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GENOCIDE EDUCATION FOR TEACHERS IN PASADENA
Published: Wednesday April 10, 2013
Sarah Cohan with Pasadena teachers.
PASADENA, CALIF. - In an effort to more permanently include the
Armenian Genocide and other 20th century genocides into the Pasadena
high school curriculum, The Genocide Education Project (GenEd)
provided a full-day professional training workshop for Pasadena high
school history teachers. Led by GenEd's Education Specialist, Sara
Cohan, the comprehensive workshop covered a range of topics related
to genocide, including the California state requirements on Armenian
Genocide instruction, the genesis and meaning of the term, common
conditions leading to genocide, and the "eight stages of genocide."
The basic history of the Armenian Genocide was provided, and teachers
were introduced to a variety of resources to use in class, including
GenEd-developed lesson plans, "Human Rights and Genocide: A Case
Study of the First Modern Genocide of the 20th Century," "Nicole's
Journey," an online, interactive course, "The Armenian Journey: From
Despair to Hope in Rhode Island," a documentary video and classroom
study guide produced by GenEd.
Guest Speaker, Lorna Touryan Miller, spoke about her extensive work
documenting the oral histories of Armenian Genocide survivors and
survivors of the genocide in Rwanda. Herself a daughter of genocide
survivors, Miller first recorded her father's story of survival, which
spurred her and her husband, Donald Miller, to continue recording the
oral histories of other genocide survivors. They are currently editing
a new book titled, Survivor Voices: From Ottoman Turkey to Rwanda.
"It was excellent," said Pasadena teacher Joe Shady. "The personal
stories from Lorna were very moving." Shady said he plans to use the
workshop's resources in preparing his social studies courses. "I want
to incorporate the eight stages of genocide, so that way my students
can compare genocides throughout history and across eras and regions."
Teachers in attendance engaged in robust discussions about "best
practices" around teaching the subject of genocide and the most
effective ways of communicating the important society themes that
run through the continuum of genocides of modern history.
"We applaud the Pasadena Unified School District for hosting this
unique and useful professional development activity to enhance their
teachers' readiness for bringing lessons on the Armenian Genocide into
their classrooms," said Shoghig Yepremian, chairperson of the Armenian
National Committee of America's Pasadena Chapter. The ANCA-Pasadena
chapter was instrumental in bringing the city's attention to the
need for the Pasadena schools to incorporate this topic into their
standard curriculum, and the organization led the effort to organize
and fund the teacher-training workshop.
ANCA-Pasadena initiated and organized the workshop, and secured
funding from Saint Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian
Cultural Foundation, the Armenian Youth Federation Juniors, the
Armenian General Athletic Union and Scouts (Homenetmen), PUSD and
California State Senator Carol Liu.
"We're very grateful to all the organizations and Senator Liu for
recognizing the need for this instruction and pooling resources to
make it happen," said Yepremian. "We're also sincerely appreciative
to The Genocide Education Project and particularly Sara Cohan for
sharing her incredible knowledge about genocide and human rights and
delivering such valuable mentorship to educators," said Yepremian.
"Likewise, sincere thanks to Lorna Touryan Miller, whose extensive
knowledge of the traumatic experiences of genocide victims helps
teachers and students put a human face on an otherwise faraway,
historic event."
The Genocide Education Project is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization
that assists educators in teaching about human rights and genocide,
particularly the Armenian Genocide, by developing and distributing
instructional materials, providing access to teaching resources and
organizing educational workshops.
Watch Videos:
Educator Joe Shady on the value of the
workshop:http://youtu.be/J6ZZzvBOXXs Guest Speaker Lorna Miller on
documenting genocide survivors:http://youtu.be/ljdjoB4Q4l8
####
The Genocide Education Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit,
tax-exempt 501(c)(3) educational organization that assists educators
in teaching about human rights and genocide, particularly the Armenian
Genocide, by developing and distributing instructional materials,
providing access to teaching resources and organizing educational
workshops. For more information about The Genocide Education Project,
go to www.GenocideEducation.org.
