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Ukraine’s Holodomor An Educational Milestone and a Victory for Truth In the spring of 2005, Ukrainians through out the world were beginning to consider plans for commemorating the 75th anniversary of the 1932- 1933 Famine Genocide. Engineered by Josef Stalin and his henchman as a means of crushing Ukraine, the Great Famine annihilated approximately one quarter of Ukraine’s population. From the start, Soviet propaganda and dedicated Russophiles worked zealously to mask the truth from the civilized world. The cover-up was to continue for decades despite the endeavours of Ukrainians in the free world to tell the true story of this horrific and tragic time. Thus, in April 2005, Larissa Kyj (then vice president of UCCA) and UCCA member Ihor Mirchuk approached Vera Bej with an interesting proposal—the creation of a textbook about the Ukrainian Famine for Pennsylvania’s high school students. One of only 60 Pennsylvania Distin guished Educators and Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year in 1998, Ms. Bej was a logical candidate for this undertaking. Her impeccable professional credentials and her work as a consultant to Pennsylvania’s Department of Education (PDE) were critical assets that gave her access to the top echelon of PDE movers and shakers. With some hesitation and more than a little trepidation, Vera Bej accepted the challenge. Not long after, a committee comprising Ms. Bej, Christine Shwed, and Ihor Mirchuk was created and the monumental project was begun. Mr. Mirchuk, who holds a Ph.D. in Ukrainian History, is a social studies teacher in the Philadelphia School District. Ms. Shwed, who has a degree in education and who had worked for many years as a teacher in the Ukrainian Heritage School of metropolitan Phila delphia, was also the UNWLA’s Education Chair, elected to this position at the UNWLA’s XXVII Convention in May 2005. In an email to Our Life's editor, Ms. Bej (who is a UNWLA member at large) noted, “There were three key reasons I asked Christine and Ihor to serve on this project with me. One was Ihor’s expertise in Ukrainian history and Christine’s exceptional computer skills. The second was that both had teaching experience and thus had some familiarity with pedagogical theory and applica tion. The third and most important reason, however, was their disciplined approach to work and their ability to adhere to a strict timeline.” As project leader, Vera Bej was the prin cipal organizer and coordinator of the team and responsible for the pedagogical content, exercises, and activities as well as adherence to Pennsyl vania’s curricular standards. Ihor Mirchuk wrote a concise history of the Great Famine and compiled a list of FAQs for the project. Christine Shwed was responsible for formatting the book and for selecting appropriate artwork for the text. As the project evolved, numerous Pennsylvania educators reviewed the materials and offered constructive suggestions. The committee especially appreciated the guidance of Jeffrey Zeiders, head of the Social Studies Department at PDE. The project, like all worthwhile endeavors, presented numerous challenges, the first of which involved sifting through the plethora of famine- related materials available in books, periodicals, the Internet, and other sources. An associated challenge Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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