Khalsa Learning Initiative for Ancient Greek & Latin Classics

Who We Serve

Khalsa Classics is open and free to:

• all secondary school students enrolled in grade 8 to grade 12

• all religious faiths as well as those who are non-religious

• all ethnic, racial, cultural, socioeconomic and linguistic backgrounds

Our program is designed within its capacity to be inclusive and accessible.       

What We Do

Khalsa Classics provides free group lessons in a physical classroom setting at local community facilities.  Our program is guided by and/or comprised of:  

• Traditional Classical Education 
  Our program focuses on the academic subject of language arts and literature within the framework of the traditional classical education model and specifically through the study of epic, lyric and dramatic written works of ancient Greece and ancient Rome. 

• Grammar - Dialect - Rhetoric
  Three of the academic domains of traditional classical education are grammar (correct mechanics and structure of language), dialect (logical thinking and reasoning); and rhetoric (effective communication and argumentation);  these three domains are relevant to the study of literature and to the practices of writing and debating, reading and recitation, pronunciation and speech; the group lessons are dedicated to these practices with the same strict discipline and repetition as athletic sports programs. 

• Selfless Service
  Volunteering to teach important literacy skills to older children and adolescents is founded upon the Sikh values of seva(ਸੇਵਾ), meaning “selfless service” to others, without expectation of reciprocity; our program was founded by a Sikh woman who earns a living as an educator in humanities art history and visual arts, but who also volunteers part-time as a youth teacher. 

• All-English Instruction
  Lessons involve reading, writing, and speaking in English and the use of English language translations of the original texts; learning ancient Greek and Latin is beyond the scope of the program; moreover, the all-English instruction renders our program much more accessible to a much larger demographic of students. 

• Parents’ and Students’ Needs
  The traditional classical education model is highly prized by parents and students alike, but is not necessarily available through the local public school systems; our program helps to serve the needs of such parents and students, especially those who are low-income and cannot afford private tutoring.

• Appreciation 
  Instruction is deliberate in its goal of making the ancient texts genuinely accessible and meaningful to all students, regardless of their backgrounds;  our program founder is a college professor who teaches cultural subjects of ancient Mediterranean civilizations and understands how students –once introduced to the epic, lyric and dramatic literature of ancient Greece and Rome– identify with the themes presented by writers from these civilizations. 

• Dramatic Arts
  Texts used for our group lessons include works by ancient Greek playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides which were all composed as dramas to be performed by actors on stage to a live audience; the rich traditions of theatre originating in ancient Greece are integral to our program goals of improving students’ oral communication, reading, recitation, pronunciation and speech. 

• Growth - Confidence - Leadership  

Instruction is purposeful in its emphasis on writing and argumentation, reading and recitation, pronunciation and public-speaking, because these practices contribute significantly to intellectual development, while also helping to build self-confidence and leadership capabilities which are mutually reinforcing.

About Us 

The Khalsa Classics program was founded by Joypreet Kaur, a Sikh woman who earns a living as an educator in humanities art history and visual arts, but who also volunteers part-time as a youth teacher, in accordance with the Sikh values of seva(ਸੇਵਾ) or “selfless service” to others.   

Over the years, Joypreet observed the consistent educational emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics among Punjabi Sikhs in her social and religious communities, as well as among the general populations in and originating from the Indian Subcontinent, including first- and second- generation Pakistani Americans and Indian Americans.  She noted the frequent relegation of language arts and literature within these general populations.  

PHOTO INSERT __ Joypreet Kaur __ during a lecture on Humanities Art History education with comparative example studies from ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek cultures  __ 2025 __ University of Saint Andrews, Scotland, U.K.  

Joypreet’s inquiries into the matter repeatedly led to the same answer: the students’ educational focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics is due to the job security associated with professions in those academic disciplines.   It results in many students inadvertently unable to realize their full potential in language arts and literature.   It also results in many of these same students being unaware of the various lucrative career opportunities available to those who study literature and/or ancient Greek and Latin Classics.   While this phenomenon is not exclusive to the student populations in and originating from the Indian Subcontinent, it is the one which personally motivated Joypreet Kaur to create the Khalsa Classics program.   As a volunteer teacher, many of her young Sikh students asked for help with specific aspects of writing and reading, and they demonstrably struggled with argumentation, communication, pronunciation and public-speaking.  

