Simon's Story helps teach kids to be heroes (Timmins Today)

Timmins students were learning how to be heroes this week.

Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Tour for Humanity bus wrapped up its Northern Ontario tour in Timmins over the past couple of days. The bus is a mobile human rights education centre that travels around Ontario to talk about diversity, democracy, and Canadian civic rights and responsibilities.

“(The students) were fantastic, they were great to work with, they were super knowledgeable, they kept wanting to share all of their thoughts and all of their opinions, which is great when that happens,” said Daniella Lurion, Tour for Humanity education assistant, after a session at Pinecrest Public School.

“When I left them at the end with ‘do something, your job now is to do, to be a hero, to be the person that sticks up for somebody else’. I can see that it really sunk into them as well and they were all quick to tell me what they could to stop bullying at school and things like that.”

The junior workshop, Simon’s Story, is targeted at Grade 5 and 6 students.

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Kids learn life lessons from Holocaust presentation (Timmins Daily Press)

The genocide of six million Jewish Europeans during the Holocaust can be a disturbing minefield to walk elementary school-aged children through.

But an educator with the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies offered a gentle introduction to students at Pinecrest and Golden Avenue public schools in Timmins last week – presenting the Nazi regime in the relatable context of a school yard bully.

“The Holocaust came down to one person or group being intolerant … or not liking someone else for who they were,” said Daniella Lurion, an educator with the Simon Wiesenthal Centre. “That’s what it all comes down to. Hitler and the Nazis targeted people like Simon because they were Jewish. When someone gets bullied, whether it’s at school, whether it’s in the world today, it’s very often the exact same situation. They’re being targeted for who they are.”

Lurion said there is a benefit to talking to elementary school children about historic events that were sparked by racism and prejudice.

“These kids are going to be the future generation. These kids are probably at the most important age group because they’re still impressionable,” she said. “They’re still in a position where they can question and they haven’t solidified these beliefs in their minds yet. So we can expose them to things and they can go, ‘Oh, well maybe it is different’ or ‘It’s not the way I’ve always been told.’

“And the idea is if we can plant that seed, where they are questioning, and they believe they can make a difference, and help someone else – if we can plant that seed at this age, by the time they’re 18, it will just be ingrained in them.”

Lurion’s stop in Timmins was part of the Wiesenthal Centre’s Tour for Humanity. The presentation has been shared at schools across the province for the past four years. This was the first time they were invited to present in Timmins.

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LOCAL STUDENTS DISCUSS THE HOLOCAUST, DIVERSITY AND BULLYING (93.1 Moose FM)

Timmins students are learning about becoming local heroes.

Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s Tour for Humanity education bus made its final northern Ontario stops in Timmins this week. This education bus travels the province teaching students about diversity, democracy and Canadian civic rights. Grade five students at Pinecrest Public School learned about the Holocaust and human rights. Education Associate Daniella Lurion says for this junior workshop, students would learn about Simon Wiesenthal who was a Jewish child targeted by Hitler and the Nazi’s. Lurion says they discuss concentration camps at an age appropriate level with  story the students can relate to.

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