Portland Forum on Genocide

On May 10, students from Casco Bay High School in Portland, Maine, joined community members who have come to the area from war torn countries to discuss the issue of genocide and what to do about it. The Portland forum on genocide focused on genocide as a historic and continuing global issue.

Right: Oral histories researched by students were on display at the Salt Gallery in Portland in April. See a video of the program.

 
Casco Bay High School is an expeditionary learning school. “Our curriculum is designed around expeditions, student learning experiences where students investigate and explore relevant, community based topics that connect easily to case studies,” said Stephanie Doane. Doane and fellow teacher, Susan McCray, led the program for the high school. Teachers and students have been working on human rights as their main “expedition” all year. “We were looking for a way to conclude our year-long expedition on human rights titled "The Human Face of Human Rights,” said Doane. “We studied both historical and current human rights issues. The focus of the forum, U.S. policy on genocide, was the perfect conclusion to our expedition.” The Choices unit, Confronting Genocide: Never Again?, was used to prepare student for the discussion.  
  When asked why a program like this matters for students, Doane explained that “the forum was such a perfect match because it provided students with the opportunity to explore the 'so what now?' question that tends to be ignored in traditional social studies settings but is an integral part of our humanities curriculum. All year long students studied 'bad stuff.' Quite often students felt hopeless, asking questions like, 'What can I do?' Now they understand that they can do something. They can spread awareness, they can write letters, they can e-mail their congressmen, they can influence policy. However, we are going to leave it to the individual to develop and act on their own plan.”

Barbara Fiore of KIDS Consortium, the sponsor of the program, picked up on this in her closing remarks. “This is a start. When you leave here, act on your beliefs and your values and don’t let the conversation end here. Go forth; the bus and the world awaits you.” And so they did.

Casco Bay High School will be building on this experience as they approach the coming year when their focus will be on public policy with a requirement to "take action" as part of the program.

Resources developed by Casco Bay teachers and students are available online.

 

The Portland Forum on Genocide was a culminating activity for the Casco Bay High School year-long learning expedition focused on genocide. The forum was organized and sponsored by KIDS Consortium and hosted by the Sheraton Conference Center of South Portland. An agenda is available. The event followed a community vigil for victims of genocide and a lecture by Mary Robinson, human rights advocate and former President of Ireland.

Return to Capitol Forum Adaptations