Neither Yesterdays Nor Tomorrows

by George J Elbaum

Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School is similar to other inner city schools I’ve visited in having a challenging student body and a dedicated and exceptionally qualified staff.  The high diversity student body (92% Black and Hispanic, 5% White and Asian, 3% all other) of 570 in grades 6-8 includes 89% low income and 40% ELL (English Language Learners).  The staff of 79 includes 53 teachers (10.8 student-teacher ratio) which 60% are rated “highly qualified.”  A good example of this is humanities teacher Tommy Simmons, who organized my visit to the school, and whose qualifications include: BA in Communications and Philosophy from Boston College, Masters in Education from Harvard, 2 years teaching in Mozambique with the Peace Corps, and 7 years with Lilla Frederick where “he is currently a 6th grade humanities teacher and wrestling coach. Mr. Simmons is fluent in English and Portuguese, can speak some Spanish, and is proficient in understanding (but not speaking) sass.”

The stated mission of Lilla Frederick is “to help our students develop to their full potential in a welcoming and nurturing environment that fosters strong achievement and positive connections to the larger community and the world they will lead.”  By asking me to speak to his 6^th graders about my Holocaust childhood, Tommy focused on “the larger community and the world they will lead.”  While I focus my talks at those who “are old enough to understand but young enough to have an open mind,” Tommy’s 6^th graders definitely qualify for being “young enough,” and time will tell if they are also “old enough” to absorb most of my message and carry it onward in their life.

Attending my presentation were also teachers Tim Maher, Michelle Sathan and Veerentra Veeragoudour, and Assistant Principal Meghan McGoldrick and Director of Operations Allan Arrington.  Judi Bohn, Special Projects Coordinator of Facing History and Ourselves, arranged my visit, and sustained me before and after the talk with wonderful home-baked cookies 🙂.

with teacher Tommy Simmons and his class

by George J Elbaum

Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) is a San Francisco Bay Area social services organization whose mission statement is “Serving individuals and families of all faiths and backgrounds, guided by the Jewish value of caring for those in our community most in need.” As such, JFCS carries a special responsibility within the Jewish community for reaching out to children, the aged, those with special needs, and for the resettlement and acculturation of refugees and immigrants.

Among its many services, the JFCS provides the facilities and arranges presentations on the Holocaust to visiting student groups.  Such day-long visits to the Holocaust Center normally start with a lesson from Holocaust Center staff to provide historical context that ties into and is followed by a presentation from a Holocaust survivor.  My talk today was to 8^th grade students from Peyton Elementary School (L-8) in Stockton, who had previously read The Diary of Anne Frank as part of their English-Language Arts curriculum.  This was the 4^th consecutive year that they have visited the JFCS, thanks to the efforts of Jen Youngquist, the teacher who organizes this program.  Accompanying the students was teacher Rod Huff.

My talk, preparation, parking, etc., was ably arranged by Nikki Bambauer, JFCS Holocaust Center’s Program Coordinator, while Morgan Blum Schneider, JFCS Holocaust Center’s Director of Education, introduced me to the audience.

starting….

photo-op with the audience

by George J Elbaum

Milpitas High School (MHS) has a large and highly diverse student body – 3300 students, 37% Asian, 21% Filipino, 19% Hispanic, 19% White, and 4% African-American – and was the very first school in northern California to develop a Facing History course.  Jack Weinstein, Facing History’s Senior Program Advisor (formerly Director), taught at MHS from 1978 to 1997 and integrated Facing History’s resources early on within many of the school’s English courses. Then, in 1990, he developed a full-semester Facing History course focused on the Holocaust and Human Behavior. That course was an inter-disciplinary English and Social Studies course for 3 years, and then it evolved into a Social Studies elective focused not only on the Holocaust but on multiple case studies of genocide, human rights, and issues of race in American history.  When Weinstein left MHS in 1997 to establish the Bay Area office of Facing History, it was continued by other teachers so the course is among the longest-running electives in the school’s history.  In addition, nearly all freshman English courses now include a multi-week unit on the Holocaust with the study of Elie Wiesel’s Night as its centerpiece.

