Nurturing one Sikh child at a time

NEW JERSEY: As the packed conference hall took a break, side conversations continued to excitedly flow about topics like The Importance of Language Education, Engaging Teenagers, School Bullying, Teaching Experiences and Mental Health in the School Setting.

While these sound like the topics of an established best practices in education convention, the conversations marked the first time Sikhs across North America came together in an open forum to discuss issues related to Sikhi Education and establish a network linking together Khalsa School teachers, administrators, mental health professionals, and parents across USA & Canada.

This Sikh Education Conference (SEC) pioneered by the Sikh Research Institute (SikhRI) took place on September 26-27 at Bridgewater Khalsa School in New Jersey, USA. The SEC, which Jasmine Kaur, SikhRI’s Director of Education & SEC lead, shares “aimed to facilitate a Sikh Educators Network to help Sikh educators at large work together on issues pertinent to Sikhi education” was an extraordinary success!

Focused on “Sikh Education: Road Map for the Next Decade”, this conference brought together over 80 current Sikh educators from California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio, Minnesota, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas, British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta. Knowledgeable and engaging presenters from a variety of disciplines including mental health, Montessori education, research methods, language acquisition, counseling, teaching, and developmental specialists came together at the SEC.

These presenters provided current educators with practical tools & trainings to inspire both children and other educators. “It was an amazing feeling watching participants’ eyes light up as something the presenters said really got through to them. It motivated me to see my parents’ generation so passionate about furthering education”, comments Jaspreet Singh, SikhRI intern & co-presenter for Ujjal Didar Singh Memorial Foundation in Los Angeles, CA.

Kuldeep Singh (Sikh Youth Federation) served as keynote speaker for the conference and praised SikhRI for providing a forum where dialogue about education thrived. Achint Kaur, Sojhi/Education Council Lead at Bridgewater Khalsa School in Basking Ridge, NJ echoed those sentiments, “The SikhRI Sikh Education Conference has been, like all other SikhRI events, an immense, learning experience. If I can adopt an ounce of what I learnt from this conference, it would help me improve as a Sikh parent and teacher. It has been rewarding to also be able to meet people from other Khalsa school(s), hear their views, and exchange ideas. I look forward to more such opportunities.”

Creativity and passionate conversations were the keystone to the SEC as attendees continued after the sessions to the Langar Hall and even car & plane rides back home. “I was absolutely blown away by their (the presenters) insights and thoughts as well as the content they were all sharing…. I wish I had double the time to digest that… I plan to go back and share this with all the faculty” expresses Ranjit Singh, School Coordinator from Guru Gobind Singh Academy in Norwalk.

SEC made artistic classroom resources available for educators such as vendors offering books & paintings as well as gifts of My Gurmukhi Khajana, published and created by SikhRI and Cultural Safari of Kaur Foundation. One highlight of the conference was three year old Bani Kaur singing a poem during a session on “Bringing Creativity to the Sikh Classroom”.

The two-day conference started with an Ardas and included time for getting together as a Sangat to do Rahiras Sahib. This atmosphere of Sangat and thankfulness is what made the conference such a success as everyone worked towards a common goal: Nurturing One Sikh Child at a Time.

“I do not have the words to express our appreciation for the Bridgewater Khalsa School team. Under the leadership of Principal Sumandeep Kaur, and Vice-Principal Avtar Singh, all teachers & volunteers, the Gurduara Sahib Management committee as well as the Bridgewater Sangat made this a wonderful experience for all who attended. Thank you very much for your endless support for all of this.” says Baljinder Kaur from Vancouver, who serves on SikhRI Board of Advisors. “We would also like to thank all the inspiring presenters and the Sikh Spirit Foundation for their support in making this education conference a reality,” she adds.

Baljinder Kaur closed the conference on the note, “And may we not just imagine more conferences, but may we establish more institutions, firmly grounded in the Sikh way of life. Let us imagine North America’s first Sikh University, where we can train our teachers and future scholars. Let us envision a world where Sikh children are never bullied because Sikhi is taught in schools alongside other faiths. Let us shape a world where our bi-lingual children are eager to explore the treasure that is the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.”

India Post News Service