During the 2007 - 2008 school year, Omaha North High Magnet School will undertake a schoolwide and year-long examination of the Holocaust. Students and staff will learn about the foundation and implications of the Holocaust, with an emphasis on the individual experiences of people whose lives were touched by it. This will be done largely in the context of the diaries of young people writing about their Holocaust experiences. The objective is to develop the understanding of our students of the realities of the Holocaust and the moral courage and humanity exhibited by its targets. We will be working in close association with Beth Seldin Dotan, Director, Institute for Holocaust Education, Plains States Office of the Anti-Defamation League.
"High Schools That Work" is an effort-based school improvement initiative founded on the conviction that most students can master rigorous academic and career/technical studies if school leaders and teachers create an environment that motivates students to make the effort to succeed. Its emphasis is on Rigor, Relevance and Relationships (the three "R's"). This school year, Omaha North High Magnet School will supplement its curriculum with a focus on Moral Courage: The Holocaust. This initiative will provide "Rigor" in that, in addition to an increased emphasis on reading in the classroom that is related to the initiative, and theme-based library exhibits, speakers and activities every month, it includes subject-specific lesson plans and objectives that expand the students' understanding of this important period of history. This initiative will provide "Relevance" in that it focuses the students' awareness of the link between the past and those genocides and ethnic cleansings that are taking place in the world today, with an emphasis on understanding the dynamics that result in, and address, those issues. This initiative will provide "Relationships" in that it will emphasize "Moral Courage" by people faced with challenges and decision associated with the Holocaust and encourage the students to consider those lessons in their own lives. Further, as a staff-based initiative, it will model for the students the pro-active, learning based and caring staff that they have as resources in this "High School That Works."
1 It is expected that every participating teacher will have a “Voices of the Holocaust” book and read a pre-identified excerpt from it on each of the first three Monday mornings of every month. On the last Monday of the month (total of 6 Mondays), the teacher will distribute excerpts to the students to read to themselves. There will be 300 copies of Reading #1, 300 copies of Reading #2, and so one, to Reading #6. The Readings will be distributed to the teachers in rotation [1-2-3-4-5-6 in one class, 2-3-4-5-6-1 in another, and so on] and returned to be used by a different class the following month.
Moral Courage and The Holocaust activites are being coordinated by a committee of staff. For more information, you may contact us by .
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