This was my third visit to MHS, and the 300-some students attending this talk were again well-prepared.   What made this visit especially memorable for me was the Q & A during which the students asked several questions that I’ve never been asked before, such as “Considering what you’ve been through, what do you fear the most?” and “Because of today’s situation, do you think a genocide of Muslims in America is a possibility?”  The students were from the multiple freshman English courses taught by Lindsay Gutierrez (formerly Lindsay Mohundro), who organized this year’s event, and Annie Marple, Caitlin Bellotti and Jennifer Loomis, all teachers who clearly pass their own enthusiasm to their students.  Also attending the talk was Phil Morales, MHS Principal.  Arrangements for my talk and the introduction were again made by Jack Weinstein of Facing History.

Letters from Students

A few weeks after my visit to Milpitas High School I received a thick envelope with letters from teacher Lindsay Gutierrez and students from her freshman English class and those taught by other English teachers.   After some delay due to my travels, my wife Mimi and I finally read each of the dozens of letters, with Mimi reading each letter aloud while I listened and absorbed it mentally and emotionally.   We were touched by the students’ heartfelt openness and sensitivity reflected in these letters, and we felt very gratified by their responses to my story and the stated effect it had on them.  Statements from these letters that particularly resonated with us are excerpted below, and the very large number of these excerpts shows me how well these students were prepared for my talk and, consequently, how well they understood and felt it.

• Your talk was especially timely given the divisive political climate in our country, and your words gave me and other students the courage and conviction to be an upstanders in our own lives.
• In this recent political climate and with neo-Nazis becoming bolder in the U.S., it’s important to know the history of the Holocaust and its lasting effects on Jewish people.
• It is important to know the facts and numbers but it is even more important to hear first witness accounts and individual stories. Hearing your experience opened my eyes.
• I’m writing this letter to thank you for sharing a part of your past for the good of the future.
• Not every Holocaust survivor had to have had the experience of the gruesome concentration camps and witness brutal killings. In your presentation I was expecting a story not much different from Elie Wiesel’s, but instead I heard about your past that was on a wholly different level than Elie’s.  Bigger or smaller, it does not matter, Elie and you shared the same pain and sorrows with different experiences, yet came up with the same outcome of enduring those occurrences and sharing your story with today’s youth.
• I think back about how I just take everything I have for granted. Your presentation made me realize that I should appreciate everything I have now and how lucky I am to be here today.  It also inspired me to have more faith in my God and not to give up or lose hope.
• Reading “Night” by Elie Wiesel I did not get to really understand what it did to those people, but when I got to hear your story it really hit me that this was such a horrifying event.
• From the story you told us about waiting so long to tell your story, I could tell how hard it was to decide to open up.
• Your story did not only give me a much rounder insight into the Holocaust, I know that it made me a better person in all I do. That is what you gave us: a reason to be courageous.  It is one of the greatest gifts a person can receive.
• Your story has changed my life and you need to know that. Every time I have the choice of helping a person, I will think back to those families that hid you and how you continued with your first speech ever.  Thank you with the utmost respect for the gift of courage you gave us and for forgoing your right to privacy to give us this gift.
• Reading books in a classroom is one thing, but being able to hear the voice of a witness is like jumping into a time machine and diving straight into the heart of history.
• Aside from the historical aspect, your presentation taught me the value of refusing to be a bystander and speaking out against the acts of injustice.
• From your account I have learned to always be for something and never against, to never achieve something by tearing others down, and that every single story matters.
• The knowledge you have shared with us will not be forgotten.
• I asked you a question: “If you were able to go back in time from your childhood, knowing what you know now, what would you change?” I remember you responding: “If only there was a button for the Holocaust not to happen.”  Though your response was quite concise, I thought harder about your response and wondered how there should be a “light switch” for the aspects in life.  Although, not having that “light switch” makes an individual who they are and stronger from their past.
• I cannot express how much your heartrending tale has changed my perspective on my life and life itself. I see it now as a true gift, something that was so easily taken away from many during the years of the Holocaust.  I hope you continue to speak to more people about your story and continue to touch their hearts like you did mine.
• I learned a lot from your answer to the question of how you came to write a book about your experiences. I had no idea that it was so hard for Holocausts survivor to commit to writing a book based on their experiences.  I now understand that it is painful for them to write about these past experiences as they are full of unpleasant memories.
• Feelings of anger and hatred towards humanity stirred inside me as people can commit horrifying sins. However, you acted like a doctor and prescribed me with hope.
• Thank you so much for sparing your time to narrate your story of a stolen childhood.
• Thanks to you, I realized that I should think positively throughout any situation. You have given me faith, everything can get better even with bumpy roads.
• Everything you said at the theatre made me realize a couple of things. I should cherish every moment with my family because not everyone could do the same.  Also, you taught me that I should act as an upstander and listen to my parents more often.  You would have been out of luck if you did not listen to your mom.
• This new experience has really changed me, and made me think more about putting myself in someone else’s shoes. I’ve really started to consider others’ points of view more.
• I especially thank you for showing me that if you keep going and work hard, there will be results at the end that may be worth all that suffering and hardship.
• Thank you so much for coming and speaking to us, it was truly inspirational and with perfect timing. I was personally, dangerously close to losing hope on continuing to follow music.  Despite that, you came to talk, I came to listen, and it reminded me that I needed to keep going to get anywhere.
• During your speech you talked about forgetting the Polish language because you didn’t want to think about the Holocaust, and I find that relatable because if something like that happened to me I would do whatever it took to forget about what happened.
• Thank you again for coming to our school and inspiring us to live life and don’t let anyone stop you from doing things you love.
• It could not have been easy to talk about something as private and devastating as your childhood, and your willingness to talk about it is invaluable to many people.
• It’s important that people understand what happened in the past and why repeating history is not beneficial to anyone, especially with all of the bias and prejudice going on right now.
• Even though I had never seen or lived through an event as devastating as the Holocaust, your presentation really opened my eyes to take in the fact that it was a real event.
• If it weren’t for you, I don’t think that many of the students at Milpitas High School would have really understood the importance of everything that happened in our history.
• A lot of students take what they learn as a joke. They don’t seem to understand the importance of what they are being taught, but because of speakers like you their eyes are opened to a whole new world, and they understand once they have seen the importance of not forgetting with their own eyes.
• It definitely wasn’t until I heard your story that I truly believed that something as terrible and chilling as the Holocaust was real and took place in history.
• Your story has taught me that there is no point dwelling on the past, or looking into the future. You have to live the now.  Thank you, again, for your wonderful story.  It had a great impact on how I will look at my life.
• We are the last generation to actually “be a big part” of the Holocaust. By the next generation the survivors of the Holocaust will be gone and there will be no living witness to describe the gruesome events that happened.  As a witness to you story I will make sure to pass it down to my children and I am sure they will thank you.
• Before your account, I was baffled as to how hate could cause a genocide as massive as the Holocaust. I wondered how humanity could possibly kill 6 million people because of hate and prejudice.  After your talk, I realized that as soon as we see a particular group of people as being inferior, violence can easily result.
• Your story has brought light into a dark room because you filled my head with real events that I never knew could have existed.
• I haven’t personally cared much for the horrific events of World War II as most others did. Yet, when you mentioned your relationship with your mom, you lit a fire in me that has made me want to focus my attention on the Holocaust.
• I hope you will continue to move the hearts and minds of many others around the world by standing up for what many victims could not say. 

