Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Educator Toolkit

Transcription

California Celebrates Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month
Educator Toolkit
The California State Legislature has declared this November as Sikh Awareness and
Appreciation Month. The Sikh Coalition, in collaboration with the California Sikh community,
are encouraging educators across the golden state to celebrate this month by doing a lesson on
Sikh Americans with your students. This educator toolkit includes classroom lessons for
different projects that you can do with your students to celebrate Sikh Awareness and
Appreciation Month.
Sikhism is the fifth largest world religion, and Sikhs first immigrated to California over one
hundred years ago. For that reason, Sikhs have had notable achievements as farmers, soldiers,
entrepreneurs, congressmen, scientists, and actors, among countless other professions, and
have made significant contributions to this state’s rich history.
Since Sikhism is not currently included in the Framework for History-Social Science, students do
not learn about Sikhism when they learn about the rest of the world religions. As a result,
many are ignorant about Sikhs, and this ignorance has often led to bias-based harassment and
bullying. As you know, education is the best way to eliminate ignorance. Through teaching
about Sikhs and Sikh Americans, your class can all celebrate diversity and learn about different
beliefs and customs.
The Sikh Coalition has also developed educational resources to explain Sikhism that we
distribute free of charge. Please click here for these resources.
This toolkit contains the following information:
•
•
•
Elementary School lesson – “My Shield”
Middle School Lesson – Notable Sikh Americans
High School Lesson – Sikh American Timeline
If you have any questions or need help organizing these activities at your school, please email
us at [email protected] or give us a call at 510.659.0900.
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California Sikh Awareness & Appreciation Month - Educator Toolkit
© The Sikh Coalition. All Rights Reserved.
Elementary School Lesson
Objective:
 The student will create a visual representation Sikh Americans and Sikhism.
 The student will be able to present and explain each aspect of their “shield”.
Materials:
 Copies (enough for each student) of the blank shield template
 One copy of the shield template with instructions, displayed large enough for the class
to see the instructions
 Markers, colored pencils, and/or crayons
 Tape or glue
 Paper images of famous Sikh Americans
 Several pictures of the outside of different gurdwaras
 Access to books or handouts about basic Sikh beliefs
 Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Poster
 (Optional for 5th and 6th grade students) Copy of the Sikh American Timeline used for the
High School Lesson below
Lesson Plan:
1. Announce to your class that November has been designated as Sikh Awareness and
Appreciation Month in California. California is the only state that has designated an
entire month for Sikh Americans! Show the students the Sikh Awareness and
Appreciation Poster for use in schools, libraries, etc. Ask the students why it is
important for Californians to know and understand the information on this poster. Tell
the students that to celebrate this month, each student will be making their own poster
in the form of a shield. This shield will illustrate Sikhism and Sikh Americans. Distribute
a copy of the blank shield template to each student.
2. Review the different sections of the shield using the large shield template with
instructions. As you review each section, encourage the students to brainstorm ideas of
what to include on their shields. Create a list of these ideas on the board as you discuss
them. This will help the students pull from these ideas at the end of the discussion
when they begin filling in their shields.
a. Picture/Drawing of Gurdwaras – Show the students pictures of different
gurdwaras. The students can choose to use those pictures in their shield or draw
the images.
b. One Cool Thing I Learned About Sikhs – This should be one thing that students
learned about Sikhs that they did not know before. They can use any of the
books or handouts about Sikhism as well as the Sikh Awareness and Appreciation
Poster to find their fun fact.
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c. A Picture of a Sikh Family – In this section, they will draw a picture of a Sikh
family. Students can use the pictures that they see from the books or handouts
about Sikhism.
d. Facts about Sikhism – These can be any facts on the Sikh faith. The students
might want to use this space to dispel any myths that people might have about
Sikhs or the turban. The students can look through the books or handouts about
Sikhism as well as the Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Poster to give them
some ideas of what to write.
e. Facts About California Sikhs – Tell the class that when Sikhs first immigrated to
the United States, they came to the west coast first – Washington, Oregon, and
California. For that reason, many of the early achievements and success stories
about Sikh Americans are from California. To give the students some ideas about
what to write for this section, they can look at the Sikh Awareness and
Appreciation Poster. For older students – 5th and 6th grade – you can also
distribute the Sikh American Timeline used for the High School Lesson.
f. Famous Sikh Americans – Review the handout in the Middle School lesson called
Famous Sikh Americans. Pick out 5 – 10 famous Sikhs from this list and say a few
words about the Sikhs and their achievements. Then, distribute the pictures of
Sikh Americans you have collected. Tell the class that they can choose 3 – 4
pictures to glue in this section.
