CBC's battle of the books - Canada Reads 2015 - is taking place from March 16-19th. Canada Reads involves five prominent Canadians debating which book all of Canada should read.
Each year the theme for the event relates closely to our work at Facing History and this year’s theme, One Book to Break Barriers, is no exception. The panel must decide the one book out of the five chosen that best "challenges stereotypes and changes perspectives." The debate over which book to pick takes place over four days beginning March 16, and is live streamed on CBC.ca at 10am EST and broadcast on radio and television each day.
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Topics:
Professional Development,
Canada,
English Classroom,
Literature
We've compiled a list of the nine books that we feel every teacher (and student) must read. Each of these books tackles an important event/issue in history. Each of these books is engaging, well-written, and powerful.
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Topics:
Professional Development,
Holocaust,
Holocaust Education,
English Classroom,
Literature,
Personal history
On October 26, Facing History and Ourselves Canada awarded Holocaust survivor, educator, and long-time board member Nate Leipciger with the inaugural Upstander Award in front of a room of 400 friends, family, and supporters.
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Topics:
Professional Development,
Events,
Facing History Resources,
Facing History Together,
Holocaust,
Canada,
Holocaust Education
On November 6, 2014 Facing History and Ourselves co-presented an evening with Professor Dr. James Waller, discussing the role of Nazi doctors in the persecution of gay men during the Holocaust.
Explore the culture, psychological, and social factors that drove Nazi policy against gay men and justified, in the minds of Nazi doctors, their perpetration of such atrocities.
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Topics:
Professional Development,
Antisemitism,
Events,
Facing History Resources,
History,
Upstander,
Waller,
Genocide and Crimes Against Humanities Course
Last week I had the honour of participating in the Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and Human Behaviour summer seminar at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
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Topics:
Professional Development,
Facing History Resources,
Identity,
Middle School,
Strategies
Earlier this year I had the honour of presenting a workshop at the Elementary Teachers of Toronto LGBTQI Teacher Conference at Ryerson University. I described the workshop as:
An interactive, participatory drama and movement workshop using the text “The Bear That Wasn’t” to explore our struggles with identity, how our identities are shaped by others and societal expectations and our battle to find our true selves.
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Topics:
Professional Development,
Identity,
Middle School,
Strategies,
Lesson Ideas
Here at Facing History and Ourselves, we are always reading! As the 8th Commandment of teaching Genocide says "Thou shalt read in order to understand how much more you need to read." As you readjust to being back from March Break feeling wonderfully refreshed, or are restlessly waiting for spring to arrive, and looking for something to pick up for a good read, here are some options, from us to you!
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Topics:
Books,
Professional Development,
Events,
History,
current events,
We and They,
genocide,
In the news
As elementary schools have just passed the mid-point of the school year, I’ve taken some time to reflect on the first half of the year. Schools are part of a larger educational system. However, our classrooms are also a microcosm of society; a community of members with jobs to do, and rules, norms and expectations, which members are expected to follow. But, as we are too well aware, within the larger society, we encounter issues of unfairness and injustice. I’ve been questioning my practice and asking myself: Does my classroom parallel the oppressions of our society? Am I reinforcing and reproducing what is happening in the larger society in my classroom?
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Topics:
Professional Development,
Identity,
Urban Education,
Regent Park,
Middle School,
Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy,
Social Justice,
Deficit Thinking,
reflection
Recently, Facing History and Ourselves and the Art Gallery of Ontario co-sponsored a workshop for the exhibit “The Great Upheaval.” This exhibit was on loan from the Guggenheim Collection and focused on European artists during 1910-1918. As a teacher, I was interested in this workshop for two reasons: to learn more about these artists and to discover new strategies to incorporate art into my teaching practice.
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Topics:
Art,
Professional Development,
History,
workshop,
Strategies,
Lesson Ideas,
big paper
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Topics:
Professional Development,
Choosing to Participate,
Human Rights,
Facing History Resources,
Identity,
History,
Technology,
Best of...,
Lesson Ideas,
Holocaust and Human Behaviour,
Social Justice
