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IMPACT IN PROFILE: ALICE PETROSSIAN
http://asbarez.com/125061/impact-in-profile-alice-petrossian/
Thursday, July 17th, 2014
Alice Petrossian
After visiting USC Shoah Foundation for the first time, Alice
Petrossian of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is
excited to begin a new partnership to promote education about the
Armenian Genocide and other atrocities.
Petrossian is the chair of the ANCA Western Region Education Committee,
which works to promote understanding regarding issues of concern
to the Armenian American community across nine states. She served
as deputy and assistant superintendent at the Glendale and Pasadena
unified school districts during her more than 30 years as an educator
and reformer.
Petrossian and her colleagues from the Education Committee joined
staff of the Armenian Film Foundation (AFF) for a visit to the USC
Shoah Foundation on July 2. The visit included a presentation about
IWitness, a demonstration of the Visual History Archive and a tour
or the technology facilities where 53,000 testimonies of genocide
survivors are catalogued, indexed and preserved. ANCA, AFF and USC
Shoah Foundation staff discussed ways in which they can collaborate
in the future, such as developing educational materials about the
Armenian Genocide.
AFF delivered its digitized collection of 400 Armenian Genocide
survivor testimonies, recorded by the late J. Michael Hagopian, to
the USC Shoah Foundation in April to be integrated into the Visual
History Archive. The first batch of testimonies will be viewable in
April 2015, the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
The visit was truly inspiring, Petrossian said. She and her colleagues
were amazed by the Visual History Archive and its potential to teach
students about genocide and intolerance. ANCA hasn't always been
impressed by the lessons about genocide and human rights that are
available for teachers, she said.
"We haven't had a way of putting faces to those stories [of genocide],
and we all know how crucial it is for children to relate to a child or
an adult telling the story," Petrossian said. "Seeing the resources
[of the USC Shoah Foundation] and its depth of commitment to telling
the story and making sure history does not repeat itself was probably
one of the most rewarding days of my life."
Moving forward, Petrossian hopes ANCA can work with the USC Shoah
Foundation and AFF to share resources and expertise, and create and
promote educational materials.
In April, the California State Assembly passed AB 1915, which requires
the inclusion of the Armenian Genocide in the list of studied subject
areas for the adopted courses of study in Social Science for 7th to
12th grades in California. Petrossian and ANCA are committed to making
sure educators have access to firsthand accounts of survivors to aid in
their teaching about genocide, and USC Shoah Foundation's testimonies
and resources will be some of the first they turn to, she said.
Working together, along with AFF and other genocide education
organizations, Petrossian hopes ANCA and USC Shoah Foundation can
have a real influence on what students are taught about the past and
what they can do to prevent atrocities from happening again.
"Unless children learn, and learn to speak up, to be active
participants, change won't occur," Petrossian said. "Teaching children
the truth is what makes the difference.
From: A. Papazian
http://asbarez.com/125061/impact-in-profile-alice-petrossian/
Thursday, July 17th, 2014
Alice Petrossian
After visiting USC Shoah Foundation for the first time, Alice
Petrossian of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is
excited to begin a new partnership to promote education about the
Armenian Genocide and other atrocities.
Petrossian is the chair of the ANCA Western Region Education Committee,
which works to promote understanding regarding issues of concern
to the Armenian American community across nine states. She served
as deputy and assistant superintendent at the Glendale and Pasadena
unified school districts during her more than 30 years as an educator
and reformer.
Petrossian and her colleagues from the Education Committee joined
staff of the Armenian Film Foundation (AFF) for a visit to the USC
Shoah Foundation on July 2. The visit included a presentation about
IWitness, a demonstration of the Visual History Archive and a tour
or the technology facilities where 53,000 testimonies of genocide
survivors are catalogued, indexed and preserved. ANCA, AFF and USC
Shoah Foundation staff discussed ways in which they can collaborate
in the future, such as developing educational materials about the
Armenian Genocide.
AFF delivered its digitized collection of 400 Armenian Genocide
survivor testimonies, recorded by the late J. Michael Hagopian, to
the USC Shoah Foundation in April to be integrated into the Visual
History Archive. The first batch of testimonies will be viewable in
April 2015, the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
The visit was truly inspiring, Petrossian said. She and her colleagues
were amazed by the Visual History Archive and its potential to teach
students about genocide and intolerance. ANCA hasn't always been
impressed by the lessons about genocide and human rights that are
available for teachers, she said.
"We haven't had a way of putting faces to those stories [of genocide],
and we all know how crucial it is for children to relate to a child or
an adult telling the story," Petrossian said. "Seeing the resources
[of the USC Shoah Foundation] and its depth of commitment to telling
the story and making sure history does not repeat itself was probably
one of the most rewarding days of my life."
Moving forward, Petrossian hopes ANCA can work with the USC Shoah
Foundation and AFF to share resources and expertise, and create and
promote educational materials.
In April, the California State Assembly passed AB 1915, which requires
the inclusion of the Armenian Genocide in the list of studied subject
areas for the adopted courses of study in Social Science for 7th to
12th grades in California. Petrossian and ANCA are committed to making
sure educators have access to firsthand accounts of survivors to aid in
their teaching about genocide, and USC Shoah Foundation's testimonies
and resources will be some of the first they turn to, she said.
Working together, along with AFF and other genocide education
organizations, Petrossian hopes ANCA and USC Shoah Foundation can
have a real influence on what students are taught about the past and
what they can do to prevent atrocities from happening again.
"Unless children learn, and learn to speak up, to be active
participants, change won't occur," Petrossian said. "Teaching children
the truth is what makes the difference.
From: A. Papazian