Looking for an introduction video to the Holocaust that is appropriate for 8th grade. Thank you!
Has anyone taught a Holocaust elective? I would appreciate any materials you're willing to share - pacing, films, readings, etc.
Does anyone have a good visual lesson on the Holocaust that covers more than just Jewish persecution? Maybe some type of image analysis, or video?
In 2019, I wrote an article for EJewish Philanthropy expressing the need for cyber Holocaust educators. The plea was based on educator social media groups where teachers reaching out had little to no knowledge of the Shoah.
Fast forward several months later and Covid-19 hit; every teacher would become a cyber educator. Our entire craft became virtual, and every social media outlet would be filled with teachers leaning on each other for lessons and ideas. Our vulnerabilities were exposed, and they reflected the same challenge: how do we engage students on unfamiliar platforms during a deadly pandemic while they are experiencing their unprecedented challenges from isolation to trauma with our own families depending on us at home?
Besides addressing that small question, educators also used the era of Covid-19 to openly exchange lesson plans and ask questions about content. Once again I noted that many teachers teach about the Holocaust and know very little about it. I would find myself taking a lot of time to respond to these posts out of a sense of duty. I still do. However, I am one person in two social media groups, with two children, and a full teaching load. There are so many teachers who could use help, including the teachers that I don’t know about.
Back to Covid-19 era: In addition, on Twitter, there were parents listening to their children’s lessons and then expressing outrage at their ignorance while teaching Holocaust related lessons. The Tweeters would implore them to call [insert Jewish organization, administrator] and urge them to have the teacher disciplined or fired. When I would read about one of these teachers, I would cringe and wonder if she had posted that week on some teacher group asking, “Can someone help me? I was just brought in to do a maternity leave for a teacher, and I have to teach about the Holocaust.”
Then, in January 2022, my respected colleague, friend, and Holocaust educator and writer, Matt Lebovic, and I came up with a plan. As the founding director of the Holocaust Education Center of StandWithUs, he had shared with me that he successfully Zoomed a lesson with a large public school in Philadelphia, I suggested that I share his offerings with one of my closed history teachers’ group. (The group has several thousand members). After posting, Matt received takers who scheduled him to speak to their classes or referred him to their colleagues who needed his assistance.
Where Matt’s impact could really be felt would be on one of the closed English teachers’ group that has 21,000 members. That post received more than 100 likes, dozens of comments and tags. Matt Zoomed with students from all of the US and Canada.
I hope that Matt will serve many more teachers and schools. However, I am once again imploring the organizations and museums that educated and inspired me twenty years ago to modernize their outreach to teachers. There are a lot of resources going into the technology of holograms, Tik Tok, and 4D experiences. As much as I admire the innovations, legacy organizations must also focus their energies on outreach to educators who are not Jewish on the platforms in which they are seeking resources. What is the use of excellent content, and there is so much excellent content out there, if those who need it most do not [have or know to] access it?
While we are all quick to condemn those who are ignorant, we need to be just as fast at offering assistance when it is needed.
