Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Remembering - Period 6
Dear Student:
I would appreciate your taking a few minutes to answer a few questions before you leave the course. Your answers will help shape future classes of Facing History and Ourselves in the years to come. Now that you have completed the first Facing History and Ourselves course at Westborough High School, please share with me any aspects of the course that were the most meaningful to you. Please consider structure, topics, specific lessons, films etc. in your response. Please do not comment on other students' posts. Thank you for taking this journey with me and I hope that you enjoyed the course as much as I did teaching it. I wish you all the best next year.
Mr. Gallagher
15 comments:
It is hard to narrow down the three most meaningful things I learned in this course. However, thinking back on it, especially after watching the movie we finished today, learning about the Jews and the Nazis would have to be one of them. Throughout the course we talked about the Nazis, but didn't delve into the topic until the end, and that's when it became meaningful for me. Another thing would be learning about Al Gore during the influencial individual project. That helped me to understand how much he has really done to help out our understanding on how we are poisoning our environment. Finally, I was especially interested when we watched the study conducted by the teacher to her students in order to teach them the lessons of segregation. It really sent the message of how when someone says you have superiority, it can really go to your head. I really learned a lot in this course, about things that I otherwise would not have seeked knowlege of on my own. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed taking Facing History this semester. There were many meaningful and thought provoking things in the course. The movie we had finished today was fantastic, and though i thought we couldn't see such a grim scene once it was over, the follow up with Saving Private Ryan proved me wrong. The movie on Little Rock, as well as the Eye of the Storm really made me think and look at my own life. I became more aware of my social responsibilities after the projects we did as well. I think this class should be a requisite for graduation, and everyone should take it before heading out into the world. I'd like to thank you Mr. Gallagher for your effort and passion in bringing this course to life. It was the most meaningful class I'd taken throughout all of high school.
This course was eye opening in so many ways because it focused on more then just facts and dates like most history classes, it gave insight into situations that helped shape the world. The most important part of this course in my opinion was the "making a difference" project because it allowed us as students to pursue knowledge about a person we were personally interested in rather then focusing only on historically important people. Another key lesson in this class was the discussions and guest speaker about the Armenian Genocide, something I had only heard about but never received any information on, and it also helped put into prospective just how big the holocaust really was. Lastly, the the movies and pictures from and about the holocaust put genocide into real perspective instead of numbers and facts about it, because they showed actual people that didn't look any different then people we all know. However, I do not believe this course would have been as effective without a teacher as emotionally involved as you Mr. Gallagher, because I do not believe anyone else would have done this course justice.
I think the fact taht we did not just learn about nazis and hitler was a major point about this film. the fact atht we also got to hear about the soviet union and the armenian genocide was also very helpful in learning the importance one person can have on an entire nation. Also, that we should try to make sure this does not repeat. I believe the films were remarkably helpful, because it let me at least gain a perspective to the harsh realities of the situations people were put in to. one thin g i personally would have appreciated though was watching more of the films, and being able to better grasp what was happening within them. All together i really did enjoy this course a lot, and thought you did a very good job on letting us speak our minds and not just teaching us what to think, but letting us figure out on our own what is right and wrong.
Taking into account the fact that there was much learning that took place within this course, it is extremely hard to try to pick the three topics that were the most meaningful. However, if I had to choose, they would be the Armenian Genocide, racism within the United States, and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. For each of these topics, there is something both personal and meaningful to me. Without Mr. Gallagher, I dont think that I would have opened my eyes to see all the other perspectives that are blocked out of people's views. THank you Mr. Gallagher, you really are the BEST!
oops..Anonymous was me! Sorry forgot to put my namee!
One of the first things that comes to mind when I think about what this course meant to me was how much I appreciated Mr. Gallagher's openness to opinion. On the first day of class Mr. Gallagher made it very clear that this was a class where we could say WHATEVER we wanted to say. There was nothing holding us back from speaking our minds, and that generated a lot of good discussion. I also couldn’t believe how much information we were supplied with- the videos were extremely thought provoking and helped us to really see what has happened in our past- rather than just hearing about it. I had taken a Holocaust VHS course 1st semester, which I found very interesting, but it didn’t really compare to the experience of learning about it in FH&O. Our study of the Nazi’s and Hitler was so in-depth that none of us could have walked away unaffected by its life lessons. It taught us lessons on morality vs. evil; it showed us what horrible crimes people can commit- but also what great things people can accomplish when they stand up against evil. Lastly, this course has been especially meaningful to me because the course taught us about how our history makes us who we are today. We saw the tie-ins with the prejudices of today and the prejudices of the past. Seeing these connections helped me to realize that we can’t all just sit back and let history take its course, we have to create it; we have to make a difference and change it for the better.
