[00:00:00] Elton Brown: Welcome to SpeakUP! International with Rita Burke and Elton Brown!
[00:00:16] Rita Burke: Today, we will be talking with Mr. Ardavan Eizadirad.
We've interviewed people from a wide variety of career sectors and career fields. We've had leaders of union movements, we've had authors, we've had visual artists, we've had educators, we've had authors.
We have also spoken with individuals from across the globe. Today, on SpeakUP! International, we invite you to hear the story of an individual who is an educator at the post secondary level. He also is a qualified teacher with the Ontario Teachers Association. He... Is a man who is attempting to break down some systems that hold the people back in terms of equity diversity and those kinds of things.
So, today, I welcome to SpeakUP! International. Mr. Ardavan Eizadirad!
[00:01:21] Ardavan Eizadirad: Thank you for having me!
[00:01:23] Elton Brown: I'm ecstatic because, I can imagine your schedule being quite tight. You use a quote that was mentioned by Muhammad Ali. So can you tell us what that quote is and how it relates to you and your organization?
[00:01:40] Ardavan Eizadirad: Yeah, thank you. Um, I mean, the quote by Muhammad Ali, who, for me, is the greatest athlete of all time, is called, The service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth. And I think what really stands out to me about that is, you know, Muhammad Ali was willing to give it all, in terms of his belt being taken away, to really stand up for, um, his values of not, um, enrolling in the Vietnam War.
Um, at the time, uh, where they were called upon to go to war. And so I think it speaks in the air and the arena of equity work of it's often an upstream battle of going against systems or not stating a popular opinion. Um, and so. It speaks to the risks we have to take the intentionality and the strategic, um, aspect of this work.
Um, and how do we combine the 2 to try to create systemic reform or mitigate or dismantle those barriers, particularly for identities and, um. Equity deserving groups, such as indigenous folks, blacks, two spirit, LGBTQ plus identities, racialized immigrants, refugees, many more. They all have many unique challenges and systemic barriers and equities they face on the reality, and they're often perpetuated through systems.
So I'm really interested in taking a conversation from individual acts of meanness or discrimination to really. systemic apathy, systemic neglect, uh, and systemic, uh, discrimination. Um, so I'll leave it at that.
[00:03:15] Rita Burke: You talk about intentionality and that is so important, but does that mean that one has to 24 7 be always focused on equity, diversity, inclusion?
[00:03:32] Ardavan Eizadirad: That's a really great question. I mean, I think, um, A different way of looking at it is how can you be your authentic self? Um, at all times. That doesn't mean you have your advocacy hat on 24 7 because doing equity work is spiritually mentally and physically exhausting. So, matter of fact, you actually do need to take breaks.
And when I say take breaks, that's when you go back into communities that you belong. That's where the conversations happen. That's where you ask for others and elders for guidance. Um, that's where you kind of nourish your soul to be able to do the work. Um, that might be, uh, taking a break for parenting.
Um, that might be spending time with a loved one or friends. I mean, self care is going to look different for everybody. But, um, it doesn't mean you are go, go, go 24 7. But I think. Sometimes you step back to strategize and to heal and you come back, try to align your actions with your values and when you can do that, I think you, you are serving your life for the purpose and you are more aligning your actions with what you want to see in terms of changes and I try to do that in my two rooms .
[00:04:45] Rita Burke: What you said about going back to community is so critical. It's so important. Indeed, that's where we get our nourishment. That's where we get our spiritual strength. So that we could come back and face the battle again. So thank you for responding to that question.
[00:05:03] Ardavan Eizadirad: No problem.
[00:05:04] Elton Brown: So how can we effectively engage and collaborate with multiple stakeholders to advance equity diversity and inclusion within our community oriented place based approach?
[00:05:18] Ardavan Eizadirad: I mean, I think it really comes down to relationship building and trust. Equity work at its core is building those relationships.
It's with with schools. With community organizations who provide, um, continue to care through services and evenings and weekends. So synergizing what happens during school hours with what happens on the evenings and weekends, it's building trust with the representatives from the institutions, whether that's the justice system, the health care system, the education system.
