The Gandel Holocaust Studies Program for Australian Educators is a long-term professional-development program aimed at training a cadre of expert Holocaust educators who are active throughout Australia.
The objective of the Gandel Holocaust Studies Program is to form an active and organized network of Australian educators committed to teaching about the Holocaust and its universal implications, using an interdisciplinary and age-appropriate approach.
The Gandel Holocaust Studies Program begins with a prerequisite online course that provides historical background on pre-war Jewish history. Each participant is required to take this course prior to the teacher-training seminar at Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies in Jerusalem. The full-year program continues with a follow-up seminar in Australia and professional exchange about issues in Holocaust education.
This program will provide educators with practical, methodological teaching tools that convey not only the importance of remembering the past, but how to help shape a better future.
Stages of the Program
Stage 1: Online Course: Introduction to Holocaust Studies
The Gandel Holocaust Studies Program for Australian Educators begins with a prerequisite online course prior to the participants' arrival in Jerusalem for the seminar at Yad Vashem. The course, comprised of four lessons, provides background information on the history of Jewish life before the Holocaust. This type of preliminary study is crucial to understanding the history of the Holocaust and more complex elements that will be learned throughout the Gandel Holocaust Studies Program.
Stage 2: The Australian Teacher-Training Seminar, Jerusalem
The second stage of the program is a challenging and intensive teacher-training seminar at Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies in Jerusalem, Israel.
In October – November of every year, participants have the option of attending one of two pre-seminar meetings (one in Melbourne and one in Sydney). This provides participants the opportunity of meeting fellow participants and gaining more background information about the seminar.
During the initial stage of the seminar in Jerusalem, participants gain a detailed and in-depth understanding of the history of the Holocaust, as well as the tools and techniques of how to teach it. Leading historians will share the results of their latest research. Expert educators will introduce the pedagogical and age appropriate approaches on how to teach the Holocaust. Participants will have the opportunity to meet Holocaust survivors and hear their personal testimonies first hand. Participants will also be able to work with a wide range of resources, participate in workshops and discussions, and share ideas. Additionally, participants will have the chance to experience contemporary Israel through various tours around the country.
Stage 3: The Educational Project
The educational project is integral to the Gandel Holocaust Studies Program and will allow participants the opportunity to develop new initiatives in their schools and/or communities. Through these projects the graduates of the Gandel Holocaust Studies Program for Australian Educators will raise awareness of the Holocaust and disseminate the knowledge, understanding, and skills developed during the seminar at Yad Vashem. An integral part of the educational project is that it will become part of the growing resources to which program participants have access.
Stage 4: Follow-up Seminars in Australia
Participants in the Gandel Holocaust Studies Program for Australian Educators will be invited to one of the specially designed follow-up seminars in Australia. Here the participants will receive further training and present their educational projects. This seminar allows participants the opportunity to invite a Yad Vashem expert to lecture in their school or community.
Stage 5: Gandel Program Alumni
Upon completion of the program participants will become active alumni of the Gandel Holocaust Studies Program for Australian Educators. The personal education projects will be presented online for the benefit of all members of the Gandel Holocaust Studies Program’s network. Graduates will be encouraged to actively continue their contributions to Holocaust education in Australia through:
- Actively teaching the subject of the Holocaust in their schools;
- Raising awareness about Holocaust education in their respective communities;
- Contributing to the online network of trained Holocaust educators in Australia;
- Promoting the Gandel Holocaust Studies Program for Australian Educators to their peers and colleagues.
Graduate Feedback
Kerryn Langman:
I gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and information from this course which touched my emotions as well. I believe I will now be better equipped to transfer my knowledge of the Holocaust and other historical events more effectively to students without traumatizing them. The museum and resources made available to seminar participants were exceptional. I was also impressed by the legendary Jewish hospitality shown to us by the entire Yad Vashem staff, who looked after us, day in and day out
Simon Costello:
"I cannot express how much I appreciate the time that I have been able to spend at Yad Vashem with such wonderful lecturers and such a great group. I think that I may have more questions now that I had at the beginning of the seminar especially about how it was possible. I do think that I am more willing to accept that not all our questions can be fully answered."
Emma Jenkins:
Many, many thanks to the Gandels, B'nai Brith Melbourne and all at Yad Vashem. Not just lessons in Holocaust education but lessons in how to be an inspiring educator and leader in this field.
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