Tour for Humanity finished off the second of a two-day visit at a public school in Milton today. Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) Educator Daniella had the Grades 7 and 8 classes from the school on the bus participating in the Canadian Experience program. Similar to yesterday, these students asked a lot of questions. 

One Grade 7 class in particular kept circling back to the Holocaust. At one point a student asked if it was true that Hitler actually survived the war. Daniella explained that this was false but that it was a common misconception and conspiracy theory. Daniella asked the class about other common myths they had heard before about the Holocaust, some of which included “Hitler was Jewish”  and that he had children. While dispelling these myths, it also led to a very interesting discussion about credible news sources. Daniella discussed ways of checking the accuracy of research, especially looking for multiple reliable sources. 

Another interesting moment occurred in one Grade 8 class. During the segment on cyberbullying the class mentioned a new app called Sarahah. It appears to be an updated version of ask.fm which was popular a few years ago. The official website describes it as a tool that “helps you in discovering your strengths and areas for improvement by receiving honest feedback from your employees and your friends in a private manner.” This site where people ask questions and receive anonymous responses raises some concerns with regards to bullying - it was clearly expressed by the students that this type of program is often used as a tool for cyberbullying.