Karanveer Singh Anand, a 13-year-old Newmarket student, has already witnessed the tremendous impact that one individual can have. A former student of Phoebe Gilman Public School in East Gwillimbury, he joined Elementary Virtual School later.
Natasha Angel, his instructor, understood that her students were frustrated that they could not pose for a class portrait, so she urged them to design avatars of themselves. Karanveer is a devout Sikh. He wears a patka with pride, however, the avatar programme did not have this choice. This moved him to think about why avatars have no representation of his community.
Karanveer shares his experience, and says, “I felt a little disappointed and pretty sad when I saw me and my culture wasn’t adequately represented in the avatar editor. I felt like I wasn’t really seen. However, at the time I didn’t feel like I could change anything, so I just sat in my disappointment and sadness and made an avatar that had short black hair.”
Voicing the under-representation
Angel sent Karanveer an email soon away because he was concerned that Karanveer's avatar didn't accurately portray him. He soon responded with utmost sadness that there was no representation of him in any avatar. There was no option for turban or patka.
They sent an email to the firm that created the avatars, and Pixton replied, apologising for the absence of a patka option and inviting Karanveer to contribute photographs to the company's avatar editor. Karanveer shares the moment of pride saying, “It made me feel so glad and happy that I was able to change the world with a single email and encouragement from my teacher. With this one little action, I was not just able to see myself and represent myself in Pixton and my class, but impact other people’s lives who are also Sikhs.”
A big step towards inclusion and rightful representation
Jared Shaw, the product manager for Pixton, stated that the company does its best to reflect diverse cultures and that the absence of a patka choice was an oversight on the company's part. He stated that he was really grateful that they were able to do something about it so fast, and that he was really glad that the student and the instructor were both brave enough to say something about it.
He further said, “My philosophy is no kid wants to feel left out. No person does, let alone a kid. I’m just really happy we were able to do that and get him in there. You can see it on his face; he feels like a million bucks.”
The community lauds Karanveer’s effort
Karanveer and his family had a neighbour named Balpreet Singh who is now the legal counsel for the World Sikh Organization in Canada. Balpreet Singh remarked that the accomplishment of the adolescent is quite significant. He said that having a unique appearance can be difficult for children, and it can be upsetting if they cannot locate an image that corresponds with who they are.
He further shared that he was proud of Karanveer for identifying the problem and finding a solution not only for himself but for all Sikh students like himself.
Angel praised the bravery that Karaveer displayed in order to bring about a change, both for himself and for the other pupils. She added that all of their students' identities count, and it is vital that students have the opportunity to accurately represent who they are. She also said that it is crucial for educators to detect missing aspects of their identities, to find ways to confirm those identities, and to give students chances, as well as a helping hand, to create positive change in the world.
Karanveer's mother Inderpal Kaur Bhui, father Gurvinder Singh Anand, and sister Harsheen Kaur Anand expressed their gratitude to Angel, Pixton, and Balpreet Singh in an email. They also expressed how proud their family is of Karanveer. Karanveer's family lives in both Canada and India. They said, “We never thought that a simple thing of creating an avatar of himself for his classroom actually not just helped him but all the Sikh kids around the world,” they said.
Paving his way towards Inclusion and Fair Representation
Karanveer emphasised the significance of accurately depicting the numerous cultures that are present in Canada,given that we live in a multicultural society. According to what he said, the things that pile up and count the most are frequently the smallest changes.
Filled with pride, Karanveer shared. “Before all this started, as I mentioned earlier, I didn’t think I could make a change. But my teacher helped me realize I could and helped me achieve it, so now I want to help others realize that they can do the same — all one has to do is ask or, in this digital world, write an email.”
*Based on an article by Lisa Queen, published in YorkRegion.com on 29th March 2021