I really think that quite a few of them missed the point. I make that determination based on the following statements from students.
- The Holocaust is sadder than I thought.
- I almost cried.
- Why do we have to learn about sad stuff?
- Teaching about Nazis makes people be racist.
And the most profound comment award goes to...
- That kind of sucks.
I actually found myself getting madder and more disgusted with my students as the day wore on and I showed the video to all of my classes. Yes, there were kids who showed a great deal of empathy and who were deeply moved by the video, but the loud majority of them see no point in trying to understand why a democratically-elected leader could take control in times of financial crisis and turn other people into scapegoats to the point where they are systematically slaughtered.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
If the wisdom of Whitney Houston is to be believed and children are our future, then God help us all.
My head hurts. That's it. I've tried to formulate a logical opinion about all of this for the past few days. But...I can't. When I was in eighth grade, we had to read the Diary of Anne Frank. Since we weren't due to even touch on WWII until junior year (because all students must learn about the American revolution over and over again for five years in a row, y'all), we had six weeks in English class that we focused on nothing but actually learning about the war. Do you know who helped her teacher teach it? That's right, this girl.
ReplyDeleteSo I'm a little bit offended that your students had nothing more to say than, "That sucks." Can I come out there and give them an ass whooping or...?
I can't help but wonder if a lot of it is that they're 13 and perpetually think that they are the most important people in the history of ever. I really don't want to chalk it up to plain ol' stupidity.
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