An Interview with jeewan chanicka, Director of Education at Waterloo District School Board

Photo of jeewan chan

Photo of jeewan chanicka

An interview by Sayema Chowdhury (@ChowdhurySayema) September, 2021

Editors’ Note: The following article was transcribed from a telephone interview. jeewan intentionally does not capitalize his name, so we have followed that convention below.

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Waterloo Region District School Board has appointed jeewan chanicka as the new Director of Education. 

In their announcement, the board highlighted chanicka’s  20 years of experience as an educator, having held a number of leadership positions, both in Ontario and internationally. He is the former Superintendent of Equity, Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppression and Superintendent of Schools in Canada's largest school district - Toronto District School Board. jeewan's professional past includes his work as an Education Officer at the Ministry of Education in Ontario in the Inclusive Education Branch and prior to that, a principal and teacher in York Region District School Board. He has also worked in the international education setting as a teacher, speaker and curriculum writer.

In addition to his educational roles, chanicka is deeply involved with the community, has published numerous news articles, been featured in multiple blogs, and in 2020, added a  Ted-Ed Talk to his already impressive resume. On the afternoon of his inaugural opening address to WRDSB’s administrators and staff, before a board meeting, jeewan was able to carve out some time to speak to me about his new appointment. 

Question 1: 

You have a number of intersecting identities that are minoritized in nature. One of these is your identity as Muslim. I know you have cultivated relationships with a wide range of communities and faith groups. Can you please share 3 main things, teachings or practices that you feel have aided you in your leadership journey? 

I think that first and foremost, I absolutely have not been shy of my Muslim identity- it has been a huge part of my identity as an individual. We have a strong tradition within Islamic history that is driven by Human Rights. Even over 1400 years ago, when Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) moved to the city of Medina, he created one of the first documented charters that protected human rights. I believe strongly that it is part of our responsibility for everyone to be able to show up as their full selves and contribute fully to society. This is something that as a part of my Muslim identity, we behold this as a trust in front of the Creator. Oppression is considered forbidden and it goes against divine teaching. It is wrong and part of our responsibility to protect all of creation against oppression. 

“ As an equity seeking group, whether we are educators and/or parents, we cannot cherry-pick identities and human rights. We must support human rights for all- they must all be upheld”
— jeewan chanicka

Secondly, we live in a world that is shrinking in the ways in which we come in touch with one another and we are learning so much about the richness and complexity of identity. While for people who identify as Muslim there is a particular way of believing and understanding the world, so too do all other individuals. It is our responsibility to ensure that all communities are upheld, represented, included and cared for.  As an equity seeking group, whether we are educators and/or parents, we cannot cherry-pick identities and human rights. We must support human rights for all- they must all be upheld. This is a responsibility that we have, living in a very diverse world that we work together to ensure that everyone can show up and be their best selves. 

A third thing is that we are stronger together. It is important that we reach across communities, including those that are very different from us so that we can work together to know and learn and interrupt our ways of thinking about the “Other”. It is critical that we continue to develop our human literacy and to continuously check for our biases. This is also important for us internally as well. The reality is that there is no norm within the Muslim community. There is no singular narrative of what it means to be a “perfect” Muslim- we are not a monolith. Within the global sphere of over a billion people who identify as Muslim, there is so much diversity within the Muslim community. So while I am talking about solidarity and work across disparate, marginalized communities, we also  need to build more solidarity and understanding acoss communities within Muslim diasporic communities as well. There are many intersecting experiences of oppression within the Muslim community. 

For example, there are Black Muslims who experience anti-Black Racism and Islamophobia, Muslim women, who experienced gendered Islamophobia,  2SLGBTIQ+ Muslims, who experience homophobia and Islamophobia,  trans-identifying community members who experience transphobia and Islamophobia, and of course, intersections of those who experience ableism throughout. There are also Indigenous identifying Muslims who experience oppression through Islamophobia, Anti-Indigenous racism and have to navigate ongoing settler-colonialism. This brings another layer of understanding and complexity that we need to be aware of. Of course, someone can be a Queer, Black Muslim with a disability and that means multiple layers of barriers in the world we live in. 

One thing that I’ve had to unlearn and challenge my own self on is the myth of the norm, and the “Muslim standard”. We must challenge this because quite frankly, that  standard doesn’t exist.Furthermore, we need to separate between our “beliefs” and the realities that people live. You can live your life to the best that you can while allowing people to do the same for themselves. The more we embrace that,  the more we can work together to change the conditions towards liberation not only for within the Muslim community, but also for everyone else.  

Question 2:

We are living during interesting times. There may be a lot of anxiety and stress amongst students about COVID-19, global warming, truth and Reconciliation, geopolitical realities, the rise of hate, etc.

a. Where do you find hope in the next generation?

Public education for me is predicated on hope. It is connected to many parts of my identity, including the part that is Muslim. Hope is essential. Without hope, then there is no impetus for change. Our students are dealing with complex realities, and this is the world that they are going into. What we need to do in public education, is to think about ways in which we can do things differently. Curricularly, we need to actually start to change things where schooling is anchored in hope because the learning students are doing in classrooms is more relevant and  allows  them to start to think about future possibilities and ways to change their world. We have lost, thus far, real opportunities to think about the fact that who our students are - matters, acknowledging the assets that they bring to the table, and leveraging them in a collaborative way to work to problem solve the challenges they will be facing, in the world they will graduate into. This should really get us to think of how it is that we leverage student voice to figure out how we might do things differently. 

