Active Learning at HP

The Holocaust was a mystery to many students at Huntington Park College-Ready Academy High School.  Only a handful had heard of Darfur.  Yet in one semester, the tenth grade English class of teacher Lisa Kopp has not only delved into the study of genocide, they’ve committed themselves to a mantra: do not stand idly by.

What began as a lesson about the Holocaust during World War II expanded far beyond the classroom. “My students were so fascinated that they collected pocket money for months in order to buy a set of Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night,” explains Ms Kopp. “Then they were one of three LA high schools invited to Loyola Marymount University to see Wiesel speak.” They also met members of the 1939 Club, one of the largest Holocaust survivor groups in the U.S.  The students described the profound experience as “meeting history face to face.”

That educational road brought them to the current genocide in Darfur.  It led the students to learn and to action. They researched information about the situation and wrote letters to political leaders.  They also decided to raise money by selling bracelets from SaveDarfur.org.  That fundraising was augmented by student-led instruction.  Students created a PowerPoint presentation about Darfur that they presented to the entire HP school community.  With the help of Holocaust survivor and author Sonia Levitin, the students chose Pastor Matthew as the recipient of their Darfur funds. Pastor Matthew has taken in 30 orphaned children in Darfur. He’s set up their ‘school’ under a tree, where they write in the dirt with sticks and share the few books available.