April 1, 2024
Middle School students have been investigating the issues and philosophies that set the stage for the Holocaust. This week, they visited the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum and Impact Lab to explore historical and contemporary moments of bias, hatred, and genocide.
At experiential stations, students learned what happens when hate goes unchecked – and discussed what they can do to STAND UP and reverse the spiral of hate.
They heard moving stories of those who endured violent acts of hate in Bosnia, Cambodia, and against a Jewish community in the US. They observed – through crafted videos – contemporary situations of discrimination. And they explored the museum’s exhibits highlighting the experiences of St. Louis survivors.
Their responses to the experience were profound:
Visiting the Impact Lab prepared me for the real world where negativity and violence and discrimination exists. It gave me new strategies and tools to use when we experience hate. – Olivia
I come from a family with Holocaust survivors, so learning about all the horrible things that happened was personal and heartbreaking, but important. I am grateful that I got to learn about a significant and awful event in my people’s history, and that my school was able to take me there. – Maya
I am ready to stand up for what is right. The Impact Lab has helped me realize that I am not perfect but I will try to do my best. I will tell bullies they are wrong. I will stop hate. I am prepared. ~Aaron S
Our approach to Holocaust education is to prepare your children to be teens who are committed to moral decision-making. We want them to have the confidence and the sense of urgency to speak out against such bigotry and hate. We are raising each one of them to be leaders who preserve justice, quietly and loudly.
