Harsh Dhaliwal, Kyra McKinnon, and Chris Zimmerman are high school students and members of the Prince George District Student Advisory Council (DSAC). Katie Marren, their mentor teacher, also joined the conversation and she is the District Vice Principal in the Indigenous Education Department.
This group is creating quite a stir in Prince George and beyond with their work on anti-racism, and with their ability to apply student agency at all levels of the education system. Highlights from their conversation include: the importance of the student lens when trying to figure out what’s really happening in schools; why tackling anti-racism became their focal point; what it felt like to speak up in meetings for the first time; how they use videos to better convey their messages; shifting the power dynamic in schools to promote better accountability amongst adults; what it means to do “heart” work; the power of vulnerability; and why they hope this movement starts to get students at “all of the tables” when it comes to reforming education.
