Ten public school teachers from across Montana are joining a new year-long professional development program to improve Holocaust education

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, October 21, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Ten public school teachers from across Montana are joining a year-long professional development program designed to improve Holocaust education in the state.

The program launches on Oct. 24th. It is being run by The Ninth Candle, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to end antisemitism by sharing knowledge.

Dr. Luke Berryman, an educator and an expert on Nazi Germany, founded The Ninth Candle in 2020, after discovering that his late grandfather had lost dozens of relatives in the Holocaust – a secret that he took to the grave. The Ninth Candle now partners with hundreds of schools, teachers, and students across the United States each year.

Dr. Berryman said, "Let's be clear: the Holocaust is an incredibly difficult topic to teach at the best of times, and especially today, when teaching has become one of the most demanding jobs out there. Our Holocaust Education Leadership Academy grew out of our respect for teachers and the demands that they face, and out of our desire to revolutionize how the Holocaust is taught."

"We've designed it to give teachers a chance to immerse themselves in the topic over an extended period of time. They will go on a journey of discovery with fellow professionals, working to develop new inquiry-based learning strategies together."

"Inquiry-based learning means getting kids to ask questions, research answers, and present their findings. It means getting them to build coherent historical narratives by assembling and analyzing documentary evidence. It helps them to understand what the Holocaust was, and how and why it happened at the time and in the place that it did. And this is about more than just history. Inquiry-based learning shows kids how to tell 'what feels true' from 'what actually is true' - a critical skill in the post-truth era."

"The Ninth Candle doesn't pretend to have all the answers. That's why we're collaborating with experts and groups to make our Academy as strong as it can be. We'll hear from amazing guest speakers, including writer and 3GNY speaker Brooke Randel, and Liza Wiemer, the author of the prize-winning novel The Assignment."

There were ten spaces available in The Ninth Candle's Holocaust Education Leadership Academy. They were all taken within days of registration opening. The participants represent public middle- and high schools across Montana, from Thompson Falls to Colstrip, from Bozeman to Box Elder. The Academy will be conducted virtually over Zoom.

Tyler Duke, a filmmaker based in Livingston, MT, and a member of The Ninth Candle's Board of Directors, believes that the Academy will address urgent needs in his state. "Hate groups have started pushing out radical misinformation, including Holocaust denial and other antisemitic messaging," he said. "Montana is at a crossroads. By not equipping children with knowledge of past events - like the Holocaust and the political conditions that led to the rise of the Nazi Party - we're creating a climate that increases extremism, communal violence, and hate crimes today."

The Holocaust Education Leadership Academy is being offered free of charge, thanks to the support of The Ninth Candle's donors.

The Ninth Candle
-champions inquiry-based learning as the best way to teach kids about the Holocaust
-is committed to diversity and inclusion, at both Board and workforce level
-uses exclusively nonviolent language - for The Ninth Candle, antisemitism is to be "ended," not "fought," "tackled," or "combatted"
-is completely nonpartisan and promotes respectful discussion as a community-building tool

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Luke Berryman
The Ninth Candle
+1 347-606-5323
luke@theninthcandle.com

Luke Berryman
The Ninth Candle
info@theninthcandle.com
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