Neither Yesterdays Nor Tomorrows

by George J Elbaum

Founded in 2004, The Bay School (Bay) is an independent, coeducational college preparatory high school in the Presidio of San Francisco, and ranks among the top 20% of private schools in California.  With 400 students in grades 9 through 12, Bay balances challenging academics and innovative thinking with a mindful approach to learning and life – its goal is to see students unlock their individual and collective potential so they begin to realize their roles in a dynamic world.   Bay believes that a broad range of perspectives and experiences play a crucial role in achieving its educational mission, thus it intentionally recruits students and teachers from diverse cultural, racial, economic and geographic backgrounds.

Emphasizing depth of content, Bay’s curriculum focuses on problem solving, promotes critical thinking and encourages students to connect academic study with their extracurricular lives. Bay’s 9th and 10th grade courses build a broad foundation of basic skills, focusing on the relationships among traditional academic disciplines. Students’ interests and talents increasingly drive the academic program in 11th and 12th grade.

This was my 7^th visit to Bay since April 2017, and it was organized by history teacher Faven ????   The audience was comprised of approximately 60 students in Humanities class.  The students will have studied the aftermath of WWI and the Treaty of Versailles, and will follow my presentation with a study of WWII and the Holocaust, including an in-depth look at how Hitler rose to power, the authoritarianism of the 1930s, and undertake WWII research projects, some of which involve learning about the Holocaust in depth through primary source analysis. 

With teacher Faven____ and Annie Roos

Notes, questions, and paper “peace cranes” were submitted by students at end of my talk, which was arranged by Annie Roos, Education Program Coordinator, JFCS.

My presentation for approximately 350 teachers and staff personnel of the Tamalpais Union High School District was held in the auditorium of Redwood High School in Larkspur, CA. It was arranged by Lindsay Marcus, Education Program Coordinator, JFCSholocaustcenter.org

by George J Elbaum

The audience for this presentation consisted of 33 students from (several) high schools in the San Francisco area.  I was particularly pleased after giving my usual presentation when several students approached me, such as two boys from the Bay School, to tell me that they appreciated this talk as much now as when I spoke at their school a year or two ago.

As at many previous talks I was again asked why did I name my book Neither Yesterdays Nor Tomorrows, and I explained that it reflects my attitude which helped me survive relatively unscathed emotionally the more difficult situations of my Holocaust childhood: forgetting the painful yesterdays and ignoring the uncertainty of tomorrows, and focusing all my attention on solving today’s problem.  This attitude carried me through my Holocaust childhood and it works for me equally in my adulthood.  I then suggested to the students two take-aways: to focus as much as possible on the situation they are facing at the moment, and to always follow the “golden rule”, treating others as they themselves would want to be treated.  

The session was arranged by Lindsay Marcus, Education Program Coordinator, JFCS Holocaust Center.

by George J Elbaum

Students in Leota Middle School in Woodinville, WA, have been through an extensive Holocaust unit including learning and discussing common terminology, exploring the Pyramid of Hate, and completing a research and presentation project related to the timeline of Hitler’s Rise to Power, World War II, the Holocaust. Their presentations also included spending time reading ID cards on both the United States Holocaust Museum Website and Holocaust Center site where they focused on honoring each person by researching and sharing about the different people, those who may have survived and of course those who were murdered by Hitler and his collaborators. Students have read Night by Elie Wiesel and watched Bearing Witness: Elie Wiesel and Night. Since this is for an English Language Arts class, students also participated in the school field trip exploring artifacts of the Holocaust and have read different literature selections (poems, personal stories, articles, etc.) along with a non-fiction or fiction book of their choice about the Holocaust. Students will reflect upon their learning in journal entries and other written assignments, as well as small group discussions about their chosen book. The class will utilize photographs, texts, videos, artifacts, and other supplemental materials, from the Holocaust Center as well.

Arrangements for my presentation at Leota Middle School were made by Lexi Jason, Education Program Manager at Seattle’s Holocaust Center for Humanity.

by George J Elbaum

It Takes A Village (ITAV), Mill Valley, CA, is a district-wide Parent Teacher Association led by parent representatives from every school, teachers, administrators, and special support representatives.  Its goals and functions are providing parent education, community building through peer parent support, opportunities for children with special needs to connect, and support for social and educational initiatives. 