And it's also really how do you bring them together? Because often they work in silos. Maybe they don't communicate or they don't share the data. And that itself becomes a form of a systemic barrier when the onus now falls on the individual to navigate these systems instead of perhaps streamlining the process.
Providing culturally reflective services, providing it in locations and places that are accessible. So really, um, the stakeholder piece is very important. And one last thing I'll emphasize is how do we ensure we get folks in positions of leadership and power to come with the lived experience? It's not just about educational background or having a P. H. D.
But how do they directly involved in community and in terms of the issues they are impacted by to be able to have that authentic voice and understand the complexity and the nuances involved when we look at violence, when we look at school push outs, when we look at the health care barriers and so forth.
[00:06:55] Rita Burke: I so agree with you in terms of the systems, the organizations, the various whatever in, well, I was going to say in Canada, but generally how they work in silos. They don't know what each other do. And so it's really, really important for us to try to maybe connect some dots? Help them connect some dots. What does the chair of equity, diversity, inclusion, and indigenization do?
[00:07:27] Ardavan Eizadirad: Great, so I wear two hats, um, in community. One, I'm an assistant professor in the faculty of education at Wilfrid Law University. Um, and another hat, I'm the executive director of a non profit in the Jane and Finch community called Youth Association for Academics, Athletics, and Character Education. Really, through both roles, I try to do a lot of advocacy.
Uh, one way is through writing. Uh, all my writings is my form of advocacy, kind of challenging what is normalized within our systems. And how we can find solutions. And when I arrived at Wilfrid Law University in 2020, I wanted to create a space where, um, raw, authentic ideas that were student led can be discussed and cultivated and curated.
So we really start out small in numbers, uh, five to 10 folks, uh, many of them teacher candidates in our two year program who are studying, um, to become Ontario certified teachers and teach within the school boards. And, um, you know, we had to come up with the name. We co-constructed a mission statement. We had a, a graduate student, uh, busy, um, create the logo, uh, different logos, and then we finalized it.
And so our mission as it stands now, is to disrupt, question, advocate and create change through dialogue, collaborations, partnerships, events, and resources to advance the work of equity, diversity, inclusion, and indigenization as a collective coalition within the Faculty of Education and the larger community.
I mean, I co chair it now with a wonderful colleague, Dr. Jennifer Straub, who's Indigenous. As you know, the work of indigenization, I think, has to be led by Indigenous voices and Indigenous communities, but the work of decolonization can happen by all others. including allies, those who show solidarity, those who co conspirators.
And so, since then, we've grown quite a bit. A couple of things we have done is, you know, we've really advocated for pronoun use in classrooms, on Zoom, within course syllabi. We've been able to curated a resource list for educators, because many were like, we want to do equity work, we don't know where to begin.
So, with a group of students, we created a website that has different themes around equity and discrimination, French resources to help them get started. It has a brief summary as well as how it can be used with what grades we implement a section on EDI and I within our lesson plans is what the teachers use to prepare their lessons.
And as an events, We've done some, uh, film screenings looking at over incarceration of Indigenous women, a school to prison pipeline, these phenomenas and what barriers are contributing to perpetuating that. And with high school students, we're loo we're working very closely with the Waterloo School Boards.
Um, there's a lack of diversity in the teaching workforce in Ontario and on a larger scale in Canada. We brought together about 50 students from equity deserving groups for day of activities on campus. Um, and we try to inspire them to consider teaching as a career, and we're trying to grow the event from last year to now in two weeks on November 8th.
Uh, we're trying to do it again with about 100 students recognize events are not a solution, but it's one thing on a journey. So we want to continue to build relationship with the school boards to continue to support students and inspire them to enter teaching because we need teachers who look like them to talk like them, uh, who can relate to them. In order to inspire folks to kind of stay in teaching and not leave it.
[00:11:15] Rita Burke: Yes, representation matters, isn't it?
[00:11:18] Ardavan Eizadirad: Oh, 100%. It's so important.
[00:11:21] Rita Burke: No question about that.
[00:11:23] Elton Brown: We use an analogy silos how people are working within these silos so we have multiple systems where they're not talking to one another there's no bridges and it appears that the organizations that you work with, create this huge umbrella which covers a lot of, , people and hopes that these bridges are created and because of the fact of it, there's this lack of trust that makes it extremely difficult to exchange data to exchange information.
