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Putting a Face to History
FRIENDS HOSTS USC SHOAH FOUNDATION WORKSHOP
The Center for Peace, Equity and Justice at Friends Seminary hosted USC Shoah Foundation’s workshop, Using Visual History Testimony in the Classroom, on March 5. More than 30 educators from seven NYC schools participated in the workshop.
The Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education’s archive offers 2,400 full life testimonies of survivors and witnesses to the Holocaust and other genocides. The IWitness initiative—a digital educational platform—integrates testimony-based education with the development of digital literacy and other 21st-century competencies. IWitness activities boost students’ knowledge of subject matter while developing their critical-thinking skills and empathy for others. The aim—and often the result—is to spark a motivation to act and, ultimately, to help mold a responsible participant in civil society.
During the workshop, educators learned how to responsibly and effectively utilize the iWitness testimony-based lessons, activities and resources to:
- Provide a human face to the past.
- Engage students to critically think about universal themes of tolerance, diversity and justice from an individual perspective.
- Sensitize students to the value of story as a valuable source of knowledge.
This is really bringing the power of storytelling to the digital environment,” according to Kori Street, director of education at the Foundation. “It’s putting a human face to history.”
Testimonies can’t be presented on their own, however, Street and others caution. Instead, they say, testimonies must be supplemented with lessons about the context of anti-Semitism and the history that led to the Holocaust and other genocides. The workshop on March 5 will equip teachers with the tools to make the most of these resources.
Friends Seminary actively promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in all its programs and operations, including admissions, financial aid, hiring, and all facets of the educational experience. To form a community which strives to reflect the world’s diversity, we do not discriminate on the basis of race or color, religion, nationality, ethnicity, economic background, physical ability, sex, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation. Friends Seminary is an equal opportunity employer.
Friends Seminary — the oldest continuously operated, coeducational school in NYC — serves college-bound day students in Kindergarten-Grade 12.