the audience

starting my talk with Caitlin Bellotti and Jack Weinstein looking on

by George J Elbaum

Kent Mountain View Academy (KMVA) is a grade 3-12 public school in SeaTac, WA, about 30 mi. south of Seattle.  Designated as one of Washington’s Innovative Schools in each of the past several years, KMVA is small – it has the smallest campus by far of the 40 schools in Kent School District, which dictates that its peak enrollment will never be more than 400 students.  Yet KMVA is the only site in its District able to facilitate the needs of elementary through senior high students, and it does so by its efforts to be a community partnership including students, families, and the District to provide educational options and flexibility in a stimulating environment to produce academic achievement.  Because of its small size KMVA is better able to keep students from falling through the cracks, and it allows the teachers to work with them over a course of multiple years.

KMVA is unusual in several aspects: students attend it by choice rather than by geographical location, many have been home schooled prior to KMVA, and the school maintains a strong focus on family and community.  For example, it groups 3rd-6th graders together and 7th-12th graders together so that students can maintain contact with their siblings, and 3rd-6^th graders are grouped in multi-age home rooms where the first and last parts of each day are spent so that siblings start and end each school day together.  There is also special education on a limited scale and these students can be integrated into regular classes as ability allows.  A feeling of community/small family among the staff is clearly evident and surely benefits the educational environment for both regular and special students.  This is especially attractive to families who have previously home schooled and are interested in accessing public education, families who want all of their children on one campus, students who are looking for a small environment where they remain with a core group of teachers over a period of years, and students interested in a highly academic environment.

