A Conversation with Irshad Manji

Irshad Manji at our Parent Information Evening on October 6, 2015.
Irshad Manji at our Parent Information Evening on October 6, 2015.

Irshad Manji grew up right here in the Lower Mainland, graduated from the University of British Columbia, and has gone on to launch the Moral Courage Project at both New York University and the University of Southern California.

In 2013, she also founded Moral Courage TV, an award-winning YouTube channel that features people around the world who are standing up when others want them to sit down. The channel has led to a new TV series that Irshad is currently filming with the Los Angeles-based production company, Entertainment One.

Impassioned to equip a new generation to stand for ethical change, whether Irshad is teaching at universities, innovation labs, or high schools, moral courage is her core message. Irshad defines moral courage as doing the right thing in the face of one’s fears; something that she believes is critical to fostering the ability to express oneself as well as building the capacity to hear other people’s perspectives. Attributes that she also believes are essential to diversity of thought, the wellspring of innovation.

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Irshad speaks to the Grade 1s and 2s

In her work with the Moral Courage Project, she prepares people to face fears that often include rejection from family, job loss, and disapproval by people in authority. However, Irshad teaches that the reward for taking these risks is two-fold: personal integrity and social impact.

Over the course of three days, from October 5th to 7th, Irshad met with YHS students in both the Junior and Senior School, and parents and faculty, to engage in conversations about moral courage. On the path to exploring moral courage at York House, she challenged each of us to think about how we can choose to do the right thing in the face of our fears; how we define who we are; how we determine what we value; and how we find the courage to stand up and make positive change in the community as well as the world around us. Irshad’s visit to York House was about giving the girls the opportunity to explore moral courage as the heart of personal growth, self-awareness, and finding one’s voice.

L-R: Social Studies Teacher, Sonia Baldiserra; Community Service Captain, Aria; Irshad Manji; Head Girl, Helen; and Head of School, Chantal Gionet.
L-R: Social Studies Teacher, Sonia Baldiserra; Community Service Captain, Aria; Irshad Manji; Head Girl, Helen; and Head of School, Chantal Gionet.

Coming to York House was a homecoming of sorts for Irshad. Born in Uganda, Irshad’s family moved to Canada as refugees when she was young and she attended public high school in Richmond. She spoke of how, as a young girl, she would often ride the bus along Granville Street into Vancouver, past York House School, and dream that she could one day attend YHS. Well, she finally got to York House, and we were delighted to have her.

To a packed house in the Senior School on assembly day, Irshad shared her story of growing up in Richmond and attending “madrasa” (an Arabic word that, in the west, usually refers to a school or college for the study of the Islamic religion) on Saturdays. It was through her religion that she began to ask questions that would test her faith such as, “Why can’t girls lead prayer?” It was then that she began to explore the essence of moral courage and how to reconcile the tension between what you believe in and one’s upbringing.

Irshad Manji speaks at the Sr. School Assembly, October 5, 2015.
Irshad Manji speaks at the Sr. School Assembly

She was worried about the impact on her family and whether her family would be judged by her actions, but still she stopped going to madrasa on Saturdays. Instead, she dedicated time to studying culture and religion and discovering that Islam, in fact, has a rich tradition of questioning. This discovery allowed her to reconcile herself with her religion once again, though she still had more questions.

Irshad continued to excel in high school and was involved in the debate club, theatre and was her class valedictorian. She later attended UBC where she graduated with high honours. Shortly after she graduated, she landed her dream job, working on a show about spirituality. Two days after starting her dream job, she quit, compelled to begin work on the writing her first book, “The Trouble with Islam Today, that asks her fellow Muslims, “What have we done to ourselves?”

Irshad with our Grade 4s and 5s.
Irshad with our Grade 4s and 5s

However, while Irshad’s own personal exploration of moral courage and doing the right thing in the face of her fears stemmed from her religious dilemma, she emphasized that moral courage is not just about religion. It is about having the strength to ask the questions that you need to ask on your own journey and knowing that if you want to have an impact, you need to be authentic and you need to have grit and resiliency. It is for you to decide what impact means to you, large or small, and figure out what you believe in so passionately that you are willing to take some criticism for it.

She asked the girls to think of what their values are and whether they have tested them. How would they reconcile that disconnect between what they believe in and what others believe?

