Project Connects Students from U.S. and China

Boston, MA - On February 1 & 2, 2007, Facing History and Ourselves will host a two-day educational workshop that will mark the beginning of the Facing History and Ourselves China Project. Thirty teenagers from the U.S. and China will participate. The workshop will illuminate the connections that are made and the questions that are raised when a diverse group of students comes together to study the history of the events leading up to the Holocaust and its universal lessons about prejudice, hatred, and collective violence as well as courage, compassion, and resistance. The workshops will also examine contemporary examples of genocide, particularly from Rwanda and the Sudan.

The student group will include 15 American students from an urban school in Boston, the Academy of the Pacific Rim Public Charter School in Hyde Park, the Facing History School in New York City, and 15 visiting students from the No. 80 High School of Beijing, China. Together they will explore issues of difference and identity from both personal and historical perspectives. Materials from contemporary Chinese history will be incorporated to encourage students to think about the connections between past and present and the impact of such concepts of labeling and stereotyping in their own lives.

One of the most exciting features of the Facing History and Ourselves China Project is the partnership being developed between Facing History and The Academy of the Pacific Rim Public Charter School. As the American students get to know the visiting students from China they will also prepare for their own cultural and educational experience when, in the spring of 2007, 15 students and two teachers from The Academy of the Pacific Rim will travel to China. The exchange between local schools and schools in China introduces a unique and innovative opportunity for Facing History, whose curriculum and resources will be used to prepare the students for their trip.

Facing History and Ourselves' mission is to engage students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. The China Project allows Facing History to explore new relationships and learning opportunities with potential partners in the U.S. and China. The China Project will continue throughout the 2007 academic year.