Tag Archives: #RasingMen

Sep11

School lunches, both Nut Free & Egg Free!

Posted on by
Standard

So I’ve now completed making lunches for the first two weeks of school. I must say it has been a successful week, because NOTHING, I REPEAT NOTHING HAS COME HOME!!


What I did was on Sunday while I was making dinner, I refused to sit down, and make my kids two varieties of wraps. 


For the wraps I used spinach wraps and regular wraps or tortillas. They both had no added sugar, and not as much salt as regular or even most whole wheat bread. We always accompany with two fruits and one veggie in the small planet box compartments. 

WRAP 1:

I had was slow roasted beef from natural selections, with old cheddar cheese and sliced dill pickles! This was a big hit with my kids, like Huge! Either on spinach or plain tortilla. 

WRAP 2:

Natural selections turkey with sliced Havarti and green apple slices! Again Boom! Huge hit!

Then I placed all ten wraps into a large bag and kept it in the fridge pulled a new one out every day and sliced on the diagonal, or you can slice it in pinwheels if your kids like that fancy schmancy stuff!

This weeks wraps were amazing! I know because we all taste tested

WRAP 3:

Apple butter, turkey, shredded mozzarella, cucumbers in an ancient grain wrap!

WRAP 4:

Apple butter, Black Forest ham, cucumbers and feta!

I forgot to take pictures of all the wraps but here is one lunch


My kids LOVE cucumbers! I gave them Ontario peaches and strawberries and a cup of yogurt (Liberte strawberry 2%)mixed with half a cup of Motts fruit and veggie sauce (mostly because my little one loves the combo and there is quite a bit of fibre in it) 

I write this for people who get mad that they have to deal with kids allergies at school, or parents who don’t know what to pack, or parents who want to get out of the norm of package foods, or even want to have their kids eat healthier. I really hope it helps!

Happy Back to school!!

Stay tuned for more homemade snacks without packaging!

Aug31

Toronto Police In Schools

Posted on by
Standard

Once upon a time a very long time ago in the land of Rexdale, Ontario, there lived a young woman who would be lucky enough to go to school with Toronto Police officers roaming the halls (in addition to a regular security guard). That same  young woman would graduate with honours and a scholarship to many, many different universities, and return to complete her Masters practicum at the very same high school. Also still at that high school 6+ years later, were the same type of Toronto Police officers.

The problem with Toronto Police Officers being in high schools in Toronto was that it was very, Very obvious to the teachers (both white and non white) that only certain students were even noticed by those police officers. I was approached many times by the uniformed police officers while a high school student. I was also approached by undercover Brandon Walsh looking police officers asking me where I could score some “Ganja”

img_2518

I laughed it off then, but that was due to the fact that I didn’t realize why I was being asked this question and not my Chinese Canadian friend, or my Greek friend. Now looking back I understand why, but back then it was a joke.

Fast forward a few years, 4 years of my undergrad and then 1 and a half for the beginning of my Masters program for teaching and I found myself back at my home high school in Rexdale, teaching some of my classmates’ younger siblings or cousins! You know who was still roaming those halls? Yup, you guessed it, Toronto Police Officers! Multiple times when I was teaching there were incidents, where massive group fights broke out (Just like when I was a student) and umm, who went to go break up these fights you might ask…Not the Toronto Police! Nope, they sure didn’t! In fact one of the VPs broke her ankle because she was pushed down the back hill of my school trying to break up a fight. In fact as a part of my training as a teacher, there was actually a page over the PA system where they would say something along the lines of “Paging Mr. Nelson to the front Hallway” which meant ALL TEACHERS come to the front hallway to break up a fight! Not once in my 2 years of volunteering did I see a Police officer break up a fight, but Every Damn day I saw a teachers helping those same “at risk” students instead of intimidating, Not every teacher but most of them at this school were like that.

Those same police officers would stop me in the hallway when I was dressed in jeans every Friday to the point where my supervising teacher suggested that I no longer come in dressed down, because she was worried for my safety (also that teacher of mine was a white lady). They would stop me in the hallway saying the most condescending things, like “Excuse me Missy shouldn’t you be in class?” “Don’t make us send you to the Principal’s office.” When I would snap back at them and say I am a teacher not a student (very loudly) they wouldn’t even apologize, instead almost every single time it would be a mimicking of my voice and then saying something along the lines of, “Hey you should take it as a compliment, you look so good for your age, by the way how old are you?” It would make me so angry!

What makes things worse as a teacher who didn’t recognize my privilege, my students would walk into my class late, and tell me regularly they were late because they were stopped by the cops. I could easily snap back at those officers in front of the Principal’s office, but could my students, nope.

For all those people who say the schools will be less safe without police officers there, you are privileged enough to think that the Toronto Police Officers are there to serve and Protect you. As a young Indian woman with dark skin, I didn’t feel that way, and I still don’t feel that way. I know Police Officers, I have family members who are Toronto Police officers, and I see the problem in them too! There is a systemic problem within the Toronto Police Services, they are brainwashed to be a certain way towards Women, and people of colour, and they reserve their harshest judgement for young Black Men.

