Classrooms Without Borders

For the fifth consecutive year, seventh and eighth grade students in gifted education classes at Ryan Gloyer Middle School (RGMS) had the opportunity to closely explore and learn about the Holocaust through an interactive and collaborative workshop in partnership with Classrooms Without Borders.

Playwright and teacher, Susan Stein, directly partners with teachers to develop lessons that will engage students both intellectually and emotionally. Ms. Stein spoke to students about diaries written by young people during the Holocaust and how they can use writing skills to impact their lives now.

Ms. Stein wrote and starred in the one-woman play “Etty,” based on the diaries and letters of Etty Hillesum. Students even got to watch Ms. Stein perform segments from the play for the first time.

“This is the fifth year in a row to have Ms. Stein visit our classrooms. We learn so much from her, and Ms. Stein’s background enables her to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the Holocaust,” stated Ryan Gloyer Middle School Gifted Support Teacher Mr. Zeke Stroupe.

Ms. Stein has appeared in Arthur Miller’s American Clock, directed by Austin Pendleton and was seen at Luna Stage in A Parent’s Evening. Ms. Stein studied acting at New York University (NYU) Graduate School of Arts and Science and Purchase College, SUNY. She served for 13 years on the faculty of Princeton Day School in Princeton, NJ teaching dramatic literature, playwriting and the history and literature of the Holocaust.