Boston and Hudson High School Students to Travel to Rwanda with Facing History and Ourselves

On July 1, 17 high school students and four teachers from Hudson High School and TechBoston Academy will travel to Rwanda with Facing History and Ourselves staff as part of a two-year cultural and educational exchange program funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). While there, the Massachusetts students will spend three weeks immersed in Rwandan culture, traveling and studying with Rwandan high school students, meeting with community leaders and completing service projects, exploring ideas of leadership and what makes a strong community, and developing videos of their experience.

The exchange builds on Facing History's extensive experience in helping teachers to foster students' critical thinking about how the history of the Holocaust and other examples of genocide and mass violence connect to the moral choices they confront in their lives. This exchange will allow students and teachers from two different cultures to explore together the critical importance of civic participation and tolerance, and the danger of apathy and prejudice.

"We are excited about the tremendous experience our students will have in this program," said Dr. Carol R. Johnson, superintendent of the Boston Public Schools. "Our school system has long partnered with Facing History, and our students have benefited beyond words. Facing History has the ability to open minds and change hearts."

"This is an opportunity of a lifetime for Hudson High students," said Dr. Stephen Dlott, superintendent of Hudson Public Schools. "By actually visiting Rwanda for three weeks, our students will gain a unique world perspective that is beyond the reach of most Americans. We thank Facing History and Ourselves and the U.S. Department of State for providing this program to us."

Facing History staff have been working with teachers from the participating schools in Rwanda and Massachusetts as they prepare for the exchange. In Massachusetts, students have been meeting to learn about Rwandan culture and history, discuss relevant readings and documentaries, and prepare for their stay in Rwanda. They have also had the opportunity to visit one another's schools.

All of the students have been participating in online discussion forums and completing online assignments. This has offered the students the opportunity to meet and learn about one another online, and discuss readings related to the coursework they will complete with Facing History. Their online discussions reflect the theme of the exchange; students have been reflecting on what it means to be a member of a community, what makes a community strong, and what can tear a community apart.

"These fortunate students will gain 21^st century skills by studying together and walking in each others' shoes," said Margot Stern Strom, executive director of Facing History and Ourselves. "This special grant from the State Department will allow Facing History to build a global partnership that mirrors the work we do in classrooms locally and around the world."

The participating students will continue to work with each other through online activities following their time together in Rwanda. They will be together again when the Rwandan students travel to Massachusetts in March 2010; during this time, the group will visit Washington, D.C.

A major partner in the program is the Pearson Foundation. The foundation created the Digital Arts Alliance, which makes it possible for middle and high school students to experience firsthand how laptop computers, digital video equipment, and the latest phone technologies are changing the ways they can organize, present, and share information. Pearson Foundation staff will provide the students with training, support and equipment in Rwanda and in Boston as they prepare videos to document their experiences during the exchange.