This was my third visit to KMVA, the previous being in 2012 and 2015, and on each of those visits I   received a truly heart-warming welcome, so now my expectations were high.  This time, however, the welcome was beyond my expectations, starting with a Reserved sign and my name on a parking place, several students at school’s entrance holding a large WELCOME sign and flowers, plus Annelise, a student who baked and greeted me with lemon bars on previous visits holding a large container-full (I ate one immediately!), a student escort to a conference room for a quick pre-talk tea, and most heart-warming: meeting students such as Annelise, Jason and Dylan, now a head or two taller than they were at our first meeting 5 years ago.

My visit was superbly organized by Pat Gallagher, KMVA’s Instructional Facilitator, and I especially appreciated his personal greeting.  The audience of approximately 120 included students from grades 7 thru 12, and teachers Josh Murphy, Amanda Greear, Nora Douglass, Patricia Billet, Kristy Banks, Phil Jerde and Matt Johnson, and Pat Gallagher.  My participation was arranged by Julia Thompson of the Holocaust Center for Humanity.

Pat Gallagher’s introduction

starting the talk

by George J Elbaum

Seattle University (SU), a Jesuit Catholic university located in Seattle, is the largest independent university in the Northwest U.S., with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs within 8 schools. In 2015 U.S. News & World Report ranked it the 5th best Regional University in the West, and Bloomberg Businessweek ranked it #1 in the U.S. for macroeconomics. One of its 8 schools, the School of Theology and Ministry, Campus Ministry, and SU’s Jewish Student Union hosted the annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day event at which I was invited to speak.

The event was organized by Victoria Carr, Campus Minister, Sarah Turner, Graduate Assistant in Ecumenical & Interreligious Dialogue, and Erin Beary-Andersen, Assistant Director of Campus Ministry, and was attended by the school’s Dean Mark Markuly, Bishop Kirby Unti of the Northwest Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, other religious personnel, and students.  Introducing my talk were Dr. Michael Trice, Assistant Dean for Ecumenical & Interreligious Dialogue and Julia Thompson, Education Associate of the Holocaust Center for Humanity, who arranged my participation in the event.  After my talk and Q&A Sarah Turner played a haunting song “Harbor” for the audience’s contemplation, followed by separate groups reflecting on my talk and on personal responsibility.  Then Rabbi Kate Speizer of Temple de Hirsch Sinai conducted the Lighting of the Candles and Memorial for the event.

Event opening by Assistant Dean Michael Trice

Introduction by Julia Thompson

by George J Elbaum

The Contemporary Jewish Museum (The CJM) staged an exhibit, From Generation to Generation: Inherited Memory and Contemporary Art, which presents work of 24 contemporary artists who grapple with memories that are not their own.  “This diverse group of local and international artists consider many forms of inherited and often traumatic memories, from the personal and familiar to the collective.  Through their works in a variety of media including sculpture, film, photography, mixed media and many more, the artists search, question, and reflect on the representation of truths related to ancestral and public narratives of historical moments such as the Holocaust, the struggle for civil rights in America, the Vietnam War and others, ultimately attempting to understand their own past.”

To expand the impact of this exhibit, The CJM is launching a program of student tours of From Generation to Generation and pairing these with talks by Holocaust survivors through partnering with the Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS).  These talks offer the students a unique opportunity to connect art and history, to humanize historical events and cultivate empathy, and to strengthen links between past and present.  To launch this program, The CJM arranged for 100+ students from Quarry Lane High School in Dublin, CA, to visit the exhibit and attend my presentation which was arranged by JFCS’s Program Coordinator, Nikki Bambauer.  The CJM’s Janine Okmin, Associate Director of Education, and Cara Buchalter, Tour & Education Associate, organized this event, the first of its type for The CMJ, and Quarry Lane teachers Lance Miller, Ekta Shah and others accompanied their students.

by George J Elbaum

Hopkins Junior High School is a secondary school with an enrollment of approximately 1200 students in 7^th and 8^th grades.  What makes Hopkins so special is its outstanding academic record: in recent years it had the highest or second highest API scores for public junior high schools in California several times, five California Blue Ribbon School awards, and in the Science Bowl Nationals it took first place twice and second-thru-fourth place 5 times.  It’s English proficiency score is 91% vs. 44% for California average, and in Math it’s 93% vs. 33% California average.  While maintaining such an outstanding record cannot happen without achievement pressure on both the students and the teachers, the enthusiasm and natural playfulness of the students (which I especially noticed in their interactions with me after my talk) were no different than in other, more typical schools that I’ve visited.  Responding to this accomplishment I can only say: BRAVO!

