Holocaust Teachers' Stories: Life, Pedagogy, and Meaning

Abstract

How do secondary teachers' narratives reveal the influence of their life experiences on their commitments and approaches in Holocaust education? Employing Gadamerian Hermeneutics as the theoretical research frame and narrative inquiry as research methodology, the following research seeks to answer the above main research question. This study is important to furthering curriculum studies because few amounts of research exist on teachers' life-stories and the relationship they have to pedagogy and Holocaust curriculum. This research is conducted by examining experienced secondary Holocaust teachers through interviews, writing samples, and artifacts.

Findings include teacher narration that describes loss within each person's life and how they develop a willingness to deal with their loss. Their willingness has an effect on how they interact with students in teaching about the Holocaust. Through dedicated study, nonviolence, and the care of the self, participants remain at the site of meaning making and weave transformative spaces in which they create meaning and awareness for themselves and their students.

Findings also indicate that through acceptance, participants remained engaged with their own lives; built relationships with their students that included love and acceptance; and developed humility when dealing with difficult historical content.