Kim Kerwin was one of a select group of teachers who participated in USC Shoah Foundation’s first three-day ITeach Institute in Michigan last week, and she walked away from the training inspired to incorporate testimony into her classes at St. Fabian Catholic School.

The ITeach Institute, held Aug. 15-17, 2016, at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, was part of the IWitness Detroit program. It was led by Brandon Barr, USC Shoah Foundation education regional consultant in the United States. Thirty middle- and high school educators from counties in the Detroit area were recruited to participate in the program.

The ITeach Institute gave teachers an overview of USC Shoah Foundation, the Visual History Archive, IWitness, and how to create IWitness activities in order to incorporate testimony into classroom lessons.

Kerwin first learned about Echoes and Reflections, which incorporates testimony clips from IWitness, last fall at a seminar for the Michigan Association of Non-Public Schools. She then completed an Echoes and Reflections Online Professional Development course in order to learn more about how to use it in her classroom.

The ITeach Institute was Kerwin’s first training on IWitness, and she felt it was one of the best professional development programs she’s done.

The training was especially timely because of Michigan House Bill 4493, which went into effect June 14 of this year. The bill mandates that public school’s social studies curriculum for grades 8-12 “include age- and grade-appropriate instruction about genocide, including, but not limited to, the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide.”

Kerwin said that since the bill just passed, Michigan educators don’t have many resources to help them teach about genocide, so IWitness is a valuable tool to help them make an impact on their students.

“Testimony is hugely beneficial for making those lasting connections” for her students, Kerwin said. “Me telling [students] the story is not as impactful as them hearing the story as seen through the survivors’ own eyes.”

Kerwin teaches religion and English at several grade levels and works with the students’ literature teacher at St. Fabian to do a joint Holocaust unit. She plans to use testimony clips to show her students the dangers of judging others based stereotypes and single characteristics. What if one of their own identities – religion, ethnicity, hair color – was targeted, as people were targeted for being Jewish?

Though her town of Farmington Hills, Mich., is already quite diverse, Kerwin said it’s important that her students at St. Fabian learn about other cultures and people who are different than them, and understand the importance of tolerance. IWitness, she said, can help them do just that.

Kerwin is passionate about helping more teachers discover IWitness.

“There’s no way it’s not going to help you enhance your curriculum and make it a better experience for your students,” Kerwin said. “I encourage anyone in middle- or high school history or social studies to look into it. It’s a fantastic program.”