3. At this point, have them work on their shields individually to write and draw in all the
sections. For really young students, an alternative is to have the students create a
shield as a group, and have each student write/draw one section.
4. After everyone has completed their shield, have each student present their shields to
the class. Discuss the following with the class:
a. What did you learn about Sikhs that you didn’t know before?
b. What do you think you can do to explain more about Sikhs in your community?
c. Why is it important to have a month dedicated to different cultures and
religions?
Suggestion: Display the shields from your class or school library along with the Sikh Awareness
and Appreciation Poster.
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One Cool Thing I
Learned About
Sikhs
Picture of a
Gurdwara
Picture of a
Sikh Family
Facts About
Sikhism
Facts about
California Sikhs
Famous Sikh Americans
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Page 5
Middle School Lesson
Objective:
 The student will research and study the contributions made by famous Sikh Americans
using various sources.
 The student will write a one-page biography about one famous Sikh American.
 The student will compile their biography along with those of their classmates to make a
book.
Materials:







Printed copy of the Famous Sikh Americans list
Writing paper and pens
Access to the internet
Access to relevant magazines, books, newspapers, etc. (online and/or print)
3 hole punch
One three ring binder
Ability to type and print several copies of the biographies
Lesson Plan:
Appreciation Month in California. California is the only state that has designated an
entire month for Sikh Americans! To celebrate this month, explain that your class will
be making a project about famous Sikh Americans. Each student (or a small group of
students) will select a notable Sikh American from the ‘Famous Sikh Americans’ handout
included in this toolkit. Once the students have made their selections, let them know
that they will be writing one-page biographies about that Sikh American.
2. Please review the basic steps on how to write a biography with your class. You will find
a handout titled, “How Do I Write A Biography?” in this toolkit.
Please note: In order to do research and collect data on their famous Sikh American, the
students will need to have access to reference material and be able to browse the web.
For this reason, you can either take a field trip to a computer lab or you can have them
conduct the research portion from home, and they can use their class time to draft the
biography.
3. Remind the students that before submitting their final one-page biography, they should
add a picture of their famous Sikh American to their one-page biography.
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4. Set aside one class period for each student to read aloud their biography. Before this
day, remind them to do the following:
a. Ask each student to bring as many copies of their biography as there are
students in the class. For example, if there are 20 students in your class, each
student should bring 20 copies of their biography
b. Make sure each biography copy is three-hole punched.
c. Bring one three ring binder.
5. After each student has read aloud their biography, time permitting, have a class
discussion about what aspects of these Sikhs’ lives did students not know before? What
has this project taught them about various Sikh Americans and their contributions to
this country?
6. Then have each student hand out copies of their biography to each student. At the end
of this class, each student should go home with a copy of each of their classmate’s
biographies. They can save these copies in their three ring binder. You can design the
front cover and create a title for the binder or you can assign this to a particularly
creative student.
Suggestion: Display at least one binder from your class in the school library along with the Sikh
Awareness and Appreciation Poster.
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How Do I Write A Biography?
Research! Research! Research!
1. Select a famous Sikh American that you are interested in.
2. Think about what you would like to know about the person, and what parts of their life
you want to write most about. Some questions you might want to think about include:
o What makes this person special or interesting?
o What kind of effect did he or she have on the world? On other people?
o What are the adjectives you would use to describe this person?
o What examples from their life illustrate those qualities?
o What events shaped or changed this person's life?
o Explore what interested, influenced and inspired the subject. What was he or
she passionate about?
o Did he or she overcome obstacles? Take risks? Get lucky?
o What were the social norms at that time? What was going on economically and
politically?
o What was happening in that person's field?
o Would the world be better or worse if this person hadn't lived? How and why?
