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The Boston Holocaust Memorial was one of the most powerful I have seen. As you walk through the glass, steam comes up from the grates, and names of people that were killed in various concentration camps are on the sides of the glass. Photo taken in 2013.
We are getting closer and closer to finals! Just a couple of more weeks to go. Here's what happened in class today:
Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Behavior LT 1: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Behavior LT 2: I can self-direct my learning.
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.
Soundtrack: "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2. Selected for today because the song is in large part about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who we honor on Monday with a day of service! Lyrics here.
AGENDA 1/12/18:
News Brief – Kanta
Group Activity
Rise of Hitler
Homework: Read the blog. Finish reading the Could Hitler Happen Again article and making 3 discussion questions for next class. Next news brief: Megan.
News Brief: Kanta selected an article about this story to bring in: BBC.com - Ritz Paris robbery: Jewellery worth millions seized in armed heist. We found France on our world maps and noted that we talked about it with some of the details of this story.
I also read a quote from Elie Wiesel's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech at the start of class, as it connects to our unit and your reading of his book "Night" next door with Mr. Puterbaugh.
We also checked in about the weekend. Please remember that although you have Monday off of school, the whole idea behind the holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is that it should be a day of service to the community in some way. As such, there are a ton of events that people can participate in around town - or, you could take the initiative to do something else in our community. Here's a list:
Megan was selected to do the next news brief.
We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):
Group Activity: After the news, we did a group activity that aimed to try and learn a bit more about key events and figures in the Nazi rise to power. Instead of just giving students a reading, I though this was a more interesting way for everyone to learn (and move around, and talk with each other) about some key figures and events in Nazi Germany. Here is the assignment that students filled out:
And here is the document of different events and people that students were learning about, in terms of their importance in helping the Nazi government establish and maintain power (the knowledge target for the unit):
Thanks for doing a good job with this activity!
Rise of Hitler: I asked how the Holocaust was possible, and if we could consider something like this happening to us - either as the Nazis or the persecuted people. I think it is hard to consider ourselves capable of such horrific acts. Which is why the Stanford Prison Experiment is so famous. Basically, it was a psychological experiment based on assigning roles to Stanford students (really smart people) - either as "prison" guards or prisoners. The prisoners were taken and not allowed out for six days (until the experiment ended early). The prison guards turned into awful, terrible people. Here's the clip we watched in class (there are many others out there - do a search if you want to learn more):
After the clip, I came back to the idea of wondering if something like the Holocaust could happen again. It's a difficult question for historians, and for people in general. We want to believe that people are good. If we aren't careful about learning the history and psychology to combat it, I think there is a better chance of something like this happening again.
Another psychological experiment that is very famous for its connection to how the Holocaust happened is the Milgram Experiment. A modern day version of the experiment is what I showed in class, here:
With these ideas in mind, I passed out this reading, which has to do with how the Nazi political party and Hitler came to power in Germany, and if something like it could happen again:
1) What happened so that Hitler and the Nazis could establish power and commit the atrocities of the Holocaust? Could this happen again?
2) Make three discussion questions (not yes or no answers) about the reading. Try to base your questions on specific quotes from the reading and grounded in reality (NOT: what if World War II never happened?).
Socratic Seminar Prep: Next class, we will have a graded (on the behavior targets) discussion on the Rise of Hitler reading, so I wanted to go over how that will work.
Two blog exclusive items that will help in this:
To go along with the preparation, here are some tips on how a good Socratic Seminar works (it is my hope to sit back and let students run the discussion, so that it is more authentic with participation):
The rest of class was devoted to reading the article and preparing discussion questions. Next class, I am hoping that we can have an interesting, student led discussion on the article and the questions it generates - specifically about if this could possibly happen again.
Thank you for your hard work, everyone! See you next class.
Another psychological experiment that is very famous for its connection to how the Holocaust happened is the Milgram Experiment. A modern day version of the experiment is what I showed in class, here:
With these ideas in mind, I passed out this reading, which has to do with how the Nazi political party and Hitler came to power in Germany, and if something like it could happen again:
The questions and answers that I wanted the class to do in preparation for a discussion next class on this were:
2) Make three discussion questions (not yes or no answers) about the reading. Try to base your questions on specific quotes from the reading and grounded in reality (NOT: what if World War II never happened?).
Socratic Seminar Prep: Next class, we will have a graded (on the behavior targets) discussion on the Rise of Hitler reading, so I wanted to go over how that will work.
Two blog exclusive items that will help in this:
To go along with the preparation, here are some tips on how a good Socratic Seminar works (it is my hope to sit back and let students run the discussion, so that it is more authentic with participation):
The rest of class was devoted to reading the article and preparing discussion questions. Next class, I am hoping that we can have an interesting, student led discussion on the article and the questions it generates - specifically about if this could possibly happen again.
Thank you for your hard work, everyone! See you next class.
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