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Local schools participate in the International Shared Reading Project
YOUNGSTOWN
Local school districts are participating in the Benjamin Lerhaupt International Shared Reading Project, a program of the Holocaust and Humanity Center and supported by the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation.
“The International Shared Reading Project was initially a creation of the Ghetto Fighters House [a group of Holocaust survivors] in northern Israel, and now is administered by the Holocaust and Humanity Center in Cincinnati,” explained Jesse McClain, Holocaust educational specialist.
“The high-school classes focus on ‘Night’ by Elie Wiesel, while the junior high [or middle school] classes focus on ‘Island on Bird Street’ by Uri Orlev.”
The project’s goal is to “create global citizens by confronting indifference and prejudice through an international learning community,” said Michelle Best, Austintown Middle School teacher.
“We link American and Israeli students in the reading, study and online discussion of Holocaust literature and history, while sharing about their individual lives,” she said.
Students communicate via online learning platform Blackboard.
Best said students are genuinely excited to meet peers in a different country, thanks to technology.
“These connections make news personal. It’s no longer something happening in a country that vaguely sounds familiar. Rather it’s something happening where a friend lives,” she said. “I have seen children changing their perspectives about others.”
McClain said the project provides a “meeting point.”
“The project creates a transformative experience of ongoing friendship and understanding, not only about the Holocaust, but a mutual respect of religious and cultural differences,” he said.
Best said the experience is always more than worth the effort.
“I am so grateful to be included,” she said.
These area schools are participating in the project: Austintown Middle School, Boardman Glenwood Junior High School, Crestview High School in Columbiana, Jackson-Milton High School, Sharpsville (Pa.) Middle School and W.S. Guy Middle School in Liberty.