TL;DR:

• Racism leads to damaged relationships and broken communication.
• Be mindful of those around you.
• Advocate for others.
• Embrace the beauty of diversity!

Spice it up! Advocate for others.

“Equity and Inclusion Just Got Better” Blog Reflection Questions:

1. What is something you’re passionate about?
2. If something goes wrong, can you advocate?
3. Now visualize and imagine the steps you would take to ensure that you make a difference by speaking up on this cause.

If you visit another country, taste the spices that they use to cook their favourite meals. I love tasting different cuisines but most of all I enjoy learning to cook the dishes to bring the spices and flavours back home to my kitchen! This was the inspiration to write this blog.

Advocacy Defined

Add those spices! Advocacy is speaking on behalf of and considering the rights of others.

In my career, I knew that I would have to speak up about racism. It’s tough to experience it but even harder to watch a student go through it. Racism has led to broken communication for generations. Claim your space, be yourself and teach, inspire, and lead.

Racism has led to broken communication for generations. Claim your space, be yourself and teach, inspire, and lead. Click To Tweet

Consideration

Be mindful of what spices your audience can or can’t handle and find that perfect flavour combination!

• Be honest.
• Claim your space.
• Ask questions.
• Learn.
• Be open-minded.
• Be empathic.
• See conflict as an open door to have a conversation.

Advocate

Once you make your dish, believe in it!

It will be awkward and sometimes even out of your comfort zone, but advocate for student voices, teacher voices, and the right thing!

• Challenge the system.
• Find new solutions.
• Think out of the box.
• Be creative.
• Shine being yourself.

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Next Steps

Go on a spice adventure and taste the new flavours of the world!

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.”

– Gandhi

We can become equity-minded educators in our practices each day and we can open doors towards more inclusive practices.

Yours in Education,

Nilmini

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About Nilmini Ratwatte-Henstridge

Nilmini Ratwatte-Henstridge teaches in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. She was born in Sri Lanka and immigrated to Canada with her family. As an elementary school teacher who is passionate about equity, social justice, and human rights in education, she enjoys teaching the younger generation to be global-minded citizens.

Discovering the world by connecting with others is an opportunity that we have today in our society today and she loves meeting new people! She is always learning while traveling to understand the inter-connectedness of this beautiful earth we live in! Nilmini LOVES cooking great meals, watching movies, and the latest fashion trends! Family and friends are close to her heart as she looks forward to balancing social media and navigating professional learning communities in education to network globally this year!