{"id":44619,"date":"2023-02-03T18:40:59","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T18:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/?post_type=cu_story&p=44619"},"modified":"2025-02-03T11:30:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T16:30:15","slug":"making-a-difference","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/story\/making-a-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Making a Difference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Making a Difference\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Student community leader empowers youth by making anti-oppression education accessible<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Alyssa Tremblay<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As February marks the start of Black History Month, Carleton student Taijah Cox-Armstrong is celebrating her authorial debut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Law with a Minor in English Language and Literature, Cox-Armstrong also found time to publish her first book: I Will Make a Difference<\/em><\/a>, an educational and interactive children’s book that teaches kids how to navigate racism and oppression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aimed at youth between the ages of 7-12, the book helps children better understand the world around them by giving them the appropriate language to discuss these difficult topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Carleton student Taijah Cox-Armstrong (Law and English Language and Literature)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


Cox-Armstrong says her passion for serving the community began in 2020 when she co-organized the Peel March for Justice, a protest calling for the immediate addressing of anti-black racism in the Peel District School Board, located west of Toronto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, she began teaching workshops about anti-racism and inclusion, working as a facilitator for organizations including the Learning Place,<\/a> One Voice One Team<\/a>, Youth Speak<\/a> and Weston Frontlines<\/a>, as well as participating in youth focus groups with Peel Mayor Patrick Brown, the Peel Regional Police and education board trustees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through these experiences, she learned how much power today\u2019s youth have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is how the idea for I Will Make a Difference<\/em> was born,” Cox-Armstrong explains. “It came from my belief that knowledge is power and that youth will be the ones to shape our future.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year later, in 2021, she started writing a book to address what she observed as a lack of educational resources geared towards younger children when it came to explaining heavy subject matter. In the two years it took to complete the book, Cox-Armstrong spent time speaking directly with youth and community leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n

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“I read articles and peer-reviewed reports, but the main research that went into this book was having conversations with people who are actually experiencing these social issues firsthand. How can you write on a topic like racism without talking and consulting with the people whom it’s affecting most?”<\/p>Taijah Cox-Armstrong<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Inclusion and equity are important, complex and emotional topics to discuss at any age. To overcome the challenge of explaining these ideas to children, Cox-Armstrong made sure to write the book in a language they would understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In the book, I help children define the concept first \u2014 through questions, examples and pictures \u2014 and then have them explain it back to me in their own words,” she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the book utilizes a fictional scenario to help kids recognize the difference between equity and equality \u2014 a distinction that many adults struggle with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Person A has two cuts on their foot and Person B has none, the book explains, equity would be giving the injured person two bandages, rather than giving each person one bandage just to be equal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizing focus groups with youth<\/a> was a particularly important step when it came to creating these sorts of examples, as it allowed Cox-Armstrong to learn exactly what the children already knew vs. what ideas needed to be explained in more detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I believe firmly that these lived experiences revealed the information needed to make the book successful,” she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Taijah Cox-Armstrong leading a youth focus group to help develop her book, “I Will Make a Difference”.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


Cox-Armstrong also drew on her own experiences as a Carleton student when writing the book. For instance, being a part of the campus Black Student Alliance<\/a> introduced her to people who, like her, had many thoughts to share about reforming the education system for the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking a diverse range of courses in Law, English Language and Literature, and Women\u2019s and Gender studies also helped expand her knowledge, further develop her ideas and improve her writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Most of the book is based on real life experiences and conversations, but of course I still needed that educational background to pull everything together,” she reflects. “Many of my Carleton professors gave me tips and skills that made me the writer I am today.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that the book has been published, Cox-Armstrong\u2019s goal is to see it used as part of the curricula in Canadian school boards and beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s also already writing a new book to develop I Will Make a Difference <\/em>into a series of educational resources. Upcoming titles in the works include books on gender inequality, health and body, and poverty and homelessness \u2014 the last of which she is keenly familiar with, having assembled care packages<\/a> for people experiencing homelessness in both Ottawa and Mississauga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I Will Make a Difference <\/em>is available for purchase<\/a> now in both print and digital formats, with an optional booklet of lesson plans for educators and parents. Cox-Armstrong also offers<\/a> workshop facilitators for the book and consultations for schools and teachers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Student community leader empowers youth by making anti-oppression education accessible By Alyssa Tremblay As February marks the start of Black History Month, Carleton student Taijah Cox-Armstrong is celebrating her authorial debut. While pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Law with a Minor in English Language and Literature, Cox-Armstrong also found time to publish her first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[816],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-44619","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","hentry","cu_story_type-general"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/44619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/44619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44862,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/44619\/revisions\/44862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=44619"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=44619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}