Temple israel 7th graders face History and themselves
Diversity
By Rabbi Suzie Jacobson
My earliest memories of Holocaust education are from my own bat mitzvah year — pictures of gaunt Eastern European Jews standing in the terrible cold, terrifyingly powerful pictures of Hitler speaking to unbelievably large crowds, and devastating stories of destruction and pain. I remember being scared of the images but oddly detached — “This happened so long ago, I am so far away.” I do not remember engaging in questions of morality or peoplehood. It took a course in college for me to truly understand what transpired and the many moral, political and social consequences. My early Holocaust education surely did not Our goal is to engage leave me inspired and it did not make me feel empowered as a Jew or as a students morally and citizen in the world.
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The Facing History and Ourselves curriculum is a permanent fixture in the Temple Israel 7th grade Religious School curriculum. Our goal is to to help them grow their engage students morally and to help Today, Holocaust education has them grow their sense of themselves sense of themselves been incredibly changed through the as actors for positive change in the hard work of the organization Facing world. Rather than beginning our as actors for positive History and Ourselves. Founded in unit with the invasion of Poland or 1976, this Boston based, international change in the world. kristallnacht (night of the broken glass) organization “seeks to engage we first ask questions such as “Who students of diverse backgrounds are you responsible for/ to?” “What is fascism and why do people follow in an examination of racism, prejudice charismatic leaders?” Instead of focusing solely on the rise of Nazism in and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed the aftermath of World War I, we first show how Nazi ideology found its roots in the anti-Jewish ideology and violence of medieval and 19th citizenry.” They were founded by educators century Europe. This philosophical and historical grounding allows who believe that it is not enough to merely our students to gain a basic understanding of Holocaust history while teach the details and horrors of the Holocaust beginning to contemplate how such a horrible tragedy could occur in our to Jewish and non-Jewish students. Rather, modern world. as we teach students about the historical
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development of the Holocaust and other examples of genocide, we must engage their growing sense of morality and teach critical thinking skills that will help them make good choices.
Facing History and Ourselves1 beyond the textbook, primary source centered approach is a great match for the Temple Israel Religious School program. Every year this curriculum allows us to touch the minds, hearts and moral compasses of our 7th grade students.
For more information see https://www.facinghistory.org/get-to-know-us/history#side
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INSIGHT Vol. 15, No. 4, Spring 2016/5776