3. Find anything written by or about the subject (on-line or print) in books, newspapers,
magazines, journals, letters, videos, interviews, and existing biographies. Be sure to find
information that helps you answer the questions above and tells an interesting story.
4. If possible, interview the subject or someone who knew your famous Sikh American. If
you can, try to visit places that were significant to this person’s life.
Drafting Your Biography
1. Assemble a timeline. Record every event that you can such as birth, death and marriage.
Be sure to include personal anecdotes as well.
2. Look for patterns. See the forest, not the trees.
o Phases: Many people go through phases during their lives. Sometimes the
phases are reactions to each other; for example, a person may go through a
very dependent phase, then a very independent phase, then something in the
middle. This can happen with relationships, too.
o Progression/regression: Look for a steady refining of the person's character or
work, an improvement over time, leading up to a defining event that shows how
far the person's come. Alternatively, perhaps someone's life begins promisingly
and gradually unravels--a tragedy of sorts.
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Cycles: Pay attention to situations that repeat themselves in a person's life.
Maybe this person reaches out, gets hurt, becomes reclusive, heals, and begins
again. Or the subject sets a lofty goal, burns out, draws wisdom from the
experience, and starts over with a new goal. Addiction also tends to play out in
cycles. Whatever the situation, it repeats itself throughout a significant portion
of the person's life (maybe signifying a phase) and at some point, the person
might "break the cycle".
o Turning points: What are the moments in the subject's life when their direction
changed dramatically? The birth of a child? A near-death experience? Hitting
rock bottom? It's the point at which a pattern changes, a new phase begins,
progression become regression (or vice versa), or a cycle ends or a new ones
starts.
o
3. Make a thesis statement. Based on your "big picture" view of this person's life, what's a
point that you can prove? This will be your twist on the biography - what makes it unlike
any other biography on this subject. It answers the question posed in the introduction:
what makes this person's life different and important? Some ideas:
o What is the significance of this person's life? How did he or she change the
world? What would happen if this person never existed? What is unique about
what they did or made?
o What led to the subject's success or demise? A particular relationship? A single
incident of good or bad luck? A decision by the subject? A particular
circumstance?
4. Decide how to recount the person's life. Write an outline and fill in the details. Try to
use the information you collected to support the thesis.
o Chronological: Go by the timeline, recounting each event in the order in which it
happened. This is the simplest way to go, but it's difficult to support your thesis
in this context.
o Flashbacks: Describe a recent or current situation, then "flashback" to an earlier
point in that person's life. This is good for illustrating cause and effect, or how
this led to that. You can even go in complete reverse order; begin at the end, and
work your way backwards.
o Work: If the person's life is closely tied to his or her career, you can break it up
by job positions or works created. This can be tied to phases or cycles in the
subject's life.
o Accomplishments/events: One idea is to start and end with events that mirror
each other in some way. Maybe you can start with a toy boat that the subject
made when they were 5, and end off with a military submarine that they
designed at age 55.
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5. Sit down and write. Using your outline, assemble the biography. You can start at the
beginning, but you don't have to. You may find yourself rearranging the content as you
go along. You should go through many drafts, and have other people read the biography
before you call it a day. See if they can guess the thesis, and find out if you've made your
point about this person's life.
References:
http://www.infoplease.com/homework/wsbiography.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Biography
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Famous Sikh Americans
Ajay Banga – Ajay is the current president and CEO of Mastercard.
Alexi Grewal – Alexi is the first American man to win an Olympic gold medal in road cycling in
1984.
Col. Amarjit Sekhon – Col. Sekhon also served in the U.S. Army as one of the few Sikhs allowed
to serve while retaining his Sikh articles of faith.
Arpinder Kaur – Arpinder is the first turbaned pilot and currently works for American Airlines.
Bhagat Singh Thind – Bhagat was the first Sikh soldier in the U.S. Army and is a WWI veteran.
