Tweet
Chicago Daily Herald, IL
May 24, 2012 Thursday
School transforms gym into museum
By Taylor Goldenstein
Seventh graders at Millburn Central School put away the play things in
their gymnasium this month - the climbing wall, Ping-Pong tables and
strength ropes - to create a public museum on something very serious:
genocides.
Students spent nearly a month working in groups to fill the room with
displays ranging from the Holocaust to the Nanking Massacre to Darfur.
Students called the project "the biggest of the year."
"It was hard, but it was really fun to do it because you got to work
with your friends to see their ideas, but it was also kind of sad to
learn about all the deaths that happened at the time," said Angela
Lee, 13. "It was shocking and sad; you wonder, `What would it be like
if I was really there?'"
Started five years ago by social studies teacher Dave Schroeder, the
museum has become almost a rite of passage for students.
Schroeder said there were doubts as to whether it would be continued
this year, but students created a petition showing their strong desire
to stage the exhibit again.
"I remember I would always look forward to it because my sister is
older than me and she would do it," said Olivia Jensen, 13.
The museum, which has been open since May 9, closed Wednesday.
Students presented their displays to about 150 other students, parents
and community members during that time.
Displays included dioramas, tri-fold posters, power point
presentations, a life-size replica of Kristallnacht, a night of
anti-Jewish attacks at the start of the Holocaust. There were also
recorded "interviews," in which students pretended to interview
survivors, and a tribute to World War II veterans.
The unit began with students learning about the Holocaust, and later
explored other genocides. Two guest speakers talked about their
relatives' experiences surviving the Holocaust and Armenian genocide
and a guest speaker scheduled for Friday is a survivor of the Rwandan
genocide.
"I think it's good for them to see faces, to have that human side of
it - not just the research, the academic part," Schroeder said.
Parent and Air Force Reserve Capt. Julie Richey is in the same
military unit as Schroeder, said his experience has shaped his
educational mission.
"Mr. Schroeder's interest in social studies is punctuated by his
service with the U.S. Navy Reserve and his desire to spark student
interest in American history and our worldwide peacekeeping role,"
Richey said.
Schroeder said he plans to continue the project, given the student
response this year.
"I always tell the students ... I hope for the sake of their
generation and the next generation that we don't have to add to this
memorial," he said.
"Darfur is still going on currently. They get it when I say that."
May 24, 2012 Thursday
School transforms gym into museum
By Taylor Goldenstein
Seventh graders at Millburn Central School put away the play things in
their gymnasium this month - the climbing wall, Ping-Pong tables and
strength ropes - to create a public museum on something very serious:
genocides.
Students spent nearly a month working in groups to fill the room with
displays ranging from the Holocaust to the Nanking Massacre to Darfur.
Students called the project "the biggest of the year."
"It was hard, but it was really fun to do it because you got to work
with your friends to see their ideas, but it was also kind of sad to
learn about all the deaths that happened at the time," said Angela
Lee, 13. "It was shocking and sad; you wonder, `What would it be like
if I was really there?'"
Started five years ago by social studies teacher Dave Schroeder, the
museum has become almost a rite of passage for students.
Schroeder said there were doubts as to whether it would be continued
this year, but students created a petition showing their strong desire
to stage the exhibit again.
"I remember I would always look forward to it because my sister is
older than me and she would do it," said Olivia Jensen, 13.
The museum, which has been open since May 9, closed Wednesday.
Students presented their displays to about 150 other students, parents
and community members during that time.
Displays included dioramas, tri-fold posters, power point
presentations, a life-size replica of Kristallnacht, a night of
anti-Jewish attacks at the start of the Holocaust. There were also
recorded "interviews," in which students pretended to interview
survivors, and a tribute to World War II veterans.
The unit began with students learning about the Holocaust, and later
explored other genocides. Two guest speakers talked about their
relatives' experiences surviving the Holocaust and Armenian genocide
and a guest speaker scheduled for Friday is a survivor of the Rwandan
genocide.
"I think it's good for them to see faces, to have that human side of
it - not just the research, the academic part," Schroeder said.
Parent and Air Force Reserve Capt. Julie Richey is in the same
military unit as Schroeder, said his experience has shaped his
educational mission.
"Mr. Schroeder's interest in social studies is punctuated by his
service with the U.S. Navy Reserve and his desire to spark student
interest in American history and our worldwide peacekeeping role,"
Richey said.
Schroeder said he plans to continue the project, given the student
response this year.
"I always tell the students ... I hope for the sake of their
generation and the next generation that we don't have to add to this
memorial," he said.
"Darfur is still going on currently. They get it when I say that."