aristotle
SPNer
Over half of Sikh students experience widespread bullying in U.S. schools which is more than double the national rate, according to a new report. The report ‘Go Home Terrorist: A Report on Bullying Against Sikh American School Children’ is based on survey of over 500 Sikh students, and interviewed 50 Sikh students in four states: Massachusetts, Indiana, Washington, and California.
“We found that the majority of Sikh children, just over 50 per cent, endure school bullying. And the numbers are worse for turbaned Sikh children,” said the report of the Sikh Coalition, which was released at the Capitol Hill last week.
“Over two-thirds, or 67 per cent, reported that they are bullied in school. The word ‘widespread’, particularly as it applies to turbaned Sikh youth, is not an exaggeration,” it said.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 32 per cent of all students ages 12 to 18 report that they are bullied in school.
According to the report, Sikh children shared how they are called ‘bin Laden’ or ‘terrorist’ or told to ‘Go back to their country’. Classmates make fun of their turbans and even try to forcibly remove them, it said.
Clearly, the extraordinary rates of bullying Sikh American school children endure is not happening in a vacuum. The period since 9/11 has been particularly difficult for Sikh Americans and their children, the report said.
Noting that the government, teachers, and school administrators are not powerless to stop Sikh children from being bullied, the Sikh Coalition urged the U.S. Congress to prioritise passage of the Safe Schools Improvement Act.
Though are mostly American citizens whose families often hail from India, Sikhs are are called "Osama" or "terrorist." They have their hair, which their religion bars men from cutting, pulled and traditional head coverings mocked.
"They would grab my turban and not let go even though I requested them to stop," said Pawan Singh, 16, a junior at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. Like many youths, Singh said the bullying was worst in middle school. He went to Jonas Bronck Academy, a predominantly Hispanic middle school in the Bronx. Singh pretended it wasn’t a big deal. But in reality "it felt demeaning," he said. "I felt kind of like a second class citizen. I wasn't feeling like a human."
The findings in the study matched the numbers from an earlier survey in New York City, which has a large Sikh community concentrated around Richmond Hill, Queens.
(Sources: http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...-experience-bullying-in-us/article5801342.ece,http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/sikh-kids-bullied-school-report-article-1.1721676)
(Image Source: http://www.saldef.org/events/saldef...americans-to-vote/attachment/kidbeingbullied/)
“We found that the majority of Sikh children, just over 50 per cent, endure school bullying. And the numbers are worse for turbaned Sikh children,” said the report of the Sikh Coalition, which was released at the Capitol Hill last week.
“Over two-thirds, or 67 per cent, reported that they are bullied in school. The word ‘widespread’, particularly as it applies to turbaned Sikh youth, is not an exaggeration,” it said.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 32 per cent of all students ages 12 to 18 report that they are bullied in school.
According to the report, Sikh children shared how they are called ‘bin Laden’ or ‘terrorist’ or told to ‘Go back to their country’. Classmates make fun of their turbans and even try to forcibly remove them, it said.
Clearly, the extraordinary rates of bullying Sikh American school children endure is not happening in a vacuum. The period since 9/11 has been particularly difficult for Sikh Americans and their children, the report said.
Noting that the government, teachers, and school administrators are not powerless to stop Sikh children from being bullied, the Sikh Coalition urged the U.S. Congress to prioritise passage of the Safe Schools Improvement Act.
Though are mostly American citizens whose families often hail from India, Sikhs are are called "Osama" or "terrorist." They have their hair, which their religion bars men from cutting, pulled and traditional head coverings mocked.
"They would grab my turban and not let go even though I requested them to stop," said Pawan Singh, 16, a junior at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. Like many youths, Singh said the bullying was worst in middle school. He went to Jonas Bronck Academy, a predominantly Hispanic middle school in the Bronx. Singh pretended it wasn’t a big deal. But in reality "it felt demeaning," he said. "I felt kind of like a second class citizen. I wasn't feeling like a human."
The findings in the study matched the numbers from an earlier survey in New York City, which has a large Sikh community concentrated around Richmond Hill, Queens.
(Sources: http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...-experience-bullying-in-us/article5801342.ece,http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/sikh-kids-bullied-school-report-article-1.1721676)
(Image Source: http://www.saldef.org/events/saldef...americans-to-vote/attachment/kidbeingbullied/)