No airfare, hotel, transportation or museum pass was necessary for students in English II to tour the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, in Washington, D.C. In fact, not a single school absence was required.

Instead, Casey Holland’s English II students entered the museum virtually, in the school library, to prepare for an upcoming reader’s workshop regarding the events surrounding the Holocaust. with the help of librarian Lauren Reusch.

“In the past week, we’ve been talking about the historical events that led up to the Holocaust. Today, I wanted to give a broad overview and a rough timeline of the events during the Holocaust, so as they get into their books, these events aren’t something new,” Holland said. “I think it’s so important that we realize the danger of not sharing those stories and the importance of being kind. That’s what we do in my classroom. We understand the significance of what evil looks like and being good people and being good readers.”

Though the VR headsets made some students motion sick, the English II students enjoyed the tour.

“It was cool that we didn’t have to move or get up; we could stay in our seats and see everything,” sophomore Betsy Weaver said. “One of the rooms was filled with pictures of cities and the families living in them, and in one of the cities, he told us that there was only one girl and her dad that survived. It’s good to learn about this because there’s no way it can happen again if we know how it started and why it started.”

Sophomore Dyani May found the experience fascinating and recognizes the importance of studying this topic and others like it.

“I liked looking at all the pictures, but it was really sad looking at all the pictures of everyone who died and how there were so few survivors,” May said. “It’s important because there are Jewish kids in our school, so I think it’s good to get a background of where they come from and their families.”