Celebration of LifeMy time in Poland is coming to an end. Tomorrow I leave for home and I'm excited to see my family. But I am incredibly blessed to have been on this journey this week. The week was full of emotional ups and downs and I still have so much to process and think over. There are a million things that I am eager to take back to my students and incorporate into my classroom. I am anxious to share with my friends, family, and community the lessons I have learned over this past week. Perhaps the greatest blessing on this trip is the incredible people who were strangers to me a week ago whom I now consider my friends. The time spent with them this week has shown me the good in people and has taught me an incredibly important lesson - we do not have to be divided. The Holocaust itself was meant to divide all people into specific categories based on the pseudoscience and the politics of hate. But this week the Holocaust actually assembled a group of amazing educators and students who are passionate about the future and we are going forward now together. Photo Credit Emmia Alaquiva We have spent the last two days of our trip celebrating life and the things that bring people together. Saturday night at a musical festival in Kracow, thousands of people from around the world gathered together in the square of the Old Jewish Quarter and danced together in the square. We were celebrating life. That moment became even more poignant when they announced the death of Ellie Wiesel, author of Night, Nobel Prize winner, and Holocaust survivor. It was surreal to be standing in Kracow (the movie Schindler's List is set in the city) and have a moment of remembrance for a man who did so much in his lifetime to bring about dialogue, peace and action. What we have done here in Poland is what I believe Wiesel, other survivors, and even those whose lives were brutally cut short would have wanted us to do. We will not forget. We will not be bystanders. We will stand up to injustice. In the words of Wiesel, "the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference" and we will not be indifferent. Now it is impossible. I have walked the same steps where a vibrant community was cut down and in those steps found incredible stories of horror, sadness, and terror but also strength, survival, and ultimately hope. Hope for continued tolerance and acceptance around the world and hope for the future. So in Kracow we celebrated life. And I will continue to celebrate - my life, the life of survivors like Howard Chandler, and the lives of my students who have the power to change the world. In the words of Roberto Clemente*, “Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don’t, then you are wasting your time on Earth.” I will not waste my time on Earth. Howard Chandler returned to his hometown and shared his story with the group.
*All credit to Chris Gual for introducing me to this Clemente quote. Comments are closed.
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About the Trip
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