HOUSTON – Oct. 24, 2018 – Spring ISD middle school students are learning about the Holocaust through a special program, “Images from the Holocaust,” that features photographs, historical footage, and eyewitness testimony presented by Holocaust Educators in Motion and the Holocaust Museum of Houston.
Educators in Motion provides educational programming on the Holocaust, genocide, social cruelty and active citizenship in school and community settings. A museum educator is visiting with the district’s sixth-grade students to provide the special interactive course and engage them in an informative discussion.
The goal of the program is to use photography, films, eyewitness testimony, and interactive activities to provide students with a historical overview of the Holocaust from the rise of the Nazi Party to the end of World War II.
“We just want to teach the dangers of prejudice, discrimination and hatred and why it’s so important for us to speak out when we see these issues going on around the world,” said Laurie Garcia, Education Outreach Educator at the Holocaust Museum.
Ashley Alonso, a sixth-grade student at Claughton Middle School, said the the program is a good alternative to a regular classroom lesson. “I like activities like this because they are fun, and I like learning about history,” she said.
The special program is just the latest being brought to the district’s middle schools. Last month, students at six Spring ISD middle schools participated in special interactive learning sessions about the Constitution with Constituting America, a non-profit organization that specializes in teaching students about one of the nation’s founding documents using songs, short films, and public service announcements.
“We hope that our students begin to see that the world is a bigger place than their neighborhood,” said Michelle Neyrey, Spring ISD Social Studies Specialist.