By Kara Goodwin
Educational and inspiring are the best words to describe the second meeting of the Through Their Eyes program on August 15th at Kehillat Beth Israel Synagogue. First, we learned how CHES supports teachers, students, and other organizations such as government departments, police services, and church groups with speakers and curriculum resources. Chair Mina Cohn walked us through the process of how educators access materials and book speakers through the CHES website.
As the Ontario curriculum specifies outcomes for Holocaust studies, it is up to individual teachers to determine how this happens in the classroom. Teacher Kenra Mroz, a member of the CHES Education Committee, shared how her students learn about the Holocaust by studying narratives, inquiry, and reflection to build empathy. Kenra explained that in addition to teaching students about the historical facts of the Holocaust, hearing a speaker meaningfully connects students to themes such as identity, prejudice, and resilience. Feedback from audiences often includes statements such as “I never knew about this (the Holocaust)”, or “I can’t believe this happened to this person (the speaker).”
As a Second Generation survivor with recent experience speaking in Ottawa schools about antisemitism, Artur Wilczynski recommended that speakers keep their presentation short (given the attention spans of teens) and not assume that students have a basic knowledge of what it is to be Jewish (both historically and in the present day). He stressed how valuable it is to make human connections and both be a speaker and sensitive to the experiences of students: “Draw links to things kids will have experienced such as trauma, displacement, an uncertain future, reconciliation, and resilience.”
Phil Emberly shared the incredible story of his father’s life after surviving the Holocaust as a Kindertransport child. A highly successful military officer, Emberly Sr. never spoke to his family about his childhood in Frankfurt and the loss of his parents in the Holocaust. He changed his name and adopted an English accent. As an adult, Phil began tracing his family history armed only with his father’s diary and some photos. The success of his diligent research is astonishing and inspiring, and he is heading to Frankfurt again this fall to participate in local Holocaust education and memorial activities to keep the memory of his grandparents alive.
Kara Goodwin is a CHES Director.
