UpStander Initiative

UPSTANDER: Stand Up To Bullying initiative is quickly becoming a major force in our community. It is a program model that describes the best method of addressing bullying as one that encourages peers to intervene. It fits well into Holocaust education, emphasizing the good citizenship – standing up for others – that enabled thousands of Jews to survive Hitler’s final solution. The same compassion and concern for others can make a great difference in the life of the bullies’ victims.

There is no question that bullying in its many forms has caught the public’s attention. In response to this growing concern, the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center created its UpStander program as a core part of its mission. The Center has often used bullying as an easily-understood example of bystander and rescuer behavior during the Holocaust. This new project formalizes these lessons, asking children to stand up for others who are in distress. Children and adults are asked to take a pledge: I will STAND UP to bullying; I won’t be a bully; I won’t let anyone bully me; I won’t let anyone bully someone else; I have a responsibility to STOP BULLYING in my school and in my community.

The core initiative consists of five separate programs for students over the course of two school years. The first part of the program is a presentation by John Halligan, whose son Ryan committed suicide at age 13 in response to years of bullying. After that in-school program, students come to the Center for a field trip, then the Center’s resource teacher goes to the schools for an additional presentation linking John Halligan’s message with the Holocaust and bullying.

The second school year starts with the Ultimate Consequence, a shadow puppet show written especially for the UpStander program. This is followed by an in school presentation teaching the students how to be effective UpStanders, keeping themselves and their friends safe.

Each segment of the UpStander program can be modified to stand on its own. It is available to public, charter and private schools and can be adapted for different age groups. The project continues to expand, including a new element that brings together 90 Seminole County middle school students to address improving their school climate, and a quarterly summit to serve as a clearing house for interested parties in Central Florida to share ideas, learn what their peers are doing, and have an opportunity to collaborate with others.

The problem of bullying and child-on-child violence will take time, community effort and resources to address. We believe that this is an important, productive step to help children become more responsible for the well-being of others, and to ensure that all children can feel safer in their school and in their community.

In addition to specific activities for students in schools and at the Center, we now have our own video to share. A short version as well as a longer one is downloadable here.

Other Programs

The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center has established as one of its goals the reduction of prejudice in our community. This is a consistent theme in all of its education programs. Most young people visit the Holocaust Center in school groups; however some require a more intensive, individual approach. The Holocaust Center offers several programs designed to meet these needs.

Prejudice Reduction Education Programs
Hate groups frequently view schools as fertile ground for recruiting new members. There are documented incidents of such recruitment at schools across the country and in our own community. Young people may be drawn into a hate group for personal reasons. Once inside, however, they are indoctrinated with the group’s philosophy of prejudice and violence. An intense effort is required to counteract this influence. The Holocaust Center offers individually tailored education programs for young people who have become involved in hate group activities. Most frequently, participation in this program is ordered by a judge as part of the sentence imposed for the commission of a “hate crime”. The structure and duration of this program depends entirely on individual circumstances.

Prejudice Awareness Classes
Some young people who become involved in incidents involving prejudice are not members of hate groups. They may benefit from a program developed by the Holocaust Center at the request of the Juvenile Alternative Services Program (JASP) of the Orange County Juvenile Court. It is also open to referrals from public and private schools and from parents. It consists of a short-term program at the Holocaust Center for the young person and (if possible) his/her parent(s) and is designed to communicate the following themes:

  • Attitudes of prejudice and acts of discrimination are part of our history. The ramifications of this history continue to exert an influence on the present.
  • The common bonds of humanity shared by all people are of greater significance than individual or group differences.
  • Anyone can develop or reject attitudes of prejudice. Anyone can commit, facilitate, or oppose acts of discrimination.
  • Every person is responsible for his/her attitudes, actions, and influence on others.
  • Overcoming prejudice requires the consistent effort of all people of good conscience. This process requires time and the development of open-mindedness and empathy.

Upstanders Script Available
We have adapted a Readers Theater script created by the University of Minnesota that celebrates the efforts of “upstanders” — people who stand up, speak out, and take risks to protect the safety and well-being of others. This script is available to download in the Education Section of this website.

The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida · 851 N Maitland Ave · Maitland, FL 32751 · Phone: 407-628-0555 · info@holocaustedu.org