaining to a teacher a classmate is not eating lunch because fasting during Ramadan requires abstinence from all food and drink, the grandmother who reminds a couple’s parents that love is more important than gender identity, and a person who attends conferences so they can carry back learnings to strengthen diversity and inclusion across their organization. .Pfahl acknowledged Wong said there are seven types of allies. .“The teacher self-describes as a ‘2SLGBTQ+ Confidant’ on her Twitter page,” she said. .The seven types of ally are sponsor, champion, advocate, amplifier, scholar, upstander, and confidant. .Besides being a sexual minority confidant, Wong said she unlearns and relearns and is an equity, mental health, and well-being designate. .Wong spoke about the Positive Space stickers being visible symbols of respect and support for sexual minorities. They communicate a commitment to welcome and include sexual minorities and create a safer space free from harassment and discrimination people, their families, and allies face daily. .In 2021, YRDSB students and gay-straight alliances were invited to design a new Positive Space sticker that would indicate a safer space or area in a school for sexual minorities. .The design selected to be used across the YRDSB was a Progress Pride flag. It includes symbols to show off some of the diverse gender identities in its communities. .Wong accused schools of upholding cisnormativity and cissexism and heteronormativity and heterosexism in various ways and forms. These ideologies often intersect with racism, colonialism, ableism, and other forms of marginalization. .She concluded by saying the presence of a sticker “represents a commitment to the dismantling of the systems of oppression mentioned above.” .“However, the presence of a sticker without aligned actions can create further distrust amongst student communities and may decrease the likelihood of them reaching out for support as needed,” she said. .“This commitment to action includes addressing and reporting all homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic incidents promptly and educating other students and staff about the importance of eliminating the discrimination and oppression of 2SLGBTQI+ students and staff.” .Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce directed school boards across the province to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022 after the YRDSB asked schools to avoid the topic. .READ MORE: Ontario orders school boards to honour the Queen after memo opposing it.“The entire world is marking the profound loss of a graceful and dutiful Queen who dedicated her whole life to the service of our country and the Commonwealth, upon ascending to the Throne at 25 years old,” said Lecce. .“We have made clear our direction that all schools are to recognize the profound impact of Queen Elizabeth II’s lifelong and unwavering devotion to public service.”
