Monday, January 17, 2011
Intro
Hi I am Tom Houle, I am a senior at Westborough High School that took the Facing History and Ourselves course. I decided to take Facing History and Ourselves because I heard that it was an incredibly interesting and eye opening class. I was told that the class was a must take as senior, and after taking the class I completely agree with those statements. Facing History and Ourselves is the only must take class at Westborough High School. Facing History and Ourselves changes the way that you act, speak, and treat those around you. The first half of the course Facing History and Ourselves is based on mistreatment of African-Americans and the Great Depression. The main focus of the first half of the course is Jim Crow and the stereotypes of African-Americans and how that leads to hatred and mistreatment of African-Americans in American. The second half of the year, the course focuses on the causes of the Holocaust. Every aspect of the cause of the Holocaust is examined from the political to the religious causes. The class starts with the 1930’s and the roots of the Holocaust and how the ideas begin to enter into the minds of the German people. After this the class looks at the rise of Hitler and how he managed to spread his hate filled message that poisoned the minds of old Germans and young Germans alike. For a while the course examines the Hitler Youth and how Hitler used the youth of Germany to spread his message, we also looked at the consequences if a German youth did not join the Hitler Youth. After this the course turned and looked at and into Hitler’s concentration and death camps. Looking into these camps was incredibly shocking and disturbing because you cannot believe that a group of people would be able to do that an entire race of people, simply for being a different ethnicity. Facing History and Ourselves is an eye opening class that every senior should be mandated to take or else they can not graduate.
“In what ways did the course benefit me as a student and as a person?”
Facing History and Ourselves is an incredible course, as I mentioned before it is the only must take course at Westborough High School and every single senior that plans on graduating from Westborough High School must be required to take this life changing course. Facing History and Ourselves is the only course that I have ever taken that has changed my outlook on life and how I judge and treat people. The course makes you realize that even the tiniest joke can hurt someone. As a person Facing History and Ourselves has made me completely drop words from my vocabulary. The course has made me realize that some things are not okay to joke around about. Before taking Facing History and Ourselves, I used to make jokes and laugh at comments that my friends made about stereotypes of different races of people but now after taking this course and looking at how the Jewish people were treated by Nazis during the Holocaust it has made me realize that even little, tiny jokes are not okay. Facing History and Ourselves I felt made me mature as a person and as a student. Since taking the course I have been slower about making judgments and jokes about people. Facing History and Ourselves is a life changing experience and every student must take the course.
Facing History and Ourselves had a very beneficial discussion the second week of school. The discussion was about the most import thing that I own. As a class we were told to put down a material possession that we own and where our name comes from. Then as a group we were told to discuss which was more important. I had put down my car as my most valuable possession because my car grants a sort of freedom from my parent. Although I am still completely dependent on my mother my car allows me to not depend on her as much as I would if I did not have my car. Then we discussed our last names and where they came from. My last name Robinson-Houle came from French fur trappers that lived in Canada and then came to the United States and from English-Italian factory workers that migrated to America looking to live out the American Dream. After our discussion about our most valuable possession, Mr. Gallagher told us that our most valuable possession was actually nothing material but it was our last name. This is because it is our identity and no one can take away our identity. Our last name represents our family name and our family’s identity. This discussion made me realize that Mr. Gallagher was right that nothing will ever be more important then my identity and my name, because that is the one thing that no one will ever be able to take away from me. No matter how hard some tries they will never be able to take away your name from you. The discussion we had about our last name and most valuable possession we also had to create an identity chart that told our religion, things we love to do, and our character traits. This discussion made me look at my personality and how I am as a person towards others and how I can become a better person and a better member of the community.
Another discussion that we had in class that I felt was beneficial to me was the “Little Boxes” discussion we had. This discussion we had was about Anthony Wright’s “Little Boxes” essay that he wrote about how he has an identity conflict because he do not fit into any of the stereotypes of the race of the people he is. Anthony is talking about how as a child he has straight hair and is labeled as an Asian in his school, but when he goes to visit his family in Ecuador his family cannot decide if he is actually Ecuadorian or if he is a gringo. Anthony then goes on to talk about how in the identity section on achievements he checks of Hispanic even though he feels as though he could pass off for white because he has little skin and his of Wright will not get him persecuted as it would if he had the last name of Rodriguez. He also says that he identifies with Hispanic better then white, because he grew up in a Puerto Rican neighborhood and his mother who has a big influence on him is also Hispanic. In the last line of the essay Anthony says “I am Anthony E. Wright, and the rest of the information about me should come from what I write, what I say and how I act. Nothing else.” After taking Facing History and Ourselves, I completely agree with what Anthony has to say, that he should only be judged on the way that he acts, what he has to say and what he writes. It should not come from what race he is, because regardless of race everyone is the same on the inside. Everyone is intelligent in there own way and should not be judged simply on what skin color they are or what ethnicity they are. This discussion that we had in class made me realize that no one should be judge merely on what color they are, they should be judged on what they have to say and how they act. Nothing else.
Anthony Wright has all of five things shown in the picture. He has found his meaning, he is connected to race of people, he has security with being connected to the people, he is recognized as a member of the Hispanic community and he also has action in his writing to support him.
