By Bill Tingling

“Humans have the will to strive for what is right.
This and memories of the past helps to ensure that history does
Not repeat it.” Elie Wiesel

In the month of June 2011, many School Teachers, Graduate Students, other educators and

Judith Szentivanyi (Holocaust Survivor

I, had the opportunity of spending several days together studying the History of the Holocaust, Human Rights and Genocide at the Florida Holocaust Museum, Sam Gross Institute in St. Petersburg Florida.

Under the Tutelage of Dr. Mary Johnson, Senior Historian and expert, Facing History and Ourselves, Dr. Edward Kissi, Professor of African Studies at the University of South Florida and Dr. Peter Black, a historian from the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, we studied history, man-inhumanity-to-man, and learned ways to prevent atrocities in the future. Seeing the original artifacts, i.e., boxcar used to transport people during the Holocaust, spending time with Holocaust Survivors, survivors from Rwanda, Cambodian survivors, and watching documentaries of Faith under Fire was truly life changing.

According to the United States- Holocaust Education Report, there are only 50 individual states, not the federal government, are primarily responsible for education policy. Therefore, there is no national curriculum or course of study on the Holocaust that has been created by the government of the United States.

Five states have enacted laws requiring the teaching of the Holocaust. This is known as creating a “legislative mandate.”

Jerry Rawicki (Holocaust Survivor)

These states are: California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York. Of these five, Florida and New Jersey have created extensive and detailed curricula and guides for the teaching of the Holocaust through their independent state commissions. New York and California have both created less detailed guides through their respective state departments of education, while Illinois has created neither a curriculum nor guides.

Ten other states have regulations encouraging or recommending the teaching of the Holocaust: Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Washington. These regulations are either enacted by state legislatures or by state governors. Those created by the legislature are known as “legislative regulations,” while those created by state governors are known as “executive regulations.”

Twelve states have also created Holocaust commissions or councils that support Holocaust

Lisi Schick (Holocaust Survivor)

education: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The scope of these commissions and councils varies widely from state to state.

Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have social-studies standards that are crafted by their respective departments of education (the Alabama Department of Education, the South Dakota Department of Education, etc.). Teachers are required to address these standards-all of which include study of the Holocaust-in their classes. Iowa allows the local school districts to create their own standards, while Rhode Island relies on standards created by the National Center for History in the Schools of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

If the Holocaust is not a mandatory subject, what percentage of schools chooses to teach about the Holocaust?

Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have created social-studies standards for their classrooms. As of early 2004, the Holocaust is explicitly named in 24 state standards

Stanlee J. Stahl Executive Vice President The Jewish Foundation for the righteous

(Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia) and the District of Columbia’s; it is implicitly identified in the remaining 23 standards when, for example, teachers are asked to address the development and consequences of the policies of National Socialist Germany. As standards play an increasingly important role in U.S. education, it can be assumed that most schools address the subject of the Holocaust.

William E. Stagg, Sophal Leng Stagg (Cambodian Survivor), Dr. Edward Kissi, and Bill Tingling

Help us to get Holocaust studies in all American classrooms by becoming a member of the Teaching Trunks project. We have Teaching Trunks for all grades, and can ship these teaching trunks to anywhere in the United States.

To reserve your trunk please contact Charles Jaynes at 727-8200 100 ext. 249 or cjaynes@flholocaustmuseum.org or Bill Tingling at 718 230-7821 bill@wordsofbonds.org

Dr. Edward Kissi and Students

Share on Facebook

convert this post to pdf.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

School News Nationwide
Words of Bonds
May 2011

Greetings!

Coach Ted Gustus, Tal Brody and Bill Tingling

It is like the trap, of either a good or bad joke. What comes from riding in a car, and you are sitting in the middle of two former pro basketball players? Leg cramps and many stories.

Today, School News Nationwide/ “Words of Bonds” sponsor Bill Tingling invited Tal Brody, Israel’s Good will Ambassador, and Troy Bowers, former National Basketball Association (NBA) player, Community Relations & Field Marketing Specialist with the New York Knicks to share some of their ethical values with the Thelma J. Hamilton High School basketball PSAL 2011 champions. This high school is in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn New York. This school is one of the many schools in Brooklyn having difficulties when it comes to academics, athletics, and taking into account the need for balance with family, and staying in school late, just to get in at least one practice.

Bill Tingling, Gil Lanier (Isreal Consulate staff for Public Affairs) Troy Bowers, Tal Brody and The Thelma J. Hamilton High School Basketball Champions

Tal and Troy are on a mission to coach and encourage these talented Brooklyn high school basketball players. They took on a particularly challenging task, not of teaching these talented players the game of basketball, but the game of life.

Retired Coach Ted Gustus introduced Tal and Troy to the Thelma J. Hamilton fans and players. He then asked the many students sitting in the audience, and the players, how many African American NBA players came from Brownsville, the answer was spot on.

Coach Gustus remarked that many residents of Brownsville view this community as a predominantly Black American district, and sometimes makes the mistake that it has always been this way. He then asked, how many Jewish basketball players came out of Brooklyn, the answers were not that forward coming. Gustus then shared with the audience, those community basketball heroes such as Nat Holman, Sammy Kaplan,Barney Sedran, Nat Krinsky, Red Saracheck, Red Holzman, Red Auerbach and many more, were all Jewish basketball players. He went on to share with the audience the strong relationship that Black Americans and Jewish people have had, and due to this connection many doors in regards to basketball, were opened to Black Americans.

