Facing History And Ourselves: Canada Fact Sheet

FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES

CANADA VISIT US AT WWW.FACINGHISTORY.ORG/CANADA OR CONTACT US AT 416-901-3831

Founded in 1976, Facing History and Ourselves is an international educational and professional development organization whose mission is to engage students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. By studying the historical development and lessons of the Holocaust and other examples of genocide, students make the essential connection between history and the moral choices they confront in their own lives. Facing History and Ourselves has nine offices in the U.S. and London, and educational partnerships in a growing number of countries, including Northern Ireland, Israel, Rwanda and South Africa. We engage more than 1.8 million students annually through our global network of 25,000 educators and reach the public through community events and extensive online resources. Facing History began our work with teachers in Canada in 1981. Since then, hundreds of teachers have attended Facing History’s seminars and workshops, and we look forward to reaching many more in the years to come. To meet this increasing demand, we are pleased to announce the establishment of Facing History and Ourselves Canada, which will include a resource center for teachers, community members and students. For more information contact Leora Schaefer, program director at [email protected] or 416-901-3831.

PLAY AND FILM FEATURED AT SPRING EVENTS On March 28th, Facing History and Ourselves Canada partnered with the Miles Nadal JCC and the PolishJewish Heritage Foundation to bring Life in a Jar, a play about PolishCatholic rescuer Irena Sendler, to Toronto. At a workshop on April 7th, co-sponsored with the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, teachers viewed the film Blessed is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh a n d received resources developed by Facing History to accompany the film. Senesh was a young diarist and poet who was captured and executed by the Nazis in 1944 after joining a rescue mission of Jewish paratroopers from Palestine who were attempting to rescue Hungarian Jews at the end of WWII.

SPOTLIGHT:

One Educator Reflects “Over 25 years ago I was a young history teacher struggling to teach the horrific history of twentieth century genocide. Facing History helped me . . . by creating a context wherein middle and secondary students can simultaneously examine issues in their own lives and historical case studies such as the Holocaust or the Armenian genocide to explore the role of perpetrator, victim, bystander, rescuer, resister and opportunist. Facing History has a profound understanding of adolescent development and how young people can wrestle with difficult history to reflect on their own experiences and become active citizens in democratic countries. The network of outstanding scholars and educators who contribute to Facing History has nourished me as a classroom teacher, as a curriculum coordinator and as a university course director.”

Myra Novogrodsky, co-chair of the Ontario Facing History Advisory Council and course director, York University Faculty of Education

“In every school I visit, and at every age level, kids are hungry for knowledge about the darkest moments in human history. . . . Facing History offers teachers and students an invaluable framework for the task, one that directly connects the past with the ethical questions and challenges of the present.” Karen Levine, author of Hana’s Suitcase and CBC producer

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Across Canada, teachers are embracing the methodology and professional support that Facing History provides, and integrating the resources into their classrooms. Facing History is pleased to announce that the Ontario Ministry of Education recently accepted a proposal from the Toronto District School Board to design and deliver a locally-developed full course (110 hours) on twentieth century genocide. Facing History’s approach will inform the course, and our resources will be key components.

SPOTLIGHT:

UPCOMING EVENTS Summer Seminar for Ontario Educators August 11-15, 2008

Teacher WorkshopCrimes Against Humanity and Civilization: The Genocide of the Armenians October 26, 2008

Since the inception of Facing History’s work in Ontario in 1981, we’ve offered workshops for the former Toronto Board of Education, Thames Valley District School Board, Kitchener-Waterloo (both the Catholic and public school boards), and Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. In addition, we’ve done extensive work with faculties of education at York University, Ontario Institute of Studies in Education-University of Toronto, and Althouse College-

Holocaust Education Week Programming November 2008 For more information about these and other upcoming events , go to www.facinghistory.org/canada or call 416-901-3831.

University of Western Ontario.

There has also been demand for the program in other regions of Canada, including a partnership with the British Columbia Teacher’s Federation and workshops for teachers in Winnipeg.

“Facing History engages us in a unique way with some of the most difficult and controversial

AN EVENING OF POETRY AND DISCUSSION Jan Haskings-Winner, an instructor at OISE/UT and curriculum leader for the Toronto District School Board, attended the Facing History seminar at OISE-University of Toronto last summer. At one of the seminar’s sessions, poets Bernadette Kabango from Rwanda and Holocaust survivor Donia Bumenthal Clenman (pictured above) shared their poetry and discussed how their work relates to the themes of legacy and memory. Thirty-five teachers from Jewish, public, and Catholic schools attended the seminar. Haskings-Winner called the seminar “one of the highlights of my career” and said the poetry session “provided an opportunity for reflection on the historical events and how people do move forward, which proved very uplifting. [Each poet] gave me hope that even in the most tragic of circumstances, the human spirit cannot be trampled.”

issues of our time. It moves us beyond historical atrocities and creates a space for conversation and

dialogue

about

current

events. This is an outstanding resource

for

teachers

and

teacher educators who look for appropriate

approaches

for

teaching about current injustices in the world.” Goli Rezai-Rashti, associate professor, Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario