Over the last few weeks, South Africa has been rocked by xenophobic violence.
According to The New York Times, approximately five million immigrants have settled in South Africa since the end of the apartheid in 1994. Many are refugees, or are pursuing economic opportunities in the country, which has become a relatively stable multiracial democracy. Many native South Africans are greeting these newcomers with prejudice, hatred, and violence—destroying local businesses and in some cases committing murder. Today, South Africa’s immigrant population lives in fear.
Unfortunately, the trend is not new. In 2007, a year before xenophobic attacks would break out nationwide, violence erupted in the small township of Zwelethemba, about two hours from Cape Town.
A Facing History teacher at the local high school recognized that his community was in crisis.
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Topics:
Choosing to Participate,
Human Rights,
Immigration,
Safe Schools,
Teaching,
Schools,
Video,
South Africa,
Margot Stern Strom Innovation Grants
Adults often ask students to be upstanders, to speak out against bullying and other social problems, and to go against the tide. But we should also help students change the tide.This means changing social norms so that young people feel respected not when they degrade other students, but when they include others.
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Topics:
Bullying and Ostracism,
Choosing to Participate,
Students,
Safe Schools,
Teaching,
Schools,
Teaching Resources,
Raising Ethical Children
Next week marks Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day. While Yom HaShoah affords us the opportunity to honor the memory of those we lost during the Holocaust, it's also a time to commemorate and celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the lives and communities decimated during this dark moment in history.
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Topics:
Classrooms,
Art,
Books,
Online Tools,
Benjamin B. Ferencz,
Memory,
Choosing to Participate,
Facing History Resources,
Teaching,
Holocaust,
Upstanders,
Teaching Resources,
Survivor Testimony,
Video,
History
In a blog post up now on the New York Times Learning Network, Facing History and Ourselves Senior Program Associate Laura Tavares pairs an article about the recent report documenting the history of racial lynching in America with an excerpt of To Kill a Mockingbird
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Topics:
To Kill a Mockingbird,
Professional Development,
Facing History Resources,
Teaching,
Race and Membership,
Teaching Resources,
History
This winter has been full of stark contrasts around the world. Frightening hate and violence dominated the news, yet, even in the face of the brutality, we have seen people from different walks of life bridge differences and come together to speak up against intolerance. As an educator and parent, I am always thinking about why some people learn to come together during difficult times, to be kind in the face of unkindness, and to stand up for what is right.
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Topics:
Choosing to Participate,
Events,
Human Behavior,
Students,
Teaching,
Identity,
Upstanders,
Day of Learning,
Facing History and Ourselves
Facing History's offices have been abuzz since Harper Lee's "new" novel was announced earlier this month.
This literary event—taking place 55 years after the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird and about six months after Facing History published Teaching Mockingbird, its study guide to the novel—comes at a time when we have been diving deep into the themes of Lee's classic novel, both as a staff and with educators around the world.
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Topics:
To Kill a Mockingbird,
Books,
English Language Arts,
Facing History Resources,
Teaching,
Teaching Resources,
Civil Rights
In the United States, Presidents’ Day is celebrated Monday. The national holiday offers an opportunity for valuable discussion in the classroom about the importance—and the fragility—of democracy now and throughout history. Here are four Facing History and Ourselves resources that can help you plan an exciting lesson.
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Topics:
Professional Development,
Teaching Strategies,
Democracy,
Voting Rights,
Choosing to Participate,
Facing History Resources,
Religious Tolerance,
Teaching,
Teaching Resources,
History
Teaching after mass violence, including acts of terrorism, is incredibly challenging.
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Topics:
Antisemitism,
Democracy,
Choosing to Participate,
Human Rights,
Immigration,
Religious Tolerance,
Teaching,
Schools,
News,
Identity,
Genocide/Collective Violence
As I prepared to write this post, I had to confront the most difficult, yet most important, person that I would be in conversation with: myself.
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Topics:
Classrooms,
Teaching Strategies,
Democracy,
Students,
Human Rights,
Safe Schools,
Teaching,
Schools,
News,
Identity,
Teaching Resources,
Teachers
Each year, Facing History and Ourselves and Knights and Daughters of Vartan host an annual Armenian Genocide Commemoration Essay Contest. In 2014, the contest asked high school and college students across the United States to respond to the question, “On the threshold of the 100th anniversary, how should the world recognize the Armenian Genocide?” This essay, from Facing History student Elizabeth Ray, took second place. It was reprinted with Elizabeth's permission.
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Topics:
Student Voices,
Online Workshop,
Choosing to Participate,
Armenian Genocide,
Facing History Resources,
Teaching,
Facing History Together,
Genocide/Collective Violence,
Facing History and Ourselves,
Teaching Resources,
History
