FAST in Action

Sabrina Kooistra
Times Junior Contributor

 

For many of us, the complex issue of human rights is not something we are entirely focussed upon or aware of.
For some, though, this is an ongoing battle that is faced daily, and has been one for hundreds, if not thousands of years.
We can see this repeatedly in many cultures’ histories; in times of breaching such as the Rwandan genocide, and in moments of great triumph, such as Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
For many members of our younger and future generations, these events are mere stories from our textbooks, and amidst our whirl-wind culture and often secular society, we may not realize that events similar in nature to those of our former years, are occurring at this moment, even in our own nation.
On Oct. 8, a group of Grade 11 students attending Strathmore High School (SHS) were presented the opportunity to express their views on human rights. The students were questioned on issues such as gender, homosexual, transgender, and racial equality, disabled people’s issues, and the struggles of immigration.
“If high school students such as ourselves, are able to take part in the discussion of these global – impacting issues, like immigration, then it may become apparent that authority figures and/or people directly affected by immigration can more freely address these issues as well, shining more light upon this matter,” said student Saryn Edwards.
Organized by Fighting Anti-Semitism Together (FAST), the purpose of the program, according to Lisa Raber, is to provide accessible resources on human rights issues for educators to integrate into their curriculums.
The idea was first introduced by a non-Jewish teacher who taught at a Jewish school. During a period of extreme animosity towards Jews, her students often came to school both depressed and unfocused. She knew that something needed to be done or this would continue to plague her students and their families.
As a result of this, a group of Jewish and non-Jewish men and women came together to establish a program that would combat Anti-Semitism, which eventually branched out to include the matters of other collectives.
Today, the trans-Canada, multi-racially led, nonprofit’s program, “Choose Your Voice” has reached 2.4 million students, and is reaching out to more.
One of the techniques that FAST has incorporated into its syllabus is the use of specific artifacts as well as modern-day issues and human rights violations, to create a relatable and lasting effect on the students who receive the education.
As the program has been incorporated into the school’s curriculum, it has given teachers an opportunity to largely influence their student’s thoughts and actions.
“The lessons we’ve been doing have a lot of case studies and these help students connect with the experiences of others,” said Social Studies teacher Christine Magill. “The events go from being an event in the past, and transform into the story of a real person with thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It helps create empathy and understanding that is often missed when we look at events from the past”
The program that students at SHS participated in is called “Voices Into Action,” focussed on encouraging discussion and thoughtfulness on related cases. It has made students aware of bystander power.
“I remember what it was like as a child to feel bullied,” said Raber. “I also remember what it was like as a teenager to be made to feel different and ostracized because I was Jewish. If only one person decides to use their voice, taking themselves out of the bystander role to stick up for me, my guess is many more would have also, and then perhaps those scars would have not run so deep.”
Human rights will continue to pose as a controversial and difficult topic, but if we never deal with this issue, it will never go away.
“In the words of Koffi Annan … knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress in every society and every family,” said Raber.
FAST has made student empowerment our future.