The final section of Facing History that made an impression on me is looking into Hitler’s death camps and seeing how the Jewish people were actually treated. These videos were incredibly shocking, because although the Holocaust was nothing new to me I just could not believe that people were actually treated in such a horrific fashion. It was just beyond my comprehension that people could be killed for simply being Jewish, it just does not make any sense to me. The fact that people knew about the Jewish people being massacred and no one stepped in to stop Hitler was disturbing. The fact that he could establish killing factories across central Europe is horrific. The fact that Hitler had an entire country behind him is incredibly disturbing. Without Facing History and Ourselves I would have never really understood how Hitler managed to get support for his horrible operations of attempting to destroy an entire race of people from the face of the earth.
Photos like this from a concentration camp are horrific. People are being starved and forced into space that look like they are not even two feet high. No person could live under these conditions.
A photo like this that shows a Nazi officer shooting a Jewish man in the back of the head while others look on is so disturbing, because the fact that men would allow this to happen to another man is mind boggling.
Seeing people caged up like animals is disgusting that one single man could order millions of people to be treated like this.
Facing History and Ourselves had a very beneficial discussion the second week of school. The discussion was about the most import thing that I own. As a class we were told to put down a material possession that we own and where our name comes from. Then as a group we were told to discuss which was more important. I had put down my car as my most valuable possession because my car grants a sort of freedom from my parent. Although I am still completely dependent on my mother my car allows me to not depend on her as much as I would if I did not have my car. Then we discussed our last names and where they came from. My last name Robinson-Houle came from French fur trappers that lived in Canada and then came to the United States and from English-Italian factory workers that migrated to America looking to live out the American Dream. After our discussion about our most valuable possession, Mr. Gallagher told us that our most valuable possession was actually nothing material but it was our last name. This is because it is our identity and no one can take away our identity. Our last name represents our family name and our family’s identity. This discussion made me realize that Mr. Gallagher was right that nothing will ever be more important then my identity and my name, because that is the one thing that no one will ever be able to take away from me. No matter how hard some tries they will never be able to take away your name from you. The discussion we had about our last name and most valuable possession we also had to create an identity chart that told our religion, things we love to do, and our character traits. This discussion made me look at my personality and how I am as a person towards others and how I can become a better person and a better member of the community.
Another discussion that we had in class that I felt was beneficial to me was the “Little Boxes” discussion we had. This discussion we had was about Anthony Wright’s “Little Boxes” essay that he wrote about how he has an identity conflict because he do not fit into any of the stereotypes of the race of the people he is. Anthony is talking about how as a child he has straight hair and is labeled as an Asian in his school, but when he goes to visit his family in Ecuador his family cannot decide if he is actually Ecuadorian or if he is a gringo. Anthony then goes on to talk about how in the identity section on achievements he checks of Hispanic even though he feels as though he could pass off for white because he has little skin and his of Wright will not get him persecuted as it would if he had the last name of Rodriguez. He also says that he identifies with Hispanic better then white, because he grew up in a Puerto Rican neighborhood and his mother who has a big influence on him is also Hispanic. In the last line of the essay Anthony says “I am Anthony E. Wright, and the rest of the information about me should come from what I write, what I say and how I act. Nothing else.” After taking Facing History and Ourselves, I completely agree with what Anthony has to say, that he should only be judged on the way that he acts, what he has to say and what he writes. It should not come from what race he is, because regardless of race everyone is the same on the inside. Everyone is intelligent in there own way and should not be judged simply on what skin color they are or what ethnicity they are. This discussion that we had in class made me realize that no one should be judge merely on what color they are, they should be judged on what they have to say and how they act. Nothing else.
Anthony Wright has all of five things shown in the picture. He has found his meaning, he is connected to race of people, he has security with being connected to the people, he is recognized as a member of the Hispanic community and he also has action in his writing to support him. The final section of Facing History that made an impression on me is looking into Hitler’s death camps and seeing how the Jewish people were actually treated. These videos were incredibly shocking, because although the Holocaust was nothing new to me I just could not believe that people were actually treated in such a horrific fashion. It was just beyond my comprehension that people could be killed for simply being Jewish, it just does not make any sense to me. The fact that people knew about the Jewish people being massacred and no one stepped in to stop Hitler was disturbing. The fact that he could establish killing factories across central Europe is horrific. The fact that Hitler had an entire country behind him is incredibly disturbing. Without Facing History and Ourselves I would have never really understood how Hitler managed to get support for his horrible operations of attempting to destroy an entire race of people from the face of the earth.
Photos like this from a concentration camp are horrific. People are being starved and forced into space that look like they are not even two feet high. No person could live under these conditions. 
A photo like this that shows a Nazi officer shooting a Jewish man in the back of the head while others look on is so disturbing, because the fact that men would allow this to happen to another man is mind boggling. 
Seeing people caged up like animals is disgusting that one single man could order millions of people to be treated like this.
Works Cited
http://api.ning.com/files/UDmbJFzQ*74VuOd86H6hzCaZUqbzhZfTUtMAjQCTjVtP5-yZ0YBI80gL4g8guzlonOh1e7ePxHTJsk66aUNqOrKB0tuvCid2/Identity_needs_satisfiers2.bmp?width=300
http://warrensburg.k12.mo.us/ww2/holocaust.jpeg
http://www.hanefesh.com/edu/Holidays/images/a6b.jpg
http://top-10-list.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Concentration-Camps.jpg
http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu-2004/art/IDENTITY-MIND-MAP.jpg
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