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Victor Maccharoli- Jamie Castillo, 12, checks out his new copy of The Diary of Anne Frank. Director of the Beyond Tolerance Center Adele Rosen donated a copy of the book forr every sixth grader at Cleveland Elementary School.

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Teaching tolerance through Anne Frank

By ERIC LINDBERG — Jan. 15, 2009

During the next few weeks, sixth-grade students at Cleveland Elementary School will delve into copies of “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

It’s pretty typical fare for sixth-graders across the state, but there are several aspects to the story at Cleveland School that make it stand out.

First off, there’s the fact that each student will have a copy of the book. After learning that the school couldn’t afford to buy enough books, Adele Rosen, director of the Beyond Tolerance Education Center, purchased and donated 65 copies.

But beyond that, there’s the effort that sixth-grade teachers Jean Rogers-O’Reilly and Brian McCarthy are making to connect the lessons of Anne Frank to the everyday realities of growing up in Santa Barbara.

Concerned about a spate of violence among local youth in recent years, the two teachers began focusing on a curriculum that teaches tolerance.

“We want to start talking to kids at 11 and 12 years old about stereotypes and prejudice,” Rogers-O’Reilly said. “I want to get to them before high school. We need to be discussing this kind of stuff early.”

The recent donation of the books comes at a particularly poignant time, with sentencing hearings occurring this week for 15-year-old Ricardo “Ricky” Juarez, found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the stabbing death of a 15-year-old boy in March 2007.

That incident, which occurred during a brazen brawl on State Street in broad daylight, served as a flashpoint for the community — and particularly for McCarthy, who had Juarez as a student at Cleveland School.

“Ever since the Ricky deal, we realized that we have to start doing something a whole lot younger,” he said. “It’s like we didn’t get through to him that you don’t need to be a part of that, you don’t need to join that, you don’t need that hate.”

Since then, they’ve launched a series of educational efforts with the help of Rosen, who directs the Beyond Tolerance center under the auspices of the County Education Office.

One such effort, a program called “Living Voices,” brought in an actor to portray the experience of growing up in the South as a black man.

Coupled with archival footage, the interactive experience drew in students, Rosen said, giving them the chance to ask questions and make connections to their own lives.

Another program, titled “The Immigrants,” gave fifth-grade students the opportunity to explore and share unique aspects of their backgrounds.

“They’re preparing these kids and I think this is a wonderful idea for sixth-grade teachers, to be that conscious of what happens when their students get into junior high,” Rosen said.

Cleveland School, with its predominantly Hispanic population, creates a cultural buffer of sorts, McCarthy said. That changes when his students move on to Santa Barbara Junior High School, where varied backgrounds are more prevalent.

Along with Rogers-O’Reilly and Rosen, McCarthy hopes that reaching children at a younger age will make that transition smoother and eliminate any tinges of xenophobia.

“It’s time to start,” he said. “By junior high, it’s too late.”

In addition to reading the donated copies of “The Diary of Anne Frank” — which will remain in the school’s library — the sixth-graders will take part in a related Beyond Tolerance presentation next week.

Dubbed “Dear Kitty,” the program includes a short video documenting the Anne Frank family and connecting their experience to choices students make every day.

In particular, organizers are interested in the “bystander” concept: whether the students stand by as bullying or teasing occurs, or whether they speak out against prejudice.

“I think once they see our program and they become the participants — and that’s the important thing, that they’re not just listening — I think that it will be very meaningful,” Rosen said. “These kids can really relate to it, to her story. It’s a good basis to start talking about the hatred in the world.”

Veronica Beltran, an 11-year-old in Rogers-O’Reilly’s class, doesn’t know much about Anne Frank yet, but seems to have already gleaned some lessons from what her teacher has told her thus far.

“This was a real thing that happened,” she said. “And it’s not like, whatever, it happened a long time ago. You need to think about other kids who go through things like this.”

Described by her teacher as a voracious reader, Beltran is excited to dig into the novel and learn more about the young victim of the Holocaust.

“I want to figure out what her life was like,” she said.

Jaime Castillo, 12, is making connections to the story as well.

“I feel bad that it happened,” he said. “I don’t think anybody should die at that age.”

When asked if he can relate to the story of Anne Frank, what little he knows of it at the moment, Castillo said while his life is pretty good, he can understand dealing with difficult experiences.

“Sometimes I have bad days, sometimes I have good days,” he said. “They’re not all perfect.”

Rogers-O’Reilly said she plans to have her students write diaries of their own, to gain further entrée into the perspective of Anne Frank.

“I hope that they really see that, hey, this is a kid that’s just like me,” she said. “…It’s about making that personal connection. I’m just going to hope that this is going to get through.”

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Tolerance : 1/16/2009

Along with Anne Frank's diary, teachers might better contextualize her life story with some roughly parallel life stories of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. I think it would help to teach survivor stories like those of Menachem Begin and other members of the Irgun along with Anne's story. Members of the Stern Gang and their role, along with the Irgun, in the founding of Israel would help also. The bombing of the King David Hotel is a great story. It's so topical and 6th-graders love that sort of thing. Teaching Anne's diary alone seems one-sided to me. Bringing in Holocaust survivor stories would give students a more well-rounded historical picture with greater depth and breadth.

Secular Scholar

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Racial Intolerance? : 1/20/2009

Teaching about Anne Frank is a great idea, it helps dispel the myth that minorities such as Blacks and Hispanics, are not the only victims of racial intolerance. It also should help people understand that minorities such as Blacks and Hispanics are equally capable of racial intolerance. How this is supposed to apply to local youth violence, however is a mystery, since the youth violence is intra-racial - Hispanics on Hispanics. It has absolutely nothing to do with racial intolerance, and everything to do with gangs, drugs and culture.

Aaron Shaw

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: 4/20/2009

:) its my class room!!!!

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