Thursday, March 30, 2006
Comments:
I'm not sure....
On the one hand, sometimes an exercise like this clouds the message, and kids tend not to think about the broader issues.
On the other, maybe not. I think one kid's quote shows that he got the message perfectly, "I don't want to be Jewish." That's exactly right, when you're being persecuted and exterminated, that's a normal reaction.
I wonder, if given sufficient time to absorb and reflect, the children may then begin to process and discuss what happened.
I also applaud the manner in which the children were chosen. Choosing alphabetically by last name is just as random as choosing by race, color or religion. That should be part of the lesson.
And it's not like the "Jewish" children were rounded up and taken to secluded areas of the school (a la concentration camps). This was some non-lethal stuff, and evocative of the kind of racial discrimination that went on in this country for years. There are multiple lessons here (although the public outcry would be enormous, if kids with letters L-Z got to be "black" for the day.)
I think with elementary and high school children, sometimes the best lessons are experiential. They can't grasp the idea that Jews were systematically killed, and they certainly can't understand the magnitude of it. But they understand mistreatment, and they understand how they feel when they are mistreated, and can associate the two.
I think something like this has pedagogical value, particularly for those that would otherwise be so removed from the Holocaust, and would have no other reason to think of it.
A Holocaust Remembrance Day in a Florida elementary school in 2006 needs something to make it "sticky." Otherwise, the kids will just not pay attention.
Sorry for the long ramble...
On the one hand, sometimes an exercise like this clouds the message, and kids tend not to think about the broader issues.
On the other, maybe not. I think one kid's quote shows that he got the message perfectly, "I don't want to be Jewish." That's exactly right, when you're being persecuted and exterminated, that's a normal reaction.
I wonder, if given sufficient time to absorb and reflect, the children may then begin to process and discuss what happened.
I also applaud the manner in which the children were chosen. Choosing alphabetically by last name is just as random as choosing by race, color or religion. That should be part of the lesson.
And it's not like the "Jewish" children were rounded up and taken to secluded areas of the school (a la concentration camps). This was some non-lethal stuff, and evocative of the kind of racial discrimination that went on in this country for years. There are multiple lessons here (although the public outcry would be enormous, if kids with letters L-Z got to be "black" for the day.)
I think with elementary and high school children, sometimes the best lessons are experiential. They can't grasp the idea that Jews were systematically killed, and they certainly can't understand the magnitude of it. But they understand mistreatment, and they understand how they feel when they are mistreated, and can associate the two.
I think something like this has pedagogical value, particularly for those that would otherwise be so removed from the Holocaust, and would have no other reason to think of it.
A Holocaust Remembrance Day in a Florida elementary school in 2006 needs something to make it "sticky." Otherwise, the kids will just not pay attention.
Sorry for the long ramble...
hm...maybe high schoolers. i don't think middle or elementary school kids should be subjected to this kind of treatment, especially when some already get bullied by peers.
Post a Comment
