UMD News Releases

DULUTH, MN – The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) will host a three-part series for K–12 educators entitled “Teaching the Holocaust.” The event will be held March 18, 19, and 20 from 6:30–8:30 pm in Griggs Conference Center on the UMD campus. The series free and is open to the public. Registration is required. ISD 709 teachers may register through News and Views. All others may register by contacting Betsy Rosenzweig at Betsy.Rosenzweig@duluth.k12.mn.us. Registration is due by Fri., March 14.

The three workshops, sponsored by the Arrowhead Reading Council, will equip participants with tools, resources, and discussion themes for educating young people on the Holocaust. Presenters are Mary Anderson-Petroske, vice principal, Northern Lights School/Superior, Wisc.; Deborah Petersen-Perlman, associate professor, Department of Communication, UMD; and other members of the Baeumler Kaplan Holocaust Commemoration Committee.

Course description:

Tues., Mar. 18: Teaching the Holocaust: Superior educator Mary Anderson-Petroske will share strategies for introducing the Holocaust to students in grades K-12. She will guide participants in stages of the Holocaust, building background knowledge, how the Holocaust could happen, what to emphasize, and extended thinking and learning activities.

Anderson-Petroske is vice principal at Northern Lights Elementary School in Superior, Wisc. She was a secondary educator for 17 years before becoming an elementary administrator in 2011. For 15 years, she used the Holocaust as a vehicle in her classroom to help students to appreciate diversity, stop hatred in its infancy, become caretakers of one another, and combat bullying. From her experiences as an educator, she believes that the lessons of the Holocaust can be a powerful way to connect and impact the youth of today. She studied at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and is a member of the Baeumler Kaplan Holocaust Commemoration Committee.

Wed., Mar. 19: Selecting Literature of the Holocaust for students in grades K-12: Members of UMD's Baeumler Kaplan Holcaust Commemoration Committee will offer guidelines for selecting and evaluating literature for students based on developmental psychology, history and critical assessments. Participants will engage in a hands-on assessment of books aimed at different age and grade levels.

Thurs., Mar. 20: Teaching Anne Frank: Members of UMD's Baeumler Kaplan Holocaust Commemoration Committee will guide participants through the various controversies associated with Anne's story and diary, as well as the various options for presenting the context of Anne's life and death and what that means for the youth of today.

This series provides educators with 2 hours of credit per evening. For more information about the Baeumler Kaplan Holocaust Commemoration, visit the website: http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/holocaust/main/index.html