The Making of (an Unlikely) Holocaust Educator

July 12, 2019

The Making of (an Unlikely) Holocaust Educator

I know you’re wondering, “why is she unlikely?”

Even though my first name is Rachel, a typical Jewish name, I am of Puerto Rican descent,

born and raised in the Bronx. I did not grow up with Jews in my neighborhood and the only

Jewish person I ever knew as an adolescent was (ironically) Raquel Smith. The only reason

why I met her was because I attended summer school for Math at the distinguished Rhodes

School in Manhattan. My father and stepmom had close Jewish friends through their political

activism, and I never heard antisemitic speech in my house.

Fast forward 35 years and now I’m a High School History Teacher. I’ve taught in several

school districts, two of urban demographics. Where I teach now and will be the place I will

eventually retire from, is at Newtown High School, in Sandy Hook, CT.

I had a Jewish student who became a target of an antisemitic remark by one of his peers,

IN MY CLASSROOM, while I was being observed for a lesson with my supervisor and AP in

the room. Quickly I found myself becoming an advocate for this student and asking the

question, why is this happening and how can we stop this?

This eventually led to attending the University of Hartford’s Conference “Teach for the Future:

Holocaust and Genocide Education in the 21st Century” on October 28, 2019. With the new CT state law mandating educators to teach about the Holocaust, I wanted to equip myself with the latest information on how to effectively implement this significant historical topic. I attended this conference the Monday after the tragedy that took place in Pittsburgh where on Shabbat morning eleven people were murdered in a ruthless antisemitic attack. That event elevated the significance of why we were gathering as educators to a whole new level. Our charge as educators became more compelling than ever before. As a resident and teacher of Newtown, where 20 students and 6 educators were murdered on December 12, 2014, the Pittsburgh shooting triggered my personal sadness and sense of hopelessness. Attending that conference gave me a renewed strength and hope in my role as an educator as I met other colleagues in the field, visited the Museum of Jewish Civilization, and had the awe-inspiring opportunity to hear from and personally speak with Holocaust survivor, Ruth Lazowski.

I was deeply touched by that experience and learned about the trip to Lithuania and Poland

with the eminent scholar, Dr. Samuel Kassow and that there was an educator fellowship

available. I applied to it and also began researching other Holocaust educator fellowship

opportunities. I applied to five of them and much to my surprise, I got accepted to all of them!

In the meantime, I was on a mission to expose my students to as much information about the

Holocaust to raise awareness and empathy in my students. I arranged two field trips for May.
The first was to the Museum of Jewish Civilization at the University of Hartford's Maurice Greenberg Center for
Judaic Studies. Students learned about the roots of antisemitism, received a tour of the Museum's exhibit on
Vilna: The Jerusalem of the North (which by the way, Vilna today is called Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania and where
I will be visiting this summer!). They also learned about the efforts to honor Holocaust Survivors who have settled
in the area with their "Hartford Remembers the Holocaust" Exhibit. Finally, we ended our visit watching a documentary
about the experience of survivor, Gisela Adamski, and students met her in person and asked poignant questions.
Based off of my students feedback, the day spent at the Museum of Jewish Civilization was very moving for them and they
wanted to learn more about the Holocaust. To learn about the great work at the Museum of Jewish Civilization,
Learn More by reading this article from University of Hartford.

The second trip was to the Museum of Jewish Heritage to view the Auschwitz Exhibit: Not long ago. Not far away located in Battery Park, NYC. Auschwitz is central to the Holocaust because it was “a complex of 48 concentration and extermination camps, at which 1 million Jews - and tens of thousands of others - were murdered. It unveils more than 700 original objects and 400 photographs of Auschwitz, from over 20 institutions and museums around the world. Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. is the most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the history of Auschwitz.” Students were mesmerized by the artifacts and stories behind them and wanted to stay much longer than we could.

One of the programs that accepted me was The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights (TOLI). This was an eleven day seminar where middle school, high school, and college educators from across the United States learned how to think creatively and collaboratively about how to teach the Holocaust, genocide and social justice. From June 16-27, 2019, we learned how to use writing, dialogue, and inquiry to help motivate students toward social action. We met inspiring speakers and leaders in the field of Holocaust ad Genocide education, as well as had the privilege of meeting with Holocaust Survivors.

I am excited to get accepted to "A Journey to Lithuania and Poland" as a Thomas E. Dodd Fellow of the Human Rights and Genocide Program at UCONN. In partnership with the Jewish Historical European Roots Society of West Hartford educators and other participants will visit and discover pre-war Jewish life and culture. Led by Professor Samuel Kassow of Trinity College, we will learn about the richness of Yiddish culture and Jewish life by visiting cultural institutions, religious centers in Vilnius, Bialystok, Warsaw and Krakow, as well as, the former ghettos and death camps that sought to eliminate the Jewish people. This experiential learning will help build capacity in the classroom and ensure that the rich legacy of pre-war Jewish life is included in my pedagogy.

And if all this greatness wasn't enough, I also received a generous grant from the Jewish Federation of Western CT to pay for uncovered expenses. I am especially grateful to Lisa Eisenberg Buccino for bringing this opportunity to my attention.

The purpose of this blog is to chronicle all the amazing places I visited thus enriching my experience as a
Holocaust educator. What I have l learned is that I was made "for a time such as this" and therefore, there is nothing
"unlikely" about ME becoming a Holocaust Educator. This is all part of my purpose!

And, what about the student who made the antisemitic remark that propelled me to pursue all this work?
I decided to love him through my teaching. It was not easy, but in the end worth it because we developed
a bond and his demeanor toward my Jewish student changed for the better.

I hope you enjoy learning about, "The Making of a Holocaust Educator!"

With Ruth Lazowski, Holocaust Survivor, October 2018

9th Grade Western Studies students at Museum of Jewish Civilization, Maurice Greenberg Center at University of Hartford, with Gisela Adamski, Holocaust Survivor, May 9, 2019