HERC uses lessons of the Holocaust to remember and tell the truth
As the world prepares to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day on Sunday, May 5th, the Holocaust Education Resource Council (HERC) announces a significant expansion. HERC has been credited by the state to develop, deploy, and deliver lessons from the Holocaust during the current school year, impacting students, grades 5—12.
HERC has honored Holocaust survivors for 15 years and it has implored us to ensure the Holocaust is never forgotten or repeated. The council’s heartrending pleas, especially in light of the conflicts in the world today, inspire us every day to continue the HERC’s mission to educate and transform generations, with the goal of ending antisemitism, prejudice, bias, and bigotry.
Holocaust instruction in Florida was first mandated by the Legislature in 1994, when the state provided funding to support the mandate and to give teachers the opportunity to train in Holocaust studies by Holocaust organizations. Since then, HERC has made a big difference in many schools.
After starting out by providing classroom visits, HERC is now offering innovative Signature Educational Programs, designed as a valuable resource that is appropriate for every school district.
The programs include professionally produced interviews and testimonies of Holocaust survivors and age-appropriate, historically accurate documentary videos. Each lesson has an Educators Resource Guide to accompany the grade-specific materials from the Holocaust, directly for all teachers.
Preliminary student outcome documenting an impact of participants have reported:
• Students gained a greater understanding of differences in others;
• Students recognized the importance of putting themselves in others’ shoes;
• Students now feel empowered to share how hate led to the Holocaust; and
• Students expressed a commitment to stand up against hateful behavior towards others.
Education must start early when children develop moral and ethical values and are taught critical thinking skills, so they are not easily influenced by propaganda. As the world combats rising antisemitism, there is more and more interest to increase all programs and to reach more schools.
For more information, visit www.holocaustresources.org.
Barbara Goldstein is executive director at the Holocaust Education Resource Council, Florida Department of Education Task Force on Holocaust Education past chair, and Advisory Board member at Shorstein Center for Jewish Studies of UF. The mission of the Holocaust Education Resource Council works to build hope and silence all hate, including antisemitism, by providing instructional guidance, support and resources for educators who teach the history of the Holocaust, and other educational programs for the community at large.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: HERC uses the lessons of the Holocaust to remember and tell the truth
