Recap: 3GDC School Presentation in Louisville, Kentucky
“Voices of the Holocaust”
At Ramsey Middle School in Louisville, Kentucky, eighth-grade students recently started their spring curriculum, “Voices of the Holocaust.” This course, taught across the Jefferson County Public School District, focuses on reading and writing.
Reaching out to 3GDC
Ashley Howlett, a proactive eighth-grade English teacher, wanted to supplement this curriculum by incorporating cultural humility and empathy into her lesson plans. Having heard about 3GDC presentations at other Louisville-area schools, Ms. Howlett got in touch to ask if we could do a presentation to her students, and we eagerly accepted her invitation.
DC to Louisville
In March, 3GDC co-founder Brant Levine traveled to Louisville and spoke to every eighth-grade English class at Ramsey Middle School—nearly 400 students in all. The students were attentive and engaged during all the presentations, asking thoughtful and insightful questions.
Students’ Reactions
After the presentation, the students completed an online survey asking them to rate the presentation on a scale of one to five stars, and over 93% awarded four or five stars.
Students shared in their own words what they learned from the presentation:
“[It]... was touching, because it makes us see the people that went through the Holocaust as more real, and not faceless images. We learned that each person that suffered had their own families and stories. If I had a chance to talk to Brant today, I would tell him that what he is doing is very important and thank him for coming.”
“The Holocaust was a horrible event of history and caused pain for millions of Jews, so it’s important to remember it so such a thing never occurs again. Sharing the stories of individuals who suffered through the Holocaust, speaking out against injustice, and never losing hope are all important things that he wanted to speak to us about. They’re all things I hope I can remember for the rest of my life.”
“ I think that the speech being from the grandchild of a survivor made it better in my opinion. Something that he said that I think is really important is that just seeing movies or books isn’t enough, you need a first-person account and see from the perspective of the grandchild of the survivor.”
“My take-aways from the presentation … [are] that Holocaust survivors are real people like us, and we should hear their background just as much as any other story. [His] grandmother’s story was very heartbreaking and made me realize that she was just an ordinary girl like me but just back in the 1940s. She had friends she loved and family she loved, and now knowing a lot of them died makes me very sad and heartbroken.”