My talk to approximately 400 8^th graders was arranged by Hopkins’ Vice Principal Jennifer Moore, with support from English teachers Ranjana Das (who also took most of the photos – thank you, Ranjana), Jo Ana Hu, Angie Parke, and Theresa Boteilho.  Also in attendance were teachers Chris Fox, Tammy Woolbright, Paul Cornett, Megan Martin, Christy Ha and Eric Smith, plus Superintendent Dr. Jim Morris and Administrative Assistant Sharon Coco.

by George J Elbaum

Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) is a San Francisco Bay Area social services organization whose mission statement is “Serving individuals and families of all faiths and backgrounds, guided by the Jewish value of caring for those in our community most in need.” As such, JFCS carries a special responsibility within the Jewish community for reaching out to children, the aged, those with special needs, and for the resettlement and acculturation of refugees and immigrants.

JFCS’s Holocaust Center also conducts teacher training seminars focused on teaching tolerance and social responsibility, and today I spoke to 18 high school teachers from the South and East Bay and beyond participating in a professional development program now in its sixth year being run through the UC Davis History Project.  The workshop, The History and Memory of the Holocaust, for high school English and History teachers, meets for a total of six days over a six-month period.  Teachers are exposed to the most recent scholarship on the Holocaust through lectures by academics.  Prior to my talk, the teachers spent the day at the Tauber Holocaust Library where they did research on the topic about which they’ll create a new lesson plan for their students.

The workshop is organized by Diane Wolf, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Jewish Studies Program at UC Davis and co-directed by Stacey Greer from the History Project and Serenity Krieger, a teacher-leader, both of whom accompanied the participating teachers. It is funded by both the Claims Conference and private donors, and it’s the third year I have spoken at the workshop.  My talk was arranged by Nikki Bombauer, Program Coordinator of JFCS’s Holocaust Center, and attended by Morgan Blum, its Director of Education.

with Prof. Diane Wolf

by George J Elbaum

This was my second visit to Mission San Jose High School (MSJ), whose high academic goals and commensurate achievements are best represented by the school’s ranking by US News and World Report as 6^th best in California and 76^th nationwide, and by Newsweek as 10^th best in the U.S. for math and science, and No. 1 among public high schools.  (MSJ students’ test scores in English, math, and science were 2-to-3 times the California average!)

My presentation on this visit to MSJ was attended by approximately 400 9th and 10^th grade students in the combined College Prep and Honors English classes of teachers Katherine Geers, who organized this event, John Boegman, Pat Weed-Wolnick, Ryan Marple, and Morgan Goldstein.   My presentation was a part of a collaborative six-week course on Elie Wiesel’s Night and The Holocaust and Human Behavior, a book published by Facing History and Ourselves.  The course provides historical context and explores the choices individuals, groups, and governments made during the Holocaust.  Katherine described their goals in this course as follows: “We want to build and improve our students’ communication and writing skills while simultaneously working to touch their hearts and minds.  We strive to enrich their understanding, develop a stronger level of empathy, expand their definition of membership and widen their universe of obligation.  This should enable them to make better choices and become productive members and active Upstanders within our society.”

The presentation was arranged by Jack Weinstein of Facing History, who introduced me to the students with his usual eloquence .…including his polished reminder of the “ever-diminishing opportunity” to hear directly from a Holocaust survivor ☺.  Also, before I started my talk, Katherine Geers announced that her class plus those of teachers John Boegman, Pat Weed-Wolnick, Ryan Marple, and Morgan Goldstein took up a collection in their classes and donated the funds to Facing History in my honor – a wonderful gesture that I truly appreciate.   Thank you, all!  Attending the presentation also were Kim Wallace (Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum), James Maxwell (Director of Secondary Education), Zack Larsen (Principal of Mission San Jose High School), Carli Kim (Assistant Principal of Mission San Jose High School), and Dawn Nogueiro (Secondary Education English Language Arts Coach).

