GENOCIDE MUSEUM DRIVES HOME SOME DIFFICULT LESSONS
Nashoba Publishing, MA
June 20 2014
Teacher: ‘It made them think, and that’s what we’re here for’ By Anne
O’Connor, Correspondent
TOWNSEND — Genocide is an ugly word defined after the atrocities
the Nazis committed during the Holocaust became general knowledge.
Although the freshman curriculum at North Middlesex Regional High
School ends with World War II, the school’s world studies teachers
wanted their students to learn about the organized horrors that people
have faced since then.
The Genocide Museum was born.
Working in small teams, the students used research skills and
creativity to build exhibits portraying the plights of the victims,
transforming the school’s gymnasium on June 13 into a museum paying
tribute to victims of genocides in Armenia, Bosnia, Cambodia and
Rwanda.
World studies teacher Hannah Marino said the project gave students
the opportunity to reflect on the horrors of genocide, and think
about the ways that raising awareness can prevent such atrocities.
“The quieter we are, the easier it is for people to repeat these
actions, even today. It’s more of a cycle than we realize,” Marino
said.
World studies teacher Nancy Paterno said the ultimate goal of the
project was simple.
“It made them think, and that’s what we’re here for,” Paterno said.
Teachers Tony Gubelman, Alexandra Horelick, Heather Lessard, Katie
Loth, Kaitlin Quinn-Stearns and Jeremy Savarese also organized the
projects.
At the museum, students took in a variety of depictions of genocide.
A mannequin hung from a tripod to represent the 20 Hunchakian gallows
used in Armenia when activists were hung in 1915. Instead of giving
the victim a face, the students used a mirror to show that it could
happen to anyone at any time, said Kevin Lundstrom, a student from
Pepperell who worked on the project.
Another group recreated the Killing Tree, a memorial to the children
killed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The
winner in a children’s game was often rewarded with a rubber band
to be worn around the wrist. The slayers beat infants and children
against a tree to kill them. Now, bracelets are hung from that tree
in remembrance. Educated people and their children were the ones most
often targeted, said student Melissa Barrile of Pepperell.
Another exhibit about the Cambodian genocide provided a more artistic
interpretation of the horrors. Painted skulls and sheet music based
on a traditional song sat beside original poetry.
Each exhibit included an annotated bibliography with at least 15
sources the team consulted in preparing the exhibit and answers to
essential questions, Marino said.
Students used skills-based Common Core requirements like research,
argument and using correct citations in the project. These skills
allowed students to use creativity to produce the end products that
show empathy and educate others.
“It makes a difference,” Marino said.
This is the second year that freshmen have put together a genocide
museum, said Headmaster Christopher Chew.
“The kids have done an incredible job. They’re learning about things
that are tough,” he said.
For both the students who participated in the project and those from
other grades who viewed their work, the importance of learning about
genocide became clear.
“In America, we’re so focused on our own borders, we need to know that
other things like this do happen around the world,” said sophomore
Michael Schroth, who participated in the project last year.
Freshman Lily Ellars said the project was the most meaningful one
she has done so far in high school.
“We always say we’re never going to let it happen again, but it keeps
happening. It makes you wonder when it’ll happen next and what we’ll
do to stop it,” Ellars said.
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