My presentation at the Mill Valley Middle School Public Library was organized by Oshik Maoz-Metzi, Executive Chair of Parent Education at ITAV, and my participation was arranged by Lindsay Marcus, Education Program Coordinator at JFCS Holocaust Center.

by George J Elbaum

Chaboya Middle School, San Jose, CA, is a public school with an enrollment of 850 students in grades 7 and 8, and an excellent 8 of 10 overall rating from GreatSchools.org.  Its students’ test score ratings are admirable: Math 76% vs. 36% CA state average; English 82% vs. 47% CA; and Science 62% vs. 31% CA.  Student diversity is 76% Asian, 12% Hispanic, 6% White, and 5% 2-or-more races, and 14% of students are from low income families.  Chaboya is a six-time recipient of the prestigious California Distinguished School designation – a testament to the school-wide commitment to excellence. Students learn well because quality staff, involved parent groups, numerous volunteers, community agencies and business partners work together to achieve the highest levels of academic success.

The session was organized by Laura Marshall Lambert, Language Arts teacher, attended by 400 8th grade students, and arranged by Lindsay Marcus, Education Program Coordinator, JFCS Holocaust Center.

Brier Terrace Middle School is a public school with an enrollment of 650 students in grades 7 and 8. Per the school’s website, we “strive to create a positive learning environment which enhances and nurtures the social, emotional, physical and intellectual growth of young adolescents. The 5P’s: polite, prepared, prompt, productive, and proud, are emphasized at school and taught and demonstrated throughout our school by students and staff.”  The school’s minority enrollment is 48% and its overall academic testing rank places it in the top 30% of WA state schools.

This was my second visit to Brier Terrace in the last 3 years, and my presentation was once again organized by teacher Beth Poole, whose preparation of her 8^th grade students included the history of anti-Judaism and antisemitism, pre-war Jewish life, the rise of Hitler, the timeline of events leading up to WWII regarding the Holocaust, Kindertransport, various narratives of hiding, survivor testimonials, Nuremberg Laws, Holocaust by bullets, different types of ghettos, different types of camps, and displaced persons camps.

Arrangements for my presentation were made by Lexi Jason, Education Program Manager of Seattle’s Holocaust Center for Humanity, and yeoman technical support (and more) was provided by Domenick Dellino.

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by George J Elbaum

I truly enjoyed my evening presentation to 25 members of the JFCS Young Adults Community.  Unlike presentations to school classes which may start a few minutes late as students continue to drift in, but which do end when the 50 min. bell rings, the start of this session was much more relaxed as was the ending, yet the questions were adult and thoughtful.  The ending was actually prolonged as several members of the audience and I continued a discussion while standing at the exit door.  The Q & A was also a more casual discussion which the initial question initiated.  As I left the building for home I realized that I was smiling!  Thank you, Young Adults!

The session was arranged by Lindsay Marcus, Education Program Coordinator, JFCS Holocaust Center.

by George J Elbaum

College Park High School has an enrollment of 2000 students of which 56% are minority and 26% are economically disadvantaged.  Despite these demographics, it is far above California state average of college and career readiness, such as student test scores (English 74% vs. 51% CA average and Math 48% vs. 40% CA average) and 97% graduation rate.  It is therefore rated 9/10 in college readiness and test scores by GreatSchools.org.

This presentation to College Park 10^th-12^th grade students, my 7^th since 2019, was again organized by World History teacher Lauren Weaver, as she had done each year and in 2019.  Her students have studied WWII and the Holocaust and were therefore aware of governmental persecution in Germany in the 1930s, including targeted boycotts, the Nuremberg Laws, planned stages of identification and separation in Ghettos, acts of violence such as Kiristallnacht, and eventual removal of Jews to concentration and death camps.   

Arrangements for my talk at College Park were made by Lindsay Marcus, Education & Marketing Associate of the JFCS Holocaust Center.

by George J Elbaum

Piedmont High School in Piedmont, CA, is a public school with enrollment of 763 students in grades 9-12 and 16:1 student-teacher ratio.  Per US News & World Report, it ranked #205 in National Rankings, #24 in California high schools and #4 in San Francisco metropolitan area.  (Schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation and how well they prepare students for college.)  The Advanced Placement (AP) participation rate of Piedmont students is 91% and 78% passed at least one exam.  Graduation Rate is 97% and total minority enrollment is 42%. 

My presentation to approximately 350 Freshmen and Sophomores was organized by Piedmont teacher Jean Takazawa as part of their Modern World History course, specifically the World War II unit. The teacher estimates that the students have received about six hours of Holocaust education before our program, and the Sophomores have also seen Schindler’s List. 

My presentation was arranged by Lindsay J. Marcus, Education Program Coordinator at the JFCS Holocaust Center