Introduction:The Facing History and
Ourselves course is designed to give the student civic agency. This is
something only people who have taken the course can really understand. Civic
agency occurs when the student has a moral, intellectual, and emotional
connection to the course subject. The way this is done is by showing the
student history about the Holocaust. Clips of movies, interviews, and even
pictures are used to give the student a better picture of it. It’s as if you
are there yourself witnessing it all happen. This course is designed to make
then make the student able to make
the connection between history and the choices they make on a daily basis.
There are a few reasons I selected to take this course. For starters Mr.
Gallagher is a great teacher. Secondly I’ve heard from many people who have
taken it before me that it’s something you wouldn’t want to miss out on. And
last, there are times when people don’t know what to do with their life and the
best way to figure out what to do is by finding yourself. This course really
helps the students reconnect with themselves. I come from a house where there
was never really enough to go around to feed the whole family. There were
always disputes and nothing was ever calm and easy going. I grew up around a
lot of hatred and now that I’ve gone through this course I understand better
now that, life’s too short to be angry all the time. I also have a better
perspective and I opt to help people instead of just ignoring what’s going on
right in front of my eyes.
What Facing History and Ourselves
Meant to Me
This class has not only
changed the way I live but it has given me enough motivation to do anything in
this world. I wish to change this world someday and this class has really
helped me get a scope on reality. Many of the videos and interviews stood out
to me. I never truly knew how bad the Holocaust was until I took this class. It
has made me a better person and I couldn’t be happier with the results. It is
terrible that the Holocaust had to happen for people to learn to get along, and
to think as if you were in another person’s shoes. It sucks, but it happened
and I now know how to prevent something like that from ever happening again. I
remember one of the first classes I had, Mr. Gallagher told us a story about
how he held a door for a woman one day and did not receive a thank you, he said
that it doesn’t matter if you are thanked for doing something, because you
still did it, and it was the right thing to do. The very next day I held the
door for a person at the beginning of school and they did not say thanks. I
immediately thought to what he told the class and I just let it go and walked
away smiling knowing I had done the right thing. This was just the beginning of
the changes to come because of this class. Some of the facets of the course
that truly struck home with me included the movies, The Choice, The Grey Zone,
and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and the handout that really was disturbing
and stood out above all the other ones was the medical experiments of the Holocaust
and Nazi Medicine. The most meaningful movie
to me of those three is The Choice. I could not even begin to fathom what was
racing through that woman’s mind when she was forced to make a choice between
her children. I never thought that the Germans would ever make someone do this.
It must be one of the toughest choices to make. The discussion with the groups
in class following this film was very intriguing. I learned a lot about people
by just hearing what they would have done. This made me more aware of how
people value certain things. This not only made me a better student because I
realize that teachers are people too and that they have things going on outside
of school just like anyone else. It also made me a better person because I know
that I would have told the Germans to take me instead of one of my children. I
can see where the woman was coming from with her choice, and this is because of
this course. I’ve learned to not judge people because of their choices, but by
what kind of a person they are.
The next most meaningful thing from this class
was the handout about the Nazi experiments. I was disgusted by some of the
things they did to living human beings. I don’t think this could make anyone a
better person or anything but it really put it all into perspective. Most of
the doctors were Jewish and they were forced to do grotesque things to their
own neighbors. I couldn’t imagine how these people felt. They wanted to save
their own lives but at the same time they probably wanted to save the other
people’s lives as well. The Nazis were truly terrible people. The way they
operated forced people to make some of the hardest choices of their lives and
it even made people do things that no one should ever be asked to do. This
handout made me really hate the Nazis and what they stood for.
The Grey Zone
really stuck with me. I wanted to stand up and help fight with the Jewish
people. They were outnumbered, and out gunned but they had something the Nazis
didn’t have and that was a soul and determination. I hoped the whole time that
they would all survive but that’s not how life goes. This film made me a better
person because I realized that I would almost always opt to rescue someone
instead of being a bystander. I grew up around an abusive marriage between my
parents and I can still remember to this day when I finally stood up for my
mother. I couldn’t be more than 10 years old and I stood up for her while my
father and her were actually fighting. I never understood what I did until I took
this course. It made me feel better about myself and it made it seem a lot
better to me. I know nothing could ever change what happened but at least I did
not sit by and let it happen without a fight. I also know now that what my
mother did wasn’t out of greed or anything like that, it was to rescue me and
my sister from the hell of my house and my dad. I live with my father now, but
it’s also been a long time, I may never forgive him for anything he has done
but at least I know where I stand and that I did the right thing.
The last film
that really got to me was The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It was such a moving
film that I wish I had watched it with someone I truly care about. I can see
why Bruno wanted to be with his friend so badly. I wish I could be with my
loved ones more but things get in the way.
Bruno though overcame that and made
up his mind about being with his friend. It was a noble thing to do even though
it cost him his life. He died with someone he truly cared about and I can only
hope I do the same. This film made me who I currently am. I value the lives of
people no matter who they are. I could not imagine losing one of my loved ones
without being with them. It’s a terrible thing to think about and now that I am
armed with the knowledge and wisdom from taking Facing History and Ourselves I can help prevent anything like the
Holocaust ever happening again.
The Grey Zone
really stuck with me. I wanted to stand up and help fight with the Jewish
people. They were outnumbered, and out gunned but they had something the Nazis
didn’t have and that was a soul and determination. I hoped the whole time that
they would all survive but that’s not how life goes. This film made me a better
person because I realized that I would almost always opt to rescue someone
instead of being a bystander. I grew up around an abusive marriage between my
parents and I can still remember to this day when I finally stood up for my
mother. I couldn’t be more than 10 years old and I stood up for her while my
father and her were actually fighting. I never understood what I did until I took
this course. It made me feel better about myself and it made it seem a lot
better to me. I know nothing could ever change what happened but at least I did
not sit by and let it happen without a fight. I also know now that what my
mother did wasn’t out of greed or anything like that, it was to rescue me and
my sister from the hell of my house and my dad. I live with my father now, but
it’s also been a long time, I may never forgive him for anything he has done
but at least I know where I stand and that I did the right thing.
The last film
that really got to me was The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It was such a moving
film that I wish I had watched it with someone I truly care about. I can see
why Bruno wanted to be with his friend so badly. I wish I could be with my
loved ones more but things get in the way.
Bruno though overcame that and made
up his mind about being with his friend. It was a noble thing to do even though
it cost him his life. He died with someone he truly cared about and I can only
hope I do the same. This film made me who I currently am. I value the lives of
people no matter who they are. I could not imagine losing one of my loved ones
without being with them. It’s a terrible thing to think about and now that I am
armed with the knowledge and wisdom from taking Facing History and Ourselves I can help prevent anything like the
Holocaust ever happening again. Works Cited:
Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Google images. Image. 21 May 2012
The Grey Zone. Google images. Image. 21 May 2012
Mengele Experiments. Google images. Image. 21 May 2012
Auschwitz gate. Google images. Image. 21 May 2012
Gas Chambers in Auschwitz. Google images. Image. 21 May 2012
