Using Historical Horrors to Face Modern Monsters

According to Monster.com’s article “The Scariest Jobs Ranked by Phobia,” teaching is one of the scariest professions out there. FFT Fellows Allison Friedman (Channel View School for Research – Rockaway Park, NY) and Carmela Gandolfo-Birkel (Baldwin High School – Baldwin, NY) decided to lean into fear – specifically by exploring horror.

“Students, teachers, and community members have had a lot to fear in the years since the Covid-19 pandemic: AI, climate change, and gun violence, for instance,” wrote Allison and Carmela  in their proposal. “Sometimes these fears can cause people to lash out. It is of vital importance that we teach our students a healthy way to process their fears–both real and imagined. We are interested in guiding our students through examining what does it mean to face fears as an individual and as a society? How do we overcome fears?”

Last summer, the friends leveraged a $10,000 Fund for Teacher grant to collaborate on a fellowship exploring how Britain’s 18th and 19th-century authors were inspired by gothic architecture. Their motivation: Guide students in the crafting of horror stories that metaphorically examine society’s anxieties about the drastic changes caused by the Industrial Revolution.

Their learning included:

  • – examining areas that highlight the impacts of the Industrial Revolution that alarmed the public, as well as the gothic architecture and landscapes that inspired authors during this period of drastic changes;
  • – considering how people in the 18th and 19th centuries confronted their fears through gothic fantasy and how we and our students can use this to confront our own fears;
  • – experiencing locations that are key parts of Britain’s industrial heritage and tell stories of people and landscapes changed by advances in medicine, technology, engineering, and science;
  • – seeking examples of gothic architecture and local ghost stories, and;
  • – visiting spooky castles and haunted prisons.

As we hear from so many Fellows, the power of place – of actually experiencing sites previously accessed only in books or the Internet – took learning to the next level and will now spark similar learning with their students. “I studied medieval and Restoration literature, but these subjects are not taught in high school,” explained Allison.

“I visited Whitby to learn about Dracula, but stumbled upon a cross dedicated to Caedmon, the first English poet, whose work was the first text I translated while learning Old English. I also came across Aphra Behn’s tomb in Westminster Abbey (one of the first professional women writers). I remembered what I feel passionate about, and now focus on how I can help my students find their own literary loves.”

Sense of History
Stairs worn by the passage of hundreds of years of human steps, beautiful stained glass and tapestry created by artisans from long ago, the tomb of a king, and catacombs containing thousands of nameless dead.
Touching the past.

Students at Baldwin High School and Channel View School for Research are now not only studying Frankenstein and Dracula, but also more modern-day monsters.

“We are incorporating excerpts from gothic novels and an examination of ‘monsters’ of the Industrial Age into our curriculum to show our students the universal themes that remain relevant today,” said Allison. “We are guiding our students through several examples of horror as a reactionary genre inspired by societies that are fearful of change and introducing the concept of how horror is shaped by the zeitgeist.”

After reviewing artifacts from the trip and learning about the original gothic stories, students are studying the American gothic tradition, supported by a trip to Sleepy Hollow to experience one of America’s first ghost stories. Students will then examine 20th-century gothic writers, including Joyce Carol Oates and Shirley Jackson, before analyzing how today’s gothic tales examine current fears.

“In addition to our individual goals [as world history and ELA teachers], we also looked at fear through different lenses on our fellowship,” said Carmela. “By challenging ourselves to face our own fears during ghost walks and visits to local hauntings, we learned how to make what is scary less frightening.”

Allison added: “By understanding the history of the fear of change, we are now developing practical ways to confront these fears in our own time. While some fears are based on fantasy, others come from real threats. Being able to differentiate between the two and process the emotions that result from fear will benefit us along with our students.”

Back to the Future via Fund for Teachers

Vincent Pham (The International High School at Prospect Heights – Brooklyn) designed a 2024 Fund for Teachers fellowship to go back and go forward. He spent the month of August in Southeast Asia, researching his heritage to model resilience for students sharing his experiences as a refugee arriving in the United States. The following piece is an amalgamation of Vincent’s grant proposal and fellowship reflections drawn from his Instagram account, vincent.q.pham.

My parents, Vietnamese boat people who came to the U.S. in the late 1980s through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ resettlement initiative, were extremely cagey about sharing their memories of growing up in Vietnam with me. They lived through decades of conflict as Vietnamese forces fought against the French, the U.S., and even among themselves. Thus, their memories of Vietnam were marred by postwar poverty and having to leave behind family and friends as they fled the country.

In fact, they only began opening up to me after I received a Fulbright student fellowship to live and teach in Vietnam. Not only did they introduce me to family members still living in Vietnam, they also contemplated the challenges and triumphs of navigating the U.S. as teenagers with limited English. In return, I discussed with my parents about how my teaching and traveling experiences in Vietnam were similar or different from what they remembered. Consequently, I realized that to be a culturally relevant educator for a multicultural classroom, I needed to find ways to foster global interconnectedness.

After several more stints of teaching abroad, my personal and professional context influenced me to return to the U.S. to work in the nation’s largest and most diverse school district. For the past seven years, I have taught a two-year cycle of 11th grade U.S. History and 12th grade Government and Economics at an urban, Title I public school (right) that serves recently arrived immigrant and refugee Multilingual Language Learners (MLLs). I am responsible for supporting college readiness and English language acquisition for students who come from 30 different countries. Many students come from nations that are or were recently impacted by wars and conflicts stemming from U.S. foreign policy decisions including El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Venezuela, and Yemen, with many coming as unaccompanied minors. We do not have a prescribed social studies curriculum at our school– teachers are empowered to implement whatever material and learning scaffolds that will best engage such a heterogeneous community.

Why Vietnam? Why Now?

As a social studies educator, I embrace the position that effective classroom teaching is inherently political and that it centers students’ lives when connecting to academic content. The classroom is NOT an escape from the politics and injustices of the world. Instead, it is a space in which the students, and teacher(s) collaborate to develop worldviews, skill sets, and self-affirmations to confront these challenges. Two years ago, I made the conscious decision to teach about how government policies amplify and/or rectify social inequities.

This subject matter evokes passionate (and oftentimes oppositional) opinions in my classroom, a testament to the wide-ranging cultural backgrounds and lived experiences that my students bring with them. Thus, I believe that if I challenge my students with such complex topics, I must provide them culturally expanding and rigorous learning opportunities to critically evaluate what they learn. That is why my 12th grade curriculum on U.S. foreign policy starts with Vietnam. At the unit’s conclusion, I share my family history with students to analyze how U.S. foreign policy has influenced the trajectory of my life. Although none of my students come from Vietnam, my unit’s themes of sociopolitical upheaval, family separation, and starting anew in a foreign land deeply resonate with them.

The Fellowship

The purpose of my fellowship was twofold:

  1. Experience Vietnam’s war museums (such as The War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City – pictured right), local NGOs, and interview family members, and
  2. Seek out former Vietnamese refugee camp sites in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines to obtain more primary sources and texts that center the Vietnamese experience and curate a more authentic curriculum.

This fellowship was especially relevant because my school district has partnered with a local university to assess gaps in the Asian American curriculum in our public schools. Southeast Asian history has been overlooked at the school and district level, which is why my Fund for Teachers grant will assist in filling in that void. With authentic artifacts and personal connection, I aspire to empower MLLs to love history and reflect on their own personal journeys to the United States.

Vietnam

My first stop (after a quick layover in Tokyo) were the Củ Chi Tunnels. This was a 200km network of tunnels outside of Saigon and most notably used by Vietnamese guerrillas in their fight for liberation against French colonial rule and U.S. imperialists. Through experiencing parts of the tunnels and learning about its tunnels through a Vietnamese tour guide, I was able to gain deep insights on how to frame Vietnamese resistance and integrate primary sources to my future curriculum.

These tunnels enabled covert operations (moving supplies and organizing troops) and even allowed the Ho Chi Minh trail (which went through Laos and Cambodia) to connect. Consequently, the U.S. devoted intense aerial bombing campaigns and even targeted ground pursuits (that’s where “tunnel rats” would go underground to find the Viet Cong).

Visiting historical places is a tangible way to learn about how the past influences the present. It is especially jarring and profound to navigate Hà Nội because infamous sites such as the Hỏa Lò Prison and the Khâm Thiên Street (below) are seamlessly intertwined with the residential neighborhoods and local businesses. Being able to visit these different places was crucial for me to think about how we can identify and analyze the history imbued in everyday spaces.

Singapore

While exploring Singapore, my wife Marcelle suggested that we stop in the National Archives of Singapore. What was supposed to be a short stay turned into a several hour research experience for me. I came across an enormous catalog of historical newspapers reporting on the Vietnamese boat people between 1975-1996. research I did to demonstrate how U.S. economic trade embargo and refusal to provide reconstruction aid to Vietnam surely exacerbated the suffering in Vietnam. Of course, the stories I have read and heard from my family about the chaos and struggles in the aftermath of the war cannot be dismissed, but I have the privilege to examine all this from a historical perspective. Nevertheless, it is vital to evaluate with empathy.

Pulau Galang, refugee camp located in the Riau Archipelago, near Singapore, was the first former refugee camp that I visited as part of my fellowship and I have to say, it was quite somber. In 1979, the Indonesian government and UNCHR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) established a camp for Vietnamese refugees. From 1979-1996, an estimated 250,000 Vietnamese boat people and asylum seekers from countries like Cambodia and Laos were temporarily accommodated while their potential refugee status and resettlement was being processed.

Experiencing the Galang Refugee Camp was haunting, as much of the area lies in ruins. Besides the relatively newly built Buddhist temple and some renovated gravestones placed in the cemetery by former camp residents or their relatives, there is much decay as the understaffed workers barely do much.

Malaysia

Pilau Bidong was the first refugee camp that my mother and most of her siblings resided upon their exodus from Vietnam. My research indicates that Pulau Bidong was only intended to host up to 4,500 people. However, the humanitarian crisis resulted in 18,000 people living there by January 1979. By June 1979, the numbers had crescendoed to 40,000 people living at a small camp on the south side of the island, which was no bigger than a football field. During that time Pulau Bidong came to be the most heavily populated place on earth. My mother and most of her siblings were part of these 40,000 people.

When the Pulau Bidong refugee camp was shut down in October 1991, the Malaysian government essentially tore down all the remaining shelters and material built by the Vietnamese. When I visited, I experienced the ghosts of the past via the makeshift burial grounds and plaques left behind by former Vietnamese boat people who came back to visit. This was an incredible historical and personal experience that I will be eternally grateful to Fund for Teachers for providing me the means to carry out this task. I cannot wait to integrate these visuals and videos into my unit to humanize the experience of people fleeing from sociopolitical upheaval.

The Philippines

I visited the Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC), located in Bataan (roughly a 3-hour drive from Manila). This was the last refugee camp my mother and members of her family stayed at before transitioning over to the U.S. By the time the PRPC closed in 1995, an estimated 400,000 refugees had come through.

Unlike my previous refugee camp visits to Pulau Galang and Pulau Bidong, nearly all refugees were confirmed that they had been accepted to resettle in another nation. Consequently, the ESL education and vocational courses offered by the camp took on even deeper significance for the people.

