BEACHWOOD, OH – A new anti-bias education program has launched in Northeast Ohio! The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, a museum of diversity and tolerance, is proud to introduce the Stop the Hate Learning Portal (learn.maltzmuseum.org). Designed to fit the needs of 2020/21 school year, the portal provides online access to the Museum’s nationally recognized anti-bias education content, where students can take the new Stop the Hate digital tour, teachers can book free online Stop the Hate workshops for their classrooms, and both students and teachers can learn more about entering the $100,000 Stop the Hate contest.
“It has never been more important or more necessary that we engage students in anti-bias education. That’s why we are offering the new Stop the Hate digital tour and interactive online workshops for free. We want schools in Northeast Ohio to access these anti-bias education tools so that students can learn from history while simultaneously recognizing the role they play in standing up, speaking out, and creating the kind of world they want to live in,” said David Schafer, Managing Director of the Maltz Museum.
Rooted in the Jewish value of respect for all humanity, the Museum is known for its excellence in using object-based learning to explore complex histories. From its groundbreaking exhibition Operation Finale about the capture and trial of Nazi Adolf Eichmann to the breathtaking exhibition Violins of Hope featuring instruments that survived the Holocaust that were also played in concert by the Cleveland Orchestra to the vital exhibition This Light of Ours showcasing black and white photographs from the Freedom Summer Movement, the Museum works to build bridges between people and communities. And, at the heart of this work, is connecting with young audiences.
About the Stop the Hate Digital Tour
The Museum’s flagship program for young audiences in grades 6 – 12 is called Stop the Hate which is centered on a student tour. Previously only available within the confines of the Museum’s walls, a new digital version enables schools, teachers, and students to take the tour online and engage in coordinating activities. Teachers can use the materials how they want, when they want, from wherever they want with complete flexibility.
The Stop the Hate Digital Tour uses museum artifacts to exemplify expressions of racism and antisemitism in history. Students explore answers to these questions:
- How are power and influence used to spread hate?
- What is legalized hate vs individualized hate?
- Who are upstanders, bystanders, or perpetrators in any situation?
About the Stop the Hate Online Workshops
New this year, the Museum introduces free online workshops that expand the reach of two additional components to the Stop the Hate program: Youth Sing Out and Youth Speak Out.
For over a decade Roots of American Music has been working with the Museum to deliver anti-bias education through the lens of arts enrichment in a program called Youth Sing Out. After a tour to the Museum, teaching artists would visit the classroom and work with students to pen original songs that reflect their own experiences with discrimination. An invitation only experience for a limited number of students, the Museum redesigned the opportunity to create a new online version that’s open to all 6 – 12th grade classrooms in twelve Northeast Ohio counties. Using Youth Sing Out as a model, the Museum then developed a second partnership with Lake Erie Ink to similarly teach writing workshops online in support of Youth Speak Out.
Students start by taking the Stop the Hate digital tour, then learn about Music and the Power of Protest from Rock & Roll Hall of Fame or Resilience from a Holocaust survivor, followed by online work with a teaching artist from Roots of American Music or Lake Erie Ink to pen a class song or individual essay. Both workshops are free for middle and high school classes or home school groups of fifteen or more within Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, and Wayne counties, and provide:
- Teachers with ready-made online lessons plans taught by qualified instructors
- Students with access to important history about Holocaust and Civil Rights
- Entry into the Stop the Hate contest where students and schools can win awards
About the Stop the Hate Contest
Now in its 13th year, the Stop the Hate contest gives out $100,000 in awards and prizes annually. The contest is comprised of two components: Youth Speak Out Essay Writing for individual students and Youth Sing Out Songwriting for school classrooms. Both celebrate Northeast Ohio students in grades 6 – 12 who are committed to creating a more accepting, inclusive society by standing up and speaking out against bias and bigotry.
Each year about 3,000 students enter, and with the help of 400 volunteer readers and judges, a select number of finalists are named. To date, over 30,000 students in 12 counties across Northeast Ohio have participated, and $1.2 million has been awarded to students and schools.
The contest opens on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. Deadlines for Grades 6-10 is Friday, March 19, 2021 and for Grades 11-12 is Friday, March 26, 2021.
Join the Maltz Museum’s education team and partners for a Virtual Info Session on October 7, 2020 at 5 pm. To register for the Zoom link, contact www.maltzmuseum.org or 216-593-0585. To book a workshop, please email education@mmjh.org or visit the Stop the Hate Learning Portal: learn.maltzmuseum.org.
