Search for Holocaust and Genocide Education Teachers.

(See Word version of this press release in English and French .)

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ARE YOU AN EDUCATOR WHO HAS BROUGHT A SURVIVOR INTO YOUR CLASSROOM?

Life Stories of Montrealers Displaced by War, Genocide, and Other Human Rights Violations (http://www.lifestoriesmontreal.ca/), is a major research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada based at Concordia University.  The Education Working Group, one of the seven working groups within the project, is recruiting primary, secondary and cegep teachers and educators who are currently active in Holocaust and genocide education in Montreal. Specifically, we are interested in interviewing those who have brought survivors of war, genocide and other human rights violations into their classrooms and/or other educational settings.

Research Questions
In the context of Holocaust and genocide education, we seek to understand if and/or how school boards, principals, and parents are encouraging teachers in their attempts to welcome survivors and their life stories into the classroom; we are also interested in gaining a better understanding about how these visits are being incorporated into the curriculum. In addition, we would like to explore why teachers have chosen to teach their students about the Holocaust or other genocides and how they prepare themselves and their students when teaching these subjects. We aim to learn what activities are being developed around these subjects, what resources as being used to support these lessons, and finally, how the survivors are being selected, guided and received by students and others before, during, and after their visits.
(Note: The actual research questions are available here in the interview guide.)

Goals
We are examining educational role of survivor testimonials in various educational contexts as well as provide support toward the development and design of instructional and pedagogical materials and activities for Quebec secondary schools. Since November, the Education Working Group has conducted 35 life story interviews with Holocaust survivors who have acted as educators.

Building on this project, as a second phase, we are now recruiting teachers who are currently active in Holocaust and genocide education and who are welcoming survivors into their classrooms and/or other educational settings. The knowledge and insight that we hope to gain from these interviews will provide us with a better understanding of the role that life stories play in educational contexts and the realities facing teachers when they try include them in their lessons. We hope that these interviews will not only allow us to better understand teachers’ needs when it comes to incorporating such topics into the classroom, but also help establish strategies to support them in their initiatives.

Potential Benefits for Teachers
The interviews will give teachers a chance to reflect on their teaching practices and discuss the challenges they may face in teaching genocide and receiving survivors into their classrooms. Teacher interviews will be an invaluable resource for the project, affording us an opportunity to include educators’ perspectives in the design of curriculum and educational resources in Quebec secondary schools.

Interview Process
The duration of these interviews is, of course, contingent upon interviewees’ preferences and availability and interviewees may withdraw from the interview process at any time. The location of the interviews will depend upon the interviewees’ preferences as well; they may be interviewed in their classroom, office, home, at the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling at Concordia University, or at any other location of their choosing.

If you are interested in sharing your experiences with us or learning more about this project, please do not hesitate to contact us.  

We look forward to hearing from you!

Sara Maranda-Gauvin                                                        Interview coordinator 514-961-3185                                                           sara.maranda-gauvin@mail.mcgill.ca

Mélanie Walkty Interview coordinator 514-296-4364 melwalkty@hotmail.com