Every year, as Vaisakhi approaches, I find myself reflecting on how I could make the occasion more meaningful for my son. Hug Day or Valentine’s Day has been a favourite for a while and then, last year was the first time he got really excited about Christmas. We had the pleasure of listening to him sing Happy Hannukah to us for most of the season too thanks to Special Agent Oso! And now, Vaisakhi is near.

This {soch} over the last few years is what has encouraged me to begin writing my third book – a children’s story about what Vaisakhi means to me and what I’d like my son to think about when celebrating this day. It is not the 300 year-old version of the historical event but instead a very personal interpretation that brings meaning to our contemporary vision of citizenship and human dignity. The occasion of Vaisakhi in 1699 was liberating as it negated the ruling caste system and put a visible and human identity in its place. The Sikh identity was born that day.

Having our son become a global citizenship is intrinsic to his identity but he has to be informed to enjoy and respect that liberty. Today, as I walked through the Gastown district of our new hometown, I watched my son drawn to the vibration of street musicians. He had no fear as he approached the homeless and each of these musicians with a contagious excitement that also prompted passers-by to stop and enjoy the music. Within that vibration a young soul recognized beauty and humanity and encouraged us adults to do the same, if only for just a moment.

While I maneuvered through cyber space, I came across quite a few links dedicated to Vaisakhi (or Baisakhi) but I was discouraged that educators were still using the 300 year-old version of the Vaisakhi story to inform all ages about the key Sikh calendar event. The original story holds great value but the historical form does not necessarily resonate with young children. As an idea for a school-wide assembly, one forum comment read – “Oh, just have a few swords dripping with blood and plant five kids in the audience to come up on stage. Should be fun.” Huh? What? Did I just read that on an education forum? How does that demonstrate the true meaning behind Vaisakhi? This idea might work for some of you but it certainly does not work for me.

I knew that as an educator, if I wanted change, then I needed to do something about it. And so I did. I learned that kite-flying is not just a leisure activity during the season of Vaisakh but that every kite tells a story. Some kites are used like little love notes – a new spin on Hug Day for my son and others are named for their design. What would your kite say?

Here is a handout created as a Countdown to Vaisakhi filled with ideas and resources to make the inclusion of the Vaisakhi celebration a seamless part of your teaching or parenting. There are ideas for different age groups and some that can be adapted to all ages. The main idea is that all students can be meaningfully engaged while being informed about an often misunderstood identity. I have included FREE templates (we teachers love those!) and links to other useful resources so you are ready to go. Have fun, take pictures of your global citizens and make a ROAR about Vaisakhi this year!

Tags: Baisakhi, dilruba, diversity, kites, lesson plans, lion masks, ode, poetry month, printables, seva, sikh, string instruments, teaching, templates, Vaisakhi

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 12th, 2011 at 2:16 pm and is filed under Soch. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.