Upstanders: those who do not simply stand by in the face of injustice, but understand that each one of us can make a difference

Each year, we invite our Los Angeles Partnership Schools to nominate an individual or group that has demonstrated the qualities of an Upstander in their school community. This year’s theme, Building Empathy, clearly resonated; many schools had difficulty choosing just *one* person or group to nominate! Together with The Allstate Foundation, Facing History is proud to recognize the effort and action of the following Upstanders in communities across Los Angeles.

If we do it correctly, Facing History and Ourselves can be a life-long gift to our students. The "Ourselves" part is always the most difficult. It’s the part that students struggle with. Sure they can parrot it in the moment, but it is the part we hope students actually engage with for the rest of their lives. Not often enough, but from time to time we get hints that they are actually doing just that.

A student asked me, “What do I do?”

Like all questions worth asking, worth the trouble, it had no clear answer.

LA2050 is an initiative that invites us all to innovate, imagine and create the future of Los Angeles. Facing History LA has a vision for strengthening the opportunity for youth to shape Los Angeles to be more compassionate, more engaged. Here one teacher shares his experience of this work. If you like what you read, vote for us in the LA2050 competition and share with others! We'd love to give this opportunity to youth from all over Los Angeles.

In the new Facing History video with Ben Kingsley my favorite image is the split image of a young woman, the viewer sees half of the back of her head and half of her face. This challenges me.

This week featured a series of blog posts from the students and teachers involved in an exchange between two Los Angeles middle schools: Sinai Akiba Academy, a Jewish day school, and New Horizon School, a Muslim day school. Today we conclude with final reflections from the teachers, Rebecca Berger and Aysha Mehdi.

This week we feature a series of blog posts from the students and teachers involved in an exchange between two Los Angeles middle schools: Sinai Akiba Academy, a Jewish day school, and New Horizon School, a Muslim day school. In this post, we hear as students from both schools reflect on the week. In accordance with school privacy policies, students are identified only by initials.

When the students from New Horizon visited Sinai, and when we went to New Horizon, I realized just how much we have in common with the Muslim students my age. We both share the struggle of discrimination and freedom of religion while living in America.

Students from Sinai Akiba Academy, a Jewish day school, and New Horizon School, a Muslim day school share their experiences of participating  in an exchange between the two schools, both located in Los Angeles. In accordance with school privacy policies, students are identified only by initials.

My expectations for the exchange were very low. I was very unsure about meeting the students at New Horizon, thinking that my buddy and I wouldn’t have much in common.I doubted that we would connect on any level, because of our different religious beliefs.I didn’t expect to learn much about Islam, or see any thread between Islam and Judaism, however, I was very wrong.

This week we feature a series of blog posts from the students and teachers involved in an exchange between two Los Angeles middle schools: Sinai Akiba Academy, a Jewish day school, and New Horizon School, a Muslim day school. Today we hear from the two lead teachers involved: Aysha Mehdi and Rebecca Berger.

https://youtu.be/ZNoxny2AE6g

People make choices. Choices make history."

My 7th graders know about Hitler. They are deeply curious about him. They ask questions about his childhood, how he died, how he got to be dictator of Germany. And while I understand their fascination with trying to understand one of the greatest demagogues of the last century, I try to channel their curiosity in a different direction; my students are not going to understand the Holocaust by uncovering everything there is to know about Hitler, but they will come much closer to understanding how the Holocaust could have happened just by looking at the everyday people who were living in Europe at that time.