Holocaust Institute Continues to Educate and Inspire

Date: October 7, 2009

The Nebraska Holocaust Education Consortium – a group established by the Institute for Holocaust Education (IHE) – recently collaborated with York College School of Education to share information and resources with the more than 70 middle and high school teachers and education students who attended from York and surrounding small towns.

Central High School English teacher Jen Stastny and Wayne State College professor Janice Dinsmore – both trained in Echoes and Reflections – discussed their experiences with the innovative ADL multimedia curriculum.

"The Echoes and Reflections multi-media curriculum provides an important starting point from which teachers can address the issues of character education in today's schools. Through the lens of the Holocaust, one can reflect upon one's own behavior and how it affects the world," Stastny said. "As a teacher, I feel that my own experience with the curriculum has served to rejuvenate the rest of my teaching."

Break-out sessions included presentations on the history of the Holocaust, age-appropriate pedagogy and contemporary genocide in Darfur and Rwanda. The keynote speaker for the workshop was Education Program Coordinator for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Christina Chavarria.

Committed to advancing the knowledge and skills of Nebraska educators, the Consortium trains teachers to present the lessons of the Holocaust through age-sensitive resources and according to Nebraska State Education Standards.