testimonials
Professional Development Session Attendee
Thank you for your session. It made me consider and reconsider how people should be proud of who they are (i.e. their characteristics, qualities, beliefs, customs, and etc.)
Anonymous
Your session motivated me to be more aware of the rich cultural heritage of Indigenous People. Canada is ON 630 nations! Not a monolith!
Friend
Thank you for your session. I learned that I should prioritize teaching/learning FOR, WITH, and FROM First Nations, Metis and Inuit people versus simply ABOUT them.
YRDSB Educator
The visuals are amazing in explaining the story. LOVE the statement about microaggressions - there is no such thing is micro! Also LOVE the anthill analogy - I can totally see this being used to explain to students at various levels, and this makes the concepts more easily understood.
TDSB Highschool Student
I am very surprised that prior to reading this, I felt that I hadn't experienced much Anti-East Asian racism, but reading further into the presentation highlighted some covert ways that I personally experienced, where expectations were placed on me that I didn't even consider and comments were made that I thought were normal. What really had upset me were the attacks on Asians more recently ever since COVID occurred. I've lived in communities with a large Asian population, so I've never experienced any physical attacks, but seeing the prompts on the presentation (eg. Go back to China or Your people caused COVID), had made me think about the students that are hearing things that I heard as well and how they must be feeling considering that they might not have the voice to speak out against others.
Equity Explorer
I loved the analogy of the ant. I thought it was brilliant.
Educator
I will use this resource at my school and work together with the History and Geography department especially because East Asian Communities and History need to be taught about. Prejudices and biases toward East Asians can only be recognized and removed when people "notice" the visibility of this community. I will especially teach with the ANT HILL analogy.
#Parent
I would share the resource as many pages were informative. The information is not widely known even in the Asian community.
Community Collaborator
There are many points for rich conversation, further learning, student research/inquiry, questioning one's own bias, racism. The invitation to understand &/or expand understanding of relationships is beautiful.
Highschool Student
I think organizations that want to stop East-Asian racism would really appreciate this resource and might want to use it. I think that teachers might also find it a good resource to use to teach their students about East-Asian racism.
YRDSB Administrator
I know this is a lot to ask, but it would be so amazing if this could be developed into an animated story (similar to Gord Downie's Secret Path). A narrated animated story with the images here would be something that would be amazing to share with classes, students, families, communities... all Canadians really. Just a thought. The artistic nature of this presentation and the depth of the story being told definitely lends itself to something living as opposed to a more static slide deck. It would also be more accessible for things like class presentations and staff meetings.
V. L.
My enviorment doesn't give me the chance to share information like this. Hopefully my teachers can take a look at this. It's interesting and hopefully more people can take a look at it and learn some things.
Thank You!
This resource has covered many aspects of racism and East Asian racism that I believe everyone should learn about. I would share this with my class, family and friends. I would share how the book also talked about how people can say racist things even though they might sound positive, for example, "you must be so good at math".
N. Dawson
I would share this with my family, especially the comparison between the anthill and racism.
Highschool Student
I like the non-binary point, it's dimensional/multi-faceted in us. It did not make me feel defensive. It made me feel engaged. I like the ant-hill metaphor. Prejudice & stereotypes often function unconsciously.
Anonymous
In a recent PD session I attended, I liked how you gave everyone the opportunity to speak if they wanted to AND just listen if that was their preference.
The Period Purse
I enjoyed the organic, conversational style of the session you both led. A Story of And is a really rich and beautiful resource. Metaphors were clear and effective.
Attendee from The Period Purse PD Session
Your session helped me understand all the layers that shape people's identities and experiences in a way that will ultimately lead to a more compassionate approach to my work. The discussion on intersectionality was particularly impactful.
Anonymous
I appreciate the expansive ideas around racism and bias, as well as the application of these complex situations, into day to day experiences.
Anonymous
Thank you for growing my understanding of intersectionality!
The Period Purse - PD Session Attendee
I appreciated the organic conversation style of your sessions, the backstories, analogies as told through story, and the opening intros using tea.
The Period Purse - PD Session Attendee
I loved how engaging the sessions were and the usage of the handheld posters to encourage discussion. Intersectionality is a tough topic AND you used excellent prompts to facilitate the conversations!