Kelsy on Open-Mindedness in Education

Meet Kelsy

Kelsy, a schoolteacher and digital storyteller, shares his thoughts on open-mindedness in education. 

“I'm curious about the world around me. I don't like using the term woke, because I think it has evolved to have a negative connotation, some people now mock it or see it as a pejorative, so I like to use the word awake.  I'm awake. I'm awake to what's around me. Part of this awareness is about understanding my position and where I am in society, and realizing that not everyone is born into life equally. Society has been structured in a way, or has developed so that not everyone is born with the same opportunities. 

I grew up in a trailer park in New Brunswick. We weren’t well off, but I knew that there were people who had it worse off than me. I was aware of that at a young age. The place I grew up in New Brunswick didn't have a lot of People of Colour, or at least I didn't hang out in the circles that would enable me to meet these people, so I didn't really have friends that didn’t look like me until I moved to Calgary when I was 21. After moving to a much bigger city,  and experiencing multiculturalism, it really opened my eyes to many things, it was incredible. I know what life is like for a middle-class white male, so I wanted to learn about other ways of life from different people. I wanted to gain a better understanding of other people's cultures, and I wanted to understand people's religions and experiences in life. 

As a teacher, it’s my responsibility to help and guide students along their educational journey, encouraging them to be open-minded but to also think critically of the world around them. I'm very fortunate to teach students from all different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds, and students with different genders and sexualities. When you work with diverse groups of people it is important to ask questions instead of making assumptions. We have to try to understand and learn from each other, that’s where empathy comes from. I understand my place of privilege in society as a middle-class white male, and I understand that there are some things that I will never experience so I approach every situation with an open mind, kindness, empathy and we go from there.”

Note, interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.