So what can your organizations do in order to minimize this lack of trust and foster, um, open communication?
[00:12:07] Ardavan Eizadirad: Yeah, that's a great question. Um, I think it starts with just showing up and being there when it matters. All right, like, um, I can say I'm supportive, but until I show up and I advocate or show solidarity.
That's when the trust starts getting built. So recognizing trust is not an overnight process and it takes time. I think that's a good starting point. Um, that can happen through interactions could be online. It could be in person. It could be going hosting an event, going to an event. But that's once again where the intentionality piece comes in.
People want to know, for example, as a researcher, or as a executive director of a nonprofit, how will I help them in terms of the community needs or their individual needs? And I think once we're able to have that authentic conversation and through actions, Yeah. Show that we're there for the right reasons.
Because remember, historically, even researchers have harmed communities through colonial knowledge production through unethical experiments done on black, indigenous communities and other groups. So we got to take that Um, into consideration of where, why there's a lack of trust, um, or why there's a lack of trust within many racialized communities with the police because of racial profiling and other pieces.
And so I think once you're able to build the relationship, um, it's important to leverage it, right? You want to talk to folks like elders, people in the community who come with the cultural capital and the currency to bring people together. Right, and I think we don't spend enough time strategizing and community work around those pieces.
We just say, well, it's not working. But when it comes, when the message is amplified by someone who has that respect and pull, um, now you're able to bring the right people together. And so a lot of it, um, in all my roles through my writing, through the community work we do, I think that's Um, you know, that that happens to many frontline staff who do amazing work, building that trust, supporting people in vulnerable circumstances is building that trust and then providing.
Things that are different, right? Like, let's not be afraid to challenge the norm because the system is designed to serve certain identities and communities. So we know, for example, in the social service ecosystem, there is a lack of culturally reflective services. When we think of black identities, indigenous identities, refugees, immigrants, yes, services exist, but are they accessible?
Are they affordable? Is it offered by someone who understands, um, that person's lived experiences and cultural tendencies and competencies? And so those little things matter, and it's the difference between someone willing to trust or try something and on a different side, in terms of the profession, the people who are in it, whether those people stay in that profession or end up leaving, right?
Many people leave teaching because they don't feel valued for who they are, or they feel like they need to conform, right? We have this saying of like, well, don't get tattoos anywhere visible, you know, cut your hair and be clean shaved and all of these things. Um, Pressurize people to conform being a certain way and showing up a certain way.
Um, and if they don't, you don't get access to opportunity, you're not going to get the job, or you're judged. So this is the battle of creating systemic change by making things that are normal abnormal. By questioning it. And having those important conversations to then say, well, is there a different way of doing it?
And, you know, who does it include and who does it exclude? And if it excludes people, how do we disrupt that process?
[00:15:50] Rita Burke: And this conversation isn't new. This conversation started way, way, way back. There's no question about that. Yes. Now, tell me, tell us, tell our listeners who, who join SpeakUP! International, Primarily to be educated, to be informed, to be inspired.
Have you ever experienced a situation where you felt excluded or situations where you felt excluded?
[00:16:20] Ardavan Eizadirad: Yeah, I mean, exclusion is a subjective of experience and I think at one point or others, all of us feel excluded. That could be, um, that could be direct or it could also be subtle. I think for me, um, what always sticks with me are the subtle things.
Um, you know, it could be like not getting enough attention or the microaggression comments that are made towards someone. Um, you know, I've gone to a lot of job interviews and, you know, um, and You know, I think I would say I feel I was qualified, um, um, but obviously I didn't, and I think I did well through the process, but obviously I didn't get the final call up.
And I think sometimes I wonder, was it me or was it, um, what they were looking for? And of course it's complex and there's a lot of factors, but I think when people always knock on the door of opportunity and they don't get it, that's where we have to start thinking about, well, where are the barriers in place?
You know, we know there's studies simply just because your name is not Eurocentric. You are disadvantaged, right? Um, where you live, it can disadvantage you. So, for me, um, it's not a direct feeling of exclusion, but it was a turning point in my life. Where equity really became an important way of thinking.
