February 2-3, 2019 are free days at museums across Southern California!  Where will you go?  We had some fun asking Facing History staff and teachers which museums they have in their sights.

Last week, the nation watched as LA teachers conducted the first work stoppage in LA Unified School District in 30 years. Despite a week of hard rain, teachers, students, parents, and community members were on picket lines. Why? And now that an agreement seems imminent, how can teachers and students in LA classrooms use this as a learning opportunity about education, as they transition back to school?

I didn’t see Schindler’s List in 1993, when it first in theaters.   I saw it in 2018 for the first time and I’m glad I waited. As a Program Associate at Facing History, I have had a similar journey in learning about the Holocaust as a Facing History student would have. I have learned about issues of identity, we/they, conformity and consent, as well as the actual history in ways that have made me appreciate the film so much more than I would have 25 years ago.

Did you interact with Facing History resources in the past, but it has been a while since you looked into our latest work? 

Our second Book Cafe is coming up on Sunday, December 2, 1-3 PM featuring A Hope More Powerful Than The Sea: The Journey of Doaa Al Zamel. RSVP by emailing me at liz_vogel@facinghistory.org.

"Nervously they waited to board. Doaa shifted from foot to foot in the long line to get through customs. Hamudi clutched his mother's arm, while Saja and Nawara sat on their suitcases, standing only to shuffle forward whenever the line moved. It felt as if every part of the journey were about waiting. Jordanian customs officials seemed to be singling out Syrians for security searches, and Doaa's family was asked to come forward with their luggage, while a group of Egyptian travelers were waved through. Doaa lifted her suitcase onto the table in front of the customs officers. When they unzipped her luggage, she looked at what she had hastily selected in the overwhelmingly emotional last hours at home: two dresses, a couple of pairs of pants, two blazers, a few skirts, several veils, and a few accessories. She stared at the meager contents of her suitcase and thought of the books she had left behind because they were too heavy - one about dream interpretation, a few novels, poetry by Nizar Qabbani, and a workbook on English grammar. She pictured her small teddy bear that lit up and made a kissing sound when she squeezed it, and her fashion sketches of clothes she dreamed of wearing in a future she no longer had." (from Chapter 4, Life as a Refugee)

Today’s News, Tomorrow’s History is an ongoing series with Listenwise. This series connects Facing History’s themes with today’s current events using public radio to guide and facilitate discussions around the social issues of our time. This is part of a special California series with Listenwise where we make connections to issues as they are particularly relevant for Californians.

“Humanity is a complex idea. On one level, it simply means being human. On another level, however, it means being humane. What is the difference? Justice.”

Katherine McPhie, Grade 10 University High School, Irvine, CA

Facing History congratulates Chapman University and the 1939 Society for their 20th Anniversary of the Annual Art & Writing Contest! We have been a long-term partner with Chapman University in bringing this history and rich learning experience to students world-wide. The Chapman Art and Writing Contest has been instrumental in bringing the voices of Holocaust survivors and rescuers to inspire the learning and artistic expression of countless Facing History students.

“I have learned two lessons in my life: first, there are no sufficient literary, psychological, or historical answers to human tragedy, only moral ones. Second, just as despair can come to one another only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.” ― Elie Wiesel

Last week, we held our second of three webinars in our fall series with Listenwise, this one focused on exploring current events with an attention to Social-Emotional Learning. With the violence that has happened since then, most visibly in Kentucky and Pittsburgh, I find myself this week turning to the words of Elie Wiesel.

Every year, Facing History Los Angeles convenes our partnership schools for a summit on school culture. Students, parents, teachers, and administrators consider key ideas in how to create a more compassionate, engaged school community that can delve together into the critical issues of our times.

Our October 2018 Summit on School Culture focused on the role of allies in seeing and standing up against injustice, beginning with the documentary And Then They Came for Us. This film clearly activated the intellectual rigor, emotional engagement, and ethical reflection of our pedagogical triangle for the students, teachers and parents in attendance. Whether you attended the event or not, this film, accessible for free on our web site, offers you a timely resource for promoting engaged citizenship and dialogue in your community.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and the kick-off of our webinar series with Listenwise.  In the first of our webinars, we share resources from Listenwise and Facing History which can help you have conversations about bullying with the young people in your life and build empathy in classrooms.