Unveiling Islamophobia with Suad Bushnaq

The School of Life

The School of Life is a privately funded middle school located in North York, Ontario. It opened its doors for the first time in 1982, accepting students in grades seven, eight, and nine, and has been flourishing ever since, thanks to the generous donations of its founding members. The majority of our students come from middle-class families, and are smart, open-minded, and highly artistic. A leader in the Greater Toronto School Board due to its Be Create Live mandate, The School of Life nurtures creativity as a means to learn and gain knowledge. It is therefore equipped with a spacious, well-lit art studio, an audio-visual projection room, musical instruments including a Yamaha grand piano, a 300-seat auditorium, a library, 20 digital cameras, 7 video cameras, and a state-of-the art computer lab with 20 Macintosh computers. Because of the small size of the school, and given that the tuition fees are nominal, students are accepted on a scholarship basis after having undergone an interview. They are assessed on their character, creative thinking, and eagerness to learn. Once accepted, students are expected to build on these qualities in preparation for high school.

Grade Seven

There are twenty students in this class, seventeen of whom were born and raised in Canada. There are three newcomers; a Bosnian girl, a Finnish boy, and an Egyptian girl. Of the seventeen students, four belong to visible minorities (Korean, Jamaican, Argentine, Palestinian). The rest are of Irish, Scottish, and/or French descent. 
Students in this class are starting their first year at The School of Life. They are eager to make a good impression on their peers and teachers, and are excited to be here. Teachers are therefore encouraged to explore as many creative avenues as they can when giving their lessons. 

Unveiling Islamophobia Unit Plan

This unit plan is a series of ten lessons that tackle the representation of Islam and Muslims in mainstream media, in an effort to expose biases and prejudices, dispel misconceptions, and raise awareness to a form of discrimination targeting many Arabs and/or Muslims on an almost daily basis. The lessons will be given as part of the Media Literacy class, which is given once a week. Students are expected to critically analyse various media sources in order to determine whether or not they are Islamophobic and if so, in what ways. Students will also be gaining hands-on experience in media production through a selection of activities. This unit plan is aimed at Grade Seven, and relies heavily on homework which includes watching short clips, reading, and producing assignments of varying length and complexity. This 10 step unit plan is, in a way, an immersion program that lasts for ten weeks.