2024 Summer Seminars

Our Annual Summer Seminars were a big success! Twenty-nine educators spent two full days preparing for the coming school year. The first seminar focused on how to teach the Holocaust in ways that resonate with different age groups through literature, conversation, and helpful activities. These are difficult subjects: it's important to help children and young adults be supported and thoughtful, with time to feel and reflect as they are introduced to scary events and dark aspects of human nature. The second seminar delved into strategies for creating a safe and welcoming classroom where no one feels left out or diminished. With the help of HHRC staff and several professionals in the field, participants befitted from presentations, fresh ideas, ample resources, and educational games that help create supportive, productive, and enjoyable learning communities

Teaching the Holocaust • The State of Maine now mandates that schools teach the history of the Holocaust and genocide. The dramatic rise in antisemitism makes this learning more important than ever. The seminar covered a wide variety of topics to help teachers understand not just the events of the Holocaust, but the wider context that allowed it to happen. The sessions provided teachers with information, resources, and activities that can be incorporated into history, social studies, government, civics, and literature classes. They learned not just new information about the Holocaust, but new ways of engaging students in the subject. All who attended received twelve continuing education credits.

Practical Tools for Addressing Bias in the Classroom • Schools should be safe and welcoming to all students, but, if we’re being honest, they’re often not. Over the course of this two day seminar, participants explore restorative practices, facilitating student initiatives, responding to bias incidents, and using collaborative storytelling and games to explore complex issues. The seminar was active, hands-on, and group oriented. All who attended received twelve continuing education credits.

Participants Feedback

Teaching the Holocaust

• The sense of duty that I have regarding teaching hard history and controversial topics in the upcoming school year. (High School Social Studies Teacher)

• There isn’t one specific thing. But I will say I’m glad I did this. You gave me things to think about with my unit that I hadn’t considered before, such as life before the Holocaust, and the Jewish youth that fought back. There’s also the impact on the liberators that will stay with me. (High School English Teacher)

• This was so helpful for thinking about the different ways you can approach integrating the holocaust into my curriculum. (High School Social Studies Teacher)

• This is so valuable to me as an educator. Thank you so much for continuing to support this organization and their amazing work. (High School Social Studies Teacher)

• I really just appreciate the knowledge and insight provided by a variety of speakers. Making this a no-cost for teachers really shows that the focus of these seminars is about educating others, not turning a profit. (Middle School Social Studies Teacher)

• I’m grateful I took part in this, because it will enrich the experience my students will have with the material. It will make the literature come alive for them, which is ultimately my goal. And that’s something a standard can’t teach them. (High School English Teacher)

• I'm very grateful that this PD was at no cost to me. As a teacher it is difficult to pay my way through recertification, especially so early in my career. Not only was the information invaluable, having the time I spent at the HHRC count toward my recert was priceless. Thank you! (High School English Teacher)

• This seminar was complementary to the USHMM's Belfer conference that I attended for the first time this year. I am enjoying growing my personal collection of resources that are meaningful to me as a scholar as well as professional resources to help with my coaching work. (K-6 Instructional Coach)

• It is so important to have PD that pertains to subjects like this, meaning a very sensitive topic. As adults, it is our job to provide the best introduction to this topic to our students and remind them of the real people that were part of this event. This workshop presented multiple different perspectives on how to reach students and provide them with the tools to decipher the Holocaust. So many ideas about how to use the material in ways that will impact our students through our curriculum. (High School Teacher)

• This workshop was incredible. The topics were interesting, and the speakers were wonderful. I have not done any Holocaust PD in quite a while and it was refreshing. Not all new material, but worth the iteration. I am fortunate to teach the Holocaust, but this is something that all teachers should have an understanding of, even if they don't. (High School Teacher)

Practical Tools for Addressing Bias in the Classroom

• What a valuable way to spend two days! I love all the room everyone had to process and explore as things arose that may have been uncomfortable. (Abuse Prevention Educator)

• It has provided me with information that I could use in staff trainings, and also when working individually, in small groups, or classroom settings with students. (Elementary School Counselor)

• This seminar was very beneficial. Every person who works in a school could benefit from taking this seminar to understand the tools which can help with addressing bias in the classroom. (Middle School Social Studies Teacher)

• I think this seminar is incredibly valuable and I would encourage other educators to participate. It is always rewarding to come together with other educators to share ideas and learn about what they are doing in their classroom. The real highlight of this seminar for me was the training with the ADL. I used the ADL as a resource when completing my undergraduate thesis and I was excited to engage more with the organization. There are so many incidents of bias that occur at my school on a daily basis and I feel as though very few people in the building are equipped to deal with it appropriately. There is a lot of suspending children who perpetrate these incidents of bias, but that is where it ends. There is no asking questions, explaining the historical impact, etc. I think in the time we are living in, the ADL training, and knowing how to respond to bias in general, is essential for all educators. Hearing from the Civil Rights Team Project also helps provide some ideas for how to prevent incidents of bias, but also another direction for how to respond as a community when these bias incidents occur. (High School Social Studies Teacher)

• Huge thanks to the donors! The after effects of attending this workshop will be felt by countless students and educators, and further the cause to have learning be a safe experience! (Abuse Prevention Educator)

• This seminar really does an amazing job of reminding me of my purpose and foundational goals as an Educator. We educators sometimes lose our focus on what truly matters in education. These seminars work well to keep my feet planted firmly on the ground while at the same time inspiring me to reach, yearning and grasping for a better version of my practice. (High School Social Studies Teacher)

• I am so extremely grateful for the work each and every one of you do.  Thank you so much. (High School Social Studies Teacher)