Education update

Dr Simon Holloway

This year has started with a much-anticipated return to on-site teaching. The pandemic created many obstacles for learning, however we have worked through them and learned to be more exible and adaptable in our approach. We have started with having the educators on-site, with the plan to gradually have more volunteer facilitators and survivors join the onsite program. Our focus is to have the students leave their school environment and experience something transformative, learning the importance of Holocaust education. The feedback we are receiving is positive, that the excursion to our Centre is truly appreciated and valued.

The virtual program that our education team developed continues to attract bookings. It remains an appropriate alternative for many schools who are still hesitant about on-site excursions, or regional schools who lack the ability to travel the distance. It has in fact created an opportunity for those who are too far geographically to experience our program, something that would not have been possible prior to the pandemic. The museum’s virtual museum application, and our ability to broadcast a survivor to schools via Zoom, have meant that students are given an opportunity to engage with our program by having it brought directly to them.

The education team is to be commended for how readily they have managed to adapt through all of the COVID-19 related restrictions. Their commitment to teaching this subject with passion and sensitivity is all the more evident now that we have students on site, and the feedback from teachers and from students has been effusive. This is particularly the case with our In Touch with Memory program which enables participants to engage with high-quality replicas of objects in our collection. The history is really brought to life for them, and it is an inspiration to watch.

When unable to bring survivors on site some of our volunteers have tirelessly assisted them in connecting to the Zoom sessions so that students can ask them questions. The nature of those questions has really indicated just how deeply and empathetically those students are engaging with the testimony, which is a credit also to the teachers.

Those teachers would not be as capable as they are of preparing their students if it were not for the work of our Pedagogy Specialist, Lisa Phillips. Together with Jennifer Levitt Maxwell and her Engagement team, Lisa has built a world class professional learning program for teachers, which is getting a great deal of traction and is being heavily promoted by the Department of Education. This program provides historical knowledge and pedagogical assistance that is both in-depth and personalised to the participants.

We eagerly anticipate the opening of our new museum! We will be commencing a project shortly, in which we will be lming those survivors we have not yet lmed, and we look forward to using the testimony that we capture in new programs that we will be rolling out in that space.

The main aim is to have the students leave their school environment and experience something transformative “

Educator Melanie Attar with a replica of a toiletry bag from our collection.

Students from Brunswick Secondary College explore artefacts in our In Touch with Memory program.

Dr Simon Holloway is Head of Education at the JHC.