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Andrew Beiter
Stephanie Brown
Ben Higgins
Matthew Meader
Lori Raybold
08
Project
Summary
TAH Project Description
for the Summer Institute for Human Rights and Genocide Studies
Submitted by:
Andrew Beiter, Matthew Meader,
Stephanie Brown, and Lori Raybold
1. General
Overview of the Proposed Project:
Our project is to
administer a high school Summer Institute for Human Rights and
Genocide Studies, entitled “From the Holocaust to Darfur:
American responses to Genocide”. Held from July 28th-August
1st at Hamburg High School, this intensive experience
will provide the learner with expert speakers, hands-on exercises,
and film study that will analyze how the United States has responded
to genocide, with the hope that the students will use that knowledge
to help our country respond differently in the future.
2. Clear Purpose
and Objective:
The purpose of this project is to
immerse our students in American and world history, so that they
might in turn be more concerned citizens and active in preventing
genocide. More information can be had at http://www.buffaloforafrica.org/summerinstitute
3. Stakeholders:
grade level, who will benefit, who will participate in this project.
Currently, we have 40
students registered, representing over fifteen high schools in
Western New York.
4. U.S. History
Content Area
A)
FDR’s deliberations to bomb
Auschwitz.
B)
The United States’ role in
liberating Nazi concentration camps.
C)
Judge Jackson and the Nuremberg
Trials
D)
Raphael Lempkin and the Genocide
Convention.
E)
Bill Clinton’s response to
Rwanda.
F)
George W. Bush’s
response to Darfur.
5. Outline
Describing Content
Please see the enclosed brochure…
6. Software to
be used, internet materials, contacts, etc.
The students will utilize several
Internet sites about how American students have responded to the
genocide in Darfur.
7.
Level of Student Involvement:
The level of student
involvement will be very high. In addition to several hands-on
learning activities throughout the week, on the last day, the
students will use their course of study to craft an action plan on
how they—and one of their teachers—can create an anti-genocide, or
human rights group in their schools. Also, each student will be
obligated to attend a daylong refresher course in the fall, as well
as one in the spring, dates TBA.
8. Evaluation
process (include students when possible)
The students will be
asked to complete a comprehensive evaluation about how they thought
the institute went, so that we might better serve future attendees.
9. Timeline: how
you envision the project being carried out:
November 2007:
Project originally conceived.
December 2007:
Committee formed
January
2008: Sponsorships formed; speakers confirmed
February
2008: Brochure, website, and agenda created
March
2008: Publicity, mass-mailings, and
announcements
April
2008 email follow-up to contact teachers
who might pass the information on to students
May
2008: Newspaper interviews; more
emailings to the above parties
June
2008: Registration closes; acceptances
mailed
July
2008: Curriculum reviewed; speakers
reconfirmed
July 28-Aug 1st,
’08: Summer Institute held
10. Comments or
Questions:
It’s our hope that the institute is
not only valuable to students, but also, provide a useful template
to other teachers who are interested in possibly doing similar
institutes on different historical topics.
Andrew
Beiter TAH Project Reflection Report
Project Title:
Summer
Institute for Human Rights and Genocide Studies
Overview:
The
Summer Institute was a five-day seminar for high school students
that explored the history of America’s reaction to the major
genocides of the 20th Century. In doing so, its hope was
to use that knowledge to craft a more effective response to the
genocide in Darfur.
What we learned:
Our
strategy of working as a team paid huge dividends. The Institute
went smoothly, without any major glitches. The key was to have
enough teachers there to staff the key components, such as speakers,
hospitality, registration, and curriculum. It was also planned
months ahead of time.
What we would do
differently:
Public relations. While we received coverage from a local TV
station, we all agreed that for next year, we will send PR packets
to all media outlets, complete with a promotional DVD and brochure.
The Student Response:
In
the end, we felt that our strategy of immersing the 35 students with
expert speakers, genocide survivors, and interactive activities was
a big success. Our short-term goal was to get them interested in
starting a human rights group at their high school, with a long-term
goal of getting them involved in a career in the same. Being
immersed in this content will also encourage their success in
history classes, and more importantly, in becoming engaged, active
citizens eager to make the world a better place.
Thank you to TAH for your generous support in making this event
possible. We look forward to doing the same next year.