Visiting this former refugee camp was the most inspirational and hopeful due to its history. Unlike the previously aforementioned refugee camps in Indonesia and Malaysia, the Filipino government has sought to revitalize the area surrounding the PRPC- the territory is now called Bataan Technology Park. There are many assigned workers who actively look after the area. The wonderful museum has excellent documentation of the refugee camp and experience- the photos and videos I took will serve as profound primary sources for my students to explore in the class.

PeaceTrees Vietnam

For so long, Vietnam has been defined by Americans by the war. However, we need to consider the ways that the Vietnamese people have addressed the legacies of American intervention. More importantly, I want to demonstrate how Vietnamese people are actively trying to move forward with their lives. Primarily based in the Quang Tri province, the #PeaceTrees organization began in 1995 (in Seattle of all places) as a humanitarian mission to remove landmines and cluster bombs in Vietnam’s most heavily bombed region. Land that has been cleared of explosive ordnance has been returned to Vietnamese ownership. In fact, many community centers and schools have been built on top of these lands to symbolize the repairing of American harm.

Thanks to mutual connections, I got the chance to visit the city of Dong Ha, and see the work being done firsthand. Not only did I get to see the maps demonstrating all the places that the organization has de-mined, I also got to attend their educational community outreach to ethnic minorities in Vietnam who are oftentimes the most at risk of encountering unexploded ordnance. It was especially incredible to witness the PeaceTrees team in Vietnam have 7am virtual meetings to accommodate the evenings in Seattle and then turnaround to conduct their educational outreach. I deeply admire their ethos.

My experience with PeaceTrees Vietnam was so memorable because this organization demonstrates that Vietnam’s postwar story is not just a chronicle of suffering and sorrow. Instead, it is a powerful story of resilience and empowering the local community to address their needs as they see fit. This is what I hope to impart to my immigrant students, to embrace the fact that their continued existence is powerful and worthy of celebration.”

Back To School

As the son of displaced people, my existence derives from the sociopolitical consequences of U.S. foreign policy. I believe that I must serve as a conduit between the past and present. Hence, my fellowship is deeply personal because I will not only delve further into my family history, but also the Vietnamese diaspora as well. I have been collaborating with Professor Christian Lentz of the University of North Carolina due to his research focus on Vietnam. Along with several other teachers, we will be submitting a piece to the American Historical Review. Our piece, scheduled for March 2025 publication, will focus on how high school teachers integrate scholarly sources and fieldwork to produce innovative pedagogy.

Additionally, as the only Southeast Asian individual in my school, I am compelled to contribute to the community’s global identity through educating about the nuances of this region’s history. My MLLs often tell me that they first learn about Southeast Asia through my unit about Vietnam. Teaching about Southeast Asia is crucial because my MLLs see how their diaspora and many Southeast Asian diasporic communities were formed in response to the forces of war, colonization, and imperialism. Ignoring Southeast Asia dismisses a significant critique of U.S foreign policy and obscures discussion of on-going struggles and triumphs of people affected by American intervention.

My lived histories as a child of refugees plays an important role in my school because I can dialogue with my students about the legacy of migration and resettlement. Moreover, I am empathic of how my MLLs’ cultural identities are in flux since I grew up navigating between American and Vietnamese cultures. Thus, the final part of my fellowship happens back in the classroom: intertwining these histories to my students and my pedagogy.

Vincent Pham is a National Board Certified educator at International High School at Prospect Heights in New York. As the son of Vietnamese refugees, he recognizes that education is political. Thus, for the past seven years, he has taught social studies and English as a New Language (ENL) to immigrant students. Other achievements include: a Teacher Advisory Council Member for the National Humanities Center, a mentor teacher for the Teacher Residency at Teachers College (Columbia University), the National Educators Association (NEA) Global Learning Fellowship (2023), a Pulitzer Teacher Center Fellow (2020), and Fulbright Fellow to Vietnam (2014). Listen to Vincent share part of his lived experience on The Moth Teacher Institute Story Slam here.

Paying Peace Forward with Atomic Learning

Today the world remembers the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which took place 79 years ago and resulted in the formal surrender of Japan and the end of World War II. When Ariel Warshaw remembered this pivotal moment in history, she also realized that her viewpoint lacked global perspective, as well as the peace that was catalyzed post-mortem.

“The reality of living in the US is that my understanding of histories, perspectives, and cultures beyond a Eurocentric lens is not as authentic as I want it to be. I aspire to have a more multidimensional mastery of my content area by exploring non-Western history in a deep way,” wrote Ariel in her Fund for Teachers grant proposal. “Most importantly, I’m committed to turning my students’ knowledge into action. I want us all to consider the lessons in these survivors’ testimonies and use them to drive change in our communities. I prioritize this philosophy at this stage in my career.”

Her overarching goals of the fellowship were to:

  • -Witness and learn about what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki 79 years ago, placing value on the power of place;
  • -Document conversations with hibakusha, peace activists, and local educators (via transcribed interview, digital recording, photos, etc.) for my students; and,
  • -Explore the ways Japanese culture has reconciled with the legacy of the atomic bombs and WWII.

Upon hearing that she was selected as a 2024 FFT Fellow, Ariel promptly created the Instagram feed @whereswarshaw and posted this: “I’m thrilled to share that I’ve been named a Fund for Teachers Fellow! This grant will allow me to explore the experiences of the hibakusha (survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings), and examine how culture has influenced reconstruction, reconciliation, and peace studies in both traditional and modern Japanese society. I’ll be visiting Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kyoto, and Osaka in July! My goal is to develop a unit focusing on the atomic bombings, utilizing oral history, primary sources, and personal testimonies. Follow along on my adventure!”

Ariel’s students and their families were also thrilled, and immediately got to work folding 1,000 paper cranes to create a “senbazuru” for her to hang at The Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park while on her fellowship.

We encourage you to visit Ariel’s Instagram feed where she thoughtfully shared images and reflections from her 16-day fellowship. Below, we share her reflections specifically related to the bombing and the hibakusha with whom she met…

Day 1

Day 1 in Tokyo! I landed at 2:30pm, wound my way through customs and immigration, and finally made it to my hotel. By the time I checked in, it was 4:30 – I grabbed a quick bite at the conbini on the corner (egg salad sandos totally live up to the hype!) and decided to give the metro system a spin! I found myself at Tokyo Skytree – the world’s tallest tower at 634 meters! It was a perfect way to get a bird’s eye view of this massive and marvelous city. At the top, there was a place to select a ribbon and write a wish for humanity – people then tied these ribbons on the viewing platform. It was a beautiful way to ground my thinking around this adventure – how does the desire for peace take hold in societies, and what lessons did the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in particular have on Japanese society’s pursuit of peace.

Day 4

Hiroshima: Wow. What a day! I took an early morning Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Hiroshima. The nearly 4-hour ride passes lots of small towns, which were beautiful to see, and I was able to see Mt. Fuji, too! As soon as I arrived in Hiroshima, I fell in love with it. Such a casual and caring atmosphere, stunning bridges, and quirky details. After a quick bite, I made my way to the Children’s Peace Memorial so that I could finally hang the incredible senbazuru – 1000 origami cranes – that our school community created. It was a really meaningful moment. I then explored the Peace Museum itself – the permanent exhibit is remarkable and heartbreaking. It contained a plethora of artifacts from victims and survivors – clothes, toys, journals, postcards, audio and video testimonies, and so on. There was also an entire section devoted to Sadako Sasaki, replete with cranes she herself had folded. After the museum, I met with Yoko Mimura-san, from the World Friendship Center, who guided me through the Peace Memorial Park – she taught me about a variety of structures found in the park, the significance of each, the history of the area, why Hiroshima was chosen to be bombed, and how the city has reconciled itself with their tragic past and inspired future.

Day 5

Hiroshima: Today was remarkable. In the morning, I went to the World Friendship Center @wfchiroshima to meet with Mr. Tamiyuki Okahara-san – or Mr. Tami – a hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor). He shared his story with me, and also relayed his father’s incredible story of survival. I saw family photographs, newspaper articles, and maps that helped illustrate what Mr. Tami and his family endured. Many in his family, himself included, have suffered from unknown illnesses and cancer. Despite these hardships, he was such a positive and inspiring man…

My next appointment was at Hachidori-sha Social Book Café. The owner, Erika Akibo, wanted a space to serve as a meeting place for locals and visitors alike to talk about global issues and social justice. On days that end in “6”, the café hosts hibakusha meetings (the bomb was dropped on August 6, so on the 6/16/26th of each month, these meetings occur). Mayu Seto, an employee but also a peace activist who works with Peace Culture Village  and Kakuwaka Hiroshima, arranged for me to meet with Mr. Okamoto Tadashi-san, another hibakusha, with a small group of other interested visitors. A young woman named Mitsuki served as our translator. Mr. Tadashi was only 1.5 years old when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima; he has scars on his arm, head, and back from that terrible day. He shared his testimony with us, explaining that after the bomb fell, everything went dark. He started to cry, and his pregnant mother was able to find him and get out of the house and away from the hypocenter. After he spoke, our group had the chance to ask questions – it was nice to learn together as a group, and people asked questions that I hadn’t considered which led to even deeper conversation and reflection.

Following this conversation, I met with Ms. Miho Tanaka, a co-founder and representative from Kakuwaka Hiroshima – this group lobbies parliamentarians to push the Japanese government to sign the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In addition, they host events focused on world peace and global activism. I was so grateful for her time – I learned a lot about the ways the peace community is pressing for change. After my meeting with Miho, I walked over to see Hiroshima Castle and Gokoku Shrine, and then visited the surviving Great Torii of Hiroshima – a torii gate that survived the bombing. Finally, I met with Ms. Miho Ikeda-san, also affiliated with World Friendship Center. She took me on a walking tour to visit A-bomb survivor trees. Miho explained that only 160 trees survived within a 2km radius of the hypocenter – and 1 was mistakenly cut down last year. She showed me how, on 80% of these surviving trees, their trunk leans towards the hypocenter. This is because that side of the tree grows more slowly than the other, causing a slight bend in the trunk. It was a unique way to learn about the environmental impact of this atomic bomb in Hiroshima, and nice to end the day appreciating nature!

Day 7

Hiroshima + Nagasaki: I started the morning at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) in Hiroshima, where I met with Jeffrey Hart, from the Public Relations and Publications Office, and an intern from Smith College, Claire, who had started just this morning! RERF is a joint US-Japanese research organization that studies the health effects of A-bomb radiation. At their facility, they meet with hibakusha (survivors) who are part of one of their studies every other year for health exams, house thousands upon thousands of bio samples in state of the art freezers (I got to see their newest freezer, which is completely robotic and can store hundreds of thousands of bio samples at -80°C), and research the impact that A-bomb exposure has had on survivors and their children. It was a truly eye-opening experience, and I was so grateful for Jeff’s time and openness!