For me, everytime I visit a school or connect with children, that really gives me hope.  When I look into the eyes of children I can’t help but to think about my work in any other way (hope) because this project of public education matters so much to them and the future we want. What I am thinking about, which is encouraged by the First People of this land, is how we can be good ancestors. 

Even thinking from a faith perspective, Muslims are taught that if you are planting a tree, and judgement day is at hand, you still plant the tree- that is ultimately what hope is about. 

I believe we really need to be thinking about how we rethink and redesign curricular approaches in school and how we can create opportunities to allow students to be creative, innovative, and imaginative, to collaborate and for them to be hopeful because of their education- not in spite of it. This is why we ultimately need to engage in reshaping our schooling structures and infrastructures. We are trying to use 19th century infrastructure and thinking to prepare children for life towards the 22nd century- this is illogical. I think we have an opportunity ahead of us to leverage things differently to do things differently to really nurture that hope. 

b. How do you see the role of educators in the cultivation of this hope? 

We need to start being brave and rethinking how we do things. If we keep doing the same as we’ve always done, then we will only get more of the same. We need to leverage the scholarship of Indigenous, Black, and other minoritized scholars. We need to think about approaches like Inclusive Design* and move away from the normative structures. We need to stop going back to the “normative” while keeping the good things that work. 

One of the things I was just saying to our system leaders is to please not rush back towards normal. “Normal” never served all of our students and staff well. In some instances, it has not served some students  at all. This means, thinking differently, showing up differently, being open to be challenged and doing things differently. For example, one of the things I’ve been thinking about a lot is what does it mean to lead through love? This is not an  “fluffy”  concept. It means having tough, brave conversations that need to be had. It means holding each other accountable, it means doing this through relationships where we stay at the table and work things through AND at the same time, move with urgency to do what is best for children. We need to redesign the ways that the faculties of Education are teaching. We need to redesign the processes that allow us to rethink the competencies of those whom we hire to serve our communities. We need to ensure that the community is represented in our schools and schooling material. How do we leverage the voices of communities and students in a really tangible way?

“There is no public education without the public.”
— jeewan chanicka

There is no public education without the public. How do we, in a really intentional way, solicit the voices of students? This is why, for me, Inclusive Design* makes a lot of sense in public education because it gives us a process that supports an alignment around district work, school improvement and classroom work by teachers. 

Question 3:

You may be Canada’s first Muslim Director of Education. You don’t fit the mould of many traditional identities we often see associated with this role. What impact do you feel your appointment holds for communities?

As far as I know, I might be- I’m not sure that there has been another. Many of us have been raised to feel that the only way we might be successful is by hiding this [Muslim] aspect of our identity. Others may feel that to be their true, full selves, leadership will never be an option.

I am fully aware that some may feel I don't adhere to the “normative example” of Muslim identity, but at the same time, its a part of my identity that I’ve always owned, and have never hesitated to bring forward. I don't owe anyone an explanation for this. I have learned over time to keep working on being my best self. I have so many intersecting identities in my body and I have to think about how  I can authentically bring myself  forward. I’ve tried to do this, in terms of how I wear my hair, my clothing, about my spirituality, in what I show up and speak about, what I identify as being important - all has to do with that authenticity. It’s one of the biggest questions I keep asking myself- “how can I best show up as myself?”

By all means, I am not suggesting that showing up as your authentic self is easy. In fact, it’s not easy- there are many barriers, including racism, and I have faced them. My hope is that by stepping into this role alongside a handful of others, that we are breaking moulds of Eurocentrism. This journey has also highlighted to me the significance of doing our personal healing work otherwise as we move into leadership we simply find ways to replicate harmful systems because we perpetuate the harm that has happened to us. That isn’t healthy, or safe, or inclusive. This is the deep work that is required. 

For me in particular, I’ve been pretty open and upfront about my commitment to social justice, racial justice and equity- those pieces are very important. But this has to be done recognizing the need for changing structures that are hundreds of years old and knowing that when we do this- it will help ALL children succeed. 

As we navigate colonial systems, we are conditioned to know that by speaking up there will be consequences. When we speak up, often, there are. There are scars that I have from this and many things that I’ve had to endure along this journey. I have experienced this in some ways within Muslim organizations and in many ways in wider system work. The reality is though I'm not the first one to have experienced this and sadly, I won't be the last.  In Ontario,we have now almost half a dozen Black and racialized directors. That's amazing and at the same time, it’s sad that in 2021, that this is a huge thing. I’m one of several who have been able to emerge and we stand on the shoulders of so many who had to fight for us to get here. 

For me, this means that I continue to be a good ancestor and to remember that ‘we lift as we climb’. I have to think about how I do that and support others along the way, so that they too can be successful. Also, there is a full understanding that the more people who can be successful, all of us can be successful. 

I was so deeply humbled- I had over 3000 messages from people. Many I didn't even know and I didnt realize not only how many people were happy for me, but more importantly, happy for what this means for all of us. That is what this moment represents. I have been consistent about this- this is not about me as an individual- it can’t be. It is a moment greater than any one of us. For me, this appointment is for all of us who care about children, who know we need to do things differently and for those of us who are truly committed to doing better.  I am deeply grateful for this moment and for the opportunities that it will bring to rewrite public education for ALL the students, staff and communities we serve.

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*To learn more about Inclusive Design:

  • Listen to the RSEKN Podcast: Inclusive Design, ft. Camille Logan & jeewan chanicka

By Noor El-Husseini: https://voiced.ca/podcast_episode_post/ep-01-inclusive-design-ft-camille-logan-je

Muslim Educators Network of Ontario