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High school teacher recounts Poland 'March of the Living' trip and says it will shape classroom Holocaust instruction
Summary
Ryan Mendes, a Galesville-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School social studies teacher, described an April March of the Living trip to Poland that included visits to Auschwitz and Birkenau and ceremonies with survivors; he said the experience will deepen classroom instruction on conformity, obedience and Holocaust history.
Ryan Mendes, a social studies teacher and the high school track coach, told the Galesville-Ettrick-Trempealeau School District board that an April 10–16 March of the Living trip to Poland gave him firsthand experience he plans to bring back to his classroom.
"I kind of... wanted to talk to the school board about a trip I was able to take to Poland in April," Mendes said, describing visits to Kraków, Auschwitz and Birkenau, attendance at ceremonies with Holocaust survivors, and walks with thousands of participants at memorial events. He said the program included visits to mass grave sites, museums and survivor testimony.
Mendes told board members the trip was offered through the March of the Living program and that participants included teachers from neighboring districts; he said some local sponsors paid most costs so more county teachers could attend. He described images and exhibits that he said were "very powerful," including walls of photographs, piles of shoes on display and commemorative registers of victims.
"I think the biggest thing for me right now is shifting what I do in sociology class and talking more about conformity and obedience," he said, adding that he plans to expand Holocaust content beyond what is currently covered in U.S. history classes.
Mendes said the delegation attended a remembrance ceremony that included testimony from survivors and people affected by the October 7 attacks in Israel; security precautions were part of the trip’s planning. Board members thanked Mendes and asked whether other teachers might be able to attend in future years; Mendes said local sponsorships could help expand participation.
The board did not take a formal vote on curriculum changes at the meeting; Mendes said his remarks were intended to inform staff and to signal potential classroom adjustments. Board members said they appreciated the report and noted the value of teachers’ direct exposure to historical sites for classroom instruction.
Mendes’s remarks were presented as an administrative/staff report to the board, and he offered to answer questions and to share photographs and other materials with board members.
