"Facing History represents a major shift in
the way that we have been teaching in the past. In the past, in Rwandan
schools, teachers talk and students listen, or teachers write on the
chalkboard, and students copy notes. This is a major paradigm shift in
that the Facing History approach now gets people to talk, to debate and
there is participation and interaction between children or kids and
teachers and this is the time for reparation and making connection and
that is a major shift and departure in the next phase..."
John Rutayisare, Executive Secretary, Rwanda's National Examinations Council
In Rwanda, while children of different groups attended
schools together before the genocide, historic forces undercut the
creation of a culture of tolerance and human rights. Schools were used
to promote "ethnic" divisions and are considered to have been a factor
in ongoing periods of conflict, which dominated the lives of Rwandans
since the end of colonial rule. By the end of the genocide in 1994,
seventy-five percent of Rwanda's teachers had been killed or
imprisoned. The Rwandan government placed a moratorium on the teaching
of history.
Schools, however, are also recognized by the post-genocide Rwandan
government as having the capacity to build unity and promote
reconciliation, by fostering collective memory, encouraging
cross-ethnic affiliation, and the reshaping of social identity. In
2003, Facing History began a partnership with UC Berkeley's School of
Education and Human Rights Center, the National University of Rwanda,
and the Rwandan Ministry of Education's "Education for Reconciliation"
project-providing consultation and training to assist Rwandan
educators as they created a new, post-genocide history curriculum for
the country. This project was funded by the United States Institute of
Peace and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
In 2004, in Kigali, Rwanda, Facing History co-facilitated a workshop,
with colleagues from the Rwandan Ministry of Education and UC Berkeley.
The Kigali 2004 workshop marked the official effort to bring history
back into the Rwandan curriculum. Workshop participants included
individuals of different ethnic, regional, and linguistic groups, along
with professors, teachers, students, and parents, who represented
different economic categories.
In 2004, two key leaders at the Kigali workshop, one from the National
University of Rwanda, and the other the director of the National
Curriculum Development Centre, traveled to Facing History's national
office in Boston to attend a weeklong seminar and meet with senior
staff.
In 2005, a Facing History program team met with working groups of local
educators and spent the year gathering materials and beginning to draft
curricula. Together with our partners, we began the process of
evaluating the material collected and making recommendations regarding
materials and curriculum to be submitted to the Ministry. The group
suggested the development of a resource book for teachers that would
include background history, primary and secondary resources, and
suggestions for how most effectively to use them, and sample lessons
and classroom activities.
In
Kigali, in June 2005, Facing History supervised the concluding session
with Rwandan and UC Berkeley colleagues of the curriculum project. The
full scope of materials were presented and evaluated in depth. The
group has also successfully presented its curriculum resources to the
Rwandan Education Ministry. In August of 2005, John Rutayisare,
Executive Secretary of Rwanda's National Examinations Council, and
Innocent Mugisha of the National University of Rwanda, participated in
Facing History's Global Symposium, which brought together key educators
and partners from around the world to discuss the application of Facing
History's content and methodology internationally.
Facing History has been awarded a two-year grant from the United States
Institute of Peace (USIP) to support continued training of a cohort of
lead teachers in piloting the use of the new materials in conjunction
with Facing History and Ourselves resources and methods. In January of
2006, in partnership with The Rwandan Ministry of Education and the
National University of Rwanda, Facing History and lead Rwandan
educators will train 400 Rwandan history teachers in the use of the new
history curriculum. We will also conduct an in-depth training of a
group of Rwandan teachers in July of 2006, funded by the US Institute
of Peace.
More Information
Les Leçons de l'Histoire & Nous [1] -- French website about Facing History and Ourselves