PRESS RELEASE
The Genocide Education Project
51 Commonwealth Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 264-4203
[email protected]
www.GenocideEd ucation.org
Contact: Raffi Momjian ([email protected])
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SOCIAL STUDIES HOSTS GENOCIDE EDUCATION WORKSHOP
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Houston, TX, 11/14/08 – At the 88th annual conference of the National
Council for Social Studies, The Genocide Education Project brought
educational resources about the Armenian Genocide to the country’s
history teachers.
Through a packed workshop and informational booth at the George R. Brown
Convention Center in Houston, Texas, teachers were exposed to a wide
range of historical and educational materials they can use to
incorporate the Armenian Genocide into their classes on WWI, genocide,
or human rights.
Each year for the past 6 years, The Genocide Education Project has
provided NCSS participants with a different workshop theme and new
lesson plans and instructional materials on the Armenian Genocide.
"The NCSS organization is like the beating heart of the Social Studies
education community in the in this country," said Raffi Momjian,
Executive Director of The Genocide Education Project. "The teachers who
attend this conference are committed to giving their students the best
and most broad understanding of history, in order to equip them to be
productive citizens. Each year, we welcome this opportunity to educate
more teachers about this important piece of history, and we’re confident
that those we have reached will take the lessons of the Armenian
Genocide back to their communities and their classrooms."
This year’s workshop, "Deadly Days: Studying Events that Sparked Select
Genocides," was developed and presented by Sara Cohan, the Genocide
Education Project’s Education Director. Drawing attention to the 70th
anniversary of Kristallnacht (the event that sparked the Holocaust), the
workshop led more than sixty teachers from schools from around the
country through a study of the parallel events that marked the onset of
the Armenian, Jewish, and Rwandan genocides. Using historical documents
including government orders and news reports, and exploring the key
causes of genocide and its meaning, the participants learned strategies
for teaching about multiple genocides. Educators were also provided a
resource CD including practical lesson plans and background materials
(timelines, eye-witness accounts, UN documents, government orders, news
reports, etc.), and were given guidance for locating more resources.
In addition to the workshop, The Genocide Education Project met hundreds
of teachers at its informational booth, discussing the importance of
addressing the subject of genocide and the particular case of the
Armenian Genocide, explaining the various resources available, and
distributing educational materials.
The Genocide Education Project, whose motto is, "Learning the Past,
Building the Future," is a nonprofit organization established in 2004,
to assist educators in teaching about human rights and genocide,
particularly the Armenian Genocide. The organization has developed and
distributed a variety of lesson plans, including online, interactive
lessons, and hosts educational workshops for school district
administrators, teachers, and students. Educators and students are
welcome to use The Genocide Education Projects "cyber resource library"
at
The National Council for Social Studies was founded in 1921 and is the
largest US association devoted solely to social studies education. It is
organized into more than 110 affiliated state, local, and regional
councils, and its members represent K-12 classroom teachers, college and
university faculty members, curriculum designers and specialists, and
leaders in the various social studies disciplines. NCSS defines social
studies as "the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities
to promote civic competence."
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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.
Picture Caption:
Teachers attend The Genocide Education Project’s workshop during NCSS
Conference in Houston, Texas