Compiled by Dena Bachman Lafayette High School St. Joseph, Missouri, United States
Poster Exhibit at Layfayette High School
Lafayette High School's third schoolwide integrated project, The 1940s: The War Years, took place during the fall of 1998. Following the two previous successful projects; Ellis Island (1996) and Rendezvous: A Study of Native Americans (1997), this year's theme proved to be the most successful yet. Each of the projects involved the entire school population -- including students, staff, and support staff. Although the culmination of each project is a day of activities in October, each year the program has expanded into more areas of the school for progressively longer periods of time.
This year's theme offered the obvious historical topics of the 1940s, although an overall theme of tolerance and understanding provided a "big-picture theme" that can and should continue. The actual topic was subdivided into three main areas: the battles of the war, the Holocaust, and the home front. These areas provided an overall view of the period for the students.
The planning for this project began in the spring of 1998. The staff was introduced to the plans and was given preliminary information. Contacts were made with the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, and the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education Center in Overland Park, Kansas.
In May 1998, during a trip to Washington DC, Dena Bachman was able to meet with staff members of the Holocaust Education Center of the Holocaust Museum. At that meeting, resources, information, materials and advice were given freely for this project. A generous amount of materials were given to each teacher at Lafayette for the project, and contacts were set up.
During the summer of 1998, Lou Ann Mahlandt, Janis Dumas, and Dena Bachman attended workshops at the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education in Overland Park, Kansas. The workshops included Teaching The Holocaust and featured Shulamit Imber, Director of the International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem in Israel, and Teaching Tolerance, featuring information from the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama.
MCHE also offered instructional materials to be loaned to schools teaching the Holocaust. One of the items to be borrowed, a "Hope And Remembrance Chest" -- full of books, videos, posters and lesson plans -- was brought to Lafayette at the beginning of October. Many teachers throughout the building used the materials in the chest.
Teachers were given the opportunity to request materials to be purchased for the project. Materials were ordered and have become a permanent part of our school resources. These items will be housed in our library and classrooms as appropriate.
The expansion of this year's project included several school-improvement activities. Pictures and information on World War II veterans who attended Lafayette were reframed and restored; McBee Photography graciously donated the frames for the three large displays. These pictures, previously displayed in the memorial room, are now hung in the main hallway of the school. Art classes taught by Russell Matt and Dena Wood created our own wall of remembrance, now a permanent display in the main hall as well. Also, the art students for the project created posters. A tree was planted on campus in remembrance of the people who died in the war and the Holocaust. Business students of Carolyn Lytton set up a 1940s-era office in the business department. Seven videos were shown over a five-week period and focused on the theme.
An assembly was held on October 19 in preparation for the October 22 program. Local clergy formed a panel to speak to the students and staff on the subjects of tolerance and understanding. The focus of this panel discussion was to give suggestions on to how to deal with these issues in the 1990s, when there seems to be so much more intolerance. Panel members were Rabbi Matt Friedman, Father Rick Dierkes, Rev. Kristina T., and Mr. David Hinde (Young Life).
During the week of October 19, students were able to visit the Internet lab before school and to puruse a variety of Eeb sites on Holocaust education. The Lafayette Web page has links to these sites, as well as pictures and information provided by Lafayette students. Russell Matt, art teacher, and his students, developed these activities.
The activity day, October 22 provided a wide variety of activities for the students and staff. As with past projects, students moved in three large groups to a number of activities. Guest speakers for the day included the following people:
There was also a panel of World War II veterans, including Clelan Dewey, a 1939 graduate of Lafayette, who survived the Bataan Death March.
In the main hall, there was a multimedia presentation displayed on the big-screen television, including posters of World War II and excerpts of famous speeches by FDR. Books written by several guest speakers were available for purchase. Students were able to apply for a public library card during lunch on October 22. Personnel for Washington Park Library helped students sign up for the cards outside of the cafeteria. The students were reminded of their right to read freely -- in contrast to Hitler's book-burning campaign.