Grade 9 students at Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute received a history lesson recently through an interactive workshop held on a bus.
On Feb. 19 and 20, students participated in the Tour for Humanity’s Canadian Experience workshop from the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Tour director Daniella Lurion said it’s a field trip without being a field trip.
“When they step on the bus, it’s 30 seats, wheelchair accessible. It’s a floor-to-ceiling projector video wall in front of them so the material really is there with them,” Lurion said.
Lurion said students learned about the Holocaust, the residential school system and antisemitism through the MS St. Louis and more.
She said the program uses data from Statistics Canada to connect the past, present and future and make it relatable to participants.
“Hate crime statistics in 2023, which is the most up to date, tell us that 45 per cent of all hate crimes today target someone based on race, ethnicity and nationality,” she said.
Since 2013, the Tour for Humanity has travelled to more than 1,200 schools nationwide and has reached more than 200,000 students, educators and community members.
Lurion said they’ve found ways to keep the experience fresh and relevant for students.
“Kids, they’re not using internet any more or less than they did in 2014, however now they’re also equipped with media literacy that was maybe lacking in those days,” she said, adding they’re also better equipped to recognize conspiracy theories online and misinformation.
Lurion said she makes the bus a safe space for students.
“I’ve had teachers come back after sessions and say that their kids have cleaned out local libraries for books about Anne Frank or the Rwanda genocide because they were just fascinated to learn more.”
Lurion said she hopes students walk away with an understanding of the past and how it pertains to the present and the future.
She said it was the tour’s first time in the Royal City, and that the experience with the students was a positive one.
“They’ve been incredibly respectful. They’ve been participating and listening along,” she said.
She said the workshop plans to return to the Royal City a couple more times in the fall.