Current Events
Here's an Idea for Your Summer Camp
by INNI KAUR
Are you one of those amazing individuals who organize and run summer youth gurmat camps somewhere in the diaspora?
If so, then I must ask you to consider having a workshop around an award-winning documentary, Roots & Wings. This powerful film is quietly changing the stereotypical mindset of school-going children across America.
Created by Angad Singh,
a Sikh-American teenager, this film seeks to create a dialogue as to how the current
school-going population views its fellow Sikh students.
Why is this film important?
Browse through the website, www.onelight-films.com and you will quickly see how this
film has facilitated a change in the mind of students who previously
associated Sikhs and turbans with negative images.
Read some their comments and get a glimpse of what our children face:
I really find this documentary very uplifting; it gave me perspective. You took me on the inside of what it is like to be an American who does not look like others. I would be lying if I said I have not been a little frightened when I was at an airport and I saw a man with a turban on. Now I realize, even if you are a Sikh or a Muslim it does not mean you are a terrorist. And, I apologize for being ignorant and will try to be a better American citizen. I hope to teach others what your documentary had taught me today. Thank you for the life lesson. [S.T., age 15 years, Georgia, U.S.A.]
Your film was moving. Before, when I saw someone with a turban, I would think of the Middle East. But now, after your film, I see people with turbans as Americans. I see them liking the same music and doing the same things I do. I think if we learn about each other, we will find that we are all the same people. [Age, 15 years, Georgia, U.S.A.]
Why it is important to hold
a workshop followed by a discussion at Youth Camps?
1 While this film educates the mainstream that beyond anonymity and mistaken perceptions, Sikh youth are truly American and deal with their challenges bravely, with roots in a perfect balance of spirituality and progressiveness. It also inspires Sikh youth to realize that they can triumph being who they are. They do not have to cut off their roots that strengthen them to soar high on their wings. This film instills an incredible level of confidence in the Sikh youth.
2 To empower the Sikh youth
with an action oriented plan. There is power in grass root action. All
it takes is one child educating their school and before you know it,
we will have the entire United States educated on who the Sikhs are
and their values. An organization cannot do this, but every Sikh child
can educate one school at a time. This is where the Gurmat Camps
come into the picture. You have the power to mobilize your campers with
a sense of action and become part of the process.
- Public schools shy
away from material that is religious in nature because by law they
have
to be secular and cannot impart religious education. They can however
and will impart lessons that fit in with cultural diversity, world
history
or world language program. Roots & Wings fits into all of
these categories as it invokes a dialogue on "What does it mean to
be an American in a multicultural society of today."
- It's a documentary
with real people and children who are truly American. Students and
teachers
relate to the real characters as they speak from the heart.
- An American teenager
has created this film. Students are often wary of adult agendas but
can easily relate to someone their age. They are touched by the fact
that somebody their age has to go beyond their comfort zone to be
accepted
as who they are. They show great respect for the fact that Sikhs stand
up for their beliefs rather than giving in after they have watched the
film.
- There are lesson plan and presentations, testimonies and letters from educators on the website that testify to the power of this film. There is no screening fee and the schools are supplied with all the necessary material and help.
OneLight Films will help you with the pre- and post- screening material and will send a free DVD screener for your camp.
What are you waiting for?
Please contact us today at:
P.S.: Parents: I know all of us share a deep desire to EDUCATE the schools about Sikhs in an effective non-threatening acceptable way. I strongly urge you to please download ‘The Letter to the Educators' from the website and send it to the teachers.
http://www.onelight-films.com/production/pdfs/RootsandWingsALettertoEduc.pdf
The right time to approach the educators is NOW. Teachers are engaged in planning exercises for the next year. Please share this information with them, so they can include Roots & Wings in their curriculum planning for the next year.
May 22, 2010
Conversation about this article
1: Mlle. S. (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.), May 24, 2010, 4:34 PM.
Thank you for this article, Inni ji. I have screened 'Roots & Wings' in my classroom for two years now, and my students have benefited enormously. I spend three days with each group of students discussing with them what it means to be an American and how various groups fit into the fabric of our beautiful country. The response is overwhelmingly positive, and students often thank me personally for taking the time out to talk about diversity issues. This semester, one Hispanic boy told me it was the highlight of his school year. Another girl, an Indian-American Hindu, said she wanted to show the movie at her summer camp because she felt it spoke to her community as well. Children of native Southerners have said they had no idea that such discrimination still existed and that they planned to educate their friends. Dozens of children expressed interest in learning about Sikhism and specifically said they would now feel much more comfortable if they saw a Sikh man at school, on the street, or in an airport. If you would like to show this movie at your school but need some help getting started, go to the website www.onelight-films.com and fill in the contact form. I would be happy to help.