Written by Dr. Janice W. Fernheimer, Dr. Karen Petrone, and Jeff Polson
University of Kentucky
Anti-Semitism has been on the rise in Kentucky and across the nation since 2016, with anti-Semitic incidents nationwide increasing by 36% from 2021 to 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). We are grateful that Governor Andy Beshear has taken this trend seriously by establishing the Kentucky Anti-Semitism Task Force.
Additionally, we applaud the foresight and wisdom of the Kentucky General Assembly in passing the Ann Klein and Fred Gross Holocaust Education Act of 2018. This legislation would require Holocaust and genocide education for all Kentucky middle and high school students, putting Kentucky on the front lines of the Holocaust. In the United States, he is one of the earliest states to mandate education among the more than 23 states that currently mandate education.
Educating students about the Holocaust is complex in terms of how it is taught, the context in which that teaching takes place, and, of course, the emotional toll it can take on everyone involved.
Although this mandate was an excellent first step in demonstrating Kentucky's commitment to Holocaust education, a gap remains between this mandate and confidence in teacher preparation and expertise to implement it. ing.
Workshops with in-service teachers from the UK College of Education's Master's of Initial Certification program and in-service teachers from the Intermediate Education program with a focus on social studies content. (Photo courtesy of Cathy Swan, UK)
To address this gap, the University of Kentucky, with support from the Jewish Heritage Fund (JHF), established the University of Kentucky Jewish Heritage Fund Holocaust Education Initiative (UK-JHF HEI) in 2021. JHF, this initiative is designed to ensure that Kentucky educators have the support and resources they need to be effective in the classroom as they implement this important initiative. .
Our effort, led by faculty from UK College of Arts and Sciences, UK College of Education, UK Teaching Learning Enrichment Center, and Fayette County Public Schools, is unique in its collaborative approach to bridging the gap between campus and university. Build a broader community across disciplines and among Jewish and non-Jewish communities to build a broader network of individuals knowledgeable in Jewish thought, culture, and history. As a result, we will be better able to recognize and intervene in everyday acts of anti-Semitism.
Our efforts to use a “teacher-teach-teacher” model that allows educators to teach about the Holocaust with empathy resulted in competitive candidates representing 20 counties from Pikeville to Paducah. We have worked with two cohorts of a total of 41 teacher leaders selected from:
These teacher leaders will undergo extensive training over the summer and throughout the school year to prepare them to conduct workshops for other Kentucky educators, leading 13 workshops across the state and preparing to conduct workshops for other Kentucky educators in 2023. In 2017 alone, 171 teachers participated. We also strive to ensure that Holocaust education is not the only opportunity for Kentucky students to learn about Jews, history, heritage, and culture.
This collaborative model creates two important aspects of Holocaust education. It is a network of highly trained educators with leadership qualities within the geographic region and exemplary learning materials mapped to state standards, accessible on our website, and the Kentucky Associated with specific examples.
But don't take that away from us. In the words of one of our teacher leaders:
“[The initiative] It has set me on a path to becoming a better teacher than before. And I think that has a lot to do with it when we talk about recognizing the humanity of historical actors, such as victims and survivors of the Holocaust. It also makes me think about the humanity of the people around me. And I feel like I had a more successful year with all of my students because of what they are learning and the lessons I learned from this program. ”
Our work goes beyond simply providing a “how-to” to help teachers embrace complexity and delve into the nuances within specific work groups and, perhaps more importantly, within local schools, districts, and Allows you to network with other teachers both locally and locally.
Together, we take on this difficult task of creating educational materials that require communities to acknowledge the repeated failures of others to recognize the humanity of others in the Holocaust and other genocides. is. We aim to stretch the boundaries of empathy to address this difficult problem, both past and present. This positive educational effort deserves further public and private support as it works toward building a Kentucky that we all want to be a part of.
For more information or if you are an educator interested in joining the Spring Workshop or the 2024-25 Teacher Leaders Group, please visit holocaustededucation.uky.edu.
Dr. Janice W. FernheimerPh.D. is Co-Director of the Jewish Heritage Foundation Holocaust Education Initiative at the University of Kentucky, Zandker Professor of Jewish Studies, and Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies. Dr. Karen PetronePhD is co-director of the British Jewish Heritage Foundation Holocaust Education Initiative and professor of history. Jeff Polson Jewish Heritage Foundation President and CEO focuses on improving youth health, strengthening Louisville's character as a center for cutting-edge medical research, and fostering a strong and dynamic Jewish community It is a subsidy organization that has established.
