Channels

Yad Vashem. 'Enormous difference'
Photo: Yossi Ben-David

US professors study Shoah on Israel tour

Representatives of 16 colleges and universities attend special seminar in Jewish state as part of ADL program designed to enhance their understanding of Holocaust and foster their commitment to educating future teachers

Professors representing 16 colleges and universities from across the United States attended a special seminar in Israel to study the Holocaust and anti-Semitism, as part of an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) program.

 

The "Echoes and Reflections" Professors’ Study Tour to Israel, held January 5-13, was an intensive, week-long program designed to enhance teachers’ understanding of the Holocaust and foster their commitment to educating future teachers using "Echoes and Reflections" — a multimedia curriculum on the Holocaust.

 

“This is the third 'Echoes' study tour, and each time, participants consistently report that being in Israel to study topics like anti-Semitism and the Holocaust makes an enormous difference,” said Deborah A. Batiste, project director for "Echoes and Reflections".

 

“With the benefit of first-hand accounts, set against the backdrop of modern-day Israel, professors can better appreciate the real-life applications of these lessons. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the professors as they bring the 'Echoes and Reflections' curriculum to their home campuses.”

 

The professors hail from the following schools: Alabama A&M University, Northern Arizona University, Boston University, University of Georgia, University of Hawaii, University of Virginia, Lehigh University, Pacific University (OR), University of Northern Colorado, Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne, Loyola Marymount University, Columbia University, Ohio State University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Louisville, and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

 

Sharing educational strategies

At Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes Remembrance Authority, participants took comprehensive tours of the campus, including the Holocaust History Museum; met with Holocaust survivors, world-renowned historians, and pedagogical experts; engaged in hands-on practice using "Echoes and Reflections"; and shared educational strategies. They also visited the Old City of Jerusalem, and other important sites throughout the country.

 

The seminar addressed issues such as the challenges of teaching the Holocaust to today’s students, the rise of modern anti-Semitism, the dilemmas of Jewish leadership during the Holocaust, and the ‘unprecedentedness’ of the Holocaust in an age of genocide.

 

On their return to their home campuses, participants were to integrate "Echoes and Reflections" into their teaching of the Holocaust, and work with their colleagues and with their local ADL office to coordinate teacher-training seminars for pre- and in-service educators.

 

"Echoes and Reflections — A Multimedia Curriculum on the Holocaust" is a collaborative program developed by ADL, the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, and Yad Vashem. The "Echoes and Reflections" project is funded by Dana and Yossie Hollander.

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 01.14.11, 12:12
 new comment
Warning:
This will delete your current comment