Students at Kenmore West Senior High School are taking history class on the road this week, or at least out to the parking lot.
Students across the school are learning about topics like the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement. But this week it includes an in-depth discussion through the Mobile Museum of Tolerance, a nationwide traveling museum initiative.
It’s important to provide a different dynamic than many students are used to in the classroom, museum educator Aaron Pieri said.
“We take what they're learning, put it into context, and put it into how it can relate to today, which is something that I feel like schools don't really have time to teach," he said. "So, it's more like we're filling in the gaps when it comes to the application of what we can learn from these historical events for today.”
It’s impactful to hear the accounts of protesters from the 1960s but also see the sacrifices they made to work toward equal rights, 11th grade student Chuckie Sears said.
“It taught me a lot about the importance of the Civil Rights Movement, and how hard that the people ... worked for equality, and how it was a long process, but they had to make a lot of sacrifices," he said.
The museum relies heavily on visual presentations to prompt discussion about historical examples of prejudice and discrimination, and the meaning of tolerance.
One of the key factors is the level of analysis as students engage in conversation, U.S. history teacher Gary Welgoss said.
“These aren't simple questions. These are issues, complex issues, that kind of force them to think about them in a more, deeper way, and to engage with their classmates and to share those feelings that they have," he said. "And maybe they learn something from hearing other students’ perspectives that, maybe, aren't quite exactly their own.”
Pieri integrates video and image components alongside class conversations, like many teachers, but always with the added context of how it relates to learning tolerance.
His next destination after Thursday will be Jamestown to present during a symposium. The bus-based education center is part of the Museum of Tolerance based in Los Angeles.
