Advocates say Holocaust education will have positive impacts
Jewish advocacy groups are applauding the Saskatchewan government for making Holocaust education mandatory in high schools.
“We certainly welcome the announcement, I think it’s vital that more provinces follow suit,” said Daniella Lurion, director of Tour for Humanity, a program by Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Saskatchewan is the latest province to make this change. Other provinces to announce Holocaust education include Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba.
The Saskatchewan government said in a news release that the change will begin in the 2025-26 school year and will be part of a renewed Social Studies 10 curriculum for students. This comes after the government recently announced changes to required credits to graduate high school.
Listen to the full interview with Daniella Lurion on CBC’s The Afternoon Edition:
Minister of Education Jeremy Cockrill said in a news release that antisemitism remains a problem, and that the renewed curriculum is meant to help reduce hate and discrimination.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs spoke highly of the announcement in a news release, saying that combating antisemitism begins with proper education.
“Educating people about how antisemitism manifests itself, its various impacts, and the tools needed to combat it are essential for stopping its spread. Holocaust education is a large part of that,” said Sjimon Koffler Fogel, president and CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, in a news release.
Lurion said Holocaust education in Canada has improved over time, but that it needs to be expanded to help students grapple with the spread of misinformation, especially online.
Lurion said that there is still some confusion surrounding the Holocaust.
“I think it’s important for students to understand that Hitler and the Nazis didn’t invent antisemitism. They played up on historical themes and biases and, to be honest, hatred that people felt,” she said.
Teachers’ Federation says little consultation was made
Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation president Samantha Becotte said she welcomed the news, but that it came as a surprise because the federation had little involvement.
“We knew that there would likely be some changes coming to history and social studies curriculums with the change to graduation requirements. But up until this point, teachers haven’t been thoroughly involved in a majority of those conversations,” she said.
Becotte said that Holocaust education is currently taught within the History 20 curriculum in high schools and that she is unaware of how the renewed Social Studies 10 course will be different.
In a statement to CBC News, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education said History 20 is not mandatory, and students will no longer be required to take a 20 level social sciences course when the new credit requirements are introduced.
Despite the surprise, Becotte said current history curriculum is from 1992 and that the federation has been calling for a renewal for quite some time.
Becotte said teachers need to be more involved with these decisions moving forward to ensure they are made in the students’ best interest.
“We want to ensure that the decisions that we’re making aren’t made in haste,” she said.
“Having collaboration, consultation, specifically with teachers, the professionals in education, would only help to strengthen the decisions.”
Speaking in regards to Holocaust education, the Ministry of Education said in a statement to CBC news that it “will be working with teachers and others to determine what will be in the curricula.”
With files from The Afternoon Edition