From there, I headed to Hiroshima Station to catch the first of 3 trains to Nagasaki. 3 hours later, I had made it! I quickly checked into my hotel, and then went to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. While it was much smaller than the Peace Museum in Hiroshima, I really appreciated the artifacts they displayed and the straight-forward and brutally honest exhibits they presented to visitors. After the museum, I made my way to the Memorial Hall, and then from there, the Hypocenter and Peace Park. I even saw air raid shelters from WWII that were dug into the foot of a hill that now surrounds the park. All of these places were really moving and contemplative – spending time outside as I ended my day was a great way to reflect on what I’ve learned in the last week, and consider ways to bring it all back to the Humanities South classroom.

Day 13

Osaka + Kyoto: This morning I jumped on a train to Osaka! After an hour ride, I got off at Kyobashi Station and made my way to the Osaka International Peace Center. This museum, also known as Peace Osaka, focuses on the destruction of the city during World War II, but also the tragedy of war more generally and the importance of peace. According to some cursory research, Japan has about 50 museums dedicated to peace – the United States has… 1. How can this be? What does it say about our culture? Japanese culture? What lessons can we learn?

Gratitude

Now that I’m back home, I wanted to take a moment to express how grateful I am to Fund for Teachers for believing in my proposal, trusting me to know what I needed as an educator, and allowing me to grow in immeasurable ways. What an epic experience and empowering process with an amazing organization! Along this journey, I have met so many wonderful survivors, peace educators, disarmament activists, radiation researchers, historians, and artisans.

Thank you to the entire Unquowa School community for embracing my senbazuru project, cheering me on each day of this trip, and awarding me the Birdsall Grant to further deepen this project. I can’t wait to share what I’ve learned with you all!

Japan was pure magic: modern in so many ways, deeply rooted in ancient customs and beliefs, patient, honest, and gracious in the telling of its history, and resilient beyond words. I will hold this sacred time in my heart and mind for a lifetime. またね – definitely not goodbye but see you later!

Code Talkers Challenge & Inspire Fund for Teachers Fellow

Thanks to FFT Fellow Tim Barry for his reflection on his two Fund for Teachers fellowships inspired by students’ curiosity and focused on elevating the experiences of Native Americans during World War II.

I am in my sixteenth year as a Special Education Teacher and have spent fifteen of those years teaching middle
school. Based on students’ needs, much of my time is spent teaching and supporting students in English and social studies classes. Our 7th-grade students read Code Talkers, by Joseph Bruchac and Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Houston as part of our English curriculum that explores the importance and impact of identity. In 8th grade, we read All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque. The beauty of this subject matter is that it fosters intellectual curiosity in our students. They want to know more, they want to ask questions, and oftentimes, these questions create dialogue and a spirit of inquiry that extends into authentic, teachable moments.

As a student of history, I am very familiar with the Pacific and European Theaters of World War II. Admittedly, the story of the Navajo was one that I was aware of, but not well-versed in. When reading Code Talkers, the idea that is most foreign and confusing to our students revolves around “why?”

Why would the Navajo be so loyal to a country that attempted to erase their culture? Why would these people be willing to save the country, with nothing in return?

As Code Talkers is our students’ first introduction to the World War I & II subject matter, it is the ideal opportunity to take an anchor text and extend the discussion beyond the pages of a book. This is not just a story of what the Navajo did, but an introduction to WHO the Navajo are. This fellowship provided me with an opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of how their culture and identity impacted their role in World War II and bring back an authentic experience to the students.

Having previously completed a Fund for Teachers fellowship to Manzanar in 2018 to examine life in and around Japanese Relocation Camps in Utah and Colorado, I was awarded a second grant last summer to engage with the Navajo Nation in Arizona and New Mexico. I examined the importance of cultural identity and explored how that identity empowered them to overcome marginalization by the U.S. Government and embrace the role as Code Talkers in World War II.

Read more about Tim’s 2023 fellowship here.

The highlight of my fellowship was hearing Peter MacDonald speak at the National Code Talkers Day event. Mr. MacDonald, at 94, is the youngest of the three living Code Talkers. He told the story of his enlistment at the age of 15 and the pride he felt in being Navajo and wearing the Marine Corps uniform. During his speech, he implored the Navajo youth to continue learning, protecting, and using the Navajo language despite its challenges because language is the key to sovereignty.

As I spoke to members of the Navajo Nation, I began to question my qualifications to teach about the Code Talkers’ story. This was not due to any unfavorable reception of my fellowship; quite the opposite, everyone I interacted with was welcoming and willing to share their knowledge. My concern revolved around doing justice to their culture, community, and the Code Talkers. Ultimately, it will drive me to deepen my learning and seek experts to share their stories.

The experiences I returned with have allowed me to provide authentic insight and perspectives to increase and enhance my students’ comprehension within our Code Talker unit. I gathered a variety of vetted, leveled texts to enrich academic discussions among students of varying ability levels. Most importantly, I have created relationships with people who can offer a cultural background vastly different from my students and foster a climate of understanding.

My Fund for Teachers fellowship reinforced the importance of self-discovery and lessons presenting themselves. My experience initially concentrated on enhancing my understanding of Code Talkers, which evolved into a story of the preservation of language, culture, and identity that is still challenging today.

When experiencing new cultures, we cannot rely solely on academics studying from a distance. It is critical to interact with communities directly to ensure that shared knowledge is culturally relevant.

Additionally, the fellowship enhanced my desire to explore and foster a sense of intellectual curiosity with my colleagues. The opportunity it provides for teachers to enrich their learning and share the inspiration of self-study rekindles much of the excitement that brought many of us into teaching.

Fund for Teachers

Navajo Code Talker statue with Window Rock in the background

Happy Halloween “Tomb” You

Halloween can be a scary time for teachers, due students’ sugar highs, costumes gone wrong, and the  “ghosting” of students” the day after. For Jinafer Brown’s French students, the learning takes on a fatal feel, as well.

Jinafer used a Fund for Teachers grant to explore the mysterious megalithic stone structures in Western Europe, gather evidence from French forensic scientists and archeologists on the origins of the civilizations that built these structures and create an inquiry-based unit to improve students’ science literacy skills.

This fellowship focused on death is rooted in data: 79% of students at Jenks High School scored below proficient at in science. Additionally, an Academic State Standards for World Languages that Jinafer struggles to meet is “expanding students’ knowledge of other disciplines while using the language to develop critical thinking.” Researching Neolithic stones in Western Europe and the French forensic evidence of their origins offered the perfect mix of science and language (and also speaks to the free reign our grant recipients have when crafting their unique fellowships).

Read our 2022 Halloween post about FFT Fellows’ research of Jack the Ripper here

At Carrowkeel Mounds near Sligo, Ireland, I was able to explore freely without any restrictions other than my own fear. Believe it or not, I did muster the courage to skinny into the tomb behind me. It was for science!

Enter If You Dare — And She Did

Last summer on her Fund for Teachers fellowship, Jinafer documented:

Her research included filming the sites for VR headsets, touring museums — such as the Archeology Museum of Dublin, where remains of “bog people” from AD 20 are on display — and interviewing docents. Jenifer participated in a workshop about the first villages of France at Paris’ Musée d’Archéologie Nationale in conjunction with annual European Archaeology Days and joined summer solstice celebrations at stone circles in Scotland.

Her Haunting Question

Throughout her learning, one question haunted her: “Should I be here?”

“I found that I had an internal debate as to whether or not funeral sites should be excavated. Should the remains of these kings and respected leaders be disturbed and viewed by thousands of visitors each day or should they remain closed out of respect for their cultures and their beliefs?” said Jinafer. “My professional mindset is that one’s intention makes all the difference. If one is studying these remains in order to make connections and remember the culture of that civilization, this is honorable.”

Demystifying the Megaliths

Jinafer created this fantastic website for students to discover the “Mysteries of the Megaliths.” Here they will view videos and interviews in the French language.

“I gathered PDFs and hard-copy books that explain the Neolithic civilizations in French. I collected articles and 360-degree photos that allow students to examine artifacts extracted from tombs in Ireland, Scotland, and France. Using Virtual Reality headsets [which Jinafer secured with a second grant], these materials will come to life.”

Using a THIRD grant, Jinafer purchased friction kits and students will follow the science lab friction experiment procedures in French.

“In small groups, students will propose prototypes of sleds and other means to Move a Megalith, she said. “Community partners (retired engineers and business owners) will work with students to build their prototypes. Last, in a school-wide event, students will carry out their experiments to see if they can move a megalith using only materials available in the Neolithic era.”

Take advantage of the website, that includes Jinafer’s FFT grant proposal, here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remembering the Holocaust

“To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” — Elie WieselNight

“It has been almost 80 years since the end of WWII and the horrors of the Holocaust. The survivors of a people’s systematic and institutional genocide are passing away, and their stories are being forgotten. However, the perpetration of genocide and intolerance continues throughout our world. Unfortunately, it seems that the lessons of the past have been pushed aside at times. It is the duty of every educational institution, including our own, to teach and remind students of the history so that they, and those who come after them, actively speak and work to prevent such events from happening again.”

These were the first sentences of the grant proposal submitted by Sandi Burgess and Marymargaret Mineff, teachers at Chicago’s Morgan Park Academy. With a $10,000 Fund for Teachers grant last summer, they gathered materials, impressions, and insights pertaining to the Holocaust across eight European countries to inform the creation of a student-led podcast series around the Five Steps to Genocide.

They shaped their itinerary based on Holocaust sites of deportation, cultural and artistic loss, memorialization and remembrance, and/or forced labor and experimentation with the goal of providing students with primary resources connected to themes of identity, choice, and responsibility. Experiencing sites in Germany, Poland, Austria, Czechia, Hungary, The Netherlands, Belgium, and France surfaced more than historical awareness.

“I think that while I was going through all of these different countries, I saw how each country had chosen to address their truth by maybe not taking away their bias,” Sandi reflected. “As a history teacher I am constantly trying to view history through so many lenses and to address my own bias and saw the result of what happens when you don’t.”

“I know a lot about the Holcaust from scholarly study, but seeing these spaces really made me look differently at the ‘facts’ as I know them,” added Marymargaret. “For example, we could not figure out why Budapest was so ‘different’ from the other places we visited and stayed until we realized that 95% of Budapest Jews did not survive and so the ‘ghetto’ never was repopulated after the war.”

Students are now using these materials in their research and scriptwriting as they curate a series of episodes outlining the history of the Holocaust for middle school and high school peers.

“Our school has a new makerspace and expanded technology center, which contains a small recording studio with video and audio capabilities,” the teachers explained. “Students are using this studio to produce the podcast series. We are also collaborating with our IT and music/broadcasting teacher, who will also be bringing back our
in-house internet radio station.”

Teams of students are now in the process of creating and producing 12-15 episodes on one of five topics:

1. Resistance
2. Rescuers
3. Cultural Genocide
4. Children as Victims, and,
5. Remembrance and Memorialization

Today, for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Marymargaret and Sandi’s middle school students remembered those who died in the Holocaust with a special ceremony. Students created luminary bags for individuals using small biography cards distributed by the United States Holocaust Museum and Memorial to create their own symbols of remembrance.

