Changing How Communism Is Taught

Dr. Gregory McBrayer lectures on Political and Economic Theory during seminar session one in Washington, D.C.'s Union Station.

On July 16-21, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) convened our second annual National Seminars for High School Educators and equipped 25 teachers from 18 states, plus DC and Brazil, with the tools to change how communism is taught in their classes, schools, and states.

Faculty lectured on the history of communist regimes, political economy, totalitarianism, the Cold War, and American communism. Participants crated instructional units and peer-to-peer presentations, watched VOC’s Witness Project videos, and heard from witnesses of communism Joseph Kim and Grace Jo, North Korean defectors; Enrique Altimari, a Venezuelan pro-democracy advocate; and Dr. Yang Jianli, a survivor of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

“The care shown in balancing discussion of ideology and the application of the curriculum materials makes a huge difference in allowing me to take these resources and make them relevant in my classroom,” said Mike Lutz of Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, PA.

VOC has grown in our ability to maintain long-term relationships with these teachers and expand our outreach. Thirty-six percent of our alumni scheduled follow-on activities for the 2017-18 academic year. Every teacher who uses our curriculum, presents to fellow educators, or invites a dissident to speak helps us reach thousands of high school students with the truth.