Facing History
This week I'm participating in a seminar on the Facing History curriculum for teachers at Jewish Day Schools. Even though I teach Science, the school was still happy to send me. And the program takes place at their main office in Brookline, which means for me that it's just a twenty minute walk away.
The curriculum is based upon using the Holocaust to explore all sorts of themes about identity, persecution, marginalization, etc. I have to admit that a lot of it feels familiar, but I still think I'm getting a lot out of it. Yesterday we read "The Bear That Wasn't" and discussed it, we created identity boxes, and we heard from a speaker on Jewish culture in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. Now, I've read the Bear book, done ID boxes, and taken a college course on Jewish Life in Eastern Europe...but I still felt the time was well-spent.
The curriculum is based upon using the Holocaust to explore all sorts of themes about identity, persecution, marginalization, etc. I have to admit that a lot of it feels familiar, but I still think I'm getting a lot out of it. Yesterday we read "The Bear That Wasn't" and discussed it, we created identity boxes, and we heard from a speaker on Jewish culture in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. Now, I've read the Bear book, done ID boxes, and taken a college course on Jewish Life in Eastern Europe...but I still felt the time was well-spent.
(well, that's what I think of when I hear the phrase "The Bear That Wasn't")
Sounds like a thought-provoking seminar.