Today I had the great pleasure of attending the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center’s Voices for Humanity luncheon, where Tong Yuan (’11) and our humanities and art teacher, Lindsey Mutschler, were two of the esteemed speakers. They were both inspiring – truly highlights of the day! And they were in good company -- Randy Dorn, Enrique Cerna (KCTS), and author James Waller also spoke at the event.
The artwork of Hailey Jenkins (’09) was featured on the invitations and placecards, letters from Leila (’11) and Emelia (’11) were featured in the printed program, and cards featuring the artwork and artist statements of Elena (’10), Finn (’11), Emma (’11), Hana (’10), Andrea (’11), and Jillian (’10) were for sale at the event.
I am so pleased that LWGMS students and teachers so genuinely lent their voices and vision to this worthy cause. I was especially proud to hear Tong Yuan speak today about the way that learning about the Holocaust has affected her, and to hear Lindsey speak about how teaching about the Holocaust fits her personal teaching philosophy as well as LWGMS’s mission of educating girls to work for social justice.
LWGMS first invited a Holocaust survivor to speak at our school in 2001. These speakers, such as Hester Kool who was honored at today’s luncheon, have shared their stories with our students, lending relevance and impact to their learning as only a personal connection can. The goal of the Holocaust Education Resource Center is to provide resources for teaching about the Holocaust in order to give a voice to those who can not speak. It is no wonder, then, that our students and their role model teachers – all of whom are strong in mind, body, and voice - were welcomed today as part of this important program.