Dalip Singh Saund – Dalip was the first Asian American elected to Congress in 1956.
Col. G.B. Singh – Col. Singh served in U.S. Army as one of the few Sikhs allowed to serve while
retaining his Sikh articles of faith.
Didar Singh Bains – Didar is the largest peach farmer in the U.S. and owns nearly 10,000 acres
of land around Yuba City.
Geetanjali Chandha – Geetanjali is a senior lecturer in the Women’s Gender, and Sexuality
Studies Program at Yale University. She teaches classes on globalization, autobiographies,
family, cultural identity, and feminism.
Gurinder Ahluwalia – Gurinder is the President and CEO of Genworth Financial Wealth
Management.
Harpreet Kaur – Harpreet is an award-winning filmmaker who has produced documentaries on
Sikh issues, both in the U.S. and in Punjab.
Harvinder Anand – Harvinder is the first elected Sikh mayor in New York.
Dr. I.J. Singh – Dr. Singh is a public intellectual and professor of Anatomical Sciences at NYU. He
has also authored several books on Sikhism and Sikhs in the diaspora.
Jaskaran Kaur – Jaskaran is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the co-founder and Executive
Director of Ensaaf, an organization dedicated to bringing justice to human rights violations in
India.
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Major Kamaljit S. Kalsi – Major Kalsi is one of the first Sikhs allowed into the US Army with his
Sikh articles of faith in the last 30 years, ever since the Army changed its uniform policy.
Narinder Kapany – Dr. Kapany is widely recognized as the “father of fiber optics,” and holds
more than 100 patents in fiber optics, laser technology, biomedical instrumentation and solar
energy. Dr. Kapany went on to head the Optics Department at Chicago’s Illinois Institute of
Technology and established three companies. He also founded the Sikh Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the heritage and future of Sikhism.
Mohanbir Sawhney – Mohanbir is a management consultant, author and a Professor of
Technology at the Kellogg School of Management.
Dr. Navinderdeep Nijher - Dr. Nijher was one of the first doctors to arrive at the World Trade
Center site on 9/11 and started the first triage center at the site.
Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh – Dr. Singh is a Crawford Family Professor at Colby College in Maine
and has published extensively in the field of Sikhism, with a particular focus on poetics and
feminist issues.
Preet Bharara – Preet is the U.S. attorney for Southern District of New York and is named one
of Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World”.
Snatam Kaur – Snatam is a world-renowned and grammy-nominated singer who sings classical
Sikh music/hymns.
Valarie Kaur - Valarie is the award-winning filmmaker of Divided We Fall, a documentary on
hate crimes and bias post 9/11. She also serves as the current Program Director for
Groundswell, a multi-faith network that focuses on urgent social causes.
Waris Ahluwalia – Waris is an actor who has starred in several Hollywood films and is also a
talented jewelry designer.
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Objective:
High School Lesson
 Students will be able to understand the historical migration of Sikh Americans to the
United States.
 Students will be able to explore instances of discrimination and xenophobia against
Sikhs at the individual, community, and policy-level.
Materials:
 One copy of the timeline for classroom use.
 Ability to hang each picture of the timeline around the room (string, clothespins, tape,
etc.)
Lesson Plan:
Appreciation Month in California. California is a leader in this way because no other
state has designated an entire month for Sikhs before! To celebrate this month, explain
that your class will be making a timeline about Sikhs in the United States.
2. Explain to the class that we are going to review some words and their meanings. They
have probably heard of these words before, but challenge the students by creating
examples of fictional scenarios that demonstrate their knowledge of these definitions.
