Museum of Tolerance

Term:

Summer 2015

Description:

Cohort 7 went to the Museum of Tolerance on June 28, 2015. The visit was incorporated as part of the EDAD 524 Diversity, Access, and Equity course for the MSHE program aimed to educate the cohort about the Holocaust and historical issues in both historic and contemporary contexts and help to confront all forms of prejudice and discrimination in our world today. It challenged the cohort to make connections between course readings and themes, and our role as educators and student affairs professionals.

Learning Outcomes:

SWiBAT identify connections between the Holocaust and EDAD 524 (Diversity, Access and Equity) course content as they relate to the understanding historical injustices in higher education through a reflection journal and class discussions.

SWiBAT recall and reflect on stories of Holocaust survivors.

Assessment Rubric:

	Advanced	Competent	Basic	Needs Improvement
SLO #1	Able to identify connections between information learned at the museum and course content, and able to connect concepts from reading through a reflection journal and class discussions	Able to identify connections between information learned at the museum and course content, and able to connect concepts from reading through a reflection journal	Able to identify connections between information learned at the museum and course content	Unable to identify connections between information learned at the museum and course content
SLO #2	Able to recall details of a Holocaust survivor’s story, related them to the experiences of marginalized communities, and how they may inform their work	Able to recall details of a Holocaust survivor’s story and relating them to the experiences of marginalized communities	Able to recall some details of a Holocaust survivor’s story and reflected on it	Able to recall a detail of a Holocaust survivor’s story but did not reflect on it

Evidence:

Reflection:

Hearing from Ms. Elizabeth Mann’s own accounts of the Holocaust and her experiences in Auschwitz was very humbling and inspiring. I could not help but feel great sadness when she talked about her sick brother and how she felt responsible for his death because she had told him to go with their mother. She also shared how “ordinary” people played a part in the atrocities and the genocide the Jewish people endured in Europe. She and the exhibit highlighted the big role of propaganda and censorship had in demonizing the Jewish people and indoctrinating “ordinary” people with hatred against Jews. Books, newspapers, magazines, posters, etc. were used to paint Jewish people as inhuman and responsible for the economic hardships of Germany and other European countries. Jewish businesses were closed and burned, Jewish teachers were fired, and books written by Jewish authors were burned. Hitler and the Nazi Party were determined to wipe the Jewish people and off the face of the earth and silence those who dare challenge it. The Nazis didn’t just persecute Jewish people, they also persecuted Communists. I would rate myself as advanced in connecting my experiences at the Museum of Tolerance and the class course and applying what I’ve learned in the reflection journal and discussions in class. The themes of propaganda and censorship discussed during the trip reminded me of the history propaganda and censorship in American education in the 1920s as examined in Joel Spring’s book The American School. Groups like The American Legion would form to control what children were exposed to, focusing on preventing what they perceived as the encroachment of Communist ideas in schools. They also advocated the firing of teachers who were deemed “disloyal” and demanded that teachers take loyalty oaths. These actions were very reminiscent of events in Europe under Nazism.

I expected the visit to be emotional, but I was caught off guard by how emotional I got listening to Ms. Elizabeth Mann, a Holocaust survivor. When she described her experience, particularly about her brother and how ordinary people turned their backs on the Jewish people, really made me reflect on what I’m doing as an educator to not only increase awareness about oppression and inequalities in higher education but also what actions I can do to include social justice in my work. I would rate myself advanced in this aspect. I am able to tie what I’ve learned from Ms. Mann and the Museum of Tolerance with the important themes of diversity, access, and equity in higher education. I was also able to reflect on how I help perpetuate the notion of supremacy of the dominant White (Anglo-Protestant) culture and contribute to the oppression of others. The atrocities of the Holocaust would not have been possible without the complacency of “ordinary” people.

This entry would remind me to check my biases as I work with students who may already feel marginalized. It would also remind me to not only raise awareness about oppression but also to take action. It would help guide me in helping develop the AB 540 Ally Training by utilizing counter storytelling to challenge negative narratives perpetuated by mass media about undocumented immigrants. The visit and this entry will remind me the importance of questioning the status quo and continue to fight for social justice as an educator and student affairs professional.