Centering Black Narratives. Travelling. Holistic Learning.

Doreen Bonsu (BA ’14) is an educator for Global Summers Academy, teaching Canadian students travelling abroad. Outside of the classroom, Doreen is a dedicated basketball coach, and staff advisor for her school’s Black Student Union (BSU). BSU’s are brave spaces where Black students can be their authentic selves, be heard, seen and have access to resources to support their educational journey.

Doreen has won several awards, including the English Language Art Network’s Ontario Teacher Award (2022), Excellent Educator Day (2021) for her commitment to equity, student achievement, and well-being.  She has also appeared on a number of panels speaking on topics such as inclusion and the need to center the Black experience and was interviewed by CBC News: The National for her willingness to facilitate discussions about racial injustice to her classroom.

Recently, Doreen penned the following letter to the Faculty of Arts.

These are the three pillars that have shaped my formative years in higher education at Wilfrid Laurier University. As I reflect on my time in the Faculty of Arts, I credit the program for teaching me what “education in action” truly looks like– providing students opportunities to foster their learning experiences through teaching, accommodation and flexibility. I can attribute my experience at Laurier to helping me plant the seeds of exploration that continue to influence where I am today as an educator.

The Faculty of Arts program provided a strong foundation for the success I have been able to achieve. My passion for History made me initially apply to the program in 2010, and I took a range of courses, mainly focused on African History and Slavery in America. My favourite undergraduate course was my Research Seminar class with Dr. Cynthia Commachio. My thesis focused on the last segregated school in Ontario S.S #11, revealing how anti-Black racism impacted the community. At the time, I did not realize that this research would launch my long-term commitment to centering the narratives of Black Canadians as a teacher– a historical topic that was absent from my K-12 education and briefly addressed in my undergraduate studies.

In July 2024, a couple close friends of mine went on a road trip to explore historic settlements of Black people in the Dresden, Chatman-Kent, and Armherstuberg area. As a history nerd, and a lover of uncovering Black Canadian history, I used this opportunity to do some firsthand research, including locating the original site of S.S #11. The desire to do this trip started 10 years prior, during my History Seminar class at Laurier. Clearly, that undergraduate research experience continues to shape my professional and personal interests today.

Beyond the classroom, the Faculty of Arts supported me holistically as a student-athlete. Throughout my time at Laurier, I was a member of the Women’s Basketball team from 2010-2014, making two national appearances in 2010 and 2014 respectively. I was honoured to be a two-time Outstanding Women of Laurier Finalist, recognized for my athletic success, academic achievement and commitment to the development of young athletes through community teaching and coaching. A major reason I was able to have a well-rounded student-athlete experience was because of the flexibility of my professors. They understood the demanding schedules of a student athlete and were gracious with their time to support me academically.

Travel has also played a transformative role in my education. The first time I went on a plane was at the age of 18 with the Women’s Basketball team. We had a tournament in Halifax, and I was so nervous to fly! The culmination of that trip opened my eyes to see the possibilities of what travel can offer— meeting new people, learning about the histories of the land, and what my relationship to those spaces is. Ten years later, I have traveled within Canada and internationally, for leisure, professional development, and work, visiting over ten countries.

For the past three years, I have worked with a company called Global Summers Academy, which provides me an opportunity to teach Canadians students abroad. As an English teacher on the program, I encourage students to engage with social issues through course texts and to see themselves not just as tourists, but as conscious tourists who reflect on their positionality in the spaces they are in as ecotourists. Whether we are doing a tour of the Pantheon in Greece, sailing the Mediterranean, roaming the cobblestone streets of Rome or exploring the biodiversity of Costa Rica, my work emphasizes experiential learning and global perspectives.

In the past six months alone, I have proudly published three chapters in three different books. The first two chapters I published were through the publisher Pembroke Publisher. Under the mentorship of Dr. Andrew B. Campbell (OISE) and Dr. Kenneth Gyamerah (Ontario Tech University), my contributions focus on making classrooms more inclusive for Black and racialized students, sharing with readers how to centre their lived experiences, and authentic ways to celebrate their cultures– a topic that is dear to my heart. The third chapter I wrote is titled “Curating a Homeplace” for me in the book And Sometimes There Are Tears: Black Women and Well Being, published by Canadian Scholars, a text about Black Canadian women that centres Black feminist perspectives.

The books, Active and Brave Conversations and The ABCs of Blackness, include chapters I co-authored with Dr. Kenneth Gyamerah. The titles of the chapters are ‘The Three P’s of Culturally Responsive and Reflective Pedagogy’ and “Planting Seeds of Black Joy”. As a classroom teacher, I was honoured to share my classroom practices with educators who are passionate and committed to the work of equity and inclusion. One example of my passion to implement culturally responsive and reflective pedagogy and amplifying Black voices in education is through my role in piloting an African Canadian History course in my school board. The course centers the history of various groups of people of African descent, their contributions to the Canadian landscape and their lived experience. By the culmination of the course, students have a better appreciation for Black Canadian history and begin to see themselves as agents of change in addressing anti-Black racism within society.

In 2023, I was selected as one of four international educators, who participated in Ghana International Schools (GIS) Visiting International Educator Program. This opportunity gave me a chance to combine two aspects of my life that I love: education, and my mother country, Ghana.

As an international educator, I have taught in Ghana, Italy, Greece and Costa Rica, grounding my teaching in culturally responsive practices. If someone told me during my time at Laurier that I would have a Master of Education degree, become a published author, travel and be an award-winning teacher, I would be surprised LOL. The role that the Faculty of Arts Department had on my career thus far as an educator, has left an impressionable impact on me. It allowed me to explore and to see education as something that was lived and practiced, not just confined to a classroom. From centering Black Canadian narratives, to learning through travel, the values that inspire my work today are rooted in my time at Laurier.  As I continue my career as an educator, I hold the lessons I was taught in undergrad close to me— embrace the value of education because it is a tool for justice and a lifelong journey of growth.

Doreen Bonsu

Honours Double Major in English and History- Class of 2014