Georgetown District High School (GDHS) Grade 10 and 12 students recently learned about the Holodomor genocide through the Holodomor Mobile Classroom Bus.
In 1932 and 1933, millions of Ukrainians were killed in the Holodomor, a man-made famine engineered by the Soviet government under Joseph Stalin.
“We wanted to provide students with a unique and impactful learning experience,” says Kyle O’Neil, teacher at GDHS, noting the tour’s curriculum connection includes Grade 12 History since the 15th century, Grade 10 Canadian History and Grade 12 Philosophy. “The Holodomor and genocide are part of our History curriculum, so hosting the Holodomor Mobile Classroom Bus would be the perfect way to bring this learning and reflection to students.”
“Based on feedback from students, the students learned many important lessons and details, including the existence of the Holodomor genocide, why it happened, its impact on Ukrainian-Canadians, what genocide is and what can be done to prevent such atrocities from happening again in the future.”
“The Holodomor Mobile Classroom Bus represents a unique learning opportunity for our students that deepens their understanding of history and develops their awareness of what it means to be a responsible global citizen,” says Michael Gallant, Principal at GDHS. “This experience helps students connect with the stories so that they can better understand what happened and how it relates to their lives today.”
O’Neil says the mobile tour bus has a strong connection to the HDSB’s 2020-2024 Multi-Year Plan (MYP).
“Hosting the Holodomor Mobile Classroom Bus helps to work towards the HDSB's MYP goal of Equity and Inclusion. Specifically, providing students with this unique learning experience helped them to identify racism and discrimination, and learn how these forms of oppression can result in atrocities like the Holodomor.”