And I went to three schools in four years of high school in Toronto. Uh, I spent my grade nine year at a school, then 10, 11, and another school in grade 12, another school. And although all of them good schools, it was very interesting that it all came with the very different reputations and. what the school valued and the relationships were so different, um, when theoretically you're supposed to get the same quality education.
It really made me realize, um, the power of relationships because a school that didn't have such a good reputation academically, the relationships and the care was so strong, where in another school, Where the academic reputation was so strong, um, the relationships, uh, were not there and the onus was on the students so much to kind of, you know, uh, from a neoliberal lens, like pull up your bootstrap and you got to try and if you fail, it's, it's your fault.
And so it was really eye opening to experience that contrast, almost like within a year of transitioning from one school to the other. And I think that was a starting point of me becoming an advocate and having an equity analysis had on most of the times in my life leading up to my writing and pursuing my studies and my community work.
[00:18:52] Elton Brown: I found what you said to be true. I'm from the States, I'm Canadian, but I found schools in the States to be just that way, especially for marginalized communities. You can go to one school. Of course, it had a reputation, good or bad, but when you'd go, it was like starting all over again. You had to learn the culture, you had to learn how to fit in.
All of these things that you learned at your last school, you now had to go back through this situation all over again. Sometimes it was painful. And I just... wonder, are these struggles that marginalized groups go through, is there a way of minimizing them so that we don't have our children to go through it? It's, traumatizing!
[00:19:46] Ardavan Eizadirad: I mean, that's a million dollar question, but I think, um, there's different ways you can enter in, in, in finding a solution. I never believe in the myth of a single solution for systemic problems. So, um, you know, things like we need more diverse teachers in teaching if we're talking about schools, right? We need a curriculum that reflects the histories and realities of minoritized groups.
And not just the pain and the suffering, but also the empowering leaders and the great contributions they made to the country, right? We don't want to only teach about the traumatic aspects of history when it comes to equity deserving groups. Um, we need to collect data. Data is so important around around identity, right?
Because we need to know the baseline, which then allows us to set goals and be intentional, not to say it's going to be perfect, but at least we're able to be intentional on how we're navigating this growth. Um, and I think identity formation is so important in the early years around connecting youth with caring adults.
Um, I mean, in a two parent household, or if you can afford, um, you know. A tutor or, um, additional extracurricular programs. It's a little bit easier, but how do we connect someone in a really crappy or shitty situation? Pardon my language to a caring adult, because that can be the difference between suicide ideation between hitting rock bottom and gravitating towards violence.
And so. I really like the language of social work. I've really applied it to education when I talk to folks. Um, and it's really about community safety. It's this idea of risk factors and protective factors. Um, that life becomes a game of probabilities. Um. We have to map out the risk factors, so things like being a single parent household, living in a neighborhood impacted by violence, history of trauma, um, you know, your race and your age, and then saying, what protective factors can we put around this person to mitigate those risk factors?
Because if we don't, and those risk factors continue to be amplified, The result is often gravitating towards violence, poor decision making, um, possibly incarceration and having a record and being in conflict with the law. So the protective factor starts with connecting someone with a caring adult. And all the other pieces, right?
A curriculum that looks like them getting him a job. You know, the 2 main protective factors are stable housing and being able to have a career that pays well. And if we can put those things in place, particularly around folks who are previously incarcerated or coming back into community. We know we drastically increase the odds of them not reoffending or returning to committing crime and reducing recidivism rates.
[00:22:45] Rita Burke: You said so many important things and I don't know which one to hone in on. But I will say, how do incarcerated youth fit into your sphere, into your world?
[00:22:58] Ardavan Eizadirad: Yeah, so I think from a direct lived experiences growing up, I've lost quite a few friends to gun violence in the city as well as incarceration and some to deportation after having received the record.
And so, um, I think it always, um. You know, it's home, um, you know, at the ace, um, you know, the nonprofit indigent finch community called youth association for academics, athletics and character education. We have two specific programs that include supporting folks who are formerly or currently incarcerated. One is called towards peace.
