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Superintendent Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard says she doesn't believe the teacher who handed out the assignment had malicious intent. The school district has not named the teacher.
The whole story is not being presented here.
It was a decent assignment, one meant to provoke critical thought and followed up the next day by reading the personal, very moving story of A JEW THAT WENT THROUGH SO VERY MUCH AT THE HANDS OF THE ENEMIES THAT FELL FOR THE ENEMIES LINE OF THINKING. That part of the story was conveniently left out.
Everyone wants to be offended.
History really did happen. It's something to be ashamed of and something to talk openly about. People SHOULD be offended by it, and they should be deeply offended that humans could do this to each other.
Taking the opposite side of one's beliefs in a debate is a wonderful way to learn. If you can win, you're in big trouble and need to learn more if you want to continue holding to what you claim you believe. It's a very valid method of learning how to think and how to debate.
What you see in this story is a teacher who made people think and it makes me so angry that everyone is so easily offended that it's getting very tough for teachers to be creative or to do anything more than stand there and follow exact orders from a government approved manual - the type of thing that any computer could replace. At this rate, teachers will soon be able to be replaced by machines. Give it a few short years and the government will be in your home, mandatory government homeschooling because being taught by humans will be just too risky. Too offensive. LOL Sounds funny, but I totally believe this is going to become reality!
Point 1: It is history. It really did happen. For this particular event in history, teach it yes. Teach the facts. Don't turn it into science fiction by suggesting the opposite of what did happen. Especially with this event. The horror is too deep. Suffering from it continues to this day. Too many people died to turn this into a word game.
Point 2: Teachers can be creative with their lesson plans and materials. When I was in college there were 2 professors teaching Old Testament. Unfortunately, the only one I could fit into my class schedule sat behind his desk and read from index cards. As long as we could make index card notes, we could pass his course.
The other professor almost brought down the building when he and his class marched the halls as he blew his trumpet. That's just one example of how he made the OT come alive in his classes.
Another time I worked as a volunteer teacher's assistant in our local HS. Assisted the art instructor. She had an unbelievable low budget for supplies. She had to be "creative". And she was, often using common household or backyard items instead of unboxing high priced art supplies. Often it was amazing what she could teach those kids using clothes hanger wire, newpaper, leaves, and other bits and pieces. She pulled off an Art Appreciation Day exhibit done by students with nothing more than clothes pins, a roll of cheap newsprint, and the playground fence. Each student was given a jar of poster paint and a brush. Results made the front page of our local paper.
Point 3. Don't tell me that a teacher cannot be "creative" unless she or he uses the most confrontational topics possible to obtain a response from students. I was taught a long time ago how to debate both sides of an issue. How to study both sides of a topic in order to defend a position. It can be done so easily -- Which is the better chicken? A Barred Rock or a Rhode Island Red? Presentation of the subject complete with living examples of both.
Point 4. Each school district should have teacher guidelines to follow as a part of their employment. It's my understanding that regardless of how creative a teacher wishes to be, he or she cannot open a class with a prayer for guidance from our Saviour. Just like any other employee in an employee/employer work situation, the employee has certain guidelines to follow in order to fulfill their responsbilities. Boundries that should not be crossed, if the expectation of future pay checks exists. If a teacher's desire for "creativity" extends beyond those boundries, then s/he should teach private classes.
My opinion still stands after reading the additonal information. S/he should have been fired for subjecting those students to this particular situation.