Southeast Community College

Phip Ross was grading high school papers 13 years ago when the analogy of a grave the size of a tennis court that could hold millions of people hit him like a ton of bricks.

Thus began his awakening to the horrors of the Holocaust.

Ross, an English instructor at Southeast Community College, has been accepted to participate in the 2009 Memorial Library Summer Seminar on Holocaust Education in New York City, July 6-18. The $1,000 fellowship is funded by the Memorial Library in NYC, and the seminar is offered by Lehman College of the City University of New York.

The trip is made possible by the Holocaust Educators Network, in partnership with the National Writing Project. Using an inquiry-based approach, the program will encourage the 25 teachers in attendance to think creatively and collaboratively about methods and approaches to teaching the Holocaust.

The Memorial Library is a non-profit organization created by Olga Lengyel, a Holocaust survivor. The seminar will be held at Lengyel's former home, now the Memorial Library, and be led by Dr. Sondra Perl, professor of English and Urban Education at Lehman College.

Ross said the paper-grading event struck a nerve with him that led to a deeper interest in the Holocaust.

"I started teaching the Holocaust a little bit," said Ross, who has taught at SCC since 2003. "I've had no formal unit on Holocaust literature, but I've always read some on my own."

In 1998, Ross was in Washington, D.C., and experienced another awakening when he toured the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

"They have personal belongings or artifacts there from victims," Ross said. "You could smell people. There are thousands of shoes. During the tour, you follow a victim and find out what happened to them."

The Art and Artifacts Branch of the museum has more than 10,000 objects that document and illustrate the history of the Holocaust and the period immediately before and after it took place. These include art, books and pamphlets, maps, film and video footage, furnishings, personal effects, personal papers, photographs, and textiles such as clothing.

About a year-and-a-half ago, Ross began teaching a class at SCC called Adolescent Literature. He spends a week of the course teaching the Holocaust.

"I've read many Holocaust books since I started teaching that course," Ross said. "I'm amazed at the stories that come out of the Holocaust, fiction and non-fiction."

Ross said during the week covering the Holocaust, his students have always been engaged.

"We've read fiction and non-fiction, and it never fails to provoke students into asking hard questions on how something like this could happen," Ross said. "It is very real, and it still resonates."

Ross will teach Adolescent Literature again during the Fall Quarter that begins Oct. 5.

Ross will be joined in New York by friend and colleague Corey Harbaugh, the middle school/high school principal in Gobles, Mich.

"Professionally, I hope Corey and I can leave there with a solid approach to teaching the Holocaust and have our objectives articulated and mapped out using technology," Ross said. "I feel like I'll be much more knowledgeable about the Holocaust."

Seminar participants were sent three books in which to read prior to coming to New York. There also have been pre-seminar assignments.

"A lot of the seminar will be more reading and discussion and our own personal connection, sharing curriculum and best practices for our classrooms," Ross said.

For more information, contact:
Stu Osterthun
Administrative Director of Public Information and Marketing
(402) 323-3401
sosterthun@southeast.edu