HMH Bearing Witness - November 2016

“The trunk allowed each student access to written material that would not have otherwise been so readily available. From these readings, I believe that each student came a bit closer to understanding and empathizing with the people involved in this part of our history. Thank you for allowing us this experience. We will not forget.”

SIGNATURE PROGRAMS Warren Fellowship for Future Teachers

Since 2003, Holocaust Museum Houston has brought future educators, college faculty and activists from across the United States to Houston to learn from scholars representing Holocaust institutions around the world. In May 2016, 22 Fellows met for six days of learning and interaction with scholars, experts in Holocaust pedagogy and Holocaust survivors, utilizing the Museum for learning and exploration. Participants representing 15 colleges and universities in Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Texas were selected through a rigorous application process. Spector/Warren Fellowship for Future Teachers In January 2016, 18 undergraduate and graduate Syracuse University students traveled to Houston to participate in a one-of-a-kind program teaching future educators how to teach their students about the Holocaust and its relevance to today’s world. The nationally acclaimed fellowship provided intensive training and opportunities to learn from international experts about World War II and Holocaust history, as well as from Houston- area Survivors of Nazi atrocities. One of the Fellows summarized his experience, writing: “So much happened to me in Houston. I heard, read, saw, learned, experienced, and realized so much. Survivors of the Holocaust will often say, “I died there.” They also talk about having two different lives: life before the Holocaust and life after. About my time in Houston, though, I could say I was born there. Life seemed to become renewed during that time. My life will now exist in two parts: life before the Spector/Warren Fellowship, and life after.” – A Spector/Warren Fellow The Spector/Warren Fellowship for Future Teachers is sponsored by Helen and Andrew Spector and the Spector Family Foundation, in honor of Survivor Naomi Warren. Law Enforcement and Society Working with the Anti-Defamation League and the Houston Police Department, the Museum hosted five Law Enforcement and Society training sessions for area law enforcement personnel. The program examined the role of law enforcement during the years of the Holocaust and pivotal roles in society today. This year, the program included participation by our colleagues from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Anti-Defamation League in Washington, D.C. Max M. Kaplan Summer Institute The Max M. Kaplan Summer Institute recorded another success in 2016, featuring our second “Holocaust Education 101” class on the first day of the session. The additional programming extended the typical four-day institute and introduced those new to Holocaust education to the teaching framework. Forty educators participated this year, including three teachers from Romania. The Gerald S. Kaplan Endowment Lecture was presented by Professor Lawrence R. Douglas, the James J. Grosfeld Professor of Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought at Amherst College. He spoke about justice as it is understood in light of the Holocaust. iPad Digital Curriculum Trunk Program The Museum’s trademark curriculum trunk program continued to flourish this fiscal year. Each trunk contains a class set of iPad minis, and a trunk is available for a teacher’s use for 30 days. Each digital device has an individual cover and is pre-loaded with an iBook written by the Museum’s education staff, “Exploring the Holocaust & Genocide,” which is an overview of Holocaust and genocide history, with connections to literature and art. There are also links to appropriate Web sites.

Education staff member Emily Sample leads a group of Cadette Girl Scouts in a day-long workshop on the All Behaviors Count program.

EDUCATION

“In an increasingly challenging educational environment, Holocaust Museum Houston works within the context of our mission to meet the needs of teachers, students in schools and other learning settings, as well as members of our community.” HMH Gratitude Report, 2016 One year later, the words above ring ever so true. Our times present daunting challenges, both new and seemingly eternal. At HMH, we address these challenges with our work, building relationships through our programming, our teaching curriculum, and through the testimony of our Survivors. A large part of our mission and work is building strong and supportive relationships with educators in the field. One educator, who we are proud to consider a member of network is Wendy Warren. Here are some of the reasons why. If you follow us on Facebook and the “HMH Teacher Network” you may have seen my post from September 25, 2016: Today at Holocaust Museum Houston there was so much love! Here Wendy Warren’s former students join in a group hug for a teacher who changed their lives.

and taught a semester-long Holocaust and genocide course in Alief that now serves as a model for other educators in Texas schools. Her students created a club at Hastings High School, the Upstanders Club. During the 2016 - 2017 school year, Wendy begins her term as Chairperson of the HMH Education Committee. We welcome her leadership and insight. Wendy and some of her students also joined us at the October 2016 Board of Trustees and Board of Advisors meeting when the education department presented a review of our programs and outreach. In these challenging times, the educators at HMH recognize the importance of offering light and hope around the lessons of the Holocaust and genocide as we study the human behavior that shapes history. Through our work with dedicated educators such as Wendy Warren and her colleagues in Alief ISD, we see cause for celebration, as evidenced by the voices of Wendy’s students: When I was a junior I came to Holocaust Museum Houston with my class from Hastings High School. The next year Mrs. Warren offered the Holocaust and Genocide Studies course for a semester. I took the course and I am so thankful that I did. Learning about the Holocaust, visiting Holocaust Museum Houston, hearing survivor Naomi Warren, and returning to my school to study further and reflect changed me. I will never again forget that I have a responsibility to others. Being a part of the Upstanders Club has changed my life. It has given me a new perspective of what it means to live globally. It has helped me be more aware, more committed. Being a part of the Holocaust and Genocide class and being in Upstanders showed me the real difference between being a bystander and being an Upstander. And for the rest of my life, I’ll be an Upstander. Cooperation between community partners and our dedicated educators is an essential and exciting part of the Museum’s work spreading the message of the Museum and its mission.

-- Rae Lynn Rowe, English Educator, PACE Center, Pearland ISD

Aldine ISD bilingual specialist Jose Martinez returns to HMH each summer to participate in the Max M. Kaplan Summer Institute.

UH graduate Ashley San- chez enjoys a quick break during the week-long Max M. Kaplan Summer Institute.

Graduates of Wendy Warren’s Alief Holocaust Education program reconnect to speak to the Texas Association of School Boards.

For more than ten years, Wendy has been an active member of the HMH teacher network, serving on our Education Committee, bringing students to the Museum, and creating Holocaust education opportunities for students in the Alief ISD and those she taught at Alief’s Hastings High School. Wendy has also created

Students in Alief ISD read through the HMH-authored iBook, “Power and Possibility: Exploring the Holocaust & Genocide.”

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GRATITUDE REPORT 2016