It's in partnership with the city of Toronto. Um, and, um, another grassroots organization think twice implements it in the Rexdale community. And, um, it's, uh, basically a wraparound supports, um, around folks, um, who are in vulnerable circumstances and exposed to risk factors, um, including violence, including having a record.
And so, um, we hire folks with lived experiences to provide that care and the case management. That's very important because going back to our earlier conversation, imagine someone who has no idea of being incarcerated or impacted by violence, telling someone how they should live their life. Particularly when they're at their low point in their life.
That doesn't often going to go well, but when you're able to bring someone who comes with community connections, who comes, um, with the lived experiences, it increases the likelihood of that conversation, uh, being more fruitful and hopefully, uh, leading to setting some goals. So, in that program, um, the, you know, the, we call them VDWs, the folks with the lived experience, providing the guidance, violence, disruption workers, um, they've kind of, um.
Meet with the clients on a weekly basis and set goals around housing, employment, training, they need to better their lives. And it becomes a bit of ongoing support through once again, that lens of risk factors and protective factors. We do have another program at YACEs. It's federally funded by public safety.
It's called New Narrative. And folks can check out the website to learn more, you know,
www.yaaace.com to learn more about the YACE and some of these programs. That program has a bit of more of a prevention component because we know prevention is always better than intervention. But if we need to intervene timely. Culture reflective, um, support is important. So same concept, but that, uh, that, uh, new narrative program has other pillars from family support.
So it goes beyond the individual to looking at what are the relationships in the person's ecosystem that can be involved and we can channel support them in a positive way. There's employment, there's access to experiential opportunities. And once again, there's a case management in that program. We call them crew members, community resource engagement workers.
And once again, we keep coming back to community because it's really around relationships within that community ecosystem.
[00:26:06] Elton Brown: You have many organizations that you are affiliated with that really hone in on specifics. In the communities in which these organizations resides, how can we effectively measure the impact of these groups, the holistic support in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion within these organizations and institutions?
[00:26:32] Ardavan Eizadirad: I think there's two, two entry points on a, on a. On a broad level, it's really about the impact of the relationships, um, that might not always be tracked, but you can see the result in how someone shows up, how engaged they are, how confident they are, and who they are. And so those are the day to day realities that we observe, right, with the naked eye.
I really, I really call it experiencing inclusion through the senses of, like, how you feel, the sound, like in community, there's sound, there's interaction. Right. Um, there's people gathering to talk and eat food. So those are kind of more, um, the day to day observations. But I think we need to really be intentional and continue to advocate for data collection.
Um, data is so, so important because it allows us to see where is the baseline, where are the gaps, and then allows us to go back to the strategic board and say. But what kind of solutions do we need if here is a gap in the system and it's a barrier for some folks? What do we need to put there? Is it resources?
Is it training? And so I think it's a constant push and pull because sometimes you can get the data. Um, for example, um, You know, even though the anti racism act collects a lot of data in Ontario, the onus is on the individual to perhaps request them to freedom of information, which costs money, which is hard to navigate.
So how do we maintain accountability and transparency within our institutions by making the data open access where community folks can access it? And it's not just for researchers. So a lot of gatekeeping happens through different stages. And that is the form of a barrier, right? Like, voices are lost in the translation journey of going from point A to point B.
And so the question becomes, how do we try to mitigate or remove those barriers? And I think we need data because the data is so important. And lack of data tells a story, right? When you can't get data or there's not enough of it. Um, and so I think that's what we have to do to be strategic. And it's a way of holding institutions accountable for their systemic apathy and for the systemic discrimination that's embedded in a lot of their policies and practices that exist today.
[00:28:54] Rita Burke: Now, I went to the Faculty of Ed at U of T many, many moons ago. And the word or the term social justice curriculum did not exist. So tell our listeners, what does the content of the social justice curriculum look and sound like and walks and talks like, please.
[00:29:18] Ardavan Eizadirad: Oh, that's a great question. Now, if I think that's a very loaded question, but I will share my opinion.
And when I say that, I mean, if you ask that from even 20 different activists, they're going to give you 20 different answers. So take my answer with a grain of salt. I'll come from my own positionality. And my own lived experiences, um, but I think a social justice education is about challenging the barriers that we can identify that lead to inequitable outcomes for different groups, right?