The needs of the students informed how Joypreet developed the program with attention to grammar, dialect and rhetoric.  Classroom group lessons were determined to be the most viable for the program instruction.  The decision to focus on ancient Greek and Latin literature was made because Joypreet recognized the lack of opportunities for students to study such valuable cultural traditions in their local public school systems.   

Joypreet understood that the lack of opportunities to study ancient Greek and Latin literature affected children and adolescents of all backgrounds, especially those of low-income families who could not afford private tutoring.  This is why Khalsa Classics was further developed to expand beyond the Punjabi Sikh communities and reach secondary school students of all religious faiths, as well as those identifying as non-religious.   As the program founder, Joypreet prioritized the goal of serving students of all ethnic, racial, cultural, socioeconomic and linguistic backgrounds.    

Our Values

Serving with Purpose - Teaching through Literature - Learning by Practice

• Serving with Purpose – developing students’ skills in grammar, dialect and rhetoric, founded upon the traditional classical education model which many young students and their parents recognize as important, but cannot obtain through their local public school systems

• Teaching through Literature – supporting students’ intellectual development through the study of epic, lyric and dramatic literature of ancient Greece and Rome, which simultaneously encourages students’ personal growth 

• Learning by Practice – improving students’ written and oral communication, reading and recitation of texts, and pronunciation and speech, all through classroom group lessons devoted to practice with the same strict discipline and repetition as athletic sports programs 

Texts Used in Our Program

Students participating in the Khalsa Classics program will read English-language translations of the original ancient texts which are selected from the following literary works:

• Homer The Iliad  ca. 8th - 7th Century B.C.E. 

• Homer The Odyssey  ca. 8th - 7th Century B.C.E.

• Aeschylus Agamemnon (Part I of the Oresteia) mid- to early- 5th Century B.C.E.

• Aeschylus The Choephori  (Part II of the Oresteia) mid- to early- 5th Century B.C.E.

• Aeschylus The Eumenides (Part III of the Oresteia) mid- to early- 5th Century B.C.E.

• Aeschylus Prometheus Bound mid- to early- 5th Century B.C.E.

• Aeschylus The Suppliants mid- to early- 5th Century B.C.E.

• Aeschylus Seven Against Thebes mid- to early- 5th Century B.C.E.

• Sophocles King Oedipus  mid- to late- 5th Century B.C.E.

• Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus  mid- to late- 5th Century B.C.E.

• Sophocles Antigone mid- to late- 5th Century B.C.E.

• Euripides Hecabe  mid- to late- 5th Century B.C.E. 

• Euripides Medea  mid- to late- 5th Century B.C.E. 

• Euripides The Trojan Women  mid- to late- 5th Century B.C.E.

• Euripides Electra  mid- to late- 5th Century B.C.E. 

• Euripides Herakles  mid- to late- 5th Century B.C.E. 

• Euripides Andromache  mid- to late- 5th Century B.C.E.

• Virgil Aeneid  mid- to late- 1st Century B.C.E.

• Ovid Metamorphoses  early 1st Century C.E.

• Ovid Fasti  early 1st Century C.E.

• Statius The Achilleid  late- 1st Century C.E.

• Statius The Thebaid   late- 1st Century C.E.

The works in this list by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were all written as dramatic plays to be performed by actors on stage to a live audience;  the rich traditions of theatre originating in ancient Greece are integral to our program goals of improving students’ oral communication, reading, recitation, pronunciation and speech.  

How to Support the “Khalsa Classics":

What sustains our program and enables us to reach more students is public support in the form of:

• Donations

• Volunteer Service

• Sponsorship

• Partnership
  

Legal Status

Khalsa Learning Initiative for Ancient Greek & Latin Classics (“Khalsa Classics”) is operated by Dandies Foundation, a registered nonprofit organization based in Mountain View, California.  All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Dandies Foundation is an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and all donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.