I confess I feel a little conflicted celebrating the sesquicentennial of Canada! I’ve been reading a graphic novel about Louis Riel, and I think all Canadians can put away any smugness we might feel about being ‘kinder’ to the native Americans. We weren’t. And a hundred and fifty years later, we have a handsome charismatic […]

Met a very interesting librarian this week. He spoke of how the librarians who are the most gung ho about bringing diversity and inclusion to their schools are often the ones who were ‘outsiders’ when they were growing up. I’ve been thinking a lot about ‘outsiders’ these days. From S. E. Hinton’s iconic novel to […]

I think the most charming situation I’ve ever encountered has to do with people trying to outdo each other in politeness! I mean talk about rivalry! That’s something to strive for! I went to a school recently, they were having a multicultural festival and I guess I was part of it. At the beginning, when […]

Just got back from three days presenting in Kingston, Ontario, and I’m feeling a good kind of tired. It’s the kind of tired when you know you’ve given it your all, and you have high hopes that you changed a few minds and did some good. I visited six schools, in three days, did eight […]

I recently had an experience that really gave me quite a jolt. With it being Black History month I came across an image of a woman who was lynched (hanged) and what had happened to her. This was less than a hundred years ago, and it got me thinking about my own growing up in […]

I recently received an email from a person in Australia asking about a specific unpleasant incident she’d had with a Muslim couple. What was the protocol? Ever since I wrote an article on my website about Muslim Etiquette and Shaking Hands I often receive queries about people using the article in dealing with Muslim newcomers, […]

Last night I was shocked to hear about the attack at the masjid in Quebec city. Apparently two gunmen went into a masjid during Isha prayers (around 8 pm) and opened fire using automatic weapons. So far six people have died. Others are still in critical condition. And this happened after a weekend of protests […]

That terrorist attacks have become less shocking recently? When I heard about the Berlin Christmas market attack on Monday, the first thing I thought was ‘Oh no!’, the second think I thought was ironically, it had been a while. Like it was almost expected one would come. And the third thing I wondered was how […]

for perspective! I think I mentioned how I feel like I’m going through a real learning phase! Visited a school recently where I spoke to grade sixes about growing up in Dundas and afterward a lady came up to me. She asked which school I went to and I told her Dundana and she she […]