About Us: The Project
As a result of the increased American fear of those who "look like terrorists" after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, many Sikh children are bullied and harassed at school.
One very clear problem is that schools and libraries currently lack high-quality, professionally produced materials to introduce Sikhs, their unique identity and their practices to American students.
One of the most powerful ways to reach America's young people is through exciting and engaging video projects that can be incorporated directly into their existing school curriculum.
The Sikh Next Door is a fun and entertaining video designed to introduce 6th through 12th graders to Sikhs. Produced in a quick-paced, broadcast television style and told through the voices of four Sikh youth, this short film is a video resource that demonstrates the bicultural lives of Sikh Americans and engages students in a discussion about multiculturalism. In the process, it communicates effectively why students should not discriminate against others based solely on their external appearance.
A teacher's guide with complementary lesson plans and activities accompanies the 15-minute video. The materials are aligned to national educational standards. These classroom exercises focus on living in a multicultural society, and require minimal planning and background knowledge for presenters and teachers. Upper grade levels have the opportunity to use the video for more detailed discussions about world religions.
A team of Sikh educators, a broadcast television producer, two teen advisors, and a group of teachers and counselors worked together to design The Sikh Next Door project. Major funding and program support came from the "September 11th Anti-Bias Project"' of The National Conference for Community & Justice and the ChevronTexaco Foundation.
