“Every child you pass in the hall has a story that needs to be heard. Maybe you are the one meant to hear it”. – Bethany Hill
It is easy in the hustle and bustle around the start of school to zoom into expectations and academic work but getting to know your students and building relationships also impacts their learning. According to Dr. Sara Rimm-Kaufman, Dr. Lia Sandilos, from the University of Virginia, “students who have close, positive and supportive relationships with their teachers will attain higher levels of achievement than those students with more conflict in their relationships. . . The student is likely to trust her teacher more, show more engagement in learning, behave better in class and achieve at higher levels academically. Positive teacher-student relationships draw students into the process of learning and promote their desire to learn (assuming that the content material of the class is engaging, age-appropriate and well matched to the student's skills).”
Amid all the schedule changes, jammed lockers, and learning new copy codes, the first days of school offer time to build relationships with your students. Taking the opportunity for students to apply a skill while sharing about their challenges, strengths, and interests provides a way for students to share their story. Read more [...]
If you live in the DFW area and interested in learning more about the newly renovated Dallas Holocaust Museum Center for Education and Tolerance, please add to your calendar the Educator Open House on August 31 and September 1 from 9 am to 2 pm. It is a come and go event that allows teacher to explore the exhibitions. It is for teachers only and valid school ID is required. All participants must get a free ticket online at https://dallasholocaustmuseum.secure.force.com/ticket/?&_ga=2.18410748.431414095.1566240029-1125745947.1564580303#details_a0S5A00000VH000UAD.
Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission: Texas Holocaust Remembrance Week is a new law by Gov. Abbott. Please visit www.thgc.texas.gov for more information. The date has yet to be set according to the website this evening, but materials are available at site. They are also offering Educator Grants and the information to apply will be up the first week of September, 2019.
Teaching American History: Multi-day colloquia will conducted in November and December. November opportunities with focus on Alexander Hamilton and the American Founding. In December there are two that will focus on George Washington and then JamesMadison. For more informtion, please visit www.teachingAmericanHistory.org
National Geographic Society: Time to start thinking about the National GeoBee! Go to NatGeoBee.org for videos about how to have a fun and successful GeoBee at your school. All Title I schools are eligible for registration discounts. A National Geographic Online Educator Network is also being offered through education@society.nationalgeographic.org.
UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures: For those of you in the San Antonio area, Texan Cultures is offering Professional Development on Saturday, Sept. 21 from 9-11AM. The cost is $15 for non-members and $10.00 for members. On Sept. 21, a new event is being offered from 11:00-12:30 for free called: Exploring the World's Last Frontier: The Peopling of the Americas. For more information go to www.texancultures.com
Senate Research Center S.B. 1828
86R10446 JES-F
By: Menendez
4/18/2019
As Filed
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
This year marked the 74th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest German Nazi concentration camp and extermination center. As more time passes, the number of Holocaust survivors is dwindling, making it imperative to continue to educate younger generations on the tragic events of the Holocaust to ensure that history does not repeat itself.
According to a study conducted by Claims Conference, nearly one-third of all Americans and more than 41 percent of millennials believe that substantially less than six million Jews were killed (two million or fewer) during the Holocaust. While there were over 40,000 concentration camps and ghettos in Europe during the Holocaust, 45 percent cannot name a single one. Seven out of ten Americans say fewer people seem to care about the Holocaust than they used to. According to a Forbes article from January this year, nearly one-quarter or 22 percent of generation Z and millennials in the United States and Canada were unaware or not sure if they had heard of the Holocaust.
The best way to counter these shocking findings is with comprehensive, fact-based Holocaust education. It is only through education that we can fix this problem of detachment. In America, 93 percent of adults believe all students should learn about the Holocaust in school and 80 percent believe it is important to keep teaching about the Holocaust so it does not happen again.
S.B. 1828 will ask the governor to designate a Holocaust Remembrance Week where schools will use this time for Holocaust instruction developed or approved by the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission. This legislation does not mandate the implementation of Holocaust curriculum in public schools.
As proposed, S.B. 1828 amends current law relating to Holocaust Remembrance Week in public schools.
To review the text of the bill and to learn more about the resources available for Holocaust Remembrance visit the following links:
http://thgc.texas.gov/holocaust-remembrance-week
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