35,000 Requests for Teaching Kit in First 90 Days Exceeds Expectations
Reaching Over 3.5 Million Students Nationwide
Project Culminates January 27th - First United Nations Delegated Holocaust
Remembrance Day
MONTGOMERY, Ala., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The Southern Poverty Law Center
(SPLC) in cooperation with The Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation today announced
that requests for their Teaching Tolerance educational kit -- "One Survivor
Remembers" -- have greatly exceeded expectations. More than 35,000 educators
have requested the kit -- free to all schools -- since its availability in
mid-September, translating into a potential reach of over 3.5 million students
nationwide.
Designed for use in grades 8-12, the Teaching Tolerance educational kit is
based on the Oscar winning documentary, "One Survivor Remembers," centering on
the story of Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein. Just 15 years old when
the Nazis invaded Poland, Gerda tells the story of her six harrowing years
under Nazi rule. The kit sheds light on the 20th century's terrible history of
devastation, prejudice and genocide, offering hope that hatred can be
overcome.
The project comes at a time when anti-Semitic incidents in the United
States have reached their highest level in nine years, according to a 2005
Anti-defamation League report. In addition, the U.S. Department of Justice
recently released statistics on the dramatically under-reported cases of hate
crimes in the United States. The "One Survivor Remembers" kit includes
specific lessons about anti-Semitism but also addresses the broader issues of
hate crimes.
"What is happening today is frightening," said Gerda Weissmann Klein. "It
makes my message as relevant today as it was half a century ago."
Gerda continued, "I wish I could visit every school in this, my beloved
adopted country, to share my story. But I know I will not live much longer, so
my friends at Southern Poverty have done it for me. Our children are the
messengers to a time I shall not see. Into their capable hands and caring
hearts, I put the unfulfilled dreams of those lost."
The kit, created in partnership with SPLC, The Gerda and Kurt Klein
Foundation and Home Box Office Inc., is a veritable mini-traveling museum.
Included in the package is:
* Kary Antholis' spectacular documentary film One Survivor Remembers
which tells the unforgettable story of Gerda Weissmann Klein's six year
ordeal as a victim of Nazi cruelty;
* Primary documents drawn from Klein's private collection including
photographs, government papers, letters, postcards and maps;
* A 50-page teacher's guide with standards-based lesson plans, developed
by the Teaching Tolerance staff;
* A 40-page resource booklet.
"The prevalence of hate crimes in our country is reaching into our
schools, and teachers are speaking out," said Morris Dees, co-founder of
Southern Poverty Law Center. "From Maine to Mississippi to California -- from
all 50 states -- we are thrilled at the rate of requests for these valuable
teaching resources. The numbers demonstrate the tremendous need by teachers
for tolerance-oriented resources and curriculum."
Early feedback is impressive. From a Florida teacher: "I can already see
that the resources it provides will help (students) in coming to a more
personal understanding of the Holocaust and issues of tolerance." And this,
from an Alabama educator: "I have taught the Holocaust for 12 years now, and
this kit has probably been the most helpful with regard to appropriate
activities, video, and, above all, a personal testimony from Mrs. Klein. I
would recommend this kit to anyone who teaches the Holocaust."
An important part of the Teaching Tolerance project is its call upon
students to take action. For this project, January 27th's Holocaust
Remembrance Day -- recently proclaimed by the United Nations as an
international day of commemoration -- will stand as a day not just for
remembering, but also for taking action. Both on the Web sites
(http://www.teachingtolerance.org and http://www.kleinfoundation.org) and in a
direct mail follow-up card, teachers and students will be given ideas on how
to make a difference in their own communities.
The Southern Poverty Law Center was founded in 1971 as a small civil
rights law firm. Today, the Center is internationally known for its tolerance
education programs, its legal victories against white supremacists and its
tracking of hate groups. Located in Montgomery, Alabama -- the birthplace of
the Civil Rights Movement -- the Center was founded by Morris Dees and Joe
Levin, two local lawyers who shared a commitment to racial equality. Founded
in 1991, the SPLC's Teaching Tolerance provides schools with free educational
materials that promote respect for differences and appreciation of diversity
in the classroom and beyond. Teaching Tolerance magazine -- reaching 600,000
educators twice a year -- and our curriculum kits have Academy and Emmy
awards, along with more than a dozen honors from the Association of
educational Publishers (edPress), including the golden Lamp Award.
The Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation was formed in April 1998 to teach
students about the importance of tolerance, respect and responsibility through
character education and community service. Inspired by the Klein's personal
message of survival, acceptance and hope, students learn from the past and
translate that understanding into positive action. The Klein Foundation,
headquartered in Narberth, PA, is a public non-profit foundation.
SOURCE Southern Poverty Law Center
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Related links:
http://www.teachingtolerance.org
http://www.kleinfoundation.org
CONTACT:
Audrey Mann Cronin of Mann Cronin PR,
+1-914-861-2009, or mobile, +1-914-260-9651, or
audrey@manncroninpr.com, for Southern Poverty Law Center
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