Our Voices: Engaging All Learners one-day conference 
a big success

Feb. 19, 2010

By Jason Misner
COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, HDSB STAFF 

The large crowd hung on Mawi Asgedom’s every word.

He described his family’s ordeal fleeing a small northern village in war-torn Ethiopia as a small boy to becoming a Harvard University graduate, blessed with a wonderful family and a life full of success and hope. 

Through his emotional hour-long discussion, he revealed a powerful yet simple message for the more than 200 experienced teachers, principals, vice-principals and teacher-students gathered in the gym at the New Street Education Centre in Burlington - make the invisible visible.

As the fitting keynote speaker to kick off Our Voices: Engaging All Learners, a one-day conference held on Feb. 12, author Asgedom told a remarkable story of his journey from escaping civil war in east Africa, in which the family went from living in a mud and straw hut to occupying a motel outside of Chicago, to obtaining a coveted university scholarship.

Hosted for Halton elementary and secondary teachers, the conference focused on the subject of inclusion. It included other speakers, workshop sessions and displays. Halton elementary and secondary teachers also shared their thoughts on how they empower their students.
Later in the day, well-known Canadian musician Susan Aglukark spoke to educators as part of the conference.

Asgedom – a nationally-recognized educator who has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show – explained to the crowd all populations are linked in so many ways. He described when his family was fleeing Ethiopia and how his mother was unable to provide breast milk for his baby sister. His mom would chew food and spit it out so the baby could eat.

“How many of you, without hesitating, would do the same exact thing to save your son or daughter?” asked the founder of Mental Karate, an organization that helps youth take positive action, relating this tough experience to inclusion. “…We see people who look so different, we fail to recognize that if we were under the same situation, we would all do the same exact thing.”

Asgedom stressed it’s vital everybody is seen and heard, talking about how hard it was growing up in North America feeling insignificant. He spoke of the first time he was invited by a male schoolmate to a birthday party as a youth. Fifteen years later, after graduating from Harvard, he returned to the very same house to thank the family for its gesture. “I said to his mom, ‘When I was invisible and everybody saw right through me and I didn’t exist, you were the only family that said I see you,” he recalled.

“I have not forgotten that. 

“A lot of this work we’re talking about – inclusiveness, equity – it’s about seeing people who are invisible, it’s about seeing kids who are invisible, it’s about seeing colleagues who are invisible. You don’t have to be a refugee from east Africa to be invisible.”  “The question is, what does your school do to see that kid.”

To make the school population feel included can start as simply as re-examining the kinds of plays being staged to ensure a cross-section of people are included, Asgedom said.

He also challenged the room full of educators to do three things to ensure inclusion in the curriculum is working — define staff roles in inclusiveness, make equality part of the school’s teaching “DNA” and measure results.

An enthusiastic Asgedom engaged the crowd with hands-on interaction, ending his discussion with a blessing of the onlookers, who were latched onto each other’s shoulders.

Kaimen Obeng, a 12-year-old Grade 7 student from W.I. Dick Public School, was inspired by the Asgedom’s words.“It shows us you can succeed at things no matter where you come from,” he says.

Carrying on the subject of inclusion and flare for story-telling, artist Susan Aglukark closed out the conference with an aspiring speech about following your dreams, interspersed with touching musical interludes.  Aglukark is an Inuk singer/songwriter and motivational speaker.

Her people, the Inuit of Arctic Canada, inspire her song writing. Aglukark’s singing is blended with messages of hope, as she addresses the many issues facing aboriginal people in this country.

Aglukark, a one-time aspiring pilot, spoke to the crowd about her Aboriginal upbringing, including the challenges many face, and the importance of fighting for your dreams and embracing learning. Don’t let the fear of the unknown be stronger than the dream,” she stressed. “I’m just one story….”

Mixing in three musical performances, and to the delight of the crowd, she ended with a poignant and prophetic piece called, O Sien, stressing, “We are all family…we are all the same.”

Stephanie Bass, a student at University of Toronto Osie, says the message she picked up from Aglukark’s discussion is what the conference was intended to convey – inclusion.

“It’s recognizing that it’s important to incorporate all aspects of the population into our schools,” Bass says.

During the day-long conference, Halton teachers learned strategies to meet the varying needs and interests of their students as well as to help build communities of learning in their classrooms where everyone’s voice is heard and valued.

In addition, educators developed an awareness of the diverse learning styles of their students.

Merrill Matthews, vice-principal of Sam Sherratt Public School, addressed the crowd in the morning and said inclusion is about “how we connect our students to the world around us.”

Reflecting on the day’s events, superintendent Yaw Obeng was ecstatic by the outcome of the conference, calling it a “huge success.”

“The tremendous response from our audience demonstrated that our speakers delivered on their promise of awareness and inspiration. Both Susan and Mawi had compelling stories that gave us an opportunity to open our ears to voices we do not often hear in our classrooms even when we think we are listening.”

He continued: “Their insightful messages created an awareness for teachers and made many reflect on their practice. One teacher commented, ‘This has changed the way I will teach forever.’ The voices of the students that have been silent, omitted or marginalized have now been amplified through the day’s work. “It is now the responsibility of teachers and staff to echo the voices within their school communities.”