Mon, Mar 26th, 2012
Sue Fletcher, communications instructor, joined sixteen other educators from across the United States on an educational tour of historical sites in Poland and Israel beginning March 24, 2012.
The instructors have all been selected from across the United States to receive fellowships for this opportunity through the Memorial Library of New York City. The educators, whose backgrounds and faith all vary, are specialists in teaching about the Holocaust, other genocides and issues of social justice. They are part of the Holocaust Educators Network, a group of more than 100 middle school, high school, and college faculty who have participated in summer seminars, also offered by the Memorial Library.
"Little did I know that I have been preparing for this journey for some time. I have always been fascinated with memoir writing. I am especially drawn to Holocaust survivor stories as a way to look at the very personal side of injustice," Fletcher commented.
Fletcher and the rest of the group are traveling together with Professor Sondra Perl of Lehman College of the City University of New York and members of the Memorial Library board, on a journey to Poland and Israel, where they will spend 10 days visiting historical sites related to the Holocaust and important to contemporary Jewish life. They will then bring their firsthand experience of these places back to their classrooms and communities.
"Now, I will be able to visualize these stories, gain the added context of place and engage all of my senses. That can only add to my teaching when I bring these stories into the classroom and to our satellite seminar I will be leading with local area teachers this June," Fletcher said.
The instructors have all been selected from across the United States to receive fellowships for this opportunity through the Memorial Library of New York City. The educators, whose backgrounds and faith all vary, are specialists in teaching about the Holocaust, other genocides and issues of social justice. They are part of the Holocaust Educators Network, a group of more than 100 middle school, high school, and college faculty who have participated in summer seminars, also offered by the Memorial Library.
"Little did I know that I have been preparing for this journey for some time. I have always been fascinated with memoir writing. I am especially drawn to Holocaust survivor stories as a way to look at the very personal side of injustice," Fletcher commented.
Fletcher and the rest of the group are traveling together with Professor Sondra Perl of Lehman College of the City University of New York and members of the Memorial Library board, on a journey to Poland and Israel, where they will spend 10 days visiting historical sites related to the Holocaust and important to contemporary Jewish life. They will then bring their firsthand experience of these places back to their classrooms and communities.
"Now, I will be able to visualize these stories, gain the added context of place and engage all of my senses. That can only add to my teaching when I bring these stories into the classroom and to our satellite seminar I will be leading with local area teachers this June," Fletcher said.
