VANCOUVER: It is my pleasure and privilege as Principal of Khalsa School to comment on the exciting and unique series of books which are being written by students under the guidance of Gyani Amar Singh Dhaliwal.
Khalsa School by design occupies a unique niche in Canada’s educational system. It offers both the curriculum established by the Ministry of Education of British Columbia as well as a comprehensive program of Sikh studies. All of its students come from homes where English is not the first or primary language. Consequently Khalsa School also has strong English as a Second Language (ESL) program for its Indo-Canadian students.
The authors are intermediate and junior secondary students. Special classes in English were established for them under the tutelage of Gyani Amar Singh Dhaliwal who is also in the Religion/Punjabi Culture Department. The students themselves thought of the idea to approach acquiring English through questions and answers about the Sikh religion. Besides fearing English the project required research of Punjabi literature and translation as well as conversations with their teacher.
Their first volume is about Guru Nanak the first Sikh Guru. Guru Nanak taught the art and science of life a world based on Truth and the belief in one God. Subsequent volumes will deal with each of the other nine Sikh Gurus. It is beautiful that these young students have chosen to honor and share their Sikh heritage not only its history but also its moral and ethical values. It is also a tribute to the aims of Khalsa School that its students could undertake and produce such a noble project. That in itself is rewarding for any educator.
I would like to acknowledge the role which Gyani Amar Singh Dhaliwal has played as their teacher/mentor. This kind of creativity on the part of students is something which every teacher hopes to experience at least once in their career.
By Sat Kirpal Kaur Khalsa Principal Khalsa School Vancouver.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 7, 1991
