Creative Partnership Continues With NYC Congregational Schools

For three years running, Avoda Arts continues its productive partnership with The Jewish Education Project on the “LOMED” initiative. LOMED supports New York-area congregations in creating contemporary models of Jewish learning that include families, maximize powerful learning, and build community. Avoda Arts is proud to support these innovating congregations with broad-based programs and services, including staff development, curriculum resources and arts integration consulting.

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Interview with Pigeon Educator Lana Bernhardt

We recently had a chance to interview Lana Bernhardt, U.S. Project Coordinator for the International Book Sharing Project, about her experiences using Pigeon, one of Avoda’s flagship titles in the Reel Learning film series. What follows are excerpts of that interview.

Avoda Arts: What is the International Book Sharing Project?

Lana Bernhardt: The International Book Sharing Project (IBSP) is a school-based educational program for grades 7-12, linking American and other nations’ students in the reading, study, and online discussion of Holocaust literature and history to create a more informed, compassionate and communicative global citizenry. The Project was developed in 1996 by the Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum’s pedagogic staff and Dr. Karen Shawn. It operates at two levels: middle schools and high schools. The Project is coordinated through a sophisticated bilingual “virtual school” web site, which offers a specific “classroom” and reading assignments for each pair of schools, a teacher’s room for discussing and networking among Project teachers, a bulletin board of students’ final projects, and an extensive resource room with websites that relate specifically to issues raised in the Project.

AA: How do you use the film, Pigeon, with your teachers and students?

LB: In 2009-10, Pigeon was introduced as the “in-class” exercise for all IBSP presentations, both in the U.S. and abroad. We use several web-based exercises with the students, and these were broken out appropriately for middle school and high school students. We reviewed key definitions (e.g., perpetrators, collaborators, bystanders, resisters, rescuers). We asked students to assume the role of a film reviewer/blogger and respond to questions such as: What clues at the film's start tell you that this man might have troubles during his train trip? What clues told the woman that her fellow passenger was “in trouble?” What did the woman risk in doing what she did? We also asked students to imagine that the woman and man exit the train together, and we have them create a dialogue of at least eight exchanges, revealing the characters’ feelings about what just happened.

AA: Can you share some reactions that people have had to the film?

LB: This 11-minute film encapsulates symbolism, resistance, rescue, kindness to others (gemilut hasadim) and repairing the world (tikkun olam) in a most profound and meaningful manner. A middle school student shared that, “I understand more of the Holocaust from this short film than from any book I have read.” One classroom teacher said Pigeon was “an excellent film, making Holocaust history relevant to today’s youth.” Another teacher commented, “I was amazed; my students were so attentive. You could have heard a pin drop during the viewing of the film.”

AA: What has been the most rewarding part of using Pigeon?

LB: For the past few years, I have shown the film and discussed it with students in various courses that I have taught. Pigeon has been a meaningful and inspiring “episode” to introduce our work to international communities of learners. It answers the oft-asked question, “Why study (any story) about the Holocaust?” because it “articulates” the relevance of Holocaust history and experience to a 21st century student. The brevity of the film, the use of metaphor, symbolism, and the “exact” dialogue contribute to exciting and robust discussions and impressions. Given the incredible positive reception in all of the IBSP classes, I will continue to use Pigeon in the same manner for the 2010-11 classes.