Culture in Classrooms

Children at a young age are naturally curious and interested in learning about their world. We saw this firsthand when we went to our children's elementary school classrooms to share with our child's classmates the awesomeness of Hindu festivals.  We often chose Diwali, because it's not only super fun but relatable to all children - there are colorful rangoli designs, lights, and great stories about superhero gods fighting to restore goodness.  The feedback often from the teachers and students was so positive.  The teachers noted that discussions about Diwali were culturally authentic.  For students, the stories resonated with them - the action, adventure, and, of course, superheroic gods!  They were familiar with Superman, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, Black Panther, and Spider Man.  Now they could expand their superhero list to include cool Hindu gods like Rama, Shiva, and Parvathi!

But the best part for us was always how happy our children felt about sharing an important part of their life with their classmates, many who didn't know anything about Hindu or Indian culture.  After the Diwali show and tell in their classes, they felt more connected with their cultural heritage, making them feel more whole as hyphenated Americans.  As parents, we couldn't ask for anything more.