Advanced Summer Institute: Remembrance, Reconciliation, Restitution—Is There a Way to Right the Wrongs of the Past?

Date: June 14-16; Sept 16, Oct 21

Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Applications for the 2023 seminar are now open!

This advanced seminar, (3 day intensive, plus 2 separate follow-up days) is intended to reach educators from schools across the state who are looking for meaningful ways to teach the Holocaust and other events that reflect intolerance and persecution. Geared toward educators who have experience teaching the Holocaust and who have participated in previous TOLI seminars or other related professional development, this seminar will build participants’ understanding of the Holocaust and explore  the aftermath of genocide and other atrocities. We will look at the three “Rs” – Remembrance, Reconciliation, Restitution – through exemplary lessons presented by seminar leaders and lectures by specialists in the field, and consider ways to address the continuing spread of antisemitism and racism and the treatment of refugees. Participants will also have the opportunity to hear the first-person testimony of a Holocaust survivor, visit the New Mexico Holocaust Museum and Geller Center for Education, and attend a Friday night service at a local synagogue.

As our throughline, our essential question guides our inquiry: Is There a Way to Right the Wrongs of the Past? Our lens will therefore also turn to other topics specific to human rights and social justice in New Mexico: genizaros (indigenous people who were sold into slavery), Japanese Internment camps during WWII, as well as the Armenian and Rwandan genocides. Throughout the five days, the program will focus on the development of meaningful lesson plans that enable teachers to meet common core requirements at the middle and high school levels.

Further details: 

Participant stipends: $100

Books and materials provided

Meals: Breakfasts, lunches, and one dinner provided

Field experiences: New Mexico Holocaust Museum

Out-of-town participants: Housing provided

Click here to apply!

Click here to view our 2023 flyer.

 

Thank you to Anonymous for their generous support of our 2023 New Mexico Seminar.

Leaders

  • Leslie Lawner

    Since 2003, Leslie Lawner has taught Language Arts and Social Studies to students in grades 6 through 8 at Sidney Gutierrez Middle School in Roswell, New Mexico, where she also offers an 8-week unit on the Holocaust to the 7th grade. She was a participant in the Belfer Conference at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and is a member of the Tecolote Group at St. John’s College in Santa Fe. A long-time teaching fellow in the High Plains Writing Project, Leslie attended the TOLI New York Summer Seminar in 2008. She received the New Mexico Charter School Teachers of the Year Award in 2010.

  • Susan Quintana

    Susan Quintana, a 29-year teaching veteran, teaches Humanities, Mock Trial, World History, and 20th Century Genocide History at Pojoaque Valley High School, in Pojoaque, New Mexico. She is a United States Holocaust Memorial Fellow and a Golden Apple recipient. Susan attended the TOLI New York Summer Seminar in 2012. She is passionate about social justice issues as they resonate today in classrooms and communities in New Mexico.

  • Michelle Thompson-Loyd

    Michelle Thompson-Loyd, a 2016 graduate of The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights, has taught AP US History and Constitutional Law for 13 years. She now teaches Great Books, Contemporary Issues, and Mentorship.  She is working with the New Mexico Council of English Teachers to resurrect and revive this important teacher resource.

  • Barb Lazar

    Barbara Lazar is a veteran middle school teacher and librarian. She has continually valued teaching the Holocaust and social justice through literature, writing, and art, and has been working with TOLI since 2015. A Belfer Conference alumnus, as well as part of the Educational Leadership Team for the NM Holocaust Museum, she maintains her passion for the importance of Holocaust education and working with educators.