Tuesday, Jul 12, 2022
The Julius and Dorothy Koppelman Holocaust/Genocide Resource Center and the College of Education and Human Services have partnered to create new educational resources
by Keith Fernbach
Rider University’s Julius and Dorothy Koppelman Holocaust/Genocide Resource Center and the College of Education and Human Services (CEHS) have partnered on an initiative to increase awareness and understanding of genocides including the Holocaust, as well as other historical injustices.
The program came about through the efforts of Dr. Pamela Pruitt, the executive director of Rider’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI), which oversees the Koppelman Center; Dr. Jason Barr, CEHS dean; and Dr. Mark Pearcy, who teaches Rider’s “Teaching Social Studies in the Secondary School” (SED 405) course.
“I wanted to do a project that would benefit K-12 teachers in the way of Holocaust and genocide pedagogy,” Pruitt says. “We wound up with the idea of having a semester-long program in which CEHS students would create study guides to put on the CDI website so that K-12 teachers would have free access to this valuable information.”
Students who took Pearcy’s course during the fall semester were asked to design a social studies media project on a subject that fell under the Koppelman Center’s mandate. These teachers’ guides could then serve as a resource for teachers and students who wanted to learn about issues such as race, historical discrimination, genocide or reparations.
“I was hoping to provide students with a practical and in-depth understanding of a historical topic and how it can be used effectively in social studies education,” says Pearcy. “I also thought it would be a great way for them to highlight to future employers how they can construct longer-form projects that incorporate different types of technology and media for student use.”
After all the projects had been completed, Pearcy selected the top three submissions. A judging panel consisting of Brock Mislan, the social studies supervisor of Ewing Township Public Schools; Darren Lewan, the social studies supervisor of Hopewell Valley Regional School District; and Ken Boardman, an adjunct professor at Rider, then ranked them.
The program culminated with an awards ceremony to recognize the students who submitted the top three projects.
Victoria Burd '22 was named the inaugural Koppelman Scholar for her winning submission, “Historical Racism and Discrimination: Newark Riots of 1967,” which focuses not only on the riots, but their lasting impact on the city. She was awarded a $750 scholarship sponsored by the CDI.
“This is one of my greatest accomplishments of my time at Rider,” says Burd. “It makes me feel as if the time, effort and sometimes tears I put into the research of this paper, and the reeducation I underwent during the researching process, brought to the surface exactly what I had hoped it would.”
Abigail Fisch '22 took second place and received a $500 scholarship for her project, “Jewish Culture: The Story of Judith and the Role of Women in Jewish Text,” which poses the question of why the stories of Jewish matriarchs are not as widely known as those of their male counterparts.
Anthony Higueruela '22 was the third honoree and recipient of a $250 scholarship for his project, “The Holocaust and Nazi Propaganda,” which examines how Hitler and the Nazis were able to effectively demonize the Jewish people, and analyzes the dangers that can result from bigotry, stereotyping, and othering different groups of people.
Burd, who graduated in May and will begin her career as a social studies teacher at Ewing High School in the fall, says working on the project has prepared her to be a better teacher.
“It taught me how to compile a variety of sources for students to practice synthesizing, developing theses and researching,” she says. “It taught me to think from a variety of perspectives, such as how a student would be able to use a source, the important content and context a source could hold, and how a student could interpret these elements.
“It also caused self-reflection on all the parts of history missing in education. I doubt many students are familiar with the Newark Race Riots, despite how close in proximity they are to where it occurred and the effects that are still shown in Newark. It is our job as educators to shed light on these neglected and often overlooked histories.”
Pruitt says the CDI plans to continue the Koppelman Scholar program next year, and hopes to expand the involvement within the Rider community and promote it more broadly to K-12 teachers.