Until you are someone who experiences blatant racism or sexism from the organization that is paid to protect you, please just SIT DOWN, AND SHUT UP!

Also I will add as I always do, There are good police officers in Toronto, but UNTIL those good ones outnumber the bad ones there will always be anger and fear towards them instead of being revered.

Apr1

My Thank you Letter to the Swet Shop Boys for Cashmere

Posted on by
Standard

Heems: “His Family from India but Riz Pakistani, My Family from Pakistan, I’m Hindu Punjabi”

This describes my boys to a tee, from both my side and their Papa’s side. My boys are represented by the Swet Shop boys. This brings me so much joy, my boys are young and don’t know how important it is to have representation yet. They may not understand the importance, but they do understand that they are being represented now on the small and big screens and in Music. Right now their favourite song is Aaja, as it has been on repeat since the album dropped. In fact to be honest, I don’t get the same joy out of other music as I do from the Cashmere album as a whole.

As you may well know I am Woman, Mother, Teacher and Canadian-Indian. For most of my life, I’ve had to find a balance between two cultures. I wanted so badly to do something in the Arts when I was younger, but at every corner I was discouraged by my Mother, and most of my family. I had the talent, I could play Hindi film songs by ear on my clarinet, and damn well too! I even auditioned to Etobicoke School of the Arts waaaay back in the day, by playing “I Will Always Love You” from the bodyguard as a solo piece on the clarinet. I remember that day being ecstatic that I got into the school, excitedly telling my mom who basically told me I couldn’t go to an Arts school, I had to focus on my studies. So my dream was crushed. Since I became a mother I swore whatever field my kids wanted to go into I would support them (minus the illegal stuff).

Since Riz Ahmed has blown up in Hollywood, my heart has been filled with Joy! Pure Joy! I will tell you why, because both of my boys are inclined towards the arts, both are under the age of 7, but I can see it. I see how much they smile and take joy in creating things, and listening to music. Music is my religion. So if I pass any religion down to them I hope that my Love of all Music from Johnny Cash, Queen, Tupac, and Swet Shop boys is passed down to them.

Riz MC and Heems quite literally represent me, they represent my boys, and they are carving a path with a wonderful and meaningful blend of rap and the beautiful sounds, rhythms, bass, ghazals and instruments of my youth, and their youth (since I think we are about the same age). They seem to have brought together their cultures. Something that I’ve been doing for so long, and still struggle to find a balance with. So I appreciate the balance that this album has immensely.

I have to give them so much love for this album, they don’t shy away from any of the touchy subjects. I tell anyone who wants to understand what it is like to live within the balance of two cultures, to listen to this album and take it in. I Love the album for the representation that I have never, in my 30+ years in life being born and raised in Canada have seen. They touch on everything uncomfortable, the TSA, the problems with flying while brown or Muslim. Having to constantly be harassed under the guise of being random in any and all airports or border crossings. When Riz Spits this;

I pray for my nephew, I pray you’re not antagonized by all the hatin in news and the shit they sanitize/Look Zayn Malik’s got more than 80 virgins on him/there’s more than one direction to get to Paradise.

That line, I mean that line speaks volumes. It shows the other side argument to the young men being converted over to those extremists. It shows that there is another path. There is more to life than being a sheep and following blindly. Not only for religious Desi people, even everyday kids growing up in Toronto, they will know that brown guys can do “Big Things” (like Heems says in one line) that are Different from what is expected of them.

“Ya you Rap but you should have been a Surgeon/What you care for, girl we still splurgin'”

Since this album came out, I have literally told EVERY SINGLE student of mine that is Desi to listen to it. I may get in trouble if it comes back to me but I really don’t care. It’s more important to me to spread the message that there are other avenues in life for Brown boys. You don’t have to go be an extremist, you don’t have to do the typical career path of being a doctor, lawyer or engineer. You can follow your creative side and you should, look at this album, this shows that you can do it.

I took in this whole Album and I mean I’ve listened to it non-stop, the whole album feels like a love letter to my youth. Now that my youth is almost gone, I feel like this will be one of those albums that brown kids in Canada, the US or England can see themselves in, and will easily become a classic for rap lovers like me.

“My only heroes were Black Rappers, so to me Tupac was a True Paki”

I feel like I have to add a Brrrup, Brrrup there with a two finger up in the air salute!

To conclude my Love letter, all I can say is thank you for doing big things, Riz, Heems, and Redinho. You are doing it for our gen and the next, because I’m raising my boys with this music, your music, so keep dropping Big, Big things!

Also I don’t know why, but Aaja, is just pure fire, the song, the video, Everything about it, magic, it is Perfect, the sorta old school Bollywood feel, it was just so bloody fantastic, magic, pure magic.

I had to share some fan art of someone’s that I loved for Aaja it’s from an artist

@drawing_mari