“Holocaust education is important and has been important for a long time, but I feel an especially urgent call for Holocaust education in today’s world,” Sandi said. “I hope that from this unit and its projects, our students will share what they have learned with their families and friends. I also hope that their podcast series is a hit and is used by other schools and organizations seeking to help middle level students understand the significance of this history.”

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Marymargaret and Sandi documented their fellowship on Instagram. For more of their learning and photographs, visit @sburgessmpa.

Saluting the Sacrifices of American Indian WW2 Veterans

For the past eight years, I have been a middle school social studies teacher in an American Indian pre-kindergarten through eighth grade magnet school. Our school was created by community elders to provide an American Indian perspective and to welcome students of all backgrounds where teaching is rooted in American Indian culture, traditions, values, history and art. The challenge is finding relevant resources to create lessons that are geared toward the school’s mission of teaching from American Indian cultural perspectives.

Some additional background: I grew up the son of a naval officer from the Cold War. It was instilled in me to honor the sacrifices made by all military, but I have always sought more knowledge and information about the contributions made by American Indians, especially during World War II. I grew up with stories about my great uncles landing on the shores of Normandy and have always wanted to visit there and other sites in Europe where the war was fought. A recent article about the dedication of the American Indian Memorial at Normandy renewed my passion.

I combined that passion with the aforementioned curriculum challenge into a Fund for Teachers fellowship. Last summer, after a two-year delay due to COVID, I researched at major European World War II sites the American Indian warriors who fought for their country. In France, Belgium and Luxembourg, I gained first-hand knowledge and experience of this war by visiting some of the major sites, which solidified my own understanding, and I can now share with my students what I have experienced and documented about the American Indian warriors who fought and died there.

Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery-Belgium. Given the choice, 40% of families chose to have their soldier interred in a US cemetery in Europe. As I looked out over this sacred ground, I pondered the difficult choice these families had to make.

Walking the cemeteries of Normandy and Henri-Chapelle and the grounds of the Battle of the Bulge, was a powerful, moving experience. One could still feel the soldiers’ presence, their spirits, 76 years later. The emotion, knowing that these soldiers gave the ultimate sacrifice, was quite raw. Many were teenagers, not much older than my students. I walked the beach at low tide and crouched in a foxhole trying to grapple with what sounds, smells, sights, fears these individuals experienced.

I am proud of my Native American Heritage. My family is very involved in our tribe. Having said that, I am not one to wear my heritage on my sleeve. Furthermore, I am considered an introvert. When we pulled into Normandy’s parking lot-a parking lot full of cars and tourist busses, nervousness and apprehension flooded over me. My wife and friends talked me through this anxiety. I donned my regalia shirt, stepped up to the plate and took my best swing.

At Normandy American Cemetery, I was expecting to say a prayer for three Native soldiers, instead, I said a prayer for five. The guide told about brothers that were buried near each other, Sam and Gafford Sanders-Native soldiers. She asked if I would say a prayer for them. Sand from Normandy’s beaches was rubbed into the engraved name, flags were placed beside the cross. I said my prayer and placed tobacco. I was given the flags from each grave along with the remaining sand. The reception was humbling.

Battle of the Bulge foxhole. After touring the museums and battle sites, as I knelt in this shallow foxhole, it was hard to comprehend the smells, sounds, hunger, terror, cold and confusion that gripped this area in the winter of 1944/45.

When I teach the WW2 unit in the spring, I can incorporate my Fellowship experiences into the unit. The curator of the Henri-Chappelle Cemetery gave me a list of 17 Native Americans buried in US cemeteries, in Europe. The list will be a starting point for a research project honoring Native soldiers. I plan to have students investigate these soldiers, create a display and present their findings at the yearend school and community powwow.

Beyond the classroom, I’m thinking about riding my motorcycle to some of these warriors’ communities during the summer and reaching out to their tribes and family members to share my photos and experiences. Many tribes have cultural centers and/or sections that honor their warriors}. It would mean a great deal if I could share a picture and the flags from the graves with family and tribal centers. It would be such an honor to learn more about these soldiers’ lives.

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Bret Godfrey is a 34-year teacher at American Indian Magnet School in Saint Paul, MN. He teaches 7th and 8th grade social studies. He is also member of the Potawatomi Tribe. Listen to our interview with Bret prior to completing his fellowship on this episode of Fund for Teachers – The Podcast.

Top photo: At the Charles Shay Indian Memorial, Bret said a prayer for all Native American soldiers who fought during the Normandy Beach invasion, including his great uncle.

 

 

 

Researching Monarchies

The death of Queen Elizabeth II evokes a wide range of emotions and much reflection on the history associated with the longest reign in the British monarchy. The global attention on royalty also brings to mind the fellowship of Stephanie McCrary, history teacher at Decatur High School in Decatur, AL.

Stephanie used a Fund for Teachers grant to work alongside experts in British public history at the Royal Archives and British Library in London to make historical documents more accessible to the public and create video learning around the reign of the Hanovers and the British Empire during the 18th-20th centuries. (The House of Hanover preceded the current House of Windsor in the British monarchy).

The line of descent from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth

Image courtesy of ThoughtCo/Brianna Gilmartin

Stephanie designed this fellowship to help students learn how to use primary sources, as well as to realize the relevancy of world history.

“The students in the United States have reached a point where they view history as simply a class that has to be had to graduate, and assume that it is not utilized outside of schools,” wrote Stephanie in her grant proposal. “I want to observe and analyze the methods used by England to make those connections between educational history and public history.”

For three weeks during the summer of 2019, Stephanie pursued three initiatives:

  1. Research alongside experts in British public history involved with The Georgian Papers Programme at the Royal Archives and in the British Library to make the Hanoverian Documents open to the general public.
  2. Analyze public history and how its benefits secondary students at The National Portrait Gallery, British Museum, Museum of London, Tower of London, Windsor, and Hampton Court. And,
  3. Create a series of video lessons from these sites to use in the classroom.

See Stephanie’s post-fellowship summary here.

Reading and analyzing correspondence between King George III and Aristarchus, an 18th century spy.

Upon returning home from her fellowship, Stephanie partnered with Dr. Jeff Bibbee, professor at the University of North Alabama, to incorporate the Georgian Papers Programme into her classroom. Together, they taught her students about archival work and its importance in education. Then, the Georgian Papers Programme allowed the students to transcribe Hanoverian Documents — making them the only high school students ever to do so.

“During this fellowship I learned about the collaborative efforts that occur between archivists, public historians and educators. In order to have a true historical and educational experience for students all three have to come together to create and organize historical content in an accessible way for students,” said Stephanie. “This time in Europe  allowed me to make connections with archivists and historians and empowered me to bring primary source content into my classroom, impacting my students for years to come.”

A secondary outcome was demonstrating how learning is accomplished beyond the classroom. Stephanie served as a role model who pursued knowledge and experiences in a variety of individuals and sources — not text books or Google.

“According to the United States Library of Congress, using primary sources fosters active reading and response and makes students question creator bias, purpose, point of view and even their own assumptions,” said Stephanie. “When students learn to compare competing points of views, they become better equipped to be productive and active citizens of our society.”

Top photo features Stephanie (front row/far right) at Windsor Castle, where she toured the Royal Collection Trust archives and transcribed historical documents.

Adding Story to WWII History

On the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, we appreciate these words and plans of FFT Fellow Patrick McCarney (Stonington High School – Stonington, CT). Patrick is a 25-year teaching veteran who teaches a variety of social studies courses to 100 students, including two sophomore classes called Great Movements of the Sixties, two junior sections of AP US History and a 9/11 class comprised of upperclassmen. Next year he will teach a new, semester-long class called Global Wars, which focuses on World War I and II.

Recently, there has been a decline in interest for social studies courses offered at our school. As a result, there has been a reduction in course offerings and a decrease in the number of sections of particular courses. As a member of the social studies department, I feel a responsibility to find new ways to stimulate student interest and increase enrollment in our department’s offerings, and I am inspired to create story driven lessons that allow my students to explore and better understand people living in other times and places.

According to award winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, “storytelling is the most powerful tool for human connection. Weaving stories into [classroom] instruction…helps students connect to and retain information.” Embracing Ken Burns’ philosophy, on my fellowship I will visit World War II landmarks, museums, and monuments in New Orleans, Hawaii, and California to gather the stories of those on the battlefront and the home front—young soldiers, women, and minorities—to make the diversity of the American war experience more visible for students.

NEW ORLEANS

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Barbara Tuchman wrote, “students need to imagine the lives of people who have lived in the past….” The National WWII Museum in New Orleans will provide me the framework in which to explore, collect, and integrate into my curriculum the WW II experiences of individuals and groups. I will spend three days at the museum.

  • Day one will include a “Campaigns of Courage” small-group tour of the “immersive, interactive European and Pacific Theaters.”
  • On the second day, I will participate in a “Behind the Lines” workshop during which I will handle WW II artifacts. I am particularly interested in this program because artifact exploration is something I want to incorporate into my curriculum. Allowing students to see and touch history stimulates student inquiry and investigation.
  • On my last day at the museum, I will attend a “Lunchbox Lecture” by World War II scholars and storytellers. Lecturing is a teaching approach I occasionally use in my classroom. This lecture series intersperses content with learning activities, and I am excited to learn from uniquely qualified individuals.

HAWAII

In addition to the National WW II Museum, I want to visit the places where the war shaped our nation. By walking the ground where history happened and learning from ranger-guided tours, I will become that storyteller for my students. I will spend four days in Hawaii—ground zero for US entry into the war. During my stay, I will:

  • Tour the USS Missouri, and stand on the spot where the Japanese officially surrendered in 1945.
  • Travel by boat to the USS Arizona Memorial, a sunken battleship that is the final resting place for over 900 sailors.
  • Visit the USS Oklahoma Memorial that honors the 429 servicemen killed when Japanese torpedoes destroyed the ship.
  • Experience the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum and see Japanese and US fighter planes that attacked and defended Pearl Harbor on that infamous day.
  • Go to the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and board one of the few remaining submarines used during the war, and
  • Culminate with a visit to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific where I will pay my respects to the 13,000 interred soldiers of the Pacific Theater.

CALIFORNIA

From Hawaii, I will travel to San Francisco to view the SF City Museum’s collection of newspaper articles and photos of Japanese relocation from the city. I have scheduled an appointment to meet with the curator and make copies of articles detailing the city’s removal efforts. The Presidio—the US Army’s Western Command—is also in San Francisco. The Presidio’s museum has a special exhibit I will attend called “Exclusion.” The exhibit chronicles the Presidio’s pivotal role in Japanese American incarceration and “invites visitors to investigate the choices…that led to this dark chapter in American history.”

A short distance from San Francisco is the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park. I will take a day trip to Richmond to learn about the challenges and hardships women confronted during the war years, such as workplace discrimination and dangerous working conditions at the Richmond shipyard. The highlight of my visit will be the Education Center’s “Rosie Fridays,” a guest speaker program with a real WW II home front worker. Coupled with the interactive exhibits and a docent-led tour, I will learn how WW II-era women worked, lived, and persevered. Including the breadth and depth of women’s contributions is very important, especially for my female students who need to see and hear “themselves” as active participants in the nation’s past. “Herstory” does not rewrite history, but it does provide different perspectives and judgements about what is important.

