Shoah curriculum reaches milestone
'Echoes and Reflections', a groundbreaking multimedia study program on Holocaust gets to more than 10,000 teachers, 1.5 million students in US, Canada and Israel since program’s launch in 2005
“Holocaust education is an important multi-disciplinary subject,” says Deborah A. Batiste, "Echoes and Reflections" project director. “The response to 'Echoes' by teachers in small towns and big cities alike is a testament to the value of accurate and authentic Holocaust education in the classroom. However, this milestone is also a reminder that there are many more teachers still to be reached.”
The curriculum was produced in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, and Yad Vashem. It provides educators with the tools and resources needed to teach the complex issues of the Holocaust to today’s students.
Following a recent "Echoes and Reflections" training program in Des Moines, Iowa, a Hoover High School special education teacher evaluated the curriculum as “Fantastic! … You should come to every one of our teacher in-service days – this is the most worthwhile workshop I have attended in 12 years of teaching.”
"Echoes and Reflections" is a comprehensive 10-part curriculum on the Holocaust that uses visual history testimony from survivors and other witnesses and additional primary source documents, including maps, photographs, timelines, literature excerpts and other materials. Since its launch in July 2005, the program has reached more than 1.5 million students in 4,000 public, private and parochial schools in 43 states around the United States, and in Canada and Israel.
“We look forward to continue partnering with the USC Shoah Foundation Institute and Yad Vashem, as well as the network of professors at colleges of education across the country who are now helping us to prepare the next generation of teachers,” added Batiste.
Funding from Dana and Yossie Hollander allowed for the original development of all components of the curriculum, including the print guide, the DVD of visual history testimony, and the newly revamped Echoes and Reflections website.
“Holocaust education is one of the best ways to teach tolerance and basic human values,” said Yossie Hollander. “These are lessons every student should understand as they prepare for their adult life."
The curriculum was honored in 2007 for its use of visual history testimony and its educational website by the National Association for Multicultural Education.
