By Charlene Aviles, Peak Associate
Name: Annie Ohana
Pronouns: she / her
Departmental Affiliation: Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government (graduated in 2004), a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology (graduated in 2004), a Bachelor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction (graduated in 2011), and a Masters of Education in Equity Studies (graduated in 2018)
Hometown: Montréal, Québec
Occupation: Anti-Oppression Curriculum Specialist and Aboriginal Department Head at LA Matheson Secondary School
Three years after graduating from secondary school, I reconnected with my former teacher and SFU alumna, Annie Ohana. Ohana is involved in various clubs and projects ranging from charity fundraisers, such as the annual fashion show and performance showcase “Digging the Roots,” to her own social justice club “Mustang Justice.” During our interview, I realized that similar to three years ago, Ohana still continues to inspire students to become resilient in the face of adversity, donate their time to their communities, and be proud to attend LA Matheson Secondary School. Similar to this Surrey secondary school’s mascot, the Mustang, Ohana still embodies the strength required to pursue justice.
Reform in the Education System
Ohana is also actively involved with helping secondary school students to network with the BC Teachers’ Federation. This summer, students from Mustang Justice and the LA Matheson Black Student Union joined the Committee for Action on Social Justice, a panel formed by the BC Teachers’ Federation to express their concerns regarding racism in our education system.
Ohana reflected on the dynamics of student-teacher relationships and what these student panelists taught her.
“For anyone with a job that has power attached (to assess, to manage a classroom etc.), there are always blindspots. Being knowledgeable as to our content, we can forget that it is new for students, and naturally not as easy to pick up,” she said.
Ohana explained that students’ life experiences have educational value, but a teacher’s unwillingness to connect with students “dangerously force students to disengage.” Students and teachers are interdependent, as they both learn from each other. Ohana admits that learning requires humility.
“At the end of the day, teachers need to see themselves as learners and allow students to teach us. A cycle of growth between teacher and student is much better than a top down approach.”
Inspired by the students’ involvement, Ohana acknowledges that this event is just the beginning of reform within our education system.
“I hope [students and teachers] understand that our system has yet to transform. We still have settler colonial, white [E]urocentric models that only tokenize not liberate.”
Ohana encourages other teachers to fight for reform and encourages them to “[t]ake the reigns and with student experience at the core, dismantle and rebuild education.”
Masked but Not Silent
Ohana actively incorporates social justice into all of her classes. In addition to teaching Social Studies and Social Justice 12, Ohana also teaches French and plans to use “masks with a message” for her French lessons.
During this pandemic, the use of face masks has increased and for some, masks have become a fashion statement. For Ohana, masks are a tool for activists to “spread awareness while stopping the spread of disease.”
When asked about her motivation behind collecting fabric face masks, she said, “Emergencies often lead to a silencing of voices. [I]mportant issues such as racial justice, 2SLGBTQ rights and so much more get pushed to the side. [A]s we need to wear masks, collecting non profit masks meant to aid the fight for civil and human rights seemed a natural way to bring is[s]ues forward. Our bodies our poli[ti]cial, the personal is political.”
Foreign language classes often focus on topics such as grammar and vocabulary. Ohana not only rises to the challenge of teaching language but also sees language lessons as an opportunity and platform to educate our students on languages’ role in colonization.
“Teaching about colonization and the spread of languages which often erased original mother tongues is key in any language classroom. [T]he socio-pol[itical] historical realities in our world need to be taught in the context of languages.
My own knowledge of French is based on the French colonization of Morocco, and so the story must always begin from nuanced contexts of how we came to speak the languages we speak. English colonization of these Unceded territories of Turtle Island is the original reason why I had to learn English as well.”
A Call to Action
Younger students may be interested in electives such as Social Justice 12 but have less flexibility than senior students in terms of how many and which electives they can take. However, Ohana argues that teaching anti-racism must remain a priority at all levels of the education system because it provides students with a solid foundation. She warns us of the danger of excluding anti-racist curriculum from other classes.
“Anti-racist practice and beliefs cannot be limited to one course. We need to teach from anti-racist perspectives and pedagogy throughout our school. From the codes of conduct we follow, the extra curriculars we offer, to each [and] every single course from Math to French and so on. [I]f you wait for one course, a lot of violence and prejudice will be allowed to exist.”
Ohana recommends that new secondary school teachers consult other teachers on how to teach anti-racist curriculum and learn from their students.
“I encourage teachers to explor[e] lived experiences and identities of [their] students, let their voices fill the room MORE than yours, do not fear opposition or difference, use it to create dialogue. Being anti-racist is a natural form of being. [F]rom how you set up your classroom, to what resources you use, encourage kids to critically analyze these realities and empower them to create the world they want to see through the application of the skills/content you are teaching.”
Most importantly, Ohana urges other teachers to “not be afraid to disrupt norms, what you are told to do or teach[ ] is not always best practice.”
