Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The Holocaust
During World War II the German Nazis mass murdered 6 million European Jews, homosexuals, and gypsies. Jews were seen as a racial threat and ruining the purity of the country. They were sent to concentration camps in Poland to be killed as the "final solution." How should the Holocaust be taught in schools? Should it be introduced in elementary school as part of history or english or should it be held off until middle or high school? Will the Holocaust be one of the events in history that will never be forgotten or will it fade away in 100 years?
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The Holocaust should be taught in high schools around the country. Elementary might be too soon to introduce such a wide, and open topic, that is open to discussion to young teens. No matter a freshman, or sophomore, or junior in high school, this event should be taught. I feel that the majority of students do feel strongly that they either want to learn about the Holocaust, just to have some knowledge, or feel that they should know and understand the pain that was felt by the six million European Jews, homosexuals, and gypsies. The Holocaust will possibly fade away in 100 years. As survivors are passing away, and sons and daughters of those survivors are passing away, the new generation may "forget" the past events that shaped history.
ReplyDeleteThe Holocaust should be introduced to students starting in middle school. While in middle school, students should be given a general overview of the Holocaust, but going into the brutal details would be too much for the younger students. In high school,the Holocaust should be taught in depth using different means of teaching. Lectures, videos, and photos can serve as appropriate teaching tools to discuss the Holocaust. The Holocaust will not pass away as long as it is continued to be taught in schools and not overlooked as a mere act of the past.
ReplyDeleteI pretty much agree with Kristen. Kids should get a bit of an introduction to the Holocaust in middle school, enough to at least know that it happened, and be aware of it, but the depth should come from a high school History class, for the most part. It should be a part of WWII, a section big enough to cover the major details. I also think that the Holocaust will not be forgotten because it was so shocking, and it really affected too much of the world to just let it pass.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that any grade prior to grade 7 has the emotional maturity to learn about the Holocaust, even in a general overview. In middle school, students should be exposed to it. The horrifying pictures and facts about the Holocaust are never going to sit well with anyone at any age, but I definitely don't think that a middle school student is ready to hear that. I agree with Kristen and Jackie, it shouldn't be taught in depth until high school. I think that overloading students with the topic in both English and History classes during the same year would be too much, but I think that reading a novel after a year of really learning in depth about the Holocaust would be beneficial. For example, reading books like Night after learning about the Holocaust in depth would help students have a better understanding of what happened.
ReplyDeleteI feel very strongly that the Holocaust will be remembered in 100 years. It affected not only the US, but the entire world. The death tolls alone are something to be remembered. Just like the Civil War, WWII teaches us important lessons that cannot be forgotten. The country as a whole must be aware of corrupt leaders. It showed us how leaders such as Hitler and Mussolini could manipulate their citizens and the importance of being independent. It is important the students learn about WWII not only to learn about their countries history, but to learn these important lessons as well.
ReplyDeleteIt is important that middle school students are at least aware of the Holocaust, and when the time comes to learn about it, they are not completly diving into a new topic. But I agree that schools schould keep the facts, figures and material for the more mature students. The Holocaust was not just a mass genocide, it was much more complex. Students learning about it should be able to comprehend the reasons leading up to it, the duration, and also the effects. I do not think that the horror of the Holocaust will ever die out within the America people, because we are well informed about it and the media offered during the time was allowed to capture the truth. But I do believe that once survivors and direct descndents die, that the sensitivity of the subject will soften a bit.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the Holocaust will just fade away and in a hundred years I think that people will be just as disturbed by it as they are now. There's no way that someone can look at pictures from the concentration camps and not be affected by it. Because it's so horrifying, people will remember it, always. It's also a big part of World War II and since the war was so huge, it's going to be taught for the next 100 year and people will learn about it. I agree with Jenna in that an extremely important lesson can be learned from what happened, and that's not something that people are likely to soon forget.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that with current genocides the Holocoust will be less memorable? Do you think current or future genocides will ever be as horrific or make as much of an impact as the Holocaust did? Should we learn about current genocides in school?
ReplyDeleteI think that since the whole point of studying history is to learn from it, then we should not only study the Holocaust, but current genocides as well. I think that most people agree that the Holocaust is something that should never happen again, but right now genocides still take place. If it's still going on, then people obviously aren't learning enough from what happened.
ReplyDeletealong the lines of whether or not (or how) to teach the Holocaust, what about those who deny it happened? Should their viewpoint be brought in, as wrong as it is as an illustration of what happens when you don't remember?