Matthew Meader
The Summer Institute for Human Rights and Genocide Studies
was a tremendously successful educational endeavor. The intensity
of the material combined with the emotional gravity of the speakers,
presenters, films, etc. made for a one of a kind experience in which
students were provided with an in depth look at genocide, starting
with the Holocaust and progressing toward today’s genocidal
atrocities in Africa.
As a teacher, I was able to work with some amazing
colleagues who provided me with models for teaching in ways I have
not taught before. I was able to assess other teacher’s ability to
reach out to students and make history come to life. Most
importantly, as an educator, I was inspired by the passion of the
students who truly demonstrated that if trusted with high
expectations and intellectually and emotionally complex material
they are capable of producing results beyond any imagined best case
scenario.
When looking back on the week, I am tempted to say that
everything went smoothly since I had anticipated more bumps in the
road than were actually encountered. However, with time to reflect
more critically I would argue that one of the only things I believe
we must improve upon is the fragile balance that exists between
providing information and allowing for student interaction with the
material provided. Despite the forty hours of time allotted for the
institute, the subject matter floods the edges and demands
omissions. As a teacher who feels passionately about the subject
matter, it can be difficult to displace the urge to continue pouring
content into the overflowing glass. We must be careful to provide
the students enough time to work with the content and develop a
sense of ownership over the material they have been given.
Perhaps the most rewarding part of the week was hearing from
the students and seeing in their eyes the desire to use what they
have learned to change the world we live in. Despite the
depressing, heart-wrenching nature of the images, the ideas, the
truth behind the all too often glossed over study of human rights,
our students left with an impressive abundance of hope. Now armed
with a larger piece of the truth our students seem eager to work for
change. They have continued to share ideas on the social network
created online and are already forming groups to raise awareness in
their schools and communities.
I have no doubt whatsoever that the students who attended
this year’s Summer Institute for Human Rights and Genocide Studies
will enter the school year with a new found love of learning. The
Institute provided an experience that made learning personal and
provided real life evidence that knowledge is power. Whether it was
listening to a holocaust survivor, a liberator, a historian, an
international tribune, or the impassioned lessons prepared by the
instructors, our students learned that true knowledge affects that
mind, body, spirit, and potentially the world.
Lori A. Raybold
The
Summer Institute for Human Rights and Genocide Studies was created
to provide not only an intensive study of genocide from the
Holocaust to the present, but also a template for teachers and human
rights organizations throughout the country to host similar programs
in their communities. We set out to incorporate a historical
overview of genocide with America’s and the world’s responses to
each international crisis. We hoped to provide a historical
framework on which students could build in an effort to create
activism for human rights and to put an end to genocide in our
time.
First and foremost, we learned that there were many generous people
and organizations that were willing to give of their time, money,
and resources to support our endeavors. We learned that there were
many enthusiastic students throughout the Western New York region
who were willing to give up a week of their summer vacation in order
to learn about how to make a difference in the world. Above all, we
learned that it is not unrealistic to have hope that the world we
live in will continue to become a more just and peaceful place for
ALL people.
The
program as a whole was very successful—we were able to host speakers
that included survivors from the Holocaust, Rwanda, and Darfur, and
also past liberators and a present international prosecutor. For
future summer institutes we would definitely want to build on the
resources we already have while expanding the hands-on opportunities
for students to create community projects and to learn from each
other. We would also expand our efforts for community funding and
greater publicity—the more people we can reach, the more successful
our efforts will be.
As
stated earlier, the student response to the institute was very
positive. Students came with a range of knowledge and experiences,
and indicated through surveys that the summer institute was
extremely informative/enlightening and even life-changing for some.
During the summer institute, students began to conduct research on
their own time to fill in the gaps of what they still wanted to know
about genocide. They talked about how useful and influential their
new knowledge would be for the coming school year, reflecting on the
fact that the previous year’s global studies DBQ was based on Lemkin
and genocide. They also spoke enthusiastically about their desires
to create presentations for classes and the school body, and also to
create clubs within their schools to promote awareness and to help
end genocide.
Since the institute, students have been true to their word by
continually posting articles and news clips to our shared blog.
Several have organized community days of learning for the fall, and
all have demonstrated a desire to keep the momentum moving in the
direction of promoting human rights and putting an end to genocide
in our time. In these ways, we can feel confident that the summer
institute will continue to have an impact on young people in Western
New York and beyond.
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