If I had to pick three facets of the Facing History course that had the most meaning to me the first would be the experiment involving the blue vs. brown eyed students. This movie really shocked me because I didn't think that the kids would instantly think that they were superior just because they were told so by their teacher. I was even more shocked that the experiment showed the same results in adults. I think it just shows how easily it is for humans to discriminate. The second thing I would say really stuck with me was the movie on Little Rock, Arkansas today. After we watched the video about the desegregation of Little Rock, I thought for sure that things would be different today. I was shocked to find that blacks and whites were almost completely segregated in the school. It was almost like two schools in one. I didn't think that after all these years something like that could still be happening in our country. The thing I thought was most important in the course, however, was the "Making a Difference" project. Before I started the project, I thought it would be difficult to find one person who made a difference other than the obvious people everyone already knows about. After the project, however, I realized that this was untrue. From this project, and the course as a whole, I learned that one person really can make a difference in the world.
Let me start off by saying this course was awesome! I liked how you brought up issues that we dont usually discuss in other classes, and I got to see other people's point of view on alot of things; some of which I expected and some I didn't. I learnt alot through out this course, especially about the Nazi's, and now I can truly understand the German's went through that time period. After watching The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, I was really really touched, and it brought tears to my eyes. Also, after the people who made a difference project, I learnt alot more about Harriet Tubman, and the big difference she made. I am glad you started this class Mr. Gallagher, and I hope that students from the upcoming years learn alot like we did; and open their eyes to so many things that their usually not aware of.
This course was most definitely a worthwhile course to take - I think that it is extremely important to learn these horrible events from human history and make sure that they do not happen again. I think that one of the most important facets of the class was the arena for discussion in general. I think that being able to say whatever you want without punishment really opens the door to hear what people truly think. Another important facet in my opinion was the collection of films and documentaries that we saw - they really helped bring the subject to life, and the more films that can be shown, the better, in my opinion. One more important facet of the class was the making a difference project, which gave me great insight as to why my person, Ariel Sharon, meant so much to the world.
I think, at this junction in all of our lives, this course was especially meaningful. It taught me lessons that will be invaluable in years to come as I grow into the person I'm going to be. This was a positive influence from a great teacher in the final semester of my high school career. Thank you Mr Gallagher. As for the three most meaningful things that I took from this course, I would have to say that the term paper was number one. Learning so much detail about one person's life really teaches me a lot about how to live my own life which is very important. Second would be this most recent material on the nazis as well as that experiment at Yale. I got a much better feel than I've ever had before for what it must have been like to live in nazi Germany. And finally, I would say that the other most meaningful thing was hearing for the first time ever in my life that there was an Armenian genocide. I was shocked and outraged that I had never learned that in a history course before.
Looking back, the first thing that stood out to me was the in depth holocaust review. I knew the general aspect of the holocaust but going in depth and putting it all together was really good for me. I also liked how we got to see material on video that most people would never get to see. I would like to publicly thank you for putting the time and funds to bring this course to WHS while we are on the subject. The one movie and unit that also stood out for me was the one with the teacher and the segregated class. I thought that was really neat. Thank you Mr. Gallagher for a great semester. I have recommended your class to many juniors.
This course has left a mark on me that I will never forget. One facet of the course that I will never forget is the packet about the experiments that were done by the German scientists to the Jews and twins throughout the holocaust. This was one of the most sickening things I have read ever in my lifetime. Another part of this course which I found interesting was how the class analyzed how people naturally separate each other into groups by race or by how each other looks. And the last piece of the course I found most interesting was the video that included the women who wrote a letter to rat out a Jew to the Gestapo but denied writing it. I found that extremely ignorant and I think it truly shows how people will do anything to fit in and go on the winning team, even if it means killing someone.
Hey, I posted around 1am but apparently it didn't show up, so I'm posting it again now.
I agree with Kelsey that it is hard to pull out the single most meaningful aspect of this course since they are all powerful. In my opinion though, I found the speakers to be the most meaningful. They engaged me in a way that the movies did not, and could not have. Having a person stand in front of you and lecture, especially as well as the two speakers we saw had, gives the content a personal touch and makes it more memorable.
The problem that I ahd with the movies is that they evoked guilt and I feel like that is the wrong message that should be sent to the class. For instance, my great grandfather was a Jew, as was his wife, and theyw ere both taken to concentration camps when they were 18. My great grandfather was part of Nazi experiments on Oxygen depletion; he survived but lived out his life in a vegitative state. I ahve nothing to feel guilty for, and movies such as "The Boy in Striped Pajamas" seem to aim at that guilty feeling rather than educate the class about the holocaust. THe documentary movies that we saw, I feel, were more important and powerful than the others.
I definatly think that the Nazis was one of the most important parts of the entire course. I think everyone should see that footage and learn about what went on because that is the most importatnt event that we can learn about for helping others. I personally think that film and speakers help a lot to personalize the topics at hand. Definatly don't shy away from anything that may be disturbing because those are usually the things that compell people the most. I think that there should be more discussion in the class, but our class seemed to be to agreeable and everyone appeared to react the same way. I enjoyed the times where we were able to talk about things with other classmates. one thing i regret is that we didn't get to see anything after the Holocaust. I wanted to see what things were going on as a result of this world changing event. Mr. Gallagher as always it was a pleasure to be in your class and I wish you luck with next year's classes
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