Facing History Students Travel for a Lesson in Understanding
The Boston Globe highlights the experience of local Facing History students, teachers, and staff members, on their recent trip to Rwanda in July. The trip is part of a two-year cultural exchange program funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and sent 17 high school students and four teachers from Hudson High School and TechBoston Academy in Massachusetts to Rwanda with Facing History and Ourselves.
"Sandra Derstine, a teacher at TechBoston, said the trip was as meaningful for the four teacher-chaperones as for the students, in part because it quickly became clear the genocide occurred not just in one place but in many ordinary settings. Having a memorial in a school - tens of thousands of people were killed at Murambi alone - was a chilling reminder of how widespread the killing was, and of her own responsibility as a teacher. 'I know I can’t take all my students to Rwanda, but I do want to find ways to make sure all my students can be world citizens,'she said."
