Hi everyone, 

 

I work at the University of Tennessee Center for Literacy Studies and
serve as a project coordinator for a diversity initiative with adult
educators in Tennessee, Appreciating Diversity in the Adult Education
Classroom: Lessons from the Holocaust.  This partnership is the first
adult education and literacy initiative in the United States to
collaborate with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and has served as a
model for other states to replicate in their adult education programs
and communities.  The purpose of this initiative is to facilitate the
collaboration of adult educators and community partners to focus on the
complex issues of diversity through Holocaust and human rights education
in classrooms and communities.  The project is in its seventh year and a
majority of the adult education programs in Tennessee have begun to
address issues of diversity issues in classrooms, communities, and
workplaces through their participation in this initiative.  From a
project coordinator perspective, this has been one of the most powerful
professional development projects I have worked with at CLS, both from a
personal and professional perspective.  Although the workshops focus on
Holocaust education and history, a multitude of diversity issues
naturally emerge in the workshops and in teachers' work with their
students.  

 

In past workshops, adult educators have selected a community partner to
collaborate with them in attending trainings and developing community
projects.  While attending  a workshop sponsored by the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC., they had the opportunity
to participate in sessions including the history of the Holocaust,
identifying teaching strategies and methods for using Holocaust and
diversity lessons with students, learning how Tennessee teachers use
Lessons from the Holocaust: An Educator's Resource Toolkit, and
understanding the relevance of Holocaust history in today's society.
The Holocaust lessons have served as a launching point for many
diversity issues encountered by adult educators in working with their
students and in their communities. 

 

As a result of these powerful learning experiences, adult educators and
their community partners developed and implemented lessons and projects
for their classrooms and communities.  These activities included:

 

*	Developing and piloting learning activities/lessons with
students 
*	Creating dialogue with students and community groups on a
variety of diversity issues 
*	Offering regional training to adult educators 
*	Inviting Holocaust survivors to share their stories in
classrooms and community events 
*	Utilizing diversity and Holocaust education resources available
through the UT Center for Literacy Studies, the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum, and the Tennessee Holocaust Commission 
*	Creating displays and exhibits in classrooms, libraries, and
community events 
*	Providing diversity and Holocaust education and awareness
through literacy councils   
*	Integrating diversity and multicultural issues and activities
into classesWriting and publishing articles in local newspapers and
other media 
*	Increasing community awareness through presentations to civic
and professional organizations, chambers of commerce and economic
development boards, public school systems, and other organizations 
*	Integrating Holocaust education, human rights, and diversity
content into community projects

Much of the workshop content is based on a publication, Lessons from the
Holocaust: Toolkit for Educators and may be found at:
 
http://www.cls.utk.edu/pdf/holocaust/holocaust.pdf
 
This publication provides lessons and activities that were developed for
adult learners in teaching the Holocaust and provides suggestions for
how activities might be expanded to include a variety of diversity
issues, in the broadest sense.
 
Future plans for the initiative include continuing professional
development, identifying best teaching practices, piloting new lessons
with students, and publishing a collection of exemplary lessons for
national dissemination to adult educators.  The Tennessee Department of
Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Adult Education and the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have provided funding for this
initiative.
 
Thanks, Micki, for posting your experience with the project; and I
encourage other adult educators in Tennessee who have participated in
past projects to share their learning and experience via this listserv.

 

If you would like additional information about this project, feel free
to contact me at gcope at utk.edu.

 

Gail Cope

UT Center for Literacy Studies


________________________________

From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Taylor,
Jackie
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 2:07 PM
To: professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 849] Re: Help! Teaching
toleranceinteacher PD



Hello Federico (and All),

Federico, I hope you're doing well! Thank you for your reply. You wrote,
"I have used activities on acknowledging and dealing with stereotypes
within workshops on cross-cultural communication. In an unthreatening
environment with a good facilitator it is possible (although never
without some risk) to get a mixed group to talk about their prejudices
and acknowledge existing stereotypes about their own group...Nadia, if
you are interested, I can share with my experience leading such
workshop."

Actually, I'd also be interested in learning more about your experiences
as well as the activities you've used. Could you tell us more in that
regard? Or perhaps you might have something you could share, a
facilitator or activity guide for example? I'm open to whatever ways you
suggest that would be helpful so that many of us may benefit from your
experiences in this area.

Thanks so much! I appreciate your thoughts on this. Best wishes, Jackie
Taylor



-----Original Message-----

From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
<mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov> ] On Behalf Of
Federico Salas-Isnardi

Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 1:01 PM

To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 836] Re: Help! Teaching tolerance
inteacher PD

Nadia, Jackie and PD Friends

I want to echo Andy's words.  Having spent years talking about
cross-cultural communication to teachers, I still find it very difficult
to speak about cultural events in the United States as if we were a
homogeneous bunch.  On the contrary, one of the important distinctions
we must teach is precisely the opposite.  Many students come from more
homogenous nations and are both fascinated and confused by the diversity
and differences among the many peoples of this country.

But, of course, this perception of our culture as a "monolith" is not
unique: how many times have I heard the assumption that because I am of
Hispanic origin I must have grown up eating Mexican food (never mind the
fact that the first time in my life I ate a burrito or a taco was in
Missouri as an adult)!  How many of us assume that Muslims are one
homogeneous group, or that there is such thing as a single "Black"
culture? 

These unchallenged assumptions lead to generalizations and stereotyping
that tend to foster prejudice.  Of course, many in this country are much
given to using labels and it is easier to deal with a handful of quick
labels than with hundreds of them...

This leads me to one of Nadia's questions about teaching tolerance.  To
me, the first thing we need to teach if we are going to teach about
tolerance is to teach about stereotypes and prejudice particularly
stereotypes having to do with identity, ethnic or racial group,
religion, socio-economic status, etc. 

It is often difficult to accept that people may have typecast us (our
identity group whichever it may be) based on a stereotype; but I find it
even more difficult to acknowledge that we (even ESL

professionals) are full of prejudices based on accepted and unchallenged
stereotypes of other groups.

 I believe that unless we are willing to deal with stereotypes we cannot
deal with tolerance.  I have used activities on acknowledging and
dealing with stereotypes within my  workshops on cross-cultural
communication.  In an unthreatening environment with a good facilitator
it is possible (although never without some risk) to get a mixed group
to talk about their prejudices and acknowledge existing stereotypes
about their own group.  

Finally, to the teacher who asks if she has the right to teach tolerance
I say YES!  Not only you have the right; you have a responsibility to
teach about tolerance.  

Nadia, if you are interested, I can share with my experience leading
such workshop. 

federico


Federico Salas-Isnardi

  TESOL

Chair Elect, AEIS

Houston, Texas


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