Irshad speaks to student at the Senior School Forum on October 7, 2015.
Irshad speaks to a student at the Senior School Forum

A dynamic and engaging speaker, as Irshad spoke to different grades of Yorkies, it was obvious to see that she was making connections across the school. With the Grade 3 students, she spoke to the girls about the importance of kindness and gratitude and asked them to think about how they would treat a young girl with a disability. The Grade 4 and 5 girls were asked to think about how they would approach a teacher if they had a difficult question or did not agree with how they were being treated by their teacher.

The Grade 6 and 7 assembly was quite poignant as Irshad opened up about how she had been a bully to someone when she was in Grade 7, and she asked the girls to share how they would respond to her if they could speak to her now. One girl was brave enough to share that she would leave a note, sign the note and offer to help young Irshad. For the senior girls, she shifted the discussion to the prevalence of perfectionism among young women.

Two students in the Junior School presented Irshad with gifts the day after she spoke with them. One student drew a beautiful picture that she called the “Chain of Love and Kindness”.

“I am going to treasure this piece, frame it and put it on my wall,” said Irshad.

With Grade 1s and 2s, October 7, 2015.
Irshad with Grade 1s and 2s

Another student, a young author herself, made a bookmark for Irshad that read “Keep Calm and Make More Books”. This is just the kind of encouragement that Irshad needs as she embarks on the writing of her third book in the coming months (a book that will guide readers to become “gutsy global citizens”).

In the Senior School, in addition to speaking to the girls at assembly, Irshad was also available to the girls for casual conversations between classes and joined the Student Executive for lunch.

Commenting on her time with Irshad, Head Girl, Helen, said, “She reaffirmed for us that all girls have voices and the right to respectfully challenge and ask the important questions. Something that is very important for us to know as we go on to university.”

Echoing Helen’s sentiment, Community Service Captain, Aria shared, “She really helped us to develop the tools to express your moral courage. She was also very open to us asking her the tough questions and told us that, ‘Questions are the soul’s way of saying that you are ready to grow’.”

For the past few years Social Studies Teacher, Sonia Baldiserra has been showing her Ethics 9 students Irshad’s Moral Courage YouTube channel where they can see many real life examples of everyday people making a difference in their own lives and the lives of others.

Irshad speaks to senior students during reccess, October 5, 2015.
Irshad speaks to senior students during recess

Sonia commented, “To have Irshad in the classroom was truly exhilarating as she challenged the girls to not only think upon, but act on their beliefs. In a particularly powerful role modelling exercise, Irshad transported us back to her own experience as a Grade 9 student who witnessed a wrong in her classroom. It created an intense but meaningful learning opportunity as I watched the girls find the strength to voice their opinions and stand up for what they believe in. Within minutes, the girls were jumping in to support each other and they stood up to Irshad (as the instigator in this role play). It was wonderful to watch their moral courage unfold; an experience the girls will surely remember.”

Ethics 9 Moral Courage Assignment
Ethics 9 Moral Courage Assignment

Following Irshad’s visit, Sonia’s Grade 9 Ethics students were asked to write about a current or historical individual, famous or not, who has displayed moral courage and why. She was pleasantly surprised by what they came up with. It was obvious that Irshad made an impact and they really thought about what they heard.

Irshad Manji had lunch with our Student Executive, October 5, 2015.
Conversations continued with our Student Executive, over the lunch hour.

Further commenting on her time at York House, Irshad said, “I have been heartened by the wisdom of many of the students. Where have they picked up on these ideas, these approaches, these ways of dealing with conflict and tension? One hopes that if and when they face a situation involving such conflict, that they will actually remember to follow their own wisdom. I have been simply delighted by what I have heard from the students.”

Irshad added, “The fact that there are students who so appreciate what you have done and also know how much you appreciate their contribution is very fulfilling. It is so rewarding as an educator to know that you have done exactly what you set out to do, which is both to teach and to learn.”

A Conversation with Irshad Manji: Head of School, Chantal Gionet and Director of Senior School, Kimberley Harvey, pose questions to Irshad during our Parent Evening.
A Conversation with Irshad Manji: Head of School, Chantal Gionet and Director of Senior School, Kimberley Harvey, pose questions to Irshad during our Parent Evening.

