Rita Dertkina
YES, TOGETHER WE’RE BETTER ! Racism, what does it mean to you? Take it literally, it means animosity toward other races, take it religiously, it means a belief in religious superiority, or take it personally, in which case it may mean a million different things. The Together We’re Better conference which was attended by 6 students from Charles Howitt Public School, featured speakers, workshops and other things that all had one goal-to broaden the views that the Grade 7 and 8 students of the York Region had. All attended this event with a sight to learn more about what goes on around them. Perhaps they wished to break down a wall of oblivion which had formed around them, concealing them from anything about racism in the world. Or maybe, they simply wished to broaden their minds and enhance their knowledge with some insight in how they could affect change as students. We started the day with the first speaker of three. She was a storyteller, and enthralled the room with her unique techniques and fascinating tales. Her story told us of a traveler in search of a land of harmony. He comes across such a land, but in return for his stay there, the king of this village tells the traveler that he must first hear 3 different stories. Confused, traveler wanders out into the city, captivated by its beauty and at the same time devastated that if he did not hear these stories, he would not be able to subsist there for the rest of his life there. Ultimately, traveler hears these stories, from unexpected and random people throughout the village. Each of these tales teaches traveler another lesson, about his inner strength, will power and humility. In itself, this story is a metaphor. The traveler representing everyone in the world, for we are all travelers seeking this land of harmony and this wonderful land represents a place that we can all create around ourselves if we posses within us the morals these three stories taught us. After this, we all split into pairs, or in some cases wandered by ourselves, to the various workshops throughout the school. Now, it would be unfair for me to state here what we learned during this time because I would only say what I have learned, so I will just generalize the whole thing. These workshops all basically focused on a few things; conflict resolution, mutual respect and a goal to improve the community we live in. I think that although these workshops allowed us to interact with other students from all around the York Region, the speakers had a greater affect on the majority of the people there. This I could tell simply by the way people reacted to the speakers, and the way their eyes focused when they were listening. The last two speakers we had were also very good-very different in their way of storytelling, but both very good! It would take me another page to tell you all about their interesting stories, heartwarming thoughts and intriguing opinions, so I will just end it with this. What I experienced at the TWB conference inspired me to be a better person, perhaps not dramatically, but it left something in my mind that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. And so, I feel that it is my job now, along with my 5 peers, to bring this knowledge to the school. It would be selfish of me not to share it with everyone, and so I will. I will combine what I have learned, and the things that have touched me with those of my fellow students, and present it in a way so that the rest of the school could be touched by it, just as I was.
Howitt Gerald
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