Once you feel the class has understood these words and will be able to use them
correctly, encourage the class to use these new vocabulary words throughout the
remainder of the lesson.
a. Harassment – Any type of repeated or persistent behavior that is unwanted,
unwelcome and causes emotional distress to the person it is directed at. It is
typically motivated by gender, race, religion, national origin, etc.
b. Nativism – Literally refers to the practice of favoring the interests of those of a
particular place over immigrants. In the 1900s, nativist policies in the United
States made immigration policies restrictive to non-European countries.
c. Prejudice – Negative feelings and stereotyped attitudes towards members of a
different group. Prejudice or negative prejudgments can be based on race,
religion, nationality, economic status, sexual orientation, gender, age, or other
factors.
d. Tolerance – The ability to be fair and open to people or beliefs that are different
than oneself. Being tolerant means being free from prejudice and bigotry.
e. Xenophobia – A strong and unreasonable hatred of people who are from other
countries or ideas and things that are foreign.
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3. Print each page of the timeline below on cardstock paper. Cut each paper into two
pieces so that one piece has only the text, and one piece has only the picture. Hang the
picture pieces in chronological order around the classroom using string and clothespins.
4. Ask the students to do a picture walk by observing the pictures and trying to understand
what is happening in each image.
5. Divide the students into groups. Ask the students to discuss two of the images that they
remembered. Encourage them to use their new vocabulary words in their discussion.
6. Divide the text pieces amongst each group so that each group receives at least two text
pieces. Give the students time to read the text pieces in their group and discuss what
those moments in Sikh American history mean.
7. After students have had time to analyze their text pieces, have each group try to match
their text with a picture from the timeline. If they believe they have found the right text
with the right picture, they should tape their text piece to the bottom of the picture. If
more than one text piece is taped to a picture, encourage the groups to re-examine
their pairings to ensure that all the text pieces match up correctly. Usually, the students
will be able to pick out the mismatched pieces on their own.
8. Once all the text pieces have been matched, have students read out chronologically the
historical timeline of events and examine the pictures.
9. Discussion/Closing:
a. What did you learn in today’s lesson that you didn’t know before?
b. What actions can lead to a rise in xenophobia (historically or in the present)?
c. What policies or actions displayed nativism?
d. How can tolerance and respect be promoted?
Suggestion: Display the completed timeline in a hallway or school library along with the Sikh
Awareness and Appreciation Poster.
References:
This lesson was based on Lesson 1 in In the Face of Xenophobia: Lessons to address bullying
of South Asian American Youth by SAALT (South Asian Americans Leading Together).
Timeline events and pictures were taken from In the Face of Xenophobia, Wingluke Asian
Museum’s Exhibit Sikh Community: Over 100 Years in the Pacific Northwest, and the
Sikhism in America Timeline from Harvard’s Pluralism Project.
Page 14
Sikhs first migrated to the United States in the late 19th century, settling mainly on the west
coast, and working as farmers and laborers. Today, there are an estimated 500,000 Sikhs
throughout the United States. (The Sikh immigrants pictured here arrived in Seattle on the SS
Minesota on June 23, 1913.)
Page 15
In 1905, Sikhs worked on the Western Pacific Railway in Northern California. Two thousand
Sikhs worked on a seven hundred mile road from Oakland to Salt Lake City. They were
responsible for the construction of a large number of bridges and tunnels. The Sikhs pictured
here helped contruct the Oregon Pacific and Eastern Railroad connecting Cottage Grove,
Oregon to the Cascade foothills and serviced the lumber industry in 1909.
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In 1907, a racist mob of approximately 500 men in Bellingham, WA attacked Sikh migrant
workers and drove them to the edge of the town. Known as the “Anti-Hindu Riots” the attack
began with stones thrown at two Sikh workers on C Street, the center of the Sikh community.
Although the initial instigators were arrested, the violence quickly escalated, resulting in
smashed windows and doors while mobs encircled and threatened the Sikhs living there.
Overpowering the small police force, the mob forced the community to either leave
immediately or find refuge in the basement of city hall for the night. The next day,
approximately 300 Sikhs left town. This incident occurred during a time of overt hostility
toward immigrants from Asia. During this time, 85% of all Indian immigrants were Sikhs, while
13% were Muslim immigrants and only 2% were Hindu. The Sikhs pictured here posed for a
studio portrait most likely taken in Bellingham, WA between 1905- 1910.
Page 17
In 1912, the first gurdwara in the United States was established in Stockton, California. The
“Sikh Temple” as it was called was built by an agriculturally based Sikh community. It was, for
over three decades, the only Sikh worship facility in the U.S.
