January 19th, 2007
to February 1st, 2007
Punjabi Patrika`
Youth Views on Diversity
by Ken Herar
In my quest to find my last and
remaining group to discuss diversity I
decided to open this space for our youth.
They might be young but many have the
ability to think beyond there chronicle
age. Harry Sayers Elementary in
Abbotsford is a model school when it
comes to diversity. A student population
of just under five hundred students Harry
Sayers is the largest elementary school
in the district. Students and staff come
from all backgrounds making Harry
Sayers a unique place to teach and learn.
Some say Harry Sayers Elementary is
too ethnically diverse. School officials
and students have proven many wrong.
With programs like Conspiracy and
Together For Tomorrow which provide
students with leadership ability to make
better choices Harry Sayers students are
becoming leaders on diversity. Winner
of the local Cultural Diversity Award in
2005 for Inclusive Environment many
schools are looking toward Harry Sayers
Elementary for leadership. One of the
school officials who is leading this
initiative is Sayers Principal Susan Antek.
She has undertaken this difficult task and
shown that diversity has no boundaries.
Antek and her staff have developed a
positive environment at Harry Sayers
Elementary creating a common
understanding where students appreciate
and learn about various cultures. Often
what we learn at a young age shapes us
for tomorrow.
Antak said, "At Harry Sayers
Elementary, all students have the
opportunity to develop their full potential
as individuals and as members of our
school community. Students are
encouraged and expected to achieve
their personal best in school and to
become socially responsible individuals.
We work to inspire students to become
lifelong learners. Our school motto is
"Reach for the Stars". The guiding stars
for lifelong learning that are stressed at
Harry Sayers Elementary are: Respect,
Effort, Attitude, Cooperation and
Honesty. When I imagine one of my
students as an adult, I see a person who
is a thinker and a doer. I see an individual
who speaks up for what he or she wants
or believes, with creativity, passion,
courage and perseverance. I see a
person who cares about others and the
world. When students leave our school,
we want them to have the basic life skills
that will help them get along in middle
school, in high school and in the adult
world. At Harry Sayers Elementary
students, staff and parents have created
an environment where diversity is truly
respected and celebrated." I proposed
the same question to four Grade 5 Harry
Sayers students. How can we create an
inclusive diverse Canada and become
better citizens? Here is what they said:
Kieran Dyck said, "I like living in a
diverse country because it would be
boring if everybody were the same. You
shouldn’t fight with someone because
you don’t understand their culture or their
religion. I have fun experiencing and
learning about different cultures.
Respecting all cultures and religions
with something, it’s important that you
help out. We need to be caring and not
racist in our thinking. Don’t think that
you’re better than other people.
Everyone deserves respect. Living in
Canada is great because we try to help
one another. We also need to respect
our environment. If everyone helps out,
our world will be fresh and clean for
people today, and in the future."
Jasmin Gill said, "Do you want to
make the world a better place? I sure
do. Some of the ways we can try to make
a difference are to encourage kindness
and affection and discourage violence
and greed. We can solve problems by
thinking about others and how they feel
other than your own is very important.
We respect one another at our school."
Sandeep Kang said, "If you want your
culture to be respected, then you should
respect other peoples’ cultures too. You
should always treat other people the way
you would like to be treated. We talk
about this at our school assemblies and
in our classes. For example, if a smaller
person wants to join a sports team and
the rest of the children are taller, it doesn’t
mean that the smaller person can’t join
because he or she is small. Everybody
should get a chance to try. To make our
community a wonderful place to live, we
should also keep the environment clean.
To do that, we should recycle. Working
together, we can make a difference."
Nhan Nguyen said, "We need to walk
in other peoples’ shoes and feel what
they feel. If you say something hurtful
to someone, you need to think about how
they are feeling. If someone needs help
and by talking to one another. We need
to respect both the similarities and
differences of other people. At Harry
Sayers Elementary, we follow the
Guiding Stars every day. (Respect,
Effort, Attitude, Cooperation and
Honesty) We work to remember to treat
others the way we want to be treated."
I have enjoyed these discussions on
diversity. I like to thank all respondents
for participating in these series. Many
voices are better than one. We have
heard from a variety of ages, sexes and
cultural groups. The answer is
unanimous. We can all become better
Canadians.
KenHerar@gmail.com
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