Thelma J. Hamilton High School Basketball Champions

Troy Bowers shared with these young talented players that he played overseas in Israel with Rishon Leizon and other European countries, and his goal is always to promote community and band together as one family. Troy said that the principles he used to achieve his goals, is to get at least one person to listen to his ideas, he can consider it as a success. Troy gave stories about what it takes to become a successfulbasketball player, and a person of unimpeachable Character. First to know oneself, to be teachable, and to know your strength and weakness. A player does not simply make it into the NBA because he is a talented player. There are many prominent players who never made it that far, whether it was by their own design, or by other means, the results is still the same.

Troy is also a motivational speaker for the younger players who are in and out of the NBA league. He was awarded the “Values of the Game” presentation by NBA Commissioner David Stern. Troy encourage the younger players the importance of knowing their roles on, and off the court whether it pertains to family or community. He also shared the importance of having a plan or goal, and sticking to them, whether to become a professional athlete, doctor, and electrician or just looking after your family. One should set goals because it is in your heart and not what anybody says. Troy said that this was one of his paramount concerns, because as he travels the world, he sees more followers than leaders.

Israel Goodwill Ambassador Tal Brody shared with the audience the importance of education, staying in school and the importance of working on your talent. “Today you have a lot more opportunities to play basketball, because we no-longer have one league, you now have Israel, and Europe. You can travel to these countries to pursue your dreams. He said that the irony of this is not lost on us as the other leagues, which are younger offers more than the NBA currently does.

Tal is Israel’s first modern-day sports hero. A University of Illinois All America player Brody joined the Maccabi-Tel Aviv team after leading his United States team to a gold medal in the Maccabiah Games. The New Jersey-born basketball star who later became an Israeli Citizen, was named Israel’s Sportsman of the Year after leading the Maccabi-Tel Aviv team to a second-place finish in the European CupBasketball Championships, and subsequently took Israel to its first Maccabiah Games basketball gold medal.

Now retired, Tal spends much of his time, visiting many Urban Communities coaching and giving basketball clinics reaching more than 300,000 youngsters with his “Let’s Play Ball” program.

He shared with the Thelma J. Hamilton players that when you are on the winning team – shake your opponent’s hand, cheer them up and try not to sound too excited. When you are on the losing team, respect the winners, shake their hand and do not try to find excuses for losing. After losing, practice more, improve your ability, and during the game – use all you got to win within the boundaries of the rules. Pay attention to the coach’s instructions and do not contradict his decisions. Learn the rules of the game inside out, collaborate with your team-mates and function as part of a team. If you made a mistake, do not look for someone else to blame, follow the judge’s decision without questioning it, and be disciplined at to get both criticism and praise.

Please Donate to the Words of Bonds Educational Project..… Visit this donation page

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/wordsofbonds

www.wordsofbonds.org

Location(s)
School News Nationwide/ Words of Bonds
1072 Fulton Street
Brooklyn, New York 11238
(718) 753-9920

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Tal-Brody-Basketball-Clinic.html?soid=1104013504332&aid=XeufEe6lpxA.

Share on Facebook

convert this post to pdf.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Dear Friends:

I personally thank you for taking the time to seriously ponder this challenge.. I look forward to signing our letter of deep appreciation to each of you, for your generous support. To you, and to all of our other friends throughout the world, please accept our most sincere thanks in advance, for your generous response.

Sally Frishberg, Holocaust Survivor

Board Member

Bill Tingling

Executive Director

School News Nationwide, Inc.

“Words of Bonds” project

Sally Frishberg, Holocaust Survivor & Educator

Sally is one of the “Words of Bonds” leading spoke person. Together with the with School News Nationwide, ”Words of Bonds” members have visited many schools, spoken to thousands of children that we must do whatever we can to stop hate crimes and instead embrace love and tolerance. For all her perky warmth and enthusiasm, Sally Frishberg was once unusually quiet. As a child in Poland during World War II, she and her family hid from the Nazis in the attic of a Catholic man’s barn. Fifteen people crowded into the small space, surviving on what little food the man brought. They never spoke lest someone find them; her father mouthed stories from the newspaper and the family read his lips.

Sally said that she refused to reveal the name of the man who hid them, keeping a promise she had made to him, until his widow granted her permission to do so in 1987. His name was Stanislaw Grocholski and may God bless his soul, Sally said, Three years after the Soviets liberated them in 1944, the family traveled by boat to the United States. Sally recalled, when she was on the boat traveling to America, a European Woman chided a 13- year old Ms. Frishberg for jumping into a bunk she wanted for herself.

“You dirty little Jew,” Ms. Frishberg remembers her saying. “If I had my way, you would have been dead.” Seeing the anguish on the young girl’s face, an African American matron lady of the ship,” as Ms. Frishberg called her, rocked her in her arms and comforter her.

“I suddenly realized that somebody cares,” she said, her voice surging with emotion. “She was a Black American, I was a European Jew, but there is, I think, this understanding of human need.”

“I learned that good people can do extraordinary things but we do not know who you good people are, so you are going to have to show signs of these extraordinary things” she told the students.

Arriving in the United States she could not speak a word of English. Sally learned English, became educated and earned her teaching degree. In 1958, Sally became a teacher and taught for years at Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn New York and retired in 1991. Frishberg believes she was saved from the holocaust so she could help educate today’s generation about the world’s mistakes from the past.When asked if she thought the Holocaust could happen again, she said, “Tragedy could happen. Yes, it could. I want our young people to be alert, aware, eyes wide open, willing to act when necessary and do what is good for all of us.” That is why we have the “Words of Bonds” project Sally’s.

Share on Facebook

convert this post to pdf.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!