Today’s entry - We need a national Holocaust day to remember, included with mass killings and terrorism. Our educational system is untrustworthy for history would have and still could repeat itself.
Bottom Line: This suggestion is on back of the research I shared recently indicating that 66% of Millennials had so little knowledge of the Holocaust, that they didn’t know Auschwitz was a Nazi concentration camp. I’ve emphasized the importance of us taking responsibility for the decisions we’ve made that’d led to this happening. From school board elections to meetings and parental responsibility to ensure our children are being properly educated, it's clear that we’ve failed younger generations. So, to the suggestion of this note, is a national “Holocaust Day” the answer?
I could see the value in it if it were applied purely for educational purposes. Realistically, I’m not sure that anyone other than the already informed would take notice. Take Memorial Day for example. Harris research of Memorial Day this year showed that only 55% of all adults and only 40% of adults aged 18-34 identified the purpose of Memorial Day.
Only 4% more Millennials know the purpose of Memorial Day, most commonly it’s confused with Veteran’s Day and yes, some think it’s a summer kickoff despite it being a federal holiday. That leads me to believe that having a separate national holiday to recognize the Holocaust wouldn’t move the information needle meaningfully either. I don’t think there are any shortcuts here. It all starts with education and we’re responsible for making sure it’s happening. It’s also clear that even having mandated Holocaust education, as we do in Florida, doesn’t guarantee that children are being thoroughly educated.
I’m reminded of something my dad would do with us as kids after church. He’d go around the car asking us what we took away. We were generally reluctant, but the point was taken. Pay attention or dad would know and he’d make sure we knew what was covered afterward. Same was true with federal holidays as he’d sit us down to ensure we knew the purpose of the holiday. That’s the bigger point. Engaged parents play a critical role in education. The question is how many are really engaged these days?
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