Classroom Stories
Facing History's impact is most profound one student, one teacher at a time. From classrooms across the U.S. and in countries as far away as Rwanda or the Czech Republic, we hear the echo of our lasting impact, and share them with you in our classroom stories.
- By Jocelyn Stanton Jocelyn Stanton teaches Humanities at Boston International High School in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Here she reflects about a transformative moment with one of the students in her Humanities 4 class of juniors and seniors.
- When Ruth Dike signed up for the Memphis Facing History Student Leadership Group as a freshman four years ago, she wasn't sure what to expect. Now a senior at White Station High School Ruth says the impact of Facing History on her way of looking at the world was much more than she could have ever expected.
- Anne Sheldon first studied Facing History in an eighth grade Holocaust unit and became more involved by participating in the New England region's Student Symposium this past year, where students from Boston area high schools gathered to discuss responsibilities of citizenship in the 21st century.
- Rwanda, a country tarnished by the 1994 genocide, placed a moratorium on the teaching of history since 1994 and has grappled with how to face the past to educate the future. John Rutayisire, Director of the National Curriculum Development Centre at the Ministry of Education and Innocent Mugisha, a teacher trainer at the National University of Rwanda, are two educators dedicated to this challenging task.
- Since attending a Holocaust and Human Behavior Institute in 1998, Nick Maraventano, a social studies and history teacher at a suburban public high school on Long Island, New York, has deeply infused Facing History into his classroom.
- "Facing History makes students ask themselves hard questions so that when faced with ethical and moral situations they will have the tools to make the right decision over that which could cause pain or harm to their fellow human being.
- Can one class in high school influence someone's career path? In Jemma McPherson's life, this seems to be the case. She was profoundly influenced by a theology class she took her junior year at Convent of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco.
- Facing History and Ourselves just completed an amazing third year of offering a high school semester elective course in both Memphis and Shelby County Schools. There are 20 schools offering the elective-literally quadrupling over the last three years.
- A senior at Carson High School, Jessica S. recently spoke at the Los Angeles Benefit about the two-year journey she and her classmates experienced in teacher Merri Weir's Facing History classes. On the first day of class Jessica recalled self-segregating, thinking 'my color, my friends.
- San Diego, CA - Facing History and Ourselves is pleased to announce that Viana Rodriguez, a history teacher at Southwest High School in San Diego, California, was recently voted "Teacher of the Year" at her school.