So in my classes and in my community work, we spend a lot of time deconstructing terminology like equality versus equity and most people hopefully by now have a good foundation like treating everybody the same is not fair, like whoever says that like that's an oxymoron like if we treat everybody the same, then the people who have a head start in life.
Through race, socioeconomic status, gender, they're always going to stay ahead in the race of life, right? So what, or as a teacher, are you going to say you're going to divide your attention by 30 if you got 30 students in your class? No, you're going to spend a little bit more time with the kids who are struggling and the folks who get things quick.
You're going to give them some other tasks like leadership opportunities to still help them grow. So I think what I say and going back to this, we need an equitable lens of. Figuring out where are the barriers and the inequities and where does the gatekeeping happen and a social justice curriculum is being an activist scholar or an activist teacher and activist parent.
Like, I'm really in my work have honed in on this work, uh, this word of activism and it's not this, like, add on. Or part time thing is how do you bring activism to your day to day? That's how you show up. It's how you talk, how you choose to do your hair. Who do you decide to interact with? Where do you choose to put your energy in?
Right? Like, I'm not going to spend 3 hours arguing with someone who doesn't believe there's any systemic barriers in society. Like, cool, someone else can have that conversation and when they get to a bit of a longer in their journey, maybe I'm going to come in. And so we, it's also picking and choosing where do we put our energy to get the greater return on investment of doing this equity work.
And so I think a social justice curriculum calls in people. Um, who, um, are at the early stages of their growth journey of understanding what is equity? What is social injustice? Um, particularly people who don't have the lived experiences due to life circumstances or who they are and, um, and helping and in solidarity as a group saying, what do we want to challenge and how do we want to do it?
Um, that can come in many different ways. There's so many systemic barriers, like one person cannot take on all of them. So it's always good to start with one that you're passionate about or you're directly impacted because it gives you a purpose. Um, and it allows you, uh, and the last point I want to make is a lot of times we get into this Olympic of oppressions, right?
You know, my oppression is more important than your oppression. And when we get there, that's a dangerous place. And so it's important to say, how does my oppression impact your oppression? And how do we, by dismantling any form of injustice or inequity, it benefits everybody? Because, you know, analogy I use is, Any system is as good at its weakest link, whether you're directly in that group or not.
So when we are able to improve the system as a whole and raise the bar for any one group that's experiencing barriers, it has a positive domino effect on all the other groups. And so that's so important because a lot of times we see clashes between Movements within social justice movements. And so, um, that's also a colonial strategy of like, you know, divide and conquer, right?
Because, um, when folks go back in silos, you're not able to be as powerful in what you want to challenge or you're able to be shut down.
[00:33:28] Elton Brown: So what innovative leadership strategies or approaches does your organization employ to address issues of equality equity in the world of sports and what outcomes have been achieved through these leadership efforts?
[00:33:46] Ardavan Eizadirad: I mean, within the community work. Um, I'll answer kind of wearing my two different hats within community work. I think we're really huge around at YACE making programs accessible. Because we know there's many programs that have costs, but making sure they're very accessible, predominantly free programs. Like, we offer a seven week summer program where students get access to Ontario certified teachers through our partnership with the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
They get an hour of numeracy and literacy as well as sports training for seven weeks for a very minimal price compared to where you go to a camp and it's 300 dollars a week. The other piece is the culturally reflective piece we're really big on at YACE is hiring teachers and coaches. Come from community who are black, given the demographics and racialized, given the demographics of the community we serve in the gen and finch community.
So, really, those are two big aspects of what we do, um, around accessibility and culturally reflective, um, at the university level. I really try to challenge how we perceive leadership. A good example is, you know, you asked me around the equity, diversity, inclusion, and indigenization coalition, and the reason the name coalition is attached to it and not a committee, because a committee Operates in a very specific way within a higher education setting.
It was like terms of service. Um, what exactly are you going to do? Uh, how many meetings if you miss, you're kicked out. And so, um, I, uh, there was a bit of resistance around. Why is this not formulating into a committee? And, uh, you know, as a collective, we had to say, because it, that creates more barriers and it becomes more exclusionary for different people to participate in, because we also want to invite folks from outside of the university, such as teachers and parents and community organizations to be a part of it.
