Who We Are
Facing History and Ourselves delivers classroom strategies, resources and lessons that inspire young people to take responsibility for their world. Internationally recognized for our quality and effectiveness, Facing History harnesses the power of the Internet and partners with school systems, universities and ministries of education worldwide. Each year we reach more than 1.8 million students through our global network of more than 25,000 educators, staff, adjunct faculty and international fellows facilitate hundreds of seminars and workshops annually, and we reach the public through community events and extensive online resources. In 2007, our website, received more than 500,000 visits from people in 205 countries.
At the heart of our work is the resource book Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and Human Behavior, which explores the consequences of hatred. Students all over the world learn to recognize bigotry and indifference. They also meet exemplars of courage and compassion in the face of injustice and see that their own daily choices can have major impacts and perhaps even be a critical link to a safer future.
Facing History's work is based on the premise that we need to-and can-teach civic responsibility, tolerance, and social action to young people, as a way of fostering moral adulthood. If we do not educate students for dignity and equity, then we have failed both them and ourselves.
We believe that students are moral philosophers-able and willing to think about tough moral and ethical dilemmas in surprisingly sophisticated ways. Our materials and our approach help students with a wide range of abilities and learning styles understand that their choices and actions matter, and that young people can, and should, be agents of change. We provide teachers with the tools they need to educate students so that they can act on their knowledge.
"I faced history one day and found myself." - Facing History and Ourselves Student