My last stop in California will be a day trip to the town of Martinez and the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial. The memorial honors the 320 sailors and civilians who died in a munitions explosion in 1944. The majority of the deaths were black sailors working for the racially segregated military. This tragedy was a catalyst for the desegregation of the US Navy. Visiting this memorial allows me to explore the valiant—and often overlooked—contributions to the defense of our nation of African Americans.

STUDENT IMPACT

One of my high school’s 21st century learning expectations is titled “Connect,” and requires students to “become participative members in the social and civic community.” My fellowship’s focus on the stories and contributions of those who served in WW II will manifest itself in a Memorial Day “armed forces” luncheon for current and retired service members. The luncheon will be held at the local VFW and co-hosted by the local Lions Club and my students. The Lions Club will prepare the food and my students will advertise and organize the event, which will include a color guard, opening and closing statements, a keynote speaker, and entertainment. Gratitude unexpressed is easy to overlook, and the luncheon will allow my students to “salute” our community’s current and former servicemen and women.

SCHOOL COMMUNITY IMPACT

I plan on engaging the community in a number of ways. One of our town’s elderly residents served in World War II and was part of the D-Day invasion. He has agreed to share with my students his first-hand perspective of the most pivotal battle of WW II, one that was fought and won by citizen soldiers, like himself. I have also arranged a field trip to the Home – WWII Foundation, a local museum devoted to sharing the stories of those of fought in the war. Tim Gray, a WW II filmmaker and the museum founder, has agreed to lead a discussion about a WW II documentary he produced, allow students to handle WW II artifacts he has collected, and invite WW II veterans to share their oral histories with my students. Additionally, I am planning a town-wide event/exhibition on World War II in partnership with the local historical society.

HISTORY

Texts are often devoted to coverage rather than depth, and important events or people are reduced to a few sentences or a paragraph at best. This does not stimulate most students. Stories, however, not only transport students back into history, but the colorful characters, complex challenges, and believable settings inspire enthusiasm. Everyone has a story worth being told. I want to use stories to pique students’ curiosity to the point that they become invested in their own learning.

FFT Fellow Researches Canada’s Attempts to Erase its Indigenous Past

The New York Times today reported that “remains of as many as 751 people, mainly Indigenous children, were discovered at the site of a former school in the province of Saskatchewan, a Canadian Indigenous group…jolting a nation grappling with generations of widespread and systematic abuse of Indigenous people.” FFT Fellow Lavie Raven (North Lawndale College Preparatory High School – Chicago) pursued this topic with his Fund for Teachers grant, researching the First Nations tribe ‘Namgis, which inhabited Northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia as early as 500 B.C. After learning about Canada’s colonization of Indigenous People, Lavie used his grant to document ‘Namgis restorative justice practices and historic folk artwork and collaborate with teens there to create hip-hop based murals, audio projects and performances that document cultural survival. His Chicago students, as well as students around the country with whom he collaborates on public art projects, continue to benefit from these experiences. Our thanks to Lavie for sharing more about his fellowship and its impact…

I teach World Studies, United States History, and Performative Policy Debate at my school. Our history department works intensely to develop interdisciplinary projects that involve another major discipline and the arts. This is reflected in much of the work I do at my school, as I also am an active hip-hop muralist and run the after-school hip-hop arts club. Through these programs I seek to provide students with opportunities to braid participatory research, social justice concerns, and the arts in creating ‘calls to action’ about issues they identify as relevant for social change.

Our social studies department makes an active effort to expose students to various cultural narratives in regards to European colonization. We prioritize indigenous North American and African narratives, as these have been historically marginalized in traditional history textbooks. We often have to collate a collection of readings from various sources to illustrate the class of cultures, and solidarity between cultures in resisting the violence of colonization. Many of these sources are incomplete or only offer a surface survey of the struggles and accomplishments of indigenous communities. And hardly any have a contemporary component, comparing communities’ histories and their methods of cultural survival.

I was fortunate to meet members of the ‘Namgis community several years ago, and found out about their intensive work on restorative justice in regards to demanding truth and reconciliation from the Canadian government and, in particular, in helping elders and adults heal from the wounds suffered in residential schools. I am actively involved in three organizations at my school: the Peace Warriors, the Performative Debate team, and the University of Hip-Hop (the last two of which I sponsor/coach). Students in our classes, and particularly in these organizations have often paralleled the struggles of African-American communities with those of indigenous peoples, and our students self-identify with those struggles, from the past into the present-day.

I designed my Fund for Teachers fellowship to visit the indigenous ‘Namgis community of Alert Bay, a small island north to Vancouver Island, to work with community activists, traditional artists, museum curators, and ‘Namgis youth to create art work and music that represents cultural survival. Every day, I observed successful resistance to colonialism and neo-colonialism, and discovered ways the local community addressed historical violence experienced in residential schools and discrimination in Canadian society (a primary reason many whom I meet refuse to celebrate Canada Day). The interviews I conducted and my critical inquiry into injustice through hip-hop arts seeded a student pen-pal program and widened my own skills in presenting examples and models of testimonial evidence for argumentation to our debate team. In addition, I:

  • Met elders and artists in the community who arranged the hip-hop artwork and music schedule for me to have to engage ‘Namgis youth
  • Painted mini-murals with ‘Namgis youth
  • Observed the work of Culture Shock, the local cultural community space and store, and the Umista Cultural Society
  • Studied the work accomplished by the Wi’la’mola Accord to create programs and activities that nurture cultural preservation.

I accumulated massive awesomenessSEVEN murals painted with teens and elementary school kids, beautiful interviews and pictures with women making potlatch blankets for their families, an great interview with Barb Cranmer who just finished editing her film about the residential school here, a personal escort and tour through the Umista Cultural Center, a lunch session tomorrow with Connie Watts who designed the thunderbird at Vancouver airport, rapping cypher with youth in front of one of the murals we painted, intersections with two arts collectives doing hip-hop work, and a bunch more fun.

Personally, this fellowship bridged a huge gap in my own and my students’ knowledge of a powerfully resonant cultural society. I have tied the work of the ‘Namgis community center, museum and school to the work our students do with local centers and cultural institutions. I look forward to the new ideas our debate team, school artists and restorative justice clubs can enact while bearing witness to the survival and reconciliation practices of another community.

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The summer after his fellowship, Lavie continued his research with a Fulbright US Distinguished Award in Teaching to study the integration of Māori folkloric arts in New Zealand. As a mural artist he has worked with youth to create culturally conscious murals that have been displayed at museums, cultural centers, and community organizations. Raven believes in providing youth with a multi-disciplinary approach toward life that holistically engages their academic skills, celebrates their talents and artistic abilities, and empowers youth desires to bring positive change to society. Lavie also represented Fund for Teachers as a keynote speaker at the 2017 Extra Yard for Teachers Summit event hosted by the College Football Playoff Association.

Voting on History

On this Election Day, we’re focusing on a different type of vote, one conducted by students at the Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies. Inspired by their teachers’ fellowship in Mexico, seventh graders explore colonialism, feminism and the indigenous history of Mexico to  vote on whether the female translator and daughter of an Aztec chief was a hero, victim or traitor. Thank you for FFT Fellow Glen Meinschein for this story of turning an original idea into action…

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It seems that now more than ever it is important for us to learn to think like historians. To think critically. To determine the reliability of sources. To analyze and corroborate evidence. To try to understand perspectives that are different, even contrary to our own.

When we started our grant proposal for Fund for Teachers, we had the goal of reframing the typical “American History” curriculum. We sought to teach American history not as the history of the United States, but the history of the Americas: an entire hemisphere, two continents, 35 countries whose histories are inextricably linked. We wanted to root it in narratives often ignored in history- by drawing from perspectives of indigenous people, women, and people of color. We wanted our diverse group of New York City students to see themselves in the history we taught.

We saw the perfect opportunity in the story of La Malinche – best known as the indigenous translator and lover of Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes. A woman forced into slavery and given to Cortes as a gift upon his arrival in the “New World.” In Mexico today, her name is synonymous with “traitor,” but her legacy has evolved as the country has grown.

As we interviewed locals about their opinions on La Malinche and her role in helping the Spanish during the conquest, we quickly realized how divisive this topic could be. The interviewees often had to take time to really think through the question, and had strong and complicated feelings about the subject. Seeing people grapple with this question proved to me how important picking a challenging central question is to push students to think deeply and to care deeply about learning history.

Glen found La Malinche’s story in this mural, one of many about her in public spaces around Mexico

Read about this fellowship and student impact here.

Three years after our fellowship we continue to use the story of La Malinche and the research we were able to conduct in Mexico as the learning expedition which kicks off the year in this Brooklyn 7th grade Social Studies class. It is the introduction that we hope teaches students the importance of understanding context, analyzing bias, looking at history and current events through multiple perspectives, and learning the power one individual can have to create change in the world around them.

Here are a few student samples showing their perspectives on the legacy of La Malinche:

  • “Today in history many people see La Malinche as a traitor for helping the Spanish instead of her own people, but it is important to remember that she was a survivor. La Malinche should be remembered as a hero because she helped to unite two cultures to create the place we know of today as Mexico.” -Ella
  • “La Malinche is a traitor because she turned her back on her own people. She helped Cortez and the Spanish who only wanted to find gold. As Cortez and his men arrived in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, Malinali didn’t think twice about helping Cortez wipe out the entire Aztec capital.” -Julian
  • “The reality is, even with the ability to speak three languages she was still a woman in an era where women held no power or importance. Her job was to translate. She did not command the battles or fire the cannons. So, in a time where women could be regarded as property to be passed on as gifts from one man to another with no say in all aspects of their own lives, are we to believe that this woman’s ability to translate could be seen as betrayal that brought down a whole empire? Her natural intelligence allowed her to survive, creating a better life than the one she had. She was a victim not a traitor.”  -Lia

My fellowship through Fund for Teachers allowed me to learn first hand about a topic that had fascinated me for some time. Through our explorations, museum visits, interviews, and conversations, we were able to better understand the legacy of the conquest of Mexico, and local perspectives on La Malinche’s controversial role in helping the conquistadores. Learning about these perspectives first hand has challenged me to think more deeply about the way history is often taught at home.

Read Glen’s fellowship summary here.

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Glen Meinschein is a middle school social studies and special education teacher at Brooklyn Collaborative, Brooklyn, NY. After graduating with concentrations in Spanish, International Studies, and Business from the University of Oregon, Glen spent two years teaching in Spain. Soon after, he moved to New York to join the NYC Teaching Fellows and finish his graduate studies at Long Island University, Brooklyn. Glen is currently the Social Studies department head at Brooklyn Collaborative.

Turning Columbus Day Into Indigenous Peoples Day

Turning ideas into action is nothing new for Tracey-Ann Lafayette. As a student at the University of Connecticut, she founded Leaders in Diversity within the Neag School of Education after recognizing that students from underrepresented backgrounds lacked a support system. Upon earning her Masters in Education and beginning her career at Robert J. O’Brien STEM Academy in East Hartford, CT, she founded a statewide LID initiative for BIPOC teachers and even organized a virtual summit last summer called Melanin Magic for educators of color to to embrace and empower their identities in educational spaces. Student activism, however, was the focus of her Fund for Teachers fellowship. Specifically, Tracey-Ann and her colleague researched in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa, the history of apartheid as influenced by Nelson Mandela to empower elementary students in social activism and restorative justice.

