Building Empathy is a project of PEF and PUSD, with support from the California State Library and California Humanities
The Building Empathy project was launched on three PUSD campuses in fall 2022. Teachers and students participated in professional development sessions to learn more about the injustice experienced by the Japanese community during WWII. Students then made connections to contemporary issues by:
- Interviewing their own family members
- Creating podcasts through which they explored contemporary injustices
- Writing research papers
- Creating comic books and art
- Delivering speeches on contemporary issues
Selected content from the first year of the project can be read in the virtual edition of the book. To order a print copy, please reach out to Octavia’s Bookshelf.
Page Header Photo: Art by Pasadena High School student, Tina G.; Photo credit: Milly Correa Hernandez
IN THIS SECTION
What we hear!
“I had already known pretty much most things about the [Japanese American concentration] camps because my grandmother was interned at those camps…”
– Leo, ninth grader, Pasadena High School
“I wasn’t very aware of the Japanese concentration camps, so I learned with the students. I think it’s important to learn about issues that happen in our neighborhood, and this is really relevant.”
– Mayte Hernandez, English instructor, Pasadena High School