Her conversation with parents was equally dynamic. Many voiced support for Irshad’s message as she emphasized the importance of these types of discussion in the early years of education. “I believe that when preparatory schools like York House create spaces to allow diversity of thought to flourish, from that diversity comes innovation. And by innovation, I don’t just mean technological innovation, but how we innovate ourselves as citizens of this world. If we can create spaces where that can flourish then many of these students that go onto university will have the opportunity to flex their moral courage muscle in the years prior to stepping onto a university campus.”

For Irshad, the most important takeaway for the entire York House community is recognizing that having a voice does not mean using it to argue your point but also to invite disagreement, challenge and doubt because you will learn something about yourself in the process.

With Community Service Captain, Aria and Head Girl, Helen, at the Sr. School Forum, October 7, 2015.
With Community Service Captain, Aria, and Head Girl, Helen, at the Sr. School Forum.

It’s also about being clear with yourself on why something matters to you and knowing that you could be judged for your beliefs and actions. Choosing your battles, picking your moments and understanding the risks is a self-awareness journey that all of us are on and will continue until our dying breath.

We will continue to work with Irshad throughout the year, as we explore ways to empower our students to be more self-confident and to find their own voice. We look forward to sharing our progress with you.

Ethics 9 Moral Courage Assignment:

MoralCourageProject_SBaldiserra_10Nov2015-4 Ethics 9 Moral Courage Assignment MoralCourageProject_SBaldiserra_10Nov2015-3

High Tech High Comes to York House

High Tech High
High Tech High

This year, York House School embarked on a learning exchange of a different kind. In April, several teachers and administrators from York House School had an opportunity to visit acclaimed San Diego charter school High Tech High (HTH). Their visit was soon followed by the arrival of two enthusiastic HTH students, Sharon and Emily, who would be hosted by York House for a month-long internship.

The idea of HTH was initiated in 1996, by a group of approximately 40 civic and technology industry leaders in San Diego, California, who came together to address the continuous challenges they were facing in the US to find young graduates who were qualified to work in the technology sector. These leaders also shared a growing concern about the “digital divide” that resulted in low numbers of women and ethnic minority groups entering STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) related fields.

Their intent was clear: to create a school where students would be passionate about learning and would acquire the basic skills of work and citizenship needed to succeed in the 21st Century. With this in mind, they set the following goals for their school:

  • Serve a student body that mirrors the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the local community;
  • Integrate technical and academic education to prepare students for post-secondary education in both high-tech and liberal arts fields;
  • Increase the number of educationally disadvantaged students in math and engineering who succeed in high school and post-secondary education;
  • Graduate students who will be thoughtful, engaged citizens.

In 1999, the founding group submitted their Charter application and in September of 2000 the Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High opened its doors to 200 students in Grades 9 and 10. High Tech High now consists of 13 schools (five high schools, four middle schools and four elementary schools) in three locations in the San Diego area with approximately 5,000 students and 600 employees who are selected from a blind, zip code based lottery. 60% of the students are ethnic minorities and 42% qualify for a free reduced lunch. To date, 98% of graduates have gone on to college and 75% to  four-year postsecondary institutions.

The school has garnered a great deal of attention in its relatively brief history and, on average, has 2000 visitors per year and just last year, was showcased by Tony Wagner, author of The Global Achievement Gap and Creating Innovators, in the Sundance award-winning documentary “Most Likely to Succeed.”

Ensuring the success of High Tech High has required an innovative approach to both teaching and learning as new schools are introduced. New schools are “seeded” with a principal, teachers and even students who have already lived and worked in a High Tech High school. Through experienced leadership, they are able to ensure that their principles of reflective practice and peer learning are upheld in the interest of creating a shared sense of purpose.

It is their commitment to student centred learning, project-based learning and the spirit of innovation that captured the attention of York House School’s Head of School, Chantal Gionet. “I wanted to give our faculty the opportunity to experience new approaches to cross-disciplinary project-based learning and to look at alternative ways to foster creativity and collaboration among our students. Several faculty had the opportunity to visit High Tech High in the spring and, based on their experience, we decided to invite Sharon and Emily to visit us for a one month internship. It was a win-win for everyone, as we were able to carry our learning beyond the doors of High Tech High and share with the broader York House School community,” says Chantal.

As part of their enrollment at HTH, senior students are required to complete a one month internship in Grades 11 and 12. For Sharon and Emily, both in Grade 11, York House School presented the perfect opportunity for shared learning for their first internship experience. They could each focus on a project of their choice and be mentored along the way by YHS faculty. At the end of their internships, they each presented to the administration and faculty as well as to their mentors.

