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August 20, 1999/8 Elul 5759, Vol. 51, No.46
Teaching unpleasant truths
Fight against anti-Semitism starts in the classroom
LENI REISS
Senior Contributing Editor
When Ava Keenen was growing up in Phoenix in the 1960s, she was one of only a few Jewish students at both Ocotillo Elementary and Washington High School.
"I experienced anti-Semitism early on," she says, recalling being singled out as a "dirty Jew."
"I did nothing and suffered in silence."
Keenen says that being a member of a family with a strong Jewish identity and an affiliation with a local Conservative congregation helped her work through the trauma.
In light of a recent series of high-profile attacks against Jews - and prior to last week's shooting rampage that left five injured at a Jewish Community Center day camp in Los Angeles - Jewish News asked Keenen and other local experts how they help children to understand and respond to instances of anti-Semitism and hate crimes.
Keenen, director of education at Temple Chai, is committed to giving students tools to deal with such occurrences.
"It doesn't go away," she observes, noting that a few years ago her son experienced anti-Semitism as a high school student here "and when he fought back, he was suspended for two days."
"We are dealing with human nature, so there also are issues relating to (hate directed toward) the handicapped, to other minorities," Keenen says. "Anti-Semitic slurs and incidents may be on the decline, but they haven't disappeared, so kids have to be prepared to deal with them."
She says knowledge is an integral part of children's defense against such attitudes, "and the best ammunition is education. And it is important that students learn (about anti-Semitism) in the context of history."
Jewish educators Valleywide agree. At Har Zion Congregation, religious school principal Donna Triosi says that although anti-Semitism isn't a part of a formal curriculum, "it comes into play when we learn about the Holocaust, Passover, Purim, Hanukkah. Had school been in session," she says, "the faculty would have discussed the appropriate way to deal with the recent synagogue bombings in Sacramento."
In Triosi's view, "anti-Semitism really can't be dealt with until children have a Jewish identity, and that concept can come into play as early as third grade. At that point, they begin to develop the strength to stand up for what they believe."
Jewish identity is focus
Everyone interviewed for this story concurs that it never is too early to address the concept of tolerance.
At Beth El Congregation's Center for Early Childhood Education, Preschool Director Karen Ringel believes that lesson plans should touch upon tolerance in all classroom settings, but says that "anti-Semitism wouldn't be an age-appropriate concept for preschoolers.
"We emphasize accepting people for who they are, and that it is a mitzvah (good deed) to help all kinds of people, within and outside the Jewish community."
"Jewish identity is our focus," Ringel adds, "and the goal is to have our students be proud and comfortable and confident in that context."
Rabbi Harris Cooperman, principal at Phoenix Hebrew Academy, says the topic of anti-Semitism should not be raised with preschoolers and kindergartners. "We don't want to give them nightmares," he says.
"However, the study of all of Jewish history, including the Holocaust, is part and parcel of our curriculum, so (older) students come to see that, in every generation, 'they rise against us.' "
Most young students have led sheltered lives, Cooperman notes, "but forewarned is forearmed, and by the time they are pre-teens they know that not everyone likes Jews. We don't want them to be paranoid, but we want them to be aware."
Respecting differences
Meanwhile, at least two national Jewish organizations with chapters in the Valley sponsor programs that encourage youngsters to learn about and respect one another's differences.
Jane Wabnik, an executive board member of the Phoenix Chapter, American Jewish Committee, helped to craft the AJC-sponsored NO HATE project, and she trains teachers and others to spread the word.
Wabnik, a business and public issues consultant, says project issues include race, culture, ethnic groups, age, illness, prosthetics and physical characteristics.
"Always You," a bilingual English and Spanish storybook she authored, is designed "to help each child feel unique, while realizing that all children share the need for love, understanding and acceptance," she says.
"All people have similar feelings, and this is the concept we aim to convey."
"We should educate children to know who and what they are, and to learn how to convey this to others - to create awareness and sensibility within the children themselves so that they can love who they are," Wabnik adds. "The critical piece is to create an environment of understanding and acceptance, of knowledge and respect."
For example, Wabnik encourages parents to communicate with school administrators and parent-teacher organizations "ahead of time, in a non-confrontational way," to let them know about Jewish holidays. It is also important to explain that there are variables in every religion, she says; some children are out of school for one day at Rosh Hashana, and others observe for two days. She finds that "most people acknowledge that all religions have difference levels (of observance)."
Further information about the NO HATE project and in-service training is available by calling AJC at 602-248-8845.
Strengthening pluralism
More than a decade ago, another organization, the Anti-Defamation League, initiated its A World of Difference campaign "to combat prejudice, promote democratic ideals and strengthen pluralism," explains Debra Stogel of ADL's Los Angeles office.
In Arizona, volunteer Mark Rothman serves as ADL's education chairman. The former school teacher turned insurance salesman is a passionate advocate of efforts "to make a difference in the educational arena."
His seven-person committee includes women, blacks, Hispanics, Jews and Catholics ("We can't speak about diversity unless we are diverse," he says) and is dedicated to "combating negative behavior and attitudes."
"Our main thrust is the classroom, and we'll go to any school, any site where we hear of anti-Semitic actions or activity," Rothman says. "We have great material at our fingertips. We know hatred and prejudice are learned behaviors and that behavior can be unlearned."
Rothman says that in the past three years, A World of Difference classroom programs have been adopted by three of Maricopa County's school districts - Pendergast, Paradise Valley and Phoenix Elementary - and he hopes that more will follow suit.
Since 1985, more than 350,000 elementary, middle and secondary school teachers nationwide have participated in ADL-sponsored anti-bias diversity training programs. For information call ADL at 602-274-0991.
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