Page 18
Bhagat Singh Thind, a Sikh American, enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War I and
subsequently applied for U.S. citizenship. His application was ultimately denied by the U.S.
Supreme Court in 1923 because Thind was not considered Caucasian. After battling for more
than a decade, Thind was finally granted citizenship in 1936 because he was a WW1 veteran.
Page 19
Dalip Singh Saund was the first Asian American elected to Congress in 1956. He served as the
Congressman from the 29th District of California from 1957 – 1963. Saund had come to the
United States in the 1920s to study at the University of California at Berkeley where he
eventually earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics. He managed a farm in California and worked for the
right of Asian Indians to become citizens. He served two terms in Congress.
Page 20
The 1960s and 1970s brought a new wave of Sikh immigrants when the Immigration Act of
1965 allowed people from Asia to come to the United States who would pursue post-graduate
degrees and already had professional skills. Pictured here is President Lyndon B. Johnson
signing the 1965 Immigration Act in front of the Statue of Liberty, on Liberty Island, and
reflected the Civil Rights movement’s gains for racial equality. Previously, immigrants from Asia
and Africa were allowed into the United States in very small numbers. U.S. immigration policies
had been severely discriminatory given decades of exclusion of non-European immigrants.
Departing from the previous system of country-based quotas, U.S. immigration after 1965 has
focused on skills that immigrants bring and reunification of families.
Page 21
On September 15, 2001, Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh business owner in Arizona, was gunned down
and became the first casualty of post-9/11 bias attacks. Sodhi was one of many turban-wearing
Sikh men and boys who were targeted after September 11, 2001 because they “looked like
terrorists.” On the evening of September 11th, the Sikh community in New York City began
organizing in response to the attack on three Sikhs in Queens. Their efforts resulted in the
formation of the Sikh Coalition, a civil and human rights advocacy organization. One month
later, the United States Senate passed a resolution recognizing Sikh-Americans and condemning
hate-crimes against Sikhs and other minorities.
Page 22
In 2004, NYPD agreed to settle the case of Amric Singh, who was fired, in 2001, by the New York
Police Department for refusing to remove his turban and shave his beard.
Page 23
In 2009, following a spate of bias attacks on Sikh children, the Sikh community of New York City
spearheaded a successful effort to pass the first anti-bullying law in New York City.
Page 24
Between 2009 and 2010, three Sikhs were allowed to serve in the U.S. Army with their Sikh
articles of faith intact. Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi and Captain Tejdeep Singh Rattan, an
emergency medicine doctor and a dentist respectively, became the first Sikhs to enlist in the
U.S. Army in decades, due to a ban implemented in the early 1980s on “conspicuous” religious
articles. However, Kalsi and Rattan were granted religious accommodation, allowing them to
enlist and serve in the Army without having to compromise their articles of faith. These Sikhs
won commendations for their service in Afghanistan, including the Bronze Star Medal.
Corporal Simran Lamba, a recent immigrant from India, became the first Sikh in over thirty
years to enlist in the United States Army. Lamba, who trained to become a combat medic, was
the first Sikh since 1984 to receive an exemption from the Army’s ban on facial hair and
headgear that do not conform to regulation.
Page 25
In 2012, the Sikh Coalition settled a lawsuit against the New York Metropolitan Transit
Authority, challenging a post 9/11 policy which segregated Sikh and Muslim workers out of
public view. As a result of the settlement, Sikh and Muslim workers may now wear their
religious headdress freely --- as they did before 9/11 --- without fear of segregation or
discipline.
Page 26
On August 5, 2012 Wade Michael Page, associated with white supremacist groups, walked in
and opened fire during services at a Sikh Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin killing six
worshippers. Page was killed by a police officer who arrived at the scene. The shooting was
labeled an act of “domestic terrorism”. In the weeks and months that followed, thousands of
Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike gathered in gurdwaras, churches, and community centers around the
nation to remember the slain and to stand up against intolerance.
Page 27

Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Educator Toolkit

Transcription

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