PRESS RELEASE
The Genocide Education Project
51 Commonwealth Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 264-4203
[email protected]
www.GenocideEd ucation.org
Contact: Sara Cohan ([email protected])
ILLINOIS TEACHER AWARDED 2006 AHARONIAN AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The Genocide Education Project is pleased to
announce the first recipient of the Aharonian Award for excellence
in the teaching of the Armenian Genocide, Mr. Ronald Levitsky of
Northfield, Illinois. Mr.
Levitsky is an extremely accomplished educator who has received
countless awards for ground-breaking work in the classroom and serves
on various local and national educational committees.
The 2006 Aharonian Award is the first time that a national award
has been offered to secondary level educators who teach about the
Armenian Genocide.
"We know that teachers all over the country are teaching about the
Armenian Genocide in unique and interesting ways," stated Raffi
Momjian, Executive Director of The Genocide Education Project. "Now
we have a chance to recognize and reward the important work educators
are doing on the subject."
Mr. Levitsky’s curriculum project was based on an action alert
issued by the Armenian National Committee of America, suggesting
people submit a new design for a postage stamp to the Citizen Stamp
Advisory Committee.
The postage stamp activity became a springboard for studying the
Armenian Genocide as well as America’s response to it. Levitsky
noted, "Because adolescents have a sense of justice and sensitivity
to cruelty, students need to believe that, in the midst of genocide,
people can act affirmatively." The lesson includes background readings
on the Armenian Genocide as well as information on America’s response
to the Genocide, which is culled from the research of Peter Balakian
and Merill Peterson. Students not only learn the details of the history
of the Armenian Genocide but they are also required to write journal
entries examining a variety of related topics from "why people bully"
to exploring ways to stop genocide. Finally, designing a stamp allows
students to express the ideas and issues they have learned about in an
artistic manner. Levitsky’s approach ensures his students will learn
both the history of the Armenian Genocide and the responsibility of
all people to respond to genocide in more effective way.
The Aharonian Award was inspired by Avedis Aharonian, a prolific
Armenian writer, public servant, and one of the founders of the
first independent Armenian Republic in 1918. Aharonian wrote, "If
evil of this magnitude can be ignored, if our own children forget,
then we deserve oblivion and earn the world’s scorn." By sponsoring
an award in his name, The Genocide Education Project hopes to inspire
more U.S. educators to teach about the Armenian Genocide.
Additional information about the Aharonian Award and the full criteria
for submitting a lesson plan can be found on The Genocide Education
Project’s online resource library at Winners
of the Aharonian Award receive teaching resources on the Armenian
Genocide, a cash award, and the publication of their lesson plan on
A set of resources is also provided to the
award recipient’s affiliated institution’s library.
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The Genocide Education Project is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3)
organization that assists educators in teaching about human rights
and genocide, particularly the Armenian Genocide, by developing and
distributing instructional materials, providing access to teaching
resources and organizing educational workshops.