New unit of study presented at NERC 2012 Conference

On April 4, 2012, Lidia Choma, Lana Babij, and Borys Krupa of the CT Holodomor Awareness Committee, and long-time professionals in the field of education, presented a teaching clinic for high school educators titled: Turning a Blind Eye at the 43rd Northeast Regional Conference on the Social Studies, Sturbridge MA. The goal of the clinic was to raise awareness about the Holodomor while presenting their new classroom-ready unit of study that can be incorporated into a variety of existing social studies curricula.

The attending teachers took part in an intensive and interactive session that included among other things comparing and discussing examples of news articles from the Unit of Study, and viewing a preview copy of Yurij Luhovy’s new educational edition of the Genocide Revealed DVD. Skillfully presented by Lidia Choma with the assistance of Borys Krupa and Lana Babij, the clinic received high marks from attending educators from throughout the New England area.

New Unit of Study Features the Holodomor: Turning a Blind Eye

The Turning a Blind Eye Unit of Study addresses the challenges of recognizing, acknowledging, and exposing human rights violations and genocide, with a special focus on media and social responsibility.

In the first part of the Unit, students are introduced to two instances of massive destruction of resident population groups by totalitarian regimes. The Holodomor – the 1932-33 famine genocide in Soviet Ukraine under Stalin is the central case study, and China’s Great Leap Forward Famine of 1959-1961 is the secondary case study. Both are examined from the perspective of how they were reported at the time, and the attitudes of Western opinion makers and governments that shaped the ultimate lack of response to those events. News articles of the period are provided for critical analysis where students can apply lessons learned on recognizing bias in the news. The second half of the Unit examines the 21st c. challenges of responding to Darfur and other crises in human rights relative to the unprecedented opportunities and pitfalls of the new social media.

 

Lidia Choma explains a point during the jigsaw exercise

Designed for high school use, the 70 p. Unit contains all the instructional elements needed to teach the material and challenge students through critical reading, thinking, writing, interaction, and projects. Carefully selected primary and secondary sources compose the core; historical background and annotations to the sources provide important explanatory material; and a list of suggested activities as well as a list of online and other readily accessible supplementary resources round out the Unit. Also included is a guide that shows how the Unit fits into a variety of standard high school curricula.

To learn more about “The Turning a Blind Eye” Unit of Study please follow the links below:

“Turning a Blind Eye” Unit of Study
Order information:

As of this date, the available copies are of the “review” edition that was presented to the participants of the North East Regional Conference on the Social Studies, Turning a Blind Eye Clinic, April 4, 2012.

To order a copy in th

Participants discussing assigned articles in the “jigsaw” exercise

e meantime, please make out a check for $10.00 to cover the cost of printing and mailing to:

Connecticut Holodomor Awareness Committee
Send the check to:
Lana Babij
1 Shepard Dr.
Manchester, CT 06042
Please include your mailing address!

We are very interested in feedback re the Unit : whether and how you plan to use it in your instruction, as well as any suggestions for improvements, or any comments.

Contact:
Lana Babij at: lybabij@cox.net
Lidia Choma l_choma@yahoo.com
Borys Krupa boris_w_krupa@sbcglobal.net

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