Emily, High Tech High Intern
Emily, High Tech High Intern

For Emily, deciding what she wanted to do for her internship was quite simple. At York House, she would be able to explore her desire to become a Junior School teacher. An eye-opening experience, this behind-the-scenes look at the world of a teacher left her appreciating the challenges of professional life and the level of exhaustion that parents must feel after a day’s work. She had the opportunity to spend time in both the Little School as well as with the Grade 2 and Grade 5 classes at the Junior School. In particular, Emily thoroughly enjoyed working with Erin Reindl’s Grade 5 class to create a mini-project where the girls were challenged to create an invention and explore the difference between invention versus innovation.

Commenting on her experience, Emily says, “I was so impressed by the inventions that the students came up with over two weeks. However, the one thing I would change, if I had to do it over again, is that I would give the students the opportunity to come up with their own ideas for the projects. That way, they would inject even more passion into their work.”

Grade 5 teacher Erin Reindl says, “It was truly a wonderful experience having Emily come to work in the Grade 5 class. She displayed a genuine passion for teaching and made strong connections with the students. It was an enriching and engaging opportunity for everyone.”

Sharon, High Tech High Intern
Sharon, High Tech High Intern

Sharon, an Ambassador at High Tech High, chose a different route for her internship and focused more on how she could interpret the pedagogy behind High Tech High, from a student’s perspective. As part of her project, she would work closely with her York House mentors as well as faculty, students and administration.

“At High Tech High we don’t have finals as such but presentations of work we have completed throughout the year. We are challenged to take what we have learned and present it to an audience in a way that is our own. We are taught that the understanding of content is significant but so is your ability to communicate, to work as a team, to adapt to new technologies and to solve multidimensional problems ,” says Sharon. “The focus is really on demonstrating our learning. Using math as an example: are you assessing my ability to recite a formula and plug in variables or are you testing my understanding of how this formula works and how it is derived?”

As part of her internship, Sharon attended department meetings to share feedback with faculty members regarding projects they are looking to implement. She also met with Grade 8 Social Studies and English teachers who are working on developing an interdisciplinary first term project.

York House Social Studies Teacher and one of Sharon’s mentors, Meredith Seymour, comments, “Working with Sharon gave me an opportunity to ask questions and gain first-hand insights about project-based learning, from one student’s perspective. Most notably, Sharon offered practical resources and implementation examples about the project-based process as it is conducted at High Tech High. After visiting High Tech High in April and seeing these projects in action, it was really valuable for me to have Sharon come here and engage in a dialogue imagining how certain elements of projects could be successfully incorporated into the work I am doing at York House.”

“Hosting students from High Tech High at YHS has provided opportunities to explore questions about projects that people are working on here. Through conversations with YHS staff and faculty, Sharon and Emily created helpful documents outlining tips for project-based learning initiatives and protocols. These will be made available to educators at the school and will provide a helpful resource and springboard for future conversations,” says York House English Teacher Kara McDonald.

Sharon and Emily also hosted lunches for YHS educators interested in learning more about project-based learning. They described the students’ perspectives on what is beneficial about this student driven model of learning and the challenges some students encounter. Emily described HTH as a school that prepares students for life and both Sharon and Emily agreed that if there is one thing that we could do more of at YHS, it would be peer critique. They shared tuning protocols with some of our faculty to give critical feedback on projects, and Sharon made documents for teachers outlining critiquing protocols they could use with their students.

Commenting on the similarities between HTH and York House School, Sharon says, “Both schools are quite passionate about projects, incorporating them into the curriculum and making learning applicable. I was so impressed with the Grade 7 civilization project that Mrs. Webb developed. She is so an intuitively project-based teacher.”

“This experience has been incredible. Emily and I both know how lucky we are to have been treated as young adults even though we are still high school students. Everybody has been amazing. It really was a fun community to be part of for a while,” reflects Sharon.

The girls left Vancouver, having not seen the rain (our unusually sunny weather only reminded them of San Diego) but grateful for the friendships that they made and the learning that they shared with the York House community. A special thank you to YHS Grade 10 student, Claire, and her family, who generously hosted Sharon and Emily for the duration of their visit. Claire is looking forward to visiting High Tech High next year.