So, once again, it always goes back to asking this question of the way we're doing something, who does it include and who does it exclude? And if it excludes people, in what ways is it doing it? And how can we change that? So the process itself. Doesn't become a barrier.
[00:36:08] Rita Burke: I like that. That is very, very interesting.
I like that frame, work frame of reference. But I want to get to know, and I want our audience to get to know a little bit more about you. So tell us who or what is responsible for who you are today?
Yeah, thank you for that. I mean, I think a lot of people have poured into me and so I tried to illuminate that light back into the world. I immigrated in 1998 to Canada from Iran. Um, you know, my, my, my parents, um, chose to move here for accessing different opportunities and I think that, um, drastically impacted my trajectory.
Um, you know, I growing up, I did all kinds of jobs. Being a telemarketer on the phone, working at Canada's Wonderland, working at a printing factory, 12 hour shifts, and what I realized is I didn't like routine. I liked interaction. So once I started working at summer camps, I really knew I wanted to go into teaching, you know, I played competitive basketball.
I coached it. Um, and then I transitioned to officiating. Um, basketball was always a community where I met a lot of folks, um, including my mentor, uh, Devon Jones, who's now the, who's the founding director of the YACE and I get to work with him. Um, yeah. Uh, weekly and daily around the community work and the systemic change we want to do.
And, you know, my parents, you know, I come from a two parent household. Um, uh, and all my friends, you know, I say there's family by blood and there's family by loyalty. And I think I have many, many. Uh, friends who through loyalty and the things we've gone through from our friends, uh, being shot to incarcerated, you know, we, we, we, we heal together.
We overcome the challenges and so I think all of those things impact who I am and how I show up, and it becomes a way of how I do the community advocacy work and the writing that I do through publication for me. Writing is. Is my tool for advocacy and activism through the books I do, you know, I try to challenge the status quo.
For example, all the books I do, I typically ended with a poem as a way of challenging and valuing oral culture. And different forms of expression, you know, citational writing can be very colonial. And so we try to challenge that in many ways. And, um, just allowing me to be my authentic self, I think that's one thing I'm proud of, is even though I challenge things or I say things that are not popular, I could say I stay true to what I believe in and I show up as my authentic self and I try to help others on their growth journey get to that point, um, and when I say that is a good example is as men, you know, we're saying like, if you express your feelings or you cry, you're soft, that's what the, you know, The culture tells us, but when I see somebody actually express how they feel or express their emotions and they do it proudly, I'm impressed.
I say, wow, that's a form of strength. You know, they actually have gotten to the stage where they're comfortable with that. And even though it's against the trend and what the culture tells you. And so I think, um, I try to model vulnerability as a form of strength and a lot of my writing. I try to bring who I am and my experiences into it because doing equity work.
I think, you know, who you are and how you enter the space is so important. And so I try to do that and to set the stage because if folks also don't agree with me. When they can connect the dots and see how I think that way because of who I am and what I experienced, it's a starting point for a meaningful conversation.
So, um, you know, my wife also, um, Sierra, she's amazing. So I think the support networks, and I know we started talking about healing and going back into community. I think I try to surround myself with people, um, who reciprocate, um, the love and the respect I give them. And it becomes a fulfilling experience of allowing me to continue to do this work, and when needed, to go back to them for guidance and nourishment, um, to strategize and come back and continue with purpose.
[00:40:22] Elton Brown: Tell us about this podcast that you are involved with, with the Professor of Curriculum Studies.
[00:40:32] Ardavan Eizadirad: Uh, which podcast? I've been on a couple, so remind me, um.
[00:40:35] Elton Brown: Okay, so this is with, uh, Dr. Nicholas. Ng Fook
[00:40:41] Ardavan Eizadirad: Oh, yes. Dr. Nicholas Ng Fook is at the University of Ottawa, um, he runs an amazing podcast, uh, similar like yourselves, where they bring, um, scholars, activists, leaders, people with lived experiences, and, um, you know, I got to, uh, meet him at a conference, and we knew of each other, um, you know, last summer we met at a conference out on the East Coast, and, uh, he invited me to be on his podcast, and really we had very, It Uh, meaningful conversations.