After my presentation and a short Q&A, most of the students left to attend other scheduled classes while about 70 students of Katherine Geers’ and Morgan Goldstein’s classes were able to to remain for a continued Q&A.  In this smaller and more intimate setting the students’ questions began to flow, and my answers were often augmented and expanded by Jack Weinstein (who arranged my presentation) as well as by Katherine Geers.  The session evolved into a truly active, stimulating and enriching discussion about the Holocaust era as well as the current world situation.  For me, this whole event was very enjoyable and gratifying.

Letters from Students

A week after my visit to Mission San Jose HS I received an envelope with letters from teacher John Boegman and his 10th grade class.  Delayed by the Christmas holiday, the next day after dinner my wife Mimi read each letter aloud while I listened and absorbed it, mentally and emotionally.  We were touched by the students’ heartfelt openness and sensitivity reflected in these letters, and we felt very gratified by their responses to my story.  Statements from these letters that particularly resonated with us are excerpted below.

• If success in school is determined by what we learn each day, then today was a very fruitful day for me indeed. Through your words, I learned much about the Holocaust from a unique perspective and discovered new ways to see the world.
• Your words that we should dedicate our lives for something, not against, resonated with me the most. I reflected on my own life with your words in mind.  Instead of trying not to fail a test, maybe I should try my best to ace it.  Instead of trying not to be excluded, maybe I should actively try to make friends.  Instead of fighting against ignorance and apathy, maybe we should fight for awareness and action.
• Thank you for everything that you have taught me within just one class period. Thank you for opening my eyes and helping me realize that there are people who are willing to risk their lives, to save those of others.
• Thank you for proposing an amazing question that allowed me to think of topics that I would have never thought of otherwise.
• Regarding your question of whether I would give a persecuted victim refuge under my roof at my own risk, I honestly don’t know. I do know that it is the right and moral thing to do, and that it would be my wish if I were the victim, but the consequences are great.  I must ponder more over this dilemma, but I do hope that I would be open to giving my protection to others whose lives depended on it.
• It is difficult to think that others would dehumanize me because of my culture or opinion.
• Another aspect of the presentation that fascinated me was the critical question regarding one’s morals: “If you lived during the Holocaust, would you house and try to save a four-year-old child who had done nothing wrong, knowing that your own life would be at stake?” It forced me to deeply ponder the dilemma and consider my own beliefs.
• Living in such a peaceful era now, I still wonder how people during World War 2 had the courage to live until the next day.
• Your recollections of harsh conditions and your survival through pure luck reminded me of how fortunate I am for living in a time of relative peace.
• I feel even more motivated to live and am thankful for the human rights that I might be taking for granted.
• The main point that I took away from your presentation is that we can choose our own paths, and that the Holocaust could have been avoided if people had chosen the path of kindness instead of anger and hatred.
• Having you speak in front of us was an absolute blessing – simply having a real, breathing person who saw, heard, and felt the thing we only read about in text books was an unprecedented experience.
• Your talking to us helped to humanize an event that is normally taught without emotion in school.
• This was my first time meeting and hearing a Holocaust survivor talk about his experience. It was enlightening and made a previously distant event into something more human.
• There are people who don’t have much knowledge about what happened (like me) and I love how you are educating young people.
• I have realized that hate is easy in any circumstance, but to love during adversity is a gift that should be cherished as long as it is there.
• (From a teacher: I appreciate that your visit has inspired my students to think more carefully about the human costs and human benefits to the responses we have when we are put in difficult positions that require us to make such decisions.

starting…..

by George J Elbaum

In 1908 Katherine Delmar Burke founded her school to fill an obvious need: young women who wanted to be educated enough to attend college faced often-insurmountable barriers.   More than 100 years later, her school (Burke’s) still has the same mission: “to educate, encourage and empower girls.  The school combines academic excellence with an appreciation for childhood so that students thrive as learners, develop a strong sense of self, contribute to community, and fulfill their potential, now and throughout life.”  Burke’s now has approximately 400 students (K-8) and a unique 3.5-acre campus in a residential district of San Francisco with 65% open space, with a large grass athletic field, a sports court and two multipurpose courtyards with play structures. Its facilities include a 5,500 sq.ft. library, two innovation labs, three science labs, five art, music and drama studios, and a gymnasium/auditorium.  The ratio of faculty to students is 1:7, and its average tenure at Burke’s is 10 years.

