AJC Educational Programs for Middle and High School Spaces

American Jewish Committee (AJC) experts offer educational programs about the Jewish people and antisemitism to students, teachers, and parents in middle and secondary schools. We provide a range of educational resources and workshops to support your institution's educational goals.
 

Student Programs:

These workshops are tailored to provide middle and high school students with an understanding of diverse perspectives necessary to engage in informed conversations about Jewish identity, antisemitism, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Our approach aims to create a more knowledgeable, inclusive, and empathetic school environment.

1. Jewish Identity in our School Community: An exploration of Jewish identity historically and today to help students understand the Jewish members of their school community. This workshop centers around inclusivity and promotes dialogue and allyship.
    
2. Understanding Antisemitism in the 21st Century: A workshop that equips students with the tools they need to recognize, combat, and respond to antisemitism in society today. Incorporating the history and current presentation of antisemitic tropes, this program situates antisemitism in an understanding of a broader framework of discrimination and hate.
    
3. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 101: A concise but impactful exploration of the conflict through historical, political, cultural, and humanitarian lenses, fostering critical thinking and empathy.
    

Faculty Workshops:

These workshops and seminars are designed to empower high school teachers with the knowledge, resources, and strategies needed to effectively teach about the Jewish people, antisemitism (both historically and today), and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an engaging and informative manner.

1. Jewish History Across the Curriculum: Jews often appear in school curricula only as victims in the Holocaust. But Jews have had an impact on the world for thousands of years. This workshop will provide educators with flexible resources to enrich curriculum through inclusion of the Jewish people in history studies.  
2. Antisemitism Education Workshop: This workshop aims to educate educators about Jewish identity and antisemitism throughout history and today. It equips teachers with an understanding of who Jews are and provides critical information about the origins of antisemitism and the way antisemitic tropes continue to impact society today. Special attention is given to how to speak about antisemitism in the classroom. 
3. Teaching the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Faculty often fear teaching or engaging in classroom conversation about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This workshop, aimed at middle and high school history and social studies faculty, provides educators with the foundational knowledge necessary to embark on creating curriculum or holding classroom conversations on this fraught conflict. In addition to providing an understanding of the history and present-day situation with respect to the conflict, this workshop helps educators teach the conflict with empathy and attention to the multiple narratives held by those impacted by it.
    

Parent Programs:

These workshops are aimed at educating the parent body of a school community to expand understanding of Jews and antisemitism and address how the school community can best support Jewish students and families. Presented through a lens of allyship, these programs aim to enhance the cohesiveness and empathy of school communities.

1. Exploring Jewish Identity: An exploration of contemporary Jewish identity and heritage, including how Jewish identity manifests in diverse spaces and how Jews and other groups who face discrimination and hate can build allyship with one another.  
2. What Parents Need to Know About Antisemitism: A workshop that equips parents with the tools to understand the history and current presentation of antisemitic tropes and how to discuss issues and incidents in a diverse school community. This program situates antisemitism in an understanding of a broader framework of discrimination and hate.
3. Understanding the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: In this moment of heightened tension, many parents don’t feel they have adequate knowledge and understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly in light of its centrality to the discourse of young people and educational spaces. This workshop will give a basic yet nuanced and thoughtful overview of the conflict, presenting multiple narratives and focusing on both knowledge and empathy.

Contact: 

For more information, or to request an educational program, please email education@ajc.org.