By Kenra Mroz
On February 14, Avi Posen, senior director at Unpacked for Educators (UED), delivered two back-to-back virtual workshops for Social Studies, Canadian and World Studies and English teachers at Sir Robert Borden High School (SRB). Sixteen educators, including Social Sciences / CWS department head Sarah Leahy, English / Arts / Technology department head Greg Hicks, and SRB principal Matt Gagnier, participated in the sessions. Also in attendance were CHES Chair Mina Cohn and Minda Chaikin, CHES’s Education Committee lead.
Avi’s workshops, entitled Addressing the Israel-Palestine Conflict In a Time of Crisis, were designed to acknowledge, address, and explore the various issues that can arise when elements of this conflict spill into the classroom. The ultimate “end objective” involved providing information, resources, and support regarding ways in which to approach and navigate associated challenging topic areas and conversations. In addition, the workshops provided educators with an opportunity to ask questions and receive helpful direction, advice, and clarification from Avi.
Avi’s outline focused upon five main topic areas: Outlining the Problem; A Fresh Approach to Teaching About the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict; Best Practices; Big Questions; and How UED Resources Can Help. Each branched out into several different, and important, sub-topic areas.
Avi designed and organized his approach in a way that was specific to areas that SRB staff requested he address and provided questions – and specified topics – in advance of his workshops. He used these contributions to guide the direction of his presentations and found time to provide his thoughts as they related to these topic areas.
Avi encouraged participants to “lean into the tough topics” while continuing to maintain a safe environment for all students, a top priority for educators. His message is rooted in the importance of taking a nuanced approach that highlights diverse perspectives. Many of the resources to which he directed the educators’ attention provide an opportunity to enter into – and build upon – a variety of associated discussion topics in a well-researched and open-minded manner.
Although his presentation was based mainly upon questions and highlight points that had been shared with him, Avi paused regularly during his session for comments and to provide educators with an opportunity to respond and share their thoughts. He made it a point to return, at the conclusion of each workshop, to the principal areas that staff had hoped to address with him to demonstrate how everything connected.
Staff feedback has been positive. Educators said that they could definitely see where they can use Unpacked for Educators’ resources in their classrooms. Staff also noted the importance of addressing potentially challenging comments and conversational topics as they arise, and of the necessity to continue to build, with one another, upon the topic areas he covered. Avi reminded educators that he is available for check-ins, and he encouraged educators to reach out to CHES for local support, advice, and resources.
Thank you, Avi, and thank you to CHES for making this workshop available to SRB educators.
Kenra Mroz is a member of the CHES Education Committee and is SRB’S Equity and Diversity co-representative and the co-ordinator of its Social Justice Club