Local kids will be learning more about the atrocities committed during World War II.
The Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) is preparing for its first-ever “Holocaust Education Week,” starting later this month.
According to staff members, the initiative is happening because of changes to Ontario’s grade 6 curriculum.
It will also allow the board to expand Holocaust education for high school students early, after a recent announcement from the Ministry of Education that it’ll be mandatory for Grade 10 students by 2025.
The board has partnered with Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies, a human rights organization based out of Toronto, for material to help teach students.
The organization’s “Tour for Humanity,” a custom bus that serves as a mobile classroom for educators to talk about the Holocaust and genocide, is also visiting ten local schools this month.
“Although we are having our first Holocaust Education Week this year, the UCDSB believes human rights education from all aspects needs to happen all year long, not just in designated weeks or months,” says Dan McRae, the UCDSB’s Principal of Equity and Inclusion. “This partnership with the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center has allowed us to do that and enhance Holocaust education across our system for all students.”
Holocaust Education Week runs from November 27th to December 1st.