GenEd projects hold “The Psychology of Genocide” workshop

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Genocide Education Project presented a training workshop for high school history teachers at the National Council for the Social Studies annual conference in St. Louis, Missouri and distributed Armenian Genocide teaching materials to hundreds of educators during the conference events last month, Asbarez reports.

GenEd’s Education Director, Sara Cohan, led a conference workshop entitled, “The Psychology of Genocide,” exploring the social forces and personal psychology that can lead to extreme acts of cruelty, as well as heroic acts of compassion during a genocide.

Approximately 50 social studies teachers participated in the workshop, learning about the key psychological concepts that apply to the actions of individuals leading to and during genocide. Examples from the Armenian Genocide and other genocides were examined, and participants received instructional materials they can use in their classrooms.

“It was gratifying to have such a strong turnout and positive response from all the teachers we met,” said Cohan.

Cohan was joined by GenEd Board Member, Roxanne Makasdjian in the conference exhibit hall, where they distributed Armenian Genocide teaching materials to hundreds of educators visiting GenEd’s information booth and displayed resources found at the organization’s “cyber” teaching library, TeachGenocide.com.

“I think the teaching materials will really help me give my students a better understanding of the Armenian Genocide. I can use the videos and lessons based on personal stories, instead of just lecturing to them,” said Leah Jardine, of Kansas.

While in St. Louis, Makasdjian and Cohan also attended the St. Louis Armenian Youth Federation “Antranig” Chapter’s dinner dance, where they were given a warm welcome and were offered an opportunity to introduce the work of GenEd to Armenian-American community members. The local Armenian Youth Federation and Armenian National Committee chapters and individual attendees also generously contributed to GenEd’s efforts through their financial support.

The Genocide Education Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, educational organization that assists educators in teaching about human rights and genocide, particularly the Armenian Genocide, by developing and distributing instructional materials, providing access to teaching resources and organizing educational workshops.