How Ms. Boone Takes Teaching Beyond The Classroom

Ms. Boone standing alongside Holocaust survivor and Holocaust Museum volunteer Bob Behr. During her time as an intern in D.C, Boone met and made connections with multiple Holocaust survivors, one of the most important contributions to her perspective as a Holocaust teacher. 

Photo Credits: Carrie Boone

Isaac James, Community Desk Lead for The Powderhorn

All schools in North Carolina require some form of instruction on the history of the Holocaust, with many schools offering a full honors-level course on the topic: Holocaust and Genocide Studies. In the class, students not only explore the intricacies and historical nuances of the Holocaust, they also explore other events such as the Armenian genocide, combining deeper analysis of well-known events with those less widely taught and understood. 

Watauga High School is lucky to have an expert on the topic among its ranks: the Social Studies Department’s Ms. Carrie Boone. Boone has taught the class at Watauga for years and is constantly seeking out new ways to add to her already-expansive knowledge on the topic. Initially, Boone came to the High Country to study at Appalachian State and from there found herself pursuing Holocaust Studies somewhat unexpectedly.

“When I got to App, I didn’t know what I wanted to study,” said Boone. “I found out there was a freshman seminar class on the Holocaust, and I thought that would be really interesting.” 

While Boone’s exploration of the topic originally started out with merely an interest in a class, it soon changed into the pursuit of a minor in Appalachian State’s Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies. 

“I took that class, then found out you could have a Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies minor at App,” said Boone. “From there, I decided to pair it with history, and then I didn’t know what to do with just a history degree, so I decided to go into teaching.” 

Boone’s explorations of Holocaust studies reach far beyond just the walls of the classroom, though. Over the years she’s traveled throughout the United States and Europe, undertaking different studies and cultural ventures along the way. 

“While I was in college, I got to study abroad, and also spent a semester in D.C working at the Holocaust Museum,” said Boone. “I’ve also worked with Centropa, and studied and traveled with them two times in the summer.”

After years of diligent studying and work, Boone has been rewarded for her efforts with multiple honors and significant positions in the world of Judaic Holocaust studies. 

“I’m now a Regional Leadership Coordinator for the Northwest Region of the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust,” said Boone. “I help lead professional development for teachers, like meetings and seminars on how to teach the Holocaust. This past year, I got my certification in Holocaust Pedagogy, which is essentially ‘what are the best ways to teach the Holocaust?’”

While these roles have helped elevate Boone to a high level of expertise and qualification at the state level, her positions have also enabled her to pursue her love of global travel and exploration even further than in the past. Understanding the implications of the Holocaust on a world scale is crucial to becoming a master on the topic, something Boone knows and utilizes well. 

“This past summer, [our cohort] traveled to Poland together,” said Boone. “We studied some of the places that we had talked about in the class, and then some new places too. The basis of the trip was really understanding a lot more of the full story of the Holocaust and the context of Jewish history, tradition, and culture in those areas.” 

Alongside her own travels, Boone has helped lead student trips to many of these historical locations, emphasizing the importance of first-hand experience on developing a deeper understanding of history. 

“I did get to take students on a trip in 2023,” said Boone. “We went to Berlin, Warsaw, Krakow, and Prague, learning about the Holocaust in Eastern and Central Europe. In 2028, I’m going to be taking students back to Europe, and we’ll be going to Dachau.” 

While Boone has seen the sites, learned the history, and accomplished a lot in her time studying the Holocaust, her ambitions for the future are still far-reaching, as she hopes to continue to expand her expertise further.  

“My next goal is to do the Teacher Fellowship at the Holocaust Museum in D.C,” said Boone. “That’s been a goal of mine for a long time, but my summers have always been so busy. Now that I have a free summer coming up, I’m making it my goal to get that fellowship.”