NEW SCHOLARSHIP ANNOUNCED FOR TEXAS REGION SERVICE CENTER 4 STUDENTS

Holocaust Museum Houston is introducing a new scholarship for graduating seniors that honors the memory of those who perished during the Holocaust. The scholarship is being presented as a part of the Museum’s work to develop a citywide commemoration of Yom HaShoah (day of remembrance) for the victims of the Holocaust. Graduating seniors who have demonstrated leadership in stopping hatred, prejudice and apathy in their school or local community are eligible to be nominated by a school guidance counselor or teacher. The scholarship is open to students whose school is located within the Region 4 Education Service Center area (http://www.esc4.net).

The scholarship is open to high school seniors who will attend a two- or four-year college or university, with matriculation to begin in the 2012–2013 academic year. Guidance counselors and teachers are encouraged to nominate a student who has exemplified part of the mission of Holocaust Museum Houston – to teach the dangers of hatred, prejudice and apathy – by writing a one- or two-page letter on school letterhead that details how the student being nominated has exemplified behaviors to stop the dangers of hatred, prejudice and apathy in his or her school or community.

Students who have been nominated must also submit an essay of 750 to 1,000 words that explores how and what he or she learned about the Holocaust and why the study of the Holocaust is important today. Students may wish to approach a teacher or guidance counselor to request nomination for the award. The student selected to receive the scholarship must be available to attend the Yom HaShoah commemoration service on Sunday, April 22, 2012.

Nominations for this scholarship are due by Monday, Dec. 12, 2011. Nominations will be reviewed by committee, with the announcement of the award being made by March 1, 2012. This scholarship is a one-time presentation of $500, to be used to support the student’s first year of college or university education, and is being presented with the generous support of the David Barg Endowment Fund and the Morgan Family Endowment Fund. To receive a nomination form or for more information, please contact the Education Department at 713-942-8000, ext. 105 or e-mail education@hmh.org.

70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MASSACRE AT BABI YAR OBSERVED THIS SEPTEMBER

On Sept. 29-30, 1941, a mobile killing squad murdered the Jewish population of Kiev at Babi Yar, a ravine northwest of the city. This was one of the largest mass murders at an individual location during World War II. According to reports by the Einsatzgruppe to headquarters, 33,771 Jews were massacred in two days. In the months following the massacre, German authorities stationed at Kiev killed thousands more Jews at Babi Yar, as well as non-Jews, including Roma (Gypsies), communists and Soviet prisoners of war. It is estimated that some 100,000 people were murdered at Babi Yar.

There are many resources teachers can use to commemorate this event. The Web site resource of the month, Centropa, has information about Kiev’s Jewish population. The following sites could also be used to locate information:

• Overview: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005421
• Yevtushenko’s “Babi Yar” poem: http://www.pbs.org/auschwitz/learning/guides/reading1.4.pdf
• Information about Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._13_(Shostakovich)

INFORMATION ABOUT CONTEMPORARY GENOCIDE UPDATED

Holocaust Museum Houston’s Web site has information about the creation of the term “genocide” and one-page summaries of genocides of the 20th century. Each summary also includes textual and Internet-based resources educators could use supplement the information. These summaries have been updated to include the latest information regarding justice issues for each event. New summaries have been created to cover the atrocities that occurred in Guatemala and Argentina and that are occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Holocaust Museum Houston has a curriculum trunk with resources for implementing instruction about genocide. Please see the education tab on the HMH Web site for a list of the trunk’s resources and information regarding ordering a trunk.

UPCOMING TEACHER WORKSHOP ANNOUNCED: “DEMYSTIFYING THE SIKH COMMUNITY”

On Wednesday, Oct. 19, the Asia Society Texas Center and the Sikh coalition will host a teacher workshop from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the United Way, 50 Waugh Dr., in Houston focused on “Demystifying the Sikh Community: Understanding Sikhs’ Presence and Contributions to America.”

Sikhism, the fifth largest religion in the world, is growing rapidly. This faith, with roots in Punjab, has also recently gained greater political importance. Manmohan Singh, the current prime minister of India, is one of 26 million people that practice Sikhism. In spite of this, Sikhs continue to experience discrimination and are often misunderstood. The Asia Society Texas Center, in partnership with the Sikh Coalition, will present a two-hour workshop that will examine the history of Sikhism in America and give tips on how to teach the religion in the classroom. Sikhism has been added for the first time to the new Social Studies Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). The workshop is free of charge, but registration is required. E-mail ppass@asiasociety.org or call 713-439-0051, ext. 15 to RSVP.

STEFI ALTMAN SEMINAR FOR EDUCATORS TO FOCUS
ON "RETURNING: THE ART OF SAMUEL BAK"

Join the Education Department for a half-day teacher workshop March 3, 2012 that focuses on “Returning: The Art of Samuel Bak,” a planned exhibit to be on view at Holocaust Museum Houston Feb. 17, 2012 through Aug 12, 2012.

Bak has said of his work, “My paintings are meant to bear personal testimony to the trauma of surviving.” In “Returning: The Art of Samuel Bak,” viewers encounter familiar imagery used in unusual, somewhat surrealistic ways as they are led on an astoundingly complex, beautiful and richly colorful journey to, through and from the Holocaust.

The cost for the one-day session – including materials – is $15. Lunch is not included. Visit www.hmh.org/RegisterEvent.aspx to register online. For more information, call 713-942-8000 or e-mail education@hmh.org.

The workshop is named in honor of Houston Holocaust survivor Stefi Altman, who was born in Lublin, Poland in 1926. The third of four children, she was just 13 years old when the Germans conquered her homeland in September 1939. She spent time in the concentration camps Jastkov, Treblinka and Majdanek before reaching Dorohucza, a Polish labor camp. She eventually was hidden by a sympathetic farmer until being liberated by the Russians, when she learned that her family — 35 members in all — were murdered in the Holocaust.

BARBARA COLOROSO TO PRESENT "THE BULLY, THE BULLIED AND THE BYSTANDER”

Join the Education Department on Wednesday, April 18, 2012, for a one-day teacher workshop with international best-selling author and consultant Barbara Coloroso.

Coloroso’s uniquely effective parenting and teaching strategies were developed through her years of training in sociology, special education and philosophy, as well as field-tested through her experiences as a classroom teacher, laboratory school instructor, university instructor, seminar leader, volunteer in Rwanda and mother of three grown children.

Coloroso is the author of four international best-sellers, including “The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander — From Pre-School to High School” and “Extraordinary Evil: A Brief History of Genocide ... And Why It Matters."

In the afternoon, HMH Education Department staff will present their newest program: “All Behaviors Count: Humanity in Action.” This program provides information about the five behaviors of social cruelty and how schools can develop communities in which humanity is in action. Teasing, exclusion, bullying, rumoring and ganging up have all led to violence in the past few years; in a world of total connectedness, with no down time as in the past, these behaviors are causing greater damage.

This interactive afternoon will include presentations, visiting of relevant exhibition spaces and rich discussion. The cost for the one-day session – including materials and a copy of Coloroso’s book “Extraordinary Evil: A Brief History of Genocide... And Why It Matters,” is $25. Lunch is not included. To register for the workshop, visit www.hmh.org/RegisterEvent.aspx.