Professional Development: Navigating the New Curriculum
With the rollout of the new Grade 6 curriculum’s inclusion of Holocaust education, school boards and teachers across Ontario have been searching for guidance from local organizations to help them navigate the complex subject matter. To the school boards we have worked with across the province – York Catholic, York Region, Upper Grand, London Catholic, Ottawa Carleton, Limestone District, Hamilton Wentworth and Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir: Thank you for welcoming us into your schools and granting us the opportunity to help educators more confidently teach their students about the Holocaust.
Our recent work with York Region District School Board and York Catholic District School Board resulted in professional development workshops for nearly 250 teachers, organized in partnership with the Toronto Holocaust Museum and Facing History and Ourselves Canada, and funded by the Azrieli Foundation’s Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program.
The full-day sessions focused on best practices in Holocaust education, trauma-informed teaching and demonstrations of practical resources aligned with the new Grade 6 social studies curriculum, which includes:
- Early Jewish communities in Canada
- The impact of antisemitism on early Jewish communities
- Holocaust survivor contributions to Canadian society
- Immigration policies in Canada before, during and after the war
- Canada’s response to Jewish refugees during the war
Through both collaborative and presentation-style workshops, teachers were able to learn about and explore the effective use of our classroom resources.
“Thank you for inspiring my teaching practice. As a Jew myself, I find teaching this very triggering to memories I have of my grandparents sharing horrific stories of their time in the Holocaust. Your teachings have offered me comfort and a new perspective. I am truly grateful for the experience [the Memoirs Program] provided at the Holocaust Museum in Toronto today.” — educator participant
As the new year begins, we encourage you to think about your 2024 teaching goals. If deepening your knowledge of Holocaust education is on your list, our team is here to help. Contact us at memoirs@azrielifoundation.org to book a professional development session for your school board today.