Teachers do not get enough time or training to teach students about the Holocaust or antisemitism.
That is the view of Eve Sacker, a religious education teacher in Derby, East Midlands, who says she encounters antisemitism in the classroom on a regular basis and believes social media and late intervention are to blame.
“By the time pupils come to learn about antisemitism and the Holocaust in school, it is too late. A lot of them pick up antisemitic stereotypes at home but social media is even worse.
“I’ve seen antisemitism in state schools and independent schools. I had a student at a boarding school write at the back of his note book ‘death to Jews’ because he wanted me to see it when I was marking it.”
Ms Sacker, who works for the Open Centre, an organisation which visits schools to expose students to minority faiths in order to tackle prejudice, is often the first Jewish person the students have met.
“In areas of the country where there are no Jewish people, students know nothing about the community.
“I work primarily with primary school children and I am always asked questions like ‘why are all Jews rich?’ or ‘why does everyone hate Jews?’”
She said students are not taught about the Holocaust or challenged about causal antisemitism until they are in year six where they “might read Anne Frank as part of literacy.
“That isn’t enough.”
She said teachers are not given enough time during their training to provide adequate lessons on the Holocaust.
“It used to be that students would cover it in History and RE for GCSE, but there is less importance placed on RE as a subject. It is national problem.”
Sara Perlmutter, head of education policy at the Board of Deputies, said Ms Sacker’s complaint was not unusual.
Ms Perlmutter delivers the Board’s Jewish Living Experience (JLE) exhibition to schools and community spaces around the country. The exhibition, often used in schools, exposes pupils to Jewish artefacts, religious festivals and attempts to “challenge stereotypes about the community. One thing we find is that there is a lack of training given to teachers. Some are not even given 12 hours to teach about Holocaust.”
She said earlier intervention was important in challenging racist stereotypes before they become embedded in pupil’s minds.
Karen Pollock, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: “It is true that some teachers, through no fault of their own, are unable to deliver the quality Holocaust education they would like. Crowded timetables and financial and exam pressures may limit their access to specialist training or the classroom time they need to fully explore the complexities of the Holocaust. Yet we should remember that these cases are not the norm.
“Although teaching the Holocaust is not easy, we are fortunate that so many committed teachers all over the UK are working hard to ensure that young people learn effectively about the Holocaust and engage with its contemporary relevance.”
