post 3

(even more literate now...)


The reason I decided to share this lesson is because it prepares the students for the reading well, and also promotes some real good discussion.

In a unit on the Holocaust, the students read a short play and other stories on people who helped Jews escape capture from the Nazis. Before reading, the students fill out a graphic organizer on their experiences with prejudice. (I got the original from ADL.org I think, but I can't find it). The graphic organizer is a table with 4 boxes with the headings: Bystander, Accomplice, Perpetrator, Victim. In each of these boxes students are to begin the lesson by recording their personal experiences with prejudice while in each of these roles. After discussing our experiences and feelings in these roles, and whether we have responsibility in these situations, we read the story or play.

At the end, students write a reflection based on the protagonist's experience and reflecting on their own experience with prejudice, what do they think they would have done in their place? And to what extent, would they go (breaking the law, etc).

In the end, the lesson personalized the whole experience for them, and helped to realize that everyone can experience prejudice in one way or another (whether as a victim or perpetrator).

post 2

i tried to post this a long time ago, but was not quite literate at the time. now i am.

"While I no longer have the confidence that I can dramatically increase my students' reading level, I have decided to focus on another big goal: decreasing apathy. No matter what we teach and no matter a student's background, apathy plays a critical role in the persistence of failure. While there's no tried and true indicators for the degree to which students care about school or what they are studying, it certainly shows in their attitude and performance.

I have found a little grin on my face when overhearing my students spiritedly discuss the merits of communism, debate the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, or note the injustices apparent in DC's local government structure. Even though they may never think about it a second time, and they will certainly not lie awake at night contemplating the longterm cultural and political impact of European colonialism, it's an incredible thing to witness those fleeting moments of excitement.

History can be a hard sell. Aside from the off chance that they will wind up on a trivia game show, or that they make the curious decision of pursuing a history PhD, or understanding the dangerously abstract moral importance in studying the past, it's pretty hard to make the case for history's importance in my student's lives. I've tried, but can't say that we are on the same page. So the moments in which they truly empathize and connect to people of different cultures from different time periods, however brief, are truly rewarding."