Maryland County Expands Sikh Education North America / Outreach Date: Nov 23, 2009 - 02:59 PM Bullying. Sikh parents worry about this every school year. Many try to talk to their children’s teachers and peers about their heritage and identity in hopes of raising tolerance and acceptance. But it is not an easy task. Ravinder Kaur Birgi, of Howard County, has a son in elementary school and a son in middle school. When they were in preschool, it was easy to just go in and talk to their class. She especially liked to take along a vaja and tabla for them to play shabads. It has been more difficult to do this in the public schools. She has not been able to visit any of her 8-year-old son, Jay’s, classes because the principal won’t agree to it. But she does what she can. She is allowed to talk to the staff about the kesh and patka. “It’s like a ceremony in the main office,” she said. They learn how to tie a patka on Jay in case it comes undone. Outreach becomes more difficult as kids move on to higher grades. Her 13-year-old son, Veer, is in middle school with many more classes and teachers. It is impossible to reach everyone that interacts with him. Education is an uphill battle for parents. The only way students at all grade levels can learn about Sikhs, or any other topic, is if information is imbedded into the lesson plans, educators said. Three years ago, when discussion on Sikh cultural awareness began between the Howard County school system and Maryland-based Kaur Foundation, both decided they had to “make it deliberate and tie it to the curriculum,” said Ellen Flynn Giles, vice chairwoman of the board of education. “We recognize that this is a culture people may not understand,” she said. “By becoming more aware, everyone is in a better position to be open.” Education material about Sikhs was first incorporated into elementary schools social studies curriculum last fall and tested in about eight pilot schools. This fall, the curriculum is being used in all of the county’s 39 elementary schools, and will be expanded into all of its 18 middle and 12 high schools by January. Materials will not be limited to social studies classes, but weaved through a variety of subjects. “Parents don’t have to fight the battle anymore,” said Mirin Kaur Phool, president of the foundation. “The county will share our culture, religion, history, holidays, festivities, and physical attributes so Sikh kids can feel secure by way of teachers and staff being aware and standing behind the kids. “It raises a child’s self esteem,” she said. “We will provide resources, books, photos, instructional aids, list of speakers - whatever fits into what they are doing.” The foundation and the school system formalized their partnership on Nov. 9 at a ceremony in Columbia. According to the signed declaration, “…all students and staff will understand and appreciate the culture, customs and perspectives of Sikhs in the classroom and community.” And to accomplish this, they “…will exchange resources and opportunities to spread awareness of the customs, religion, and cultural heritage shared by Sikhs in the classroom community and world.” The declaration mandates the foundation and the school system to meet once a year to evaluate the partnership and update the resources as needed. “Signing an agreement is good but the measure of it, evaluation of it and implementation is key,” Mirin Kaur said. The declaration also requires that the school system make Sikh materials available on its Intranet, which is an internal repository of documents, data, video clips and other resources. All staff will have access to and recommendations on how to use the resources in classes and other school-related activities. The initiative has “come full circle,” Mirin Kaur added. The foundation’s first education materials, a video called ‘Cultural Safari’ and its accompanying teacher resource-package, were released in June 2008 and are currently used in elementary social studies classes. It is now developing new grade-appropriate materials and will suggest lesson plans for middle and high schools. Howard County, located 20 miles north of Washington and 10 miles south of Baltimore, is one of the most affluent and educated counties in the country, according to its Web site. And, according to the July 2007 issue of Forbes magazine, the county was rated as one of the top 10 school districts in country. About 83 countries and 75 languages are represented in its schools. A growing number of Sikh families are settling in Howard County. The gurdwara Guru Nanak Foundation of America, in neighboring Montgomery County, has become a good facilitator in helping parents move to more welcoming schools, said Harsharan Kaur, the foundation’s education director for Maryland. Nearly half of the kids in its Khalsa school live in Howard County. Although the county does not have a large immigrant community, where students are more likely to face physical harassment, Sikh kids there have been victims of name-calling. “It still is serious,” Harsharan Kaur said. “Kaur Foundation is trying to be proactive rather than wait for an unfortunate event to occur. “This partnership definitely is a coming of age for the community because of the response we got from the school system,” she added. “It was not that they were accommodating a request from us but that we were helping them prepare their students for a global society. We found that different constituencies within the education program took ownership and found ways where resources can be used.” The foundation said it has developed this initiative as a “blueprint” for other communities to establish in their school systems. It is currently working with Montgomery County and Fairfax County, Virginia. Loudon County, Virginia, just south of Washington, has already expressed interest in incorporating the material into its schools, Mirin Kaur said. Parents in California, Connecticut, Texas, Michigan and Florida are also working with education officials there. “Now they just need to customize it for their school systems,” she added. All students in Howard County will soon begin to see lessons about Sikhs in their classes. But Ravinder Kaur is not going to wait. “I will still go to the schools,” she said. “We always need to keep in touch.” She is planning to give a copy of the Cultural Safari video to Jay’s teacher in December, for Religious-Holiday Month, when students learn how different world religions celebrate holidays. She had earlier shown it to the Parent Teacher Association. A couple of parents wanted copies to show it to their kids, she said. The response was: “Wow! Such good material. When is the next one coming out?” Top image: Mirin Kaur and John Krownapple, courtesy Kaur Foundation. By Anju Kaur Sikh News Network staff journalist anjukaur@sikhnn.com © Copyrigt 2001-2009 Sikh News Network, LLC. This article comes from SikhNN http://www.sikhnn.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.sikhnn.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=693