Gandhi book exposes kids to social justice issues

By Jasminee Sahoye

Elementary school children in Toronto will be exposed to social justice issues at an early age thanks to a new children’s storybook written by some 300 elementary school children and 15 teachers from priority neighbourhoods in Toronto.

The book, Gandhi’s Glasses which was launched on Monday is a partnership with the Toronto District School Board’s (TDSB) Model Schools for Inner Cities, the Canadian International Development Agency, (CIDA) and World Literacy Canada (WLC).

It is aimed at encouraging global citizenship using Mahatma Gandhi’s life and work as an introduction to social justice issues.

The Gandhi Way: Engaging Youth in Global Citizenship is an educational project which delivers resources focused on human rights and peace-building, which will enable teachers to write and deliver globally oriented content that compliments the regular curriculum.

One of the main outcomes of the project is the production of Gandhi’s Glasses. This storybook is about social justice issues that children experience in their everyday life such as violence, poverty, and gender discrimination. Teachers and students worked with a professional artist to paint the scenes in the book and students reflected on their own experiences to create the narrative.

The Gandhi Way project aims to enhance the existing curriculum and build on the work of the TDSB’s Model School for Inner Cities program by creating tools and activities that will help educators to infuse social justice and equity issues into the Ontario elementary curriculum.

“This initiative is a tremendous opportunity to introduce our elementary students to, not only a great historical figure in Mahatma Gandhi, but also to social justice. And what better way than through the medium of storytelling,” says Chris Spence, Director of Education for the TDSB.

“I think Mahatma Gandhi would be very pleased to know that his story is serving to inspire a new generation to follow his example of what social justice really means,” says TDSB Chair, Chris Bolton.

World Literacy Canada encourages teachers to take part in The Gandhi Way for several reasons such as teaching youth to respect one another and how to deal with conflict in a non-violent way. Additionally, this project will offer new role models to students to look up to.

It will also initiate a global awareness of human rights and injustices that happen around the world and teach new and interesting messages by encouraging students of all learning styles and abilities to be reflective, creative and think critically.

"We are so excited and proud about the launch of Gandhi's Glasses. It's a valuable tool that will help teachers in promoting social justice in their classrooms, as well as instill the critical message of global citizenship in young Canadians," says WLC, Executive Director, Mamta Mishra.