Burke’s prides itself in having its students graduate not only with a strong academic foundation but also with a love of learning — not just for the sake of grades. This reflects Burke’s long-standing commitment to preserving the spirit of exploration while students master traditional skills and concepts.  Upper School students are challenged by a comprehensive program that includes core academic subjects, plus art, music, drama, and physical education while 7th and 8th graders also have classes in public speaking and service learning plus many electives. The teaching of computer skills is integrated into the curriculum and use of technology supports learning at all grade levels.

A unique program at Burke’s is the Makery, in which Burke’s decided to take a hard look at its outdated technology labs and replace these with space that would emphasize “make” and “creativity” and allow for truly innovative teaching and encourage “tinkering.”  The result is the Makery, a space that “encourages and empowers the girls to take risks and to use a variety of skills related to STEM to design, prototype, and even fail at their projects.”  The facility provides materials, tools (including a 3D printer), and talented faculty which allow students to model their work for each other in a collaborative, open environment.   The ultimate goal of the Makery is to create a joyful learning environment for the girls that promotes creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking.

My visit to Burke’s was organized by teacher Lisa Turner (7^th & 8^th grade English, 8^th grade Lead Advisor) and arranged by Nikki Bambauer of the Jewish Family and Children’s Services.

Letters from students

A week after my visit to Burke’s the mail brought an envelope with notes and letters from Burke’s students and teacher Lisa Turner.  As is now our habit, after dinner my wife Mimi read each letter aloud while I listened and absorbed it, mentally and emotionally.  We were touched by the students’ heartfelt openness and sensitivity reflected in these letters, and we felt very gratified by their responses to my story.  Statements from these letters that particularly resonated with us are excerpted below.

• I was really touched by the theme of hope in your story. Amid all the destruction and evil, there are still those who risk their lives to help others.
• It is hard for me to wrap my head around how so many people could have let a mass genocide of innocent human beings go on for so long.
• Your story has motivated me to make a change and stand up for what is right, and to have a positive impact on my community if not the world. Thank you so much.
• I have come to appreciate the safe bubble of San Francisco that we live in even more after hearing you speak.
• I wish we had more time to ask you questions, because hearing your perspective and your history can be very beneficial to us as young empowered women at such an impressionable age. I can’t express how grateful and lucky I feel to hear firsthand your experiences.
• I felt very sad listening to you speak about moving from one family to another, but I feel very inspired how you overcame all the difficulties during the war and became a successful person.
• I really liked the sugar cube part of your story. It made me so happy that you found this little piece of joy through the war.
• You have truly moved me. YOU ARE TRULY AN INSPIRATION.  (I am the girl who gave you a hug.) J
• I will remember this forever and take the lessons you taught us to heart.
• My grandfather hid in the Philippines during the Holocaust in a cave. Listening to your story has opened me up to the other side of the war.  I think your story should be heard by everyone.
• Your message is for sure worth spreading. Some people don’t fully understand the harsh reality of the Holocaust.  It is a subject some people are not educated about, but should be.  I intend to educate people about it, bringing awareness to them.
• Your story inspired me to be kind to everyone, despite their differences. The harsh reality is that people are mean to each other, but I truly believe that with passion and determination we can teach love and kindness.  Your story has helped me realize that the world still needs lots and lots of fixing.  (I walked you down from the office.)
• You have so much courage to face such a truly terrible experience and change others’ lives through talking about it. For this I sincerely thank you.
• Hearing from you helped me feel more connected to my great-grandmother who was also a Holocaust survivor.
• I think it was very brave of you to share your story and go back in time to a place full of sad memories.
• I hope you enjoy the rest of your life and know that your words inspired me and so many others.
• Your story was so empowering, and it showed me how hard life can be, and how you can still come out of it and rebuild your life.
• Throughout your presentation I thought so much more about how everything happens for a reason, and I am so thankful that you were here today to tell our class about your experiences during the harshness and cruelty of the Holocaust.
• I learned many valuable life lessons about empathy and morals.
• I sometimes catch myself complaining about the most insubstantial things. Your presentation was very humbling, and I want to thank you for that.  What you are doing is amazing!
• Meeting you and listening to you speak really made this awful occurrence real to me.
• You have inspired me and many others by showing us that our decisions and actions impact the world around us and possibly change the direction of the future.
• Your story has shown me how important it is to be for something rather than against something. This way, we are likely to make decisions with love and acceptance and not with hate.  Your story has truly made me a better person.