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First Montreal Shoah conference for teachers a success |
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Written by Mike Cohen
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Wednesday, 28 October 2009 |
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MONTREAL – Organizers are calling the first teachers conference in Montreal focusing on the Holocaust a huge success.
Almost 100 educators gathered at the Gelber Conference Centre last week as the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre (MHMC) and the Riva and Thomas O. Hecht Scholarship Program for Educators presented the day-long program. Its purpose was to encourage Quebec teachers to teach the Holocaust and to show them by practical example how it can be possible in different ways, different classes and different contexts.
Teachers came from both the English and French public systems.
According to Riva Hecht, Quebec teachers are interested in teaching about the Holocaust and current day discrimination, racism, antisemitism and human rights violations.
“The Quebec Education Program offers opportunities to teach students to take positions on these issues as well as engage students in action to promote respect for diversity,” she remarked.
While recognizing that teaching the Holocaust can be intimidating, especially at the grade-school level, it can also represent an important way for learning how to live together, on a deeper level, in schools. Questions asked included: What are the challenges of teaching this subject? What kind of guidelines should be respected to maximize its impact on the intercultural and anti-racist education of the students and on their capacity to stand up against inequalities and human rights violations?
Keynote speaker Marie McAndrew, a full professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations at the Université de Montréal, told teachers they need to be passionate and comfortable in teaching about the Holocaust.
“We used to think that the Holocaust could not be linked to other genocides,” she said. “But more and more we are now doing so. Our school populations are changing in terms of the student composition.”
Throughout the day workshops were offered and tools provided for all grade levels on a variety of issues. This included a session called Teaching Tools based on the International Seminar for Educators at Yad Vashem, Grade 5-6, with teachers Carole Touchette of Westpark School from the Lester B. Pearson School Board and Linda J. Shetzer of the English Montreal School Board’s (EMSB) Parkdale School. Both women were past recipients of teacher scholarships from the Hechts to participate in their annual seminar in Jerusalem.
Shetzer teaches in a school in the suburb of St-Laurent, where the vast majority of children are Muslim. Before starting to teach the Holocaust, she had several concerns. But she realized how teaching the Holocaust can bring together almost all of the competencies that teachers have to evaluate. She showed participants some of the work done by the children: writing, artwork and an excerpt of the video they produced.
Riva Hecht quoted Elie Wiesel, who when in Montreal recently was asked what could be done to combat Holocaust denial. “His answer was education,” she said. “That was the inspiration for this conference.”
The MHMC, through its museum, commemorative programs, survivor testimony and educational tools, combats current day racism and antisemitism. The centre educates more than 20,000 people annually about the Holocaust and related issues. This conference was part of the Holocaust Education Series 2009.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 04 November 2009 )
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