It's, uh, once again, similar to the space you're creating. It's about curating those honest, authentic, brave conversations to get people thinking differently and about how they can contribute to systemic change and reform.
[00:41:24] Rita Burke: This has been, for me, a truly eye opening and enchanting, should I say, experience just sitting, listening to you. You talked earlier about going back to community. When we do these podcasts and we listen to people's stories, for me, that is empowering, that is enriching, that is going to community and I thank you so much for that.
I would like for you to tell our listeners anything that you didn't have an opportunity to tell them through our questioning. What do you want your listeners to know?
[00:42:03] Ardavan Eizadirad: Yeah, thank you for holding this space. I mean, I think, um, you know, this year I did a book called The Power of Oral Culture and Education, uh, with Dr. Jokey Wayne, who's the chair of social justice education and I think podcasts are, are, are the new form of oral culture, um, that, uh, that, uh, this generation is connecting with, and it's making knowledge accessible to community and with community.
Um, so I think it's a beautiful thing. You know, I try to get involved with as many podcasts as I can, because I think the message, um, is provided in a digestible way for community folks to engage in some of these conversations. I mean, for me, I think if folks want to learn more about my work, I typically put it on my website.
It's called education. org spelled E D I cation. org where a lot of my writing and things are open access, but in terms of just sharing, um, advice or guidance with, with listeners, um, you know, I always say equity work. I've really honed in on two things. There's two main things we have to work on. One is how do we help people arrive in spaces that historically have been excluded?
Um, so that's how that's like recruitment, um, you know, collecting identity based data. But I think the other piece we don't talk about enough is when we help, when we help those people enter that space, how are we being intentional while helping them finish and succeed and do well, because if we don't invest in that second part.
It's what we see. People leave. You know, a great example is after George Floyd, many Black folks were hired for companies to be E. D. I. leads, you know, two years later, more than half of left because the culture was not conducive to who they are and the work they had to do. Um, it's the same thing in teacher education.
We can, we can recruit. Black indigenous students from other equity deserving groups to get into a program. But if the program is not cognizant and intentional and how to support them of how to ensure their way of being and their lived experiences, it's integrated in a empowering and authentic way.
Folks will leave. So let's focus on both strategies. Different people and community are going to be invested on doing a work in the different niche spaces. But we need the 2 to eventually align to create that continuity is helping people arrive. But also walking them to do well and succeed. And when we can do that, that's when the systemic change will naturally happen, because by disrupting the processes, it's going to lead to the outcome that we want.
So let's be process oriented to get to the outcome we want, which is more equitable outcomes, particularly for folks experiencing those barriers and being in the equity deserving groups.
[00:44:53] Elton Brown: I could talk to you for hours. I found our conversation to be riveting and there's so much more to learn, but you have definitely whet our appetites and hopefully the appetites of our listeners to take this information and process it and use it in a positive way. You talked, we talked about so many things.
We talked about, uh, marginalized people, women, which I thought was extremely important, because sometimes women get left out of these, these programs. And so to make sure that they're kept in the system, quote unquote, this was a, a good thing. Asking for leaders of the community to join in and help is like adding pepper to a great meal.
And I just really, really had some very exciting. Inter inner innovating ideas, uh, ways of, you know, helping individuals move, uh, forward. Does that mean in education and mean in in jobs, uh, so many areas. So I wanna thank you for today and, uh, this conversation with SpeakUP! International. And I hope that we have an opportunity to talk to you again Ardavan.
[00:46:15] Ardavan Eizadirad: Thank you so much for holding the space and having me as a guest. Greatly appreciate it!
Thank you for listening to SpeakUP! International!
Mr. Ardavan Eizadirad invate you to visit the website, www.yaaace.com. There you can explore the various programs offered by the Youth Association for Academics, Athletics, and Character Education, to learn more about their impactful incentives.
Please visit Mr. Eizadirad's website, EDIcation.org where a lot of Ardavan's, writings and things are open access. Mr. Ardavan A R D A V A N. Eizadirad E I Z A D I R A D can be reached via LinkedIn.
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