Read about Tracey-Ann’s learning in South Africa here.

“I continually shared with my students experiences and knowledge rooted in our fellowship – especially student activism while in South Africa,” said Tracey-Ann. “I think it’s important to teach my students to think critically and form their own opinions about the world so I try to give them information about a variety of topics that really make them think.”

And when they thought about Columbus Day, it didn’t make sense.

“They couldn’t understand why anyone would want to celebrate someone who caused so many issues and treated people so poorly so they wanted to speak up about that,” said Tracey-Ann. “We did talk about how even though they feel strongly about something that there are others who feel strongly on the opposite side of things, but they were determined to take action.”

Tracey-Ann felt it was important to support her students and show them that even as a third grader you can make a difference in the world. When the students decided to take their case to the school district, Tracey-Ann helped make it happen. The superintendent and assistant superintendent accepted the class’ invitation to dialogue about why they believed the school district should change the calendar to annually honor Indigenous People’s Day on October 12.

In front of Table Mountain overlooking Cape Town

“My FFT fellowship was transformative for my teaching because it allowed me to engage in authentic learning experiences,” said Tracey-Ann. “Learning in South Africa about Apartheid made me curious about the local histories that are surrounding me that I haven’t considered. It also solidified the importance of teaching students about social justice and social comprehension, reminded me of the power that passionate individuals can have, and showed me the impact that children can have on their communities.”

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Tracey-Ann, who holds a Masters degree from the Neag College of Education at the University of Connecticut, is active on social media. You can follow her work on Instagram, Twitter and her blog, Learning with Lafayette. You can also learn more about why she teaches on this short video produced by UConn.

FFT Fellow Rebecca Zisook (Helen C. Peirce School of International Studies – Chicago) also facilitated learning around this topic with her elementary students. Read about their learning here.

 

 

Confronting Slavery’s Legacy of Racism Together

Today marks the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade History, an annual commemoration established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007. The aim of the day is “to inculcate in future generations the causes, consequences and lessons of the transatlantic slave trade, and to communicate the dangers of racism and prejudice.” FFT Fellows consistently design fellowships to further this work and we are honored to share the work of one of them today. Aisha Haynes (Academy of Urban Planning & Engineering – Brooklyn) used her grant to research colonization in Ghana on the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved African arrived in Virginia to share learning with the school Equity Team and advance campus inclusivity goals. We’re grateful for Aisha’s work and her story…

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“Akwaaba” is a traditional greeting in Ghana that welcomes visitors. This greeting resonates with me often as a teacher in the neighborhood in which I teach in Brooklyn, New York. Many of my students are recently arrived immigrants, students who are living in temporary housing, or simply new to our school community. This warm welcome invites my students into our classroom space to move from becoming visitors in our community to making themselves at home. I designed this fellowship to celebrate their diversity, encourage their inclusion, and build leadership amongst my adolescent students.

For ten days, I experienced the history and culture of Ghana while staying with a host family to broaden personal understanding of the African country, particularly the role it played in the slave trade, and more effectively teach this period of history. Visiting the Cape Coast was the most transformative of experiences. To stand in the same spaces where enslaved people were once tortured, punished, and forever taken away from the life that they once knew was jarring. Despite this painful past, so many of the Ghanians that I met were willing to acknowledge the dark past while acknowledgouting the hope and promise for the future. I was inspired by this attitude and I hope to share these experiences and attitudes with my student.

The “Year of Return” [2019 commemorated 400 years since the first enslaved Africans touched down in Jamestown, Virginia in the United States] was a carefully curated event by the nation’s government and tourism department. Watching them weave music, dance, art, and history together to tell a comprehensive story of Ghana’s past and present. This has supported a more interdisciplinary approach to my teaching and I am encouraged that my students are learning more because they are engaged. I also hope that my students will feel emboldened to share their identity with newfound ways to tell their stories.

I did not expect to be so personally impacted by the visit. To walk into spaces and hear “Welcome home, my sister,” gave me a sense of joy and belonging that I have never felt in any place that I’ve visited. As a Black woman in America, I scarcely have the experience to be in spaces where everyone looks like me and I was unprepared for how significant that would be to me. Additionally, the visit to the slave castle left me committed to retelling the story of marginalized people in their voices.

Students now have access to the resources I collected during my time in Ghana to begin drafting their own origin stories. After developing these stories, they will be invited to address issues around their own identities and present their findings to the school community. This will culminate in a full day of activities entitled “Day of Dialogue” in which students act as facilitators.

This work is expanding school wide events to deconstruct stereotypes and build our school community. Staff, faculty, and the community take part in this daylong activity, which has become a tradition for our school. Our students lead the activities throughout the day in classrooms and after the day is complete, they often feel emboldened to share their skills at conferences and other schools on the campus.

After Ghana, I have renewed energy and more directed focus toward creating a meaningful experience for students. I teach mostly black and brown students and sharing these travel stories and memories with them is a personal experience that brings us closer. My teaching is transformed because my worldview feels larger as I feel more convicted to make their teaching relevant, interdisciplinary and authentic.

Too often, students feel like their learning is in silos- their personal lives are separated from the classroom. Having had such a rich cultural experience, I am dedicated to giving my students the same experience. Travel also reminded me that teaching should be interdisciplinary, relevant, and mixes the past with their contemporary lives. When teachers are personally enriched, they pass along the experiences and try to replicate those experiences in a meaningful way.

(top to bottom: Aisha in front of the Ghanian flag. The red in the flag represents the blood of those who died for independence from Great Britain, gold-the mineral wealth of the country, green-the country’s rich forests and nature, and black star-African emancipation. | The Door of No Return at Elmina Castle, through which tens of thousands of Africans destined for slavery passed to board slave ships. | Visiting Kwame Nkrumah Square, which recognizes the country’s first Prime Minister and President of Ghana. | Black Star Square, site of the annual Independence Parade. Read excerpts from today’s speech by the UN Secretary-General about this year’s theme “Confronting Slavery’s Legacy of Racism Together” here.)

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Aisha is a high school teacher in Brooklyn, New York where she has taught English for the last eleven years. She is also a doctoral candidate in New York University Educational Leadership and Policy program. Her research interests include the changing educational landscape, education equity and school leadership.

The Era That Will Live in Infamy

On Pearl Harbor Day, we remember the 2,403 people killed in the surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. The “date which will live in infamy” launched America’s entry into World War II; the bombings also resulted in the internment of 7,000 Japanese American citizens in relocation centers by order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Teaching the complexities of this time is complex in and of itself for Tim Barry. His students at Nathan Hale Middle School in Coventry, CT, fall within a wide range of ability levels.

“This drastic range creates difficulty when choosing and providing engaging and appropriate text for students of all abilities,” explained Tim. “Fortunately, with the broad scope of our World War II unit, we are able to provide high interest and appropriately leveled options so that all students may contribute and draw connections to classroom discussion and produce work that they can be proud of.”

But that unit lacked dialogue about the domestic impact of the war. Tim designed a Fund for Teachers fellowship fill that gap and, last summer, examined life in and around Japanese Relocation Camps in Utah and Colorado to help students:

  • Connect to the past and apply that knowledge to the current climate in the United States?
  • Draw parallels between the treatment of Japanese Americans in the United States and Jewish (and other minority) people in Europe during WWII?
  • Understand the Pyramid of Hate and how the act of dehumanization impacts individuals and large groups through self reflection and journaling, and
  • Support other disciplines across the curriculum such as math (budgeting), social studies (constitutional questions), and science (geographic significance of camps and land features that made them ideal).

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Last summer, I was fortunate to travel to Colorado and Utah to study Japanese Internment Camps as part of my Fund For Teachers fellowship.  My intention was to supplement our current World War II unit with experiences from the home front to allow students to draw parallels in today’s climate of cultural bias.  I want my students to draw inspiration my own curiosity and go out and explore the world.  I want them to challenge what they know or think they know and I want them to be acutely aware of how history has a tendency to repeat itself.

Granada Relocation Center memorial

Trip Details: I spent nine days traveling from the Topaz Camp in Delta, Utah to the Moab Isolation Center in Moab, Utah and finally to Granada Relocation Center (Amache) in Granada, Colorado.  In Delta, I was struck by the beautifully curated Topaz Museum which highlighted the blending of traditional Japanese culture with the easily recognizable American identity of the time.  High school yearbooks, recounts of baseball games, and a letterman’s jackets sat side-by-side with instruments of the Japanese tea ceremony and watercolor paintings.  Despite the dramatic civil rights violations perpetrated by the United States government, these proud people still created a sense of normalcy and everyday life.  The message of their resilience is one that I hope will resonate with my students.

Pictured with Mr. Kitajima and Dr. Clark

The highlight of my trip was being able to connect with Denver University at their biennial open house at the Amache site in Colorado.  There, I was introduced to Dr. Bonnie Clark who is the Project Director of the DU Amache Research Project.  I was able to meet several former internees of the camp, including 87 year old, Mr. Ken Kitajima who was a resident of the camp from ages 12-15.  My hope is that I can provide my students with a first hand account of what it was like to be of middle school age in a Relocation Camp.  I plan to connect with Mr. Kitajima virtually to conduct interviews and provide insight into his experience.  Perspective is one of the most important things I can offer to my students.

Middle school is a trying time and although the experiences of my students will be different than those of the past, the challenges will not be unique.  My hope is that my journey will foster a sense of intellectual curiosity as my students create their own world view and tackle the test of growing up in an increasingly demanding world.

The digital world in which we live allows people to instantly access information and make snap decisions based on their own experiences and biases, yet we don’t often slow down to assess all sides of a story. Ultimately, I want my students to be willing to challenge what is accepted by society and greet people from all walks of life with an open mind.

The main thing that I was able to bring forth and offer to my students was perspective.  In our curriculum, we dive deeply into the ideals in which the nation was built upon, the Constitution, Supreme Court cases, and World War II.  Through my experiences at the Japanese Relocation Camps I can provide an alternative lens in which students can view historical events and how they correlate to our society today.

We broached difficult topics such as governmental policy, Supreme Court decision making, modern and historical biases, and comparing and contrasting Germany’s Nuremberg Laws and Executive Order 9066 of the United States.  As an 8th grade student is developing their own world view, the definition of “American” can mean many different things to each individual.  Many conversations had to be delicately handled as students progressed through a wide array of emotions and processed preconceived notions.  I’ve seen students find their own voice to respectively challenge the biases of another.  Seeing a quiet and reserved student willing to speak for those who are unable to speak for themselves is an amazing thing.  However, the greatest impact is to see a student challenge their OWN beliefs and to privately approach me and identify that their world view is shifting through our discussion.

