New England Students Create Toolkits for Prevention

 Each and every one of us has the power to make a difference. That's what Sarah F. has come to believe after taking Adrianne Billingham's yearlong Facing History course at Lexington High School in New England. Sarah has translated what she learned in two semesters- one focusing on the Holocaust and other genocides and the second looking at race, gender, and human behavior- into an understanding of how she can live her life as a participant in a democracy. Sarah spoke about the course at the New England Institute last summer.

In the course, students took a rigorous look at the difficult history of the Holocaust and the consequences of choices people made. They discussed bystanders, witnesses, perpetrators and victims. They also learned about "upstanders" a phrase coined by Samantha Power to describe people who take a stand against hate and indifference.

One project, "Toolkits for Prevention," especially challenged the students to think about the role individuals play in keeping society safe. The assignment was to build toolkits to help them make a difference in the world. The toolkits created by the students contained items that highlight the need for education, the power of words, and the reminder that we must also examine our own thoughts and actions.

Sarah said some great things came out of the Holocaust course. Last fall in the class, she and some other students re-activated the school's Amnesty International Club in order to organize a response against the genocide in Darfur.

The class touched the students on a personal level, too. Sarah said, "I remember one day in my American studies class two boys were saying obnoxious things about mentally retarded people. Maye (another student in the Facing History class) told them to stop."

Sarah was really proud of her friend. "Maye actually did something. I wish every time I heard someone say something like that I could speak up."

Sarah's Toolkit for Prevention
On the lid of the toolkit is the James Barry poem, "what do we do with a variation" a Facing History reading that raises questions how we treat others we perceive as different from ourselves - and the consequences of those decisions.

Inside the toolkit is a packet of carrot seeds with a quote about the power of education to make a long-term difference in someone's life. Sarah said it symbolizes how education leads to understanding and allows for the potential for change.

Sarah included a pen, "We were constantly writing in our journals throughout the course. When you write you really have to examine where you're coming from and where you're going." Sarah said the pen also reminds people that what they say is not erasable. You can apologize if you've offended someone, but the words were still said and are still there."

A mirror represents self-examination. "it's fine to tell people what they're doing is wrong or to look at history and say what was wrong. Buut you also have to examine at yourself and the current situation. You need to see what's going on around you," she said.