Students to Visit Museum of Tolerance

In an effort to instill a sense of ethnic tolerance and cultural understanding in youngsters, the Oxnard Elementary School District is adding a three-week instructional program on racial tolerance to its eighth-grade curriculum that includes a field trip to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

Beginning in early May, the district’s 1,250 eighth-graders will be reading books related to the struggles of ethnic groups, including Jews, African Americans and the people of Sarajevo.

“The understanding of tolerance in a diverse society and a need to sensitivity are something that we cannot ignore,” said Richard Duarte, assistant superintendent for educational services. “And we feel we need to incorporate that in our curriculum.”

The board of trustees voted unanimously Wednesday to incorporate the program into the district’s language, arts and social studies curriculum.

The trip to the museum will be paid by the United Jewish Appeal/Federation of Ventura County. The nonprofit organization began the program last year when it paid for 1,200 students in the Ventura Unified School District to visit the museum.

The program was so successful that the organization extended it to eighth-graders in Oxnard, Ojai and Port Hueneme, said Eitan Ginsburg, executive director for the organization.

This year, United Jewish Appeal will spent about $15,000 to send about 3,000 students to the museum, which features sections on the Holocaust, civil rights, genocide and other ethnic events around the world.

“It was an incredible experience visiting the museum,” said Connie Sharp, in charge of curriculum and instruction in the Oxnard school district. “It will give the kids a first-hand experience of what can happen if they allow prejudice in their lives.”

The Oxnard Fire Department and the Oxnard Police Activities League will pay about $5,000 in transportation fees for the students’ trip to Los Angeles.

The teachers, who will incorporate the program in their curriculum, will visit the museum so they can better prepare the students, Sharp said.