The 'equity backpack' project of a grade 6 class has expanded to 70 schools in British Columbia and Alberta.

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Kirti Pathak
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What began as a project to combat racism in one Abbotsford Grade 6 class has now spread to classrooms in over 70 B.C. schools, including one in Alberta. Nerlap Sidhu, a social studies teacher, came up with the concept of having her students build individualized "equity backpacks" at the start of the school year.

The backpacks were created as part of a class craft project using cardboard and other materials, with the goal of centralizing work on equity, inclusion, and racism. "It's extremely crucial to engage children at a young age because this is such an important subject," said Sidhu, who recently completed a master's degree in inequity studies in education.

They have been filled with new information with each lesson, such as artwork, photos, journal entries, and other classwork. "I'm delighted we're learning about it," student Balkaran Basran remarked. The 11-year-old has been mocked for his long hair and patka on his head.

"This is part of my identity, my heritage, my parents, my grandparents, and we're trying to build bridges across cultures rather than walls," he proudly stated. Students obtained skills to battle racial stereotypes by drawing Band-Aids of various skin tones and listing negative adjectives on one side of the artwork for one project.

On the other hand, they came up with a list of good terms to counteract them. Ellie Dinh, 11, has since heard about her father's journey as a Vietnamese immigrant. Sidhu feels that these discussions allow students to reflect on their own traumatic experiences and equip them with the tools to respond correctly if they are targets or witnesses to racism in the future.

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