ReplyDeleteI think that the people who deny it have not been taught about it in schools. A person with any education has been taught about the Holocaust. Their are pictures, videos, etc. that shows the Holocaust. One cannot deny it. ANd i agree about Shawna's comment regarding maturity. I think high school is the right time to teach the Holocaust, otherwise the facts scare the kids, or they go over the kids heads and they don't understand what really happened.
ReplyDeleteWhat Shawna said about studying history to learn from it is a good point, but most genocides are happening where people don't really get an education, or learn about the Holocaust, so maybe something has to be done there. And about whether or not the viewpoints of people who deny the Holocaust should be discussed, no. I think it's pointless because arguing that the Holocaust didn't happen is like saying the sun is cold or something, there's just obvious proof and witnesses and it's crazy that some people deny it. It's not like they don't remember it, they just choose to be ignorant and not acknowledge it.
ReplyDeletePeople who do not believe the Holocaust existed are in denial or incredibly stubborn. There are pictures and documents, survivors and first hand accounts of the brutal torture Nazi's put those people through. There are also bodies that were in the camps, too real to be computerized, especially in the 1940s. With all of that proof, people who do not believe the existence of the Holocaust should be ignored when teaching unless it is an older class, such as 10th or 11th grade. Taught in the context of war, with pictures and literature, older students can accept the varying viewpoints of the event. But if younger, the conflict may be confusing and it may cause others to feel that, if some people think it doesn't exist, then maybe they are right. Older, we would know better than this. but to a younger child just being introduced to the Holocaust, it is important for them to understand that it actually happened and that people who do not believe are not opinionated, but wrong.
ReplyDeleteI do not think current genocides are as bad as the Holocaust was. However, I think current genocides should be studied in school to show how the world did not completely learn from its mistake in WWII and allowing the Holocaust to continue. Unfortunately, I do not think that current genocides will make as much of an impact as the Holocaust did and will not be remembered as much. The Holocaust is more remembered because of the events that surrounded it. WWII and Hitler will make sure that the Holocaust is always remembered
ReplyDeleteNowadays everything has to be so "politically correct" and schools have to be careful what they say. But I do believe it is important that schools at least introduce kids to the Holocaust when they are young, but also giving them heavier information when they are old enough to make their own opinions. With what Kristen said, I agree that the Holocaust is important to teach people what the definition of genocide is. I also agree with how current genocides are not as brutal but who is to say that they would not be as brutal if we did not have CNN and Fox covering from all areas of the globe? The media has made it difficult for there to be mass death camps being hid someone in the forests, which was not an option in the 1940s. As we learned the Holocasut was such a surprise to so many people, in some cases it was happening right under their nose, whish is a really scary thought.
ReplyDeleteOn the internet, denial is given a new viewpoint. "Denial" is not neccessarily that you don't believe that it happened, but the idea that "denialers" believe anyone who does not exactly believe that 6 million Jews were killed is a person who denies the Holocaust. This is a weird way to look at it, because a person cannot deny the Holocaust by saying that more or less then 6 million Jews were killed because they still acknowlegde the fact that Jews were mass murdered.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Erin, that students should learn about the Holocaust in elementary school, but should go more in depth when they go into high school. As for studying studying the denial of the Holocaust I think that should be presented in high school because younger students will get the facts confused. After talking to my cousin, who is a high school student, she said that this is the first year that she has learned about the Holocaust. She wishes that they learned about it at a younger age so she was more informed about world history instead of studying the same American history events every year.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Holocaust should be taught in middle school at a small level. Maybe we got a lot because I'm pretty sure we saw some of the horrific pictures in middle school and that was scary to us. It was also very out of context and relating it back more would have been helpful. I think genocides of today should be taught. In 7th grade we learnt about it but we haven't since and I think it's important. Technology has allowed us to know what is going on there and it is not as surprising as the Holocaust. Since the Holocaust was the first major genocide in the modern day we are not as surprised because we had seen that and have been shocked by that.
ReplyDeleteI think pictures should be avoided, especially if they are really graphic because they can cause a lot of mental damage. My sister is 7 and they were doing something of the Holocaust. She's only in 2nd grade, and she came home the other day very upset about some of the pictures she had seen. i think that middle school is young to learn, but 2nd grade is a little intense. The pictures they see aren't nearly as graphic as the ones we see, but still the thought of the Holocaust is too much to handle when you're seven or eight.
ReplyDeleteI beleive that we should be learning a lot more about current genocides. It is important to learn about the holocaust of WWII, but current genocides are important as well. I want to learn about what is going on in the world not only during WWII, but in my own time. I don't think that current genocides will overshadow the holocaust because it is still such a shocking event and one of the biggest parts of world history. Learning current events is always important.
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