#kaurfoundation

By: Dr. Pritpal Kaur Ahluwalia

This month I joined the Kaur Foundation as its Associate Director of Education.  I come from a background of working in education in England, but the start of my journey here in America, has reminded me about the universality and persistence of issues and challenges which individuals and communities face across the globe.  These are issues relating to race, religion, multiculturalism, diversity, identity, integration, co-existence, interfaith relations…. and I could go on.  

All too often the values of acceptance, understanding and appreciation are not nurtured.  The opportunities for building enriching relationships and having positive engagements are not cultivated.  And the tools for peaceful conflict resolution and having difficult conversations sensitively when issues do arise, are not employed.  It was saddening to learn that the experiences of many American Sikhs in schools were those of bullying, hate and fear.  

The Kaur Foundation tries to address these issues head-on through education in an effort to create systemic change.  In particular, the Foundation promotes cultural diversity and creates awareness of the Sikh identity, heritage and secular values in the classroom.  The following article I came across encourages parents to start encouraging cultural awareness and an appreciation of diversity at home, even before children start going to school. (http://www.pbs.org/parents/expert-tips-advice/2015/08/teach-children-cultural-awareness-diversity/).

It’s only by proactively pursuing cultural awareness and an appreciation for diversity in homes and schools that we can share knowledge, care for others and be inspired to act positively.  It’s exciting to be part of a journey which is trying to create positive change and bring a positive narrative into American classrooms.

I would like to conclude with a quote from my colleague Theodore about the very purpose of education (http://www.youngspirit.org/journeymatters/?p=240), which to me instils a sense of duty for all educators to create positive change; …’education should also expand their (childrens’) outlook, change the way they look at the world around them and their understanding of their own identity and purpose within that world; it should help them to be more aware of their own assumptions, biases, prejudices, and lenses. And it should expand their field of concern to be more broad, more complex, more global, more diverse, and more active: education should equip students with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to engage more actively, deeply, and meaningfully with the world around them. To understand both how things are, and how things could be.’

This week Harman Singh of New Zealand made headlines around the world as a young man who removed his turban to help a young boy injured in a car accident.  A heartwarming story about empathy, kindness and humanity that had a happy ending for both the young boy in the accident and Harman Singh. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/18/sikh-harman-singh-turban-child_n_7308140.html

We’ve been chatting about the story this week at KF and reflecting on how Sikhi truly is more of a way of life, than a religion.  

Over the past few months we’ve gone into several classrooms and educator conferences to talk about Sikhi and what it means to live as a Sikh.  Much of the discussion/questions are around why Sikh men and women wear turbans and have a visible identity. In these discussions we talk about how the visible identity of a Sikh is like a uniform.  A uniform that reminds a Sikh of his/her relationship with the Guru, but also a uniform of someone who stands up when they see something that is not right or see someone who needs assistance.  

The story of Harman Singh is a beautiful example of Sikhi in everyday life, and a great way to wrap up the week before a long week-end. :)

Enjoy and be safe!

The focus at KF this week has been on expanding the KF footprint by starting conversations and meeting with representatives from two counties/school districts that are exploring possible ways of including education about Sikhism in the classroom curriculum.   

Those meetings have been happening alongside several conversations this week with community members about the value of classroom curriculum inclusion.  Given the overlap, a post about the curriculum approach seemed like a good way to close out the week.

The process of introducing education about Sikhism into school systems can be intensive - it involves building relationships, engaging in continual dialogue, and working with curriculum specialists to develop programs that suit the needs of that county.

The focus of KF has always been on institutionalizing education about Sikhism - meaning that we want to move beyond the approach of one parent going into his/her child’s classroom to present about Sikhism, and move into having education about Sikhism as part of every classroom (regardless of the demographics of that classroom, school or district).

There are many reasons for doing so…here are just a few:

1.The responsibility of providing education about Sikhism in the classroom can be daunting for some students and his/her parents.  While some parents/students are capable of shouldering the responsibility, there are many who do not have the resources or ability to step into this role;

2. Curriculum in large part reflects what we as a society think is important for young people to learn.  As the fifth largest religion in the world, education about Sikhism should be taught alongside the other major religions of the world in every classroom regardless of whether there is a Sikh student in that classroom;

3. When education about Sikhism is part of curriculum and teachers are trained to teach this curriculum, there is greater potential for classroom conversations to shift from simply providing information about Sikhism and move towards engaging students in dialogue and critical thinking; and

4. With inclusion in curriculum there is a more opportunity for teachers and students to connect education about Sikhism and the experiences of Sikh-Americans to an ongoing classroom conversation around current day social issues (i.e. learning about Sikhism moves beyond a one time lesson on religion and into an ongoing discussion).

Over the last week I have been reflecting a lot more on the different approaches (individual parent model or the institutional model), and I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive.  I am sure some parents could be a great resource for teachers when students are learning about Sikhism through mandated curriculum, but looking to parents/students to be the only resource (instead of curriculum based learning) in the classroom limits education and conversation around Sikhism.

Perhaps the way to look at this is that the individual parent model is a starting point, and the challenge for us as a community is to build on the starting point and move towards something more institutionalized and standardized.  And while the curriculum approach definitely takes time and resources, the investment is worth the effort.

Gurfateh,