As I look to branch out and share my experiences with different grade levels and new districts, I truly feel that they highest value comes through dialogue.  My advice to those who are jumping into this complex time in history is to keep a patient and open mind.  Avoiding controversial topics will only perpetuate the cycle of silence.  As educators, it is critical to understand that a limited world view is the reality of many students.  They simply haven’t had enough time to develop perspective.  Whether that dialogue is created through looking at primary sources, first person testimony, or inviting guest speakers, the value of insight and challenging oppressive attitudes will create a platform for students to find their own voices both now and in the future.
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For more than a decade, Tim has empowered his students to take ownership over their education and to become independent learners while focusing on character and integrity. Throughout his teaching career, he has coached athletics at both the middle and high school levels and views the competition field as an extension of the classroom where students can push themselves.

Paving the Way for Women

On this day in 1911, Suffragettes stormed Parliament in London. All were arrested and chose prison terms. Their leader was Emmeline Pankhurst – the focus of Eric Reid-St. John‘s fellowship.

Eric, a theatre teacher at Spain Park High School in Hoover, AL, researched Pankhurst and the suffrage movement they incited. While in London, he found in Trafalgar Square the location of the 1908 rally for which Mrs. Pankhurst was also arrested (pictured). He then studied with three avant-garde theatres, laying the groundwork for his students’ creation of a play about Lady Constance Lytton, an English aristocrat who disguised herself as a working woman to support suffragettes.

“Through research, I found that I could relate a lot to Constance,” said Rachel Ponder, who played the lead. “However, most of all, I was so in awe of her dedication towards the suffrage movement. Being a part of this creative process has inspired me both as a woman and as a human being.”

 

Ponder and 23 students representing each grade spent three months researching the suffrage movement in the United States and Britain before collaborating on a script and set. Each performer created a character journal comprised of photos, newspaper articles and other primary resources they uncovered. An Oxford professor who authored a book on Lytton Skyped into class to inform students’ research, as well.

“Current events were on my mind when I began this process and they continue to bring about a sense of urgency surrounding women’s rights,” said Eric. “My students took the history of this topic and explored its correlation with today’s headlines. They created a story that allowed people to see that the expansion of equal rights is the natural progression of a free society.”

Reviews are in, and at a state theatre competition, Ponder won Best Actress, her cast mates won Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Ensemble and Deeds Not Words was named Best in Show.

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Update from Eric:

“Several of our seniors from that year’s show have gone on to study theatre at various universities, including Viterbo in Wisconsin (our lead actress from Deeds Not Words studies musical theatre there), University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa; Samford University and Birmingham-Southern in Birmingham; and Emory in Atlanta.

That ended up being my last year teaching in Alabama, as I took a position at a school in Middlebury, VT, the following year. This marks my second year directing the Addison Repertory Theatre at the Hannaford Career Center teaching ART – a class that allows students from area schools to focus on either technical theatre or performance during the school day.

The techniques of devised theatre that I studied along with the suffragettes while in England that summer still impact the way I teach. The students and I have created two plays using devised methods over the past year; one took fables and folk tales and turned them into a children’s show that we toured to five local elementary schools, while the other challenged students to develop a series of short plays that were presented to sold-out crowds over two nights.

The theatre creation techniques I learned will continue to affect the way I teach for years to come. The research into the suffragettes will always continue to influence the way I view the struggle for equal rights. (I have also since been able to take my mother and daughter to the Women’s Rights National Park in Seneca Falls, NY, and have now attended two Convention Days there, annual celebrations that commemorate the first conference on women’s rights in the US).

Thank again for thinking of Deeds Not Words. I believe that was one of the most immediate and important works I’ve been a part of.”

Leaving a New Legacy in Hiroshima

On this day in 1945, an atomic bomb flattened Hiroshima – one of two bombings that induced the Japanese to surrender and end World War II. FFT Fellow Kelly Loubier (Orville H. Platt High School-Meriden, CT) participated in the anniversary ceremonies at the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park, where she also delivered to the Children’s Memorial paper cranes folded by her students in keeping with the novel Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes.

Kelly designed this fellowship to document the nuclear legacy in Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Osaka and Fukushima and demonstrate how these events continue to impact citizens and the greater world community in relation to policy decisions regarding war, nuclear weapons, nuclear energy, peace and disaster relief.

She continues to share experiences on her Instagram and we’re honored to include a portion of her learning below in recognition of this momentous day in history…

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[minti_dropcap style=”circle”]I[/minti_dropcap] headed to the memorial service this morning around 7:30 and I joined crowds of people who I thought were just going to work. I was so wrong about that. They were all headed to the cenotaph and the ceremony at 8 am. I read online afterwards that 70% of all citizens of Hiroshima have attended a memorial service for the atomic bomb victims. It’s not a recognized day off, so kids still have school, men and women still go to work. The ceremony took place from about 8-8:45 and it included adding names to the cenotaph, a moment of silence at 8:15, an address from the mayor renewing calls for peace and decrying nationalism and addresses from students. They also sang a song of peace and released doves. After, people lined up to deliver flowers and offer a prayer. It’s 2pm and there is still a line. There have been groups promoting peace and youth groups, high schools and universities teaching people about the atomic bombs and interviewing others about peace in the park. More cranes are being brought to various monuments and people are purchasing lanterns for later. The sense of community is unreal, even 74 years later.

[minti_dropcap style=”circle”]O[/minti_dropcap]ne of my major take aways from Hiroshima is that the knowledge about the atomic bomb is so ingrained in the fabric of the city that it isn’t something that just happened in the past and that’s it. It’s something that the people of Hiroshima must learn about and teach others about so that we as a global community don’t let it happen again. There were so many people in the park today, but what really amazed me was the amount of students involved. The Boy Scouts handed out programs and cold towels before the ceremony. Sixth graders gave the children’s address during the ceremony and other students sang or played music. A group of fourteen year old girls gave me a peace declaration their high school drafted. University students interviewed me about peace. Other kids were involved in music, tours, tea ceremonies, peace demonstrations, delivering cranes, reading Sadako’s story (in English and Japanese) and presenting their art. So many families were out with their young children tonight helping them to send out lanterns, color wax candles and present flowers and prayers to the cenotaph. My mind has constantly been thinking of the Margaret Mead quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” The people of Hiroshima are leading the charge to a more peaceful world.

[minti_dropcap style=”circle”]T[/minti_dropcap]he face you make when a small Japanese woman grips you by the hand, puts you in a line of other confused foreigners, and puts a necklace of paper cranes around your neck. Turns out, I was given a Croatian flag to wave and lead the crowd in a prayer for peace for Croatia. All countries were represented. The artwork pictured represents 193 countries, their flags and a message of peace in their language.

[minti_dropcap style=”circle”]I[/minti_dropcap]want to give thanks to Yuji @fellanandez_tokugiwa and Holly @hiroshimayasuko from @magicaltripcom for a wonderful tour of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the pictures. I learned quite a bit during the Heiwa Walking Tour that I’m looking forward to bringing back to my classroom and the Meriden community. I learned a lot today and I’m still trying to process everything and put it into words. I did go to the Children’s Peace Monument this afternoon to drop off the cranes. They’re in the second cabinet at the monument and I filled out a sheet so they will be recorded.

 

[minti_dropcap style=”circle”]I[/minti_dropcap]n Japan, the atomic bomb is taught with the stories of the people who were affected through their clothing, their pictures, their art and their stories. I learned that many of the victims were school aged children between the ages of 12-14. They had been reporting to school on August 6 at 8:15 am to clear buildings to create buffer zones in case of an air raid to prevent fires from spreading. Many of their stories are told in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, allowing visitors to bear witness and connect with the human aspect of this terrible tragedy. It is not until the end of the museum when you learn about the science of the atomic bomb, the reason it was used and what the global community did with nuclear weapons after World War 2. We need to teach these stories in the United States.

[minti_dropcap style=”circle”]T[/minti_dropcap]here is a rumor that persists that claims nothing would grow in Hiroshima for 75 years after the atomic bomb. I heard the rumor as a student and I still hear it from my students today. Hiroshima is actually very green and there are trees everywhere. This is because during the recovery period, citizens and organizations from Japan and the global community and governments around the world donated trees. There are also 170 Hibakujumoku (survivor trees) in various locations around Hiroshima that are marked with plaques. The organization, Green Legacy Hiroshima works to spread saplings from these trees around the world. I’d love to talk to @ctca19 in September more about this organization.

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Thank you, Katie, for the exemplary job you’ve done in designing, pursuing and sharing your learning with us. You can follow her entire fellowship on Instagram @kcloubier. Katie teaches 9th grade world history and 11 and 12th grade human rights at O.H. Platt High School in Meriden, Connecticut. As a third year teacher, she believes that students should walk away from her classroom with a greater understanding of the world around them. She has worked with exchange students from around the world and traveled to places such as Egypt, El Salvador and Iceland, bringing her experiences with her into the classroom.

Fellow Friday | Magical Mystery Tour

Fund for Teachers invites PreK-12 educators to design learning adventures wherever their imaginations can take them, which is the same thing author Mary Pope Osborne does for young readers through her Magic Tree House series. These award-winning books transport main characters Jack and Annie on quests that pursue people and topics they previously only read about.

This summer, librarian Riley Grant (Pelzer, SC) is writing her own learning adventure and is bringing Jack and Annie along.  We caught up with her (and Jack and Annie) as she’s investigating European settings found in the book series to produce springboard book trailers and book talks for project-based learning that helps students identify ways to explore and improve their community…

 

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So, I am half way through with the travel part of my Fund for Teachers Fellowship…it has been nothing short of incredible!!

It truly is all about relationships —

Planning her itinerary this spring

I have spent my adult life building relationships in my personal and professional life and I claim to know some of the best people in the world…honestly!! But, most of my relationships are contained in my small southern state. And, while that is very wonderful, I’m so glad to have this opportunity to build relationships around the world! It is through these relationships that I learn history, geography, cultural similarities and differences and most of all, how to be a good and kind friend.

I am a librarian in a rather rural elementary school but it is close to an up and coming large city. My dream is that by using literature, Project-Based/International Baccalaureate Learning projects, and videos from this fellowship, I can inspire my young students to build meaningful relationships in their small community, our large city, our beautiful state and the world!

To be honest, I’ve also learned a lot about myself. Last fall my principal asked to think of a word for our school year and I chose “execute”… as in “to make things happen.” I had heard about the Fund for Teachers program and decided I wanted to make that fellowship happen. I was nervous and after I pushed the submit button, I did nothing put doubt myself. And, the day the grants were announced, it was late in the afternoon before I received my acceptance email. But getting the fellowship was only the beginning! I overcame my anxiety about going to a country where I did not speak the language, getting lost in a foreign country, meeting total strangers, riding trains between countries and generally “executing” this project. I am truly humbled and proud to be a part of the Fund for Teachers Fellowship program.

Meanwhile I am living my dream of exploring Europe and meeting amazing people from Paris, London, and look forward to building relationships in Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin.

Thank you, FFT!!

“I love teaching,” said Mary Pope Osborne. “It’s a job that lasts forever. Whatever you teach children today travels with them far into the future.” We agree and can’t wait to see where Riley, Jack and Annie take the students of Fork Shoals Elementary!

