2024 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Kevin Dailey is bringing a special program to Ballyshannon Middle School to expand enrichment programs available to students in the areas of Holocaust and genocide studies and to showcase the incredible power of public schools and community partnerships.
Students from Ballyshannon Middle School are participating in training this week to become peer guides at their school for the traveling exhibit Anne Frank, A History for Today which will be on display from February 25 through March 25.
The trained peer guides will lead classmates and others through tours of the exhibition and conversations on topics it raises, including the life of Anne Frank and her family, the Holocaust, antisemitism, and other forms of Nazi discrimination.
The training and exhibit are programs supported by the Anne Frank Center at The University of South Carolina, the official national partner of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam where the exhibit and model was created.
The peer guide model is unique in the field of Holocaust education because it’s designed to be completely led by students rather than teachers or other adults, and it is designed to teach by providing opportunities for students to engage with one another around tough topics.
Anne Frank Center Director Dr. Doyle Stevick says that though there are many ways for students to learn about Anne Frank and the history of the Holocaust, the peer education of the exhibit is what sets it apart.
“Peer-led tours of the exhibition empower young people to talk to one another about the issues raised in the exhibition,” Stevick said.
“The peer guides decide for themselves how they’re going to lead discussions and how to think and talk with one another about Anne Frank, the Holocaust, and topics like antisemitism, discrimination, and genocide.
“Anne Frank was a young person who used her words powerfully, and we think the exhibition and peer education encourages more young people to do the same.”
Keven Dailey agreed.
“There is no better time to study and learn about the life of Anne Frank,” Dailey said. “I am proud of my students and my school for their commitment to peace education and our community.”
The exhibit and peer guide training is available to schools and other related institutions for both short-term and long-term programs.
Contact Dailey at kevin.dailey@boone.kyschools.us to RSVP to see the exhibit.
Your invitation to the exhibit which is open to the public and appropriate for guests 12 years and older:
