On Sunday afternoon students, educators and community members boarded a bus in Wheeling to travel to the Jewish Federation office in Pittsburgh and meet with their Pittsburgh counterparts for the first study session in preparation for Poland 2014. The turn-out was excellent and the level of energy was contagious. Barak Naveh was the educator for the 30 some high school students. Here are a few impressions from the students~>
Riley, a senior at Wheeling Park High School shared : “I thought the session was great! Mr. Naveh gave a new perspective to the subject. I feel like it really expanded upon what I knew; it made me think of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution in a way I had not before. And he had us in groups, which got us to meet some of the Pittsburgh kids and kept us active. I was very impressed!”
Kyle, a sophomore at Bishop Donahue High School offered: “… the most positive thing I gained from this first meeting was definitely the information. I found what I learned to “open my eyes,” if you would. We talked mainly about antisemitism, which is a concept I am familiar with, but not in the way that it was applied. I found this highly useful.”
Mary, a senior at Wheeling Park High School said: “… I wasn’t sure going in what I was going to think or what to expect. But the talk/lesson was amazing and the perspective was so different yet enlightening. I’m really am looking forward to future sessions!
Isaac, a senior at Wheeling Park High School indicated: ” I found it very interesting, intriguing, and an interactive teaching method. Barak Naveh was a great teacher and I cannot wait to go back in a month!”
In the adjoining room, Dr. Michael Naragon led the session with the 30 some educators, college students, and community members from Wheeling and Pittsburgh. The level of enthusiasm was just as high in the adults’ session.
Betsy Francis, an educator in literature at Wheeling Central Catholic High School shared her thoughts: ” As a first year teacher, I must say that it was a bit overwhelming to converse with such outstanding educators! Additionally, I have participated in study tours abroad; however, I think that this trip to Poland will be incomparable. I know that I will be able to take so much back into the classroom with me in terms of content and applying the experience to my teaching of the literature. ….One of my main goals of the trip is to be able to make the events and issues surrounding the Holocaust more relevant to my students. I want them to connect with the people and the experience as they have mostly learned the numbers. I want them to be able to apply this area of history not only to other areas of history but also to current events, social issues, and their own human experiences. In just a little over an hour, my brain was going in twenty different directions as I realized that we, as educators, will be able to make this happen in our classrooms after this trip. This is an invaluable learning experience for all of us.”
….and so the life changing journey begins.
