by George J Elbaum

Methuen High School (MHS) is a public secondary school serving grades 9-12 with an enrollment of approximately 2000 students, 48% minority and 47% low-income families, and this was the 5^th time that I’ve spoken at MHS but the 1^st time in person rather than by Zoom.  Since all 5 of my visits to MHS have been organized by Jackie Rubino, now the Assistant Principal for 10th gradeand previously teaching English, we had established a warm telephone relationship and I truly looked forward to finally meeting her in person.  Indeed, the enthusiasm and ebullient energy that Jackie projected by phone/Zoom was only enhanced in an in-person meeting, making it so enjoyable.

 The Holocaust is taught at MHS as part of English Department studies using educational materials from Facing History and Ourselves and other sources, and my audience for this talk was comprised of 125 students from several grades.  As in my previous visits, the students have already studied much of Facing History’s Holocaust and Human Behavior, Schindler’s List, selections from the The World Must Know, Elie Wiesel’s Night, plus supplemental materials.

As in past years, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the students’ questions, and some of their most thoughtful ones were about my feelings, hopes, and concerns.  I’ve long felt that Q&A is often the most important part of my talks because it represents our 2-way communication, and I was again pleased with today’s session.  The best example of this occurred at my May 4, 2023 visit and helped MHS girls softball team win an important game, and it was a pleasure now to meet many of the winning players and shake hands or exchange hugs, as the mood dictated. (see https://neitheryesterdays.com/2023/05/07/methuen-high-school-methuen-ma-may-4-2023/)

The MHS staff attending this presentation, in addition to Jackie Rubino, were administrators Christine Dumont, Roger Lenfest, Dr. Golobski-Twomey, Laura Enright, teachers, Amanda Aziz, Kristen Digloria, Brittany Caprio, Jeff Bellistri, Lauren Smith, Christine Lellos, Lorie Aliano, Vanessa Fisher.   My participation in today’s event was again arranged by Jeff Smith of Facing History and Ourselves.