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Follow the rest of Riley’s Magical Mystery Tour on Instagram @graceorileysreadingclubhouse.

Final Tour of Auschwitz with Survivor Eva Kor

Middle school language arts teacher Amy Taylor designed her Fund for Teachers fellowship to accompany Holocaust survivor Eva Kor back to Auschwitz to learn about her subjection to Mengele’s twin experiments, her liberation from the camp in 1945, and her ability to forgive. It would be the last such tour Ms. Kor hosted. She died in her hotel room in Krakow, Poland, the day after taking Amy and others on a tour of the death camp she survived with her twin sister, Miriam.

Amy is now back home in New London, CT, processing all she learned, including being told by Ms. Kor’s son that his mother had passed away during the night. Amy generously shares details of Ms. Kor’s final days spent fulfilling her calling: telling her story “to create an empowered community of critical thinkers who will illuminate the world with hope, healing, respect, and responsibility.”

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I would be honored to talk about Eva. When I discovered this trip through her museum, CANDLES, [Children of Auschwitz – Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments] I knew that I had to go. I felt it in my heart. This experience was the driving force for me to apply for this fellowship and to go through the rigorous application process. I am so glad that I followed my gut instinct and went on this trip. I used her book, Surviving the Angel of Death and her newest documentary Eva A-7063 in my classroom this past spring. I knew from my research about her that she was a remarkable human being. Meeting her in person confirmed that.

From the moment I met her that first night at dinner, (Monday, July 1) I adored her. She was real with us. She was willing to be an open book. She wanted us to ask her anything, to take as many pictures and videos as we wanted, so that when we go home we would share with others our experiences with her and our experiences at the camps. We were there to bear witness to what the Nazis did to Eva and the millions of others.

On Tuesday, July 2nd, we were with Eva again at dinner and after dinner we had a viewing of her documentary. She was there throughout the whole viewing. Some of us were surprised that she was there to watch with us because she has seen it numerous times, but she wanted to be there.  It was rather late (10:30-10:45) when the documentary was over, but Eva was still willing to take a few questions from us. The documentary does a really great job of documenting Eva’s story. You can see how angry and misunderstood she was when she came to America. But once she discovered the idea of forgiveness, you can see the change and the impact that one act had on her entire life. A weight was lifted off of her and she wasn’t angry anymore. Many other survivors do not understand how she could forgive the Nazis for what they had done to her. They think she’s crazy for doing that. But Eva has found a peace within herself and that is all that matters.

 

                       

Wednesday, July 3rd was a big day. Nothing really prepares you for seeing the tracks leading up to the guardhouse of Birkenau. It was a powerful moment for me. Knowing that millions of people went down those tracks in cattle cars packed beyond capacity never to come out again, hit me like a ton of bricks. I had tears in my eyes before I even got off the bus. Walking up to the gate from the parking lot was surreal. We toured Birkenau with our guides in the morning and after lunch, Eva would be joining us to talk about her experiences there in Birkenau.

When we were coming back to the camp from lunch, Eva was surrounded by a group of young men from the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus Young Men’s Ensemble. They had sung three songs for Eva. I missed the performance, as I was busy buying just about every book in the book store! When she heard there was a group of young men that wanted to sing for her, she immediately asked for Sherman (which is what her purse is called: Sherman tank, because it is so big!) so that she could get her lipstick and put some on! That little side note really cracked me up. She loved talking with those boys and that fact that she needed to get “dolled up” to do it was pretty funny.

People were drawn to Eva. When other visitors to the camp heard that she was a survivor, they stopped and joined our group to listen to her talk. Eva talked about her experiences at three different locations around the camp. It was an incredibly moving experience that I will never forget. I recorded everything she said to us that day and I am forever grateful that I did that. Little did I know what the next day would bring.

Eva’s first stop was at the selection platform in front of the cattle car. Here she described the conditions she experienced in the cattle car as well as the last time that she saw her parents and her older sisters on that same selection platform. She described being on the cattle car for four days. They had asked for water and were told by the train’s guard to hand over five gold watches. They passed the watches through the barbed wire of the window and in return the guard threw a bucket of water into the car. Eva recalls putting her cup on her head to try and catch water, but never caught enough water to drink, just enough to wet her lips. She also described her arrival into the camp as the craziest place she had ever been in her life, everything happened very quickly and without explanation. She also went on to explain the moment that her mother was taken to the right, away from Miriam (her twin sister) and herself, which meant she was going to the gas chamber. She described the pain in her mother’s eyes as well as her outstretched arms.

                      

She went on to read two letters to us. One she wrote to her father and another she wrote to her mother. These letters were brutally honest and heartfelt. She forgave her father for his harshness toward her because she was a girl. She forgave him for not taking the family to Romania to try to escape. She said that his disappointment in her made her strong, strong enough to survive Auschwitz. Her letter to her mother was so sad. She loved her mother so much and never had the opportunity to say goodbye. She took the opportunity to tell her mother that she was strong for Miriam and herself and that she was proud of the mother that she was for the ten years that she had her. This letter hit me hard. I had done a pretty good job of keeping it together for the majority of the day, but listening to her read that letter on the same selection platform in which she was ripped away from her mother added another layer to the meaning. It gave me a perspective that I would never have had if I were not sitting in the exact place that it had occurred. I really don’t think there was a dry eye in the group at that point and after she read the letters she noticed people crying.

She asked, “Why are you crying? It’s a happy story. I survived.” (We all then laughed.) She said, “Look at it this way, I sometimes joke about it, but it’s true. I beat Hitler, I beat Mengele, I beat the Nazis, I beat the Communists, and I am here to tell my story.”

She doesn’t like when people cry. She doesn’t think we should cry, but her staff tried to get her to understand that she has had many years to come to terms with what she has experienced in her life. We need to be allowed to process what she shares with us and sometimes that involves tears. She somewhat understands that.

The second stop of the day with Eva was in front of the remains of Crematorium II and III. Here she talked about wanting to find the other twins that had also survived. She guessed that there would be about 180-200 of them out in the world somewhere. She tried for six years to get the news organizations to help her and no one responded. She decided that if she created her own organization and made herself president then maybe someone would pay attention to her. Thus her organization CANDLES was born. (Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors) After locating about 80 twins, the media then wanted to talk with Eva and she started getting the attention she was looking for. She went back to Auschwitz with six twins for the 40th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in January of 1985. She also talked about her interactions with Mengele. She talked about how they were like little soldiers and that he would raise hell if a child had died. She also talked about how she didn’t like him. She said his eyes were very evil and they were penetrating and so she tried not to look at him.

                   

The final place Eva spoke at was in front of where her barrack was located. Her barrack is no longer standing. All that remains is the foundation where it once stood. Here she talked about what life was like in the barrack. Her treatment was a little better because she was one of Mengele’s twins. She and Miriam had a bunk to themselves. They were in the bottom bunk on the right hand side of the barrack. They didn’t have to share it with four or five other people like most prisoners did. They were able to go to the bathroom whenever they wanted, while other prisoners were generally relegated to one bathroom break in the morning and one in the evening. Eva talked about one of the supervisors of her barrack, she called her Snake. She hated this particular supervisor because she was mean. She would make the kids play games that she liked and the kids hated just for her entertainment. She also talked about how she learned to knit from an older twin using pieces of barbed wire. She knitted hats for Miriam and herself to help keep warm. She also talked about the routine of daily life, like roll call. She remembers waiting for hours outside if someone was missing. She also recalled seeing planes flying overhead and the air raids. She really liked the air raids because the Nazis would go crazy when they happened and it meant that the Nazis were getting closer to being defeated.

Thursday, July 4th: We knew something was not right this morning. Normally, the CANDLES staff and her son, Alex, join us on the bus. This morning, only two of the five staff members were with us. They told us that Eva had a difficult night and that she wouldn’t be joining us today. They said that we would get an update at dinner. We continued on with our day touring Auschwitz. I was sitting with Michelle on the bus and I remember sharing a look of concern with her. We had hoped that she would be okay. We knew that she had some medical issues over the last six months or so and was currently battling an upper respiratory infection. We figured that maybe she did a little too much yesterday. Eva was very headstrong and did not want to cut back her time and interactions with us. She was going to do what she wanted to do.

                        

When we were on the bus heading back to the hotel, CANDLES director, Leah, broke the news to us that Eva had passed away that morning. I was shocked. I was hoping against all hope that I misheard what she said, but I didn’t. I buried my head in my hands and cried. I could believe that the person I had just spent the day with yesterday was now gone. Never in a million years did I think that would ever happen. The staff and our guides knew that Eva was gone, but they wanted us to be able to experience Auschwitz without the cloud of her death over us. I am thankful for that. I was able to focus on the exhibits and my guide’s wisdom, rather than feeling her loss. I spent most of the rest of the day in tears. Every time I thought about her and the happiness I felt being around her, I would cry. We have truly lost an incredible soul. We were told that her son and staff were with her when she passed. Every effort was made to try and save her, but her passing was fairly quick and peaceful. I firmly believe she has been reunited with her family.

We came together as a group and comforted each other. We were the only ones who could understand what we were going through and we needed to come together as a family to support each other. Even today, I still can’t believe she is gone.

I am forever grateful for the three days that I had with her. In that short time, I was able to see her passion for educating others, her fiesty and funny side, and her strength and willingness to be so open about everything she has experienced in her life.

We had two opportunities to honor and remember Eva. When we returned to Birkenau on Saturday, we had a candle lighting ceremony where we lit candles at the memorial in honor of Eva and anyone else we whose memory we wanted to honor. We also placed a beautiful wreath at the memorial in honor of Eva. Alex and the staff spoke at the ceremony. It broke my heart to listen to Alex break down as he talked about his mother. He shared that one of his mother’s favorite songs was, “The Impossible Dream,” from the Man of La Mancha. He read the lyrics out loud and then played the song. While he played it, the group spontaneously started to sing along. It was a beautiful moment.

                      

We ended the ceremony by reciting Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead.  It was somewhat awkward to be back at Birkenau. This was one of the last places we spent time with Eva. Walking by the selection platform where we sat and listened to her just three days earlier, felt really weird. On Sunday morning, there was a memorial service at the hotel. A rabbi was there to lead us in the memorial. It was another opportunity for us to honor Eva and remember all of the lessons she has taught us. It is our charge to carry on her legacy and message. I will forever remember my time with her and will help to teach her message and her life lessons the best that I can to my students:

  1. Never give up. Eva always believed that she would make it out of the camp and because of that positivity she survived.
  2. Be kind to and respect each other. The Holocaust was born out of hatred toward others.
  3. Forgiveness. Be able to forgive your enemy and yourself. It will free your soul.
  4. Wake up every day with the intention to do good things. Make a difference in your world for the better.

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Amy teaches 7th grade language arts at the Interdistrict School for Arts and Communications in New London, CT, where she also serves as team leader. She is eager to incorporate her time with Ms. Kor, as well as her tours of additional museums and death camps in Germany and the Czech Republic, to strengthen a Holocaust unit about hope, survival, empathy and voice. You can see more images and descriptions Amy’s fellowship on her Instagram.