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2013-04-10-genocide-education-for-teachers-in-pasadena
Published: Wednesday April 10, 2013
Sarah Cohan with Pasadena teachers.
PASADENA, CALIF. - In an effort to more permanently include the
Armenian Genocide and other 20th century genocides into the Pasadena
high school curriculum, The Genocide Education Project (GenEd)
provided a full-day professional training workshop for Pasadena high
school history teachers. Led by GenEd's Education Specialist, Sara
Cohan, the comprehensive workshop covered a range of topics related
to genocide, including the California state requirements on Armenian
Genocide instruction, the genesis and meaning of the term, common
conditions leading to genocide, and the "eight stages of genocide."
The basic history of the Armenian Genocide was provided, and teachers
were introduced to a variety of resources to use in class, including
GenEd-developed lesson plans, "Human Rights and Genocide: A Case
Study of the First Modern Genocide of the 20th Century," "Nicole's
Journey," an online, interactive course, "The Armenian Journey: From
Despair to Hope in Rhode Island," a documentary video and classroom
study guide produced by GenEd.
Guest Speaker, Lorna Touryan Miller, spoke about her extensive work
documenting the oral histories of Armenian Genocide survivors and
survivors of the genocide in Rwanda. Herself a daughter of genocide
survivors, Miller first recorded her father's story of survival, which
spurred her and her husband, Donald Miller, to continue recording the
oral histories of other genocide survivors. They are currently editing
a new book titled, Survivor Voices: From Ottoman Turkey to Rwanda.
"It was excellent," said Pasadena teacher Joe Shady. "The personal
stories from Lorna were very moving." Shady said he plans to use the
workshop's resources in preparing his social studies courses. "I want
to incorporate the eight stages of genocide, so that way my students
can compare genocides throughout history and across eras and regions."
Teachers in attendance engaged in robust discussions about "best
practices" around teaching the subject of genocide and the most
effective ways of communicating the important society themes that
run through the continuum of genocides of modern history.
"We applaud the Pasadena Unified School District for hosting this
unique and useful professional development activity to enhance their
teachers' readiness for bringing lessons on the Armenian Genocide into
their classrooms," said Shoghig Yepremian, chairperson of the Armenian
National Committee of America's Pasadena Chapter. The ANCA-Pasadena
chapter was instrumental in bringing the city's attention to the
need for the Pasadena schools to incorporate this topic into their
standard curriculum, and the organization led the effort to organize
and fund the teacher-training workshop.
ANCA-Pasadena initiated and organized the workshop, and secured
funding from Saint Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian
Cultural Foundation, the Armenian Youth Federation Juniors, the
Armenian General Athletic Union and Scouts (Homenetmen), PUSD and
California State Senator Carol Liu.
"We're very grateful to all the organizations and Senator Liu for
recognizing the need for this instruction and pooling resources to
make it happen," said Yepremian. "We're also sincerely appreciative
to The Genocide Education Project and particularly Sara Cohan for
sharing her incredible knowledge about genocide and human rights and
delivering such valuable mentorship to educators," said Yepremian.
"Likewise, sincere thanks to Lorna Touryan Miller, whose extensive
knowledge of the traumatic experiences of genocide victims helps
teachers and students put a human face on an otherwise faraway,
historic event."
The Genocide Education Project is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization
that assists educators in teaching about human rights and genocide,
particularly the Armenian Genocide, by developing and distributing
instructional materials, providing access to teaching resources and
organizing educational workshops.
Watch Videos:
Educator Joe Shady on the value of the
workshop:http://youtu.be/J6ZZzvBOXXs Guest Speaker Lorna Miller on
documenting genocide survivors:http://youtu.be/ljdjoB4Q4l8
####
The Genocide Education Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit,
tax-exempt 501(c)(3) educational organization that assists educators
in teaching about human rights and genocide, particularly the Armenian
Genocide, by developing and distributing instructional materials,
providing access to teaching resources and organizing educational
workshops. For more information about The Genocide Education Project,
go to www.GenocideEducation.org.
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2013-04-10-genocide-education-for-teachers-in-pasadena