‘ Master Teacher’ of the Holocaust
INPERSON
‘ Master Teacher’ of the Holocaust
Shaler Area High School social studies teacher Nick Haberman named this year’ s Holocaust Educator of the Year.
By Nicole Tafe
As a graduate of Shaler Area High School, Nicholas Haberman has come full circle as he begins his 13th year as a teacher for the district. Haberman was recently recognized by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and named this year’ s Holocaust Educator of the Year.
Haberman is a fourth-generation teacher. He holds a bachelor’ s degree in History and a Master of Arts in Teaching— both from the University of Pittsburgh. He and his wife, Lindsay, who is also a teacher, have two children— Lily and Elijah.
While in college, Haberman worked at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in the education department and held a six-month internship as an archivist at The Natural History Museum in London, England. He began his career at Shaler Area School District in 2006.
Currently, Haberman teaches 10th grade World Culture, and an 11th to 12th grade elective called“ Holocaust: Background, Tragedy, and Aftermath.” This year, as a result of the Holocaust Educator of the Year award, he will be teaching a 9th through 12th grade Multicultural Studies elective focused on multiculturalism, genocide and human rights for the first time.
“ The title of Holocaust Educator of the Year, and the subsequent title of Alfred Lerner Fellow, has given me new opportunities at Shaler Area High School,” explains Haberman.“ Throughout the upcoming school year, I’ ll be teaching a new course on multiculturalism, and developing a Center for Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education— the first of its kind that I’ m aware of.”
Located in a bright, open room adjacent to the Shaler Area High School library, the new center will not only serve as a permanent classroom for existing Holocaust, genocide and human rights-related courses, but also as a dedicated space for remembrance, research and community outreach. It will be a home for art, activism, research, after-school activities and clubs, cross-curricular collaboration, professional development, independent
Nicholas Haberman
studies, online course offerings and guest speakers.
“ My recent recognition has given me the inspiration, motivation and support to make this project a reality,” says Haberman.“ The next step is to raise additional funds to purchase collaborative, flexible furniture for the center. The goal is to have the center officially open for the 2019-2020 school year.”
The Holocaust Educator of the Year award was created by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh to promote and recognize the importance of Holocaust education. To qualify for the award, one must hold a teaching position in Ohio, West Virginia or Pennsylvania, have at least two years of experience teaching the Holocaust, and conduct a Holocaust unit of at least one week with students. An application requiring several letters of recommendation from colleagues and students, a resume, teaching experience and four essays on the experience teaching about the Holocaust is also required.
Haberman won the award for his experience teaching the Holocaust elective at Shaler Area— an optional, one-semester( 90-day) course focused on the background, tragedy and aftermath of the Holocaust.“ In my class, I use a lot of survivor testimonies, and students have multiple opportunities to meet survivors, and visit the U. S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum in Washington, D. C.,” notes Haberman.“ After meeting so many survivors, it’ s truly humbling to be recognized for my efforts to pass on their
stories, and, as one survivor once told me,‘ to lead a life that is useful to the community.’ The Holocaust is not an easy subject to teach, so to be recognized by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh as someone who successfully broaches the subject is both an honor and a sense of great responsibility to continue and share my work.”
The award was given at the Waldman International Arts and Writing award ceremony, where Haberman was asked to give a speech on this year’ s Waldman theme— Children in the Holocaust. It came with a prize of $ 2,000, an additional $ 1,000 to Shaler Area to support the teaching of the Holocaust, and an all-expense-paid trip to Columbia University in New York City to become an Alfred Lerner Fellow through the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous. Following the completion of his fellowship, Haberman is now considered a“ Master Teacher” of the Holocaust.
“ It’ s impossible not to be forever changed after seeing a Holocaust survivor tell their story in person,” says Haberman.“ After more than 10 years of introducing Shaler Area students to survivors and seeing the effect it has on their education, I have made it my first priority to expand these experiences to more students of Shaler Area and draw parallels between the Holocaust and modern-day genocides and human rights violations. Additionally, I want our Holocaust, genocide, and human rights curriculum, courses, and center to be a model for other school districts to follow.” ■
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