Mattie D's Blog

Facing history definitely made me change my mental psyche in terms of how I treat other people in any situation and how I want to be treated as a person. The lessons that were taught to the class impacted me to the point that I believe that there is no excuse to be a bystander if you are the only one that could make a difference. Many people have the mentality to stay away from situations that do not involve you, but in actuality, leaving a situation could be even worse that doing nothing about it. When I leave this class, im taking the morals and values from the films and discussions in class and applying them to my future to prove that the class is worth taking for all grades because it teaches the youth of the important question of who are you going to be in the future.

One of the main topics I noticed as being a major impact during the Holocaust was being the resistance, a role that requires individuals to stand up against a greater power to achieve something better. The film that sparked this idea of standing up for yourself was Uprising, a movie about a character, Mordecai, who is stuck in the Warsaw Ghetto and the only way out is to escape. In the movie, the Jews in the ghetto band together to take down the Nazi occupation in the Ghetto, with smuggled weapons and explosives to drive them away so that the Jews could be saved. What Mordecai believed in was that if his group did not act with violence, then they would end up at one of the concentration camps for execution. Resistance at that point in the film was the best option to put an end to the Nazi’s rule in Germany, as they kept piling Jews into the Ghetto in order to take them away. The film inspired me the most because as a Jew, this made me want to get involved in their cause because it sucks knowing that your own people are getting exterminated and theres nothing you can do about it besides fight. The lesson I take after the course is that it is never right to be a bystander, because there is a larger chance of something bad to happen to the victim, and it will be against you. Mordecai noticed how important resisting against the Nazis was for the people in the ghetto and by standing up as a leader, the bystanders who believed in his cause also joined the resistance, showing that as a bystander, you do have a decision to make if you want to be involved or not. Being resistance proves that you are always willing to stand up for your own ideas, something I learned from the most in Facing History.

Another part of Facing History that really brought the class together was the big idea class discussions, which involved topics that are open to views on both sides and anyone could add input at any time to the class. Usually during these discussions Mr.Gallagher would introduce a current event about an issue that occurred involving the United states, and we provide feedback based on our opinions. This was one of the better versions of a lecture because you got to see what everyone had to say, and you could also connect your viewpoints with others that have the same feeling. In one discussion we talked about Mr. Sandusky, a Penn State football coach accused and convicted of sexually harassing young boys . My opinion during the discussion was that he deserved his punishment because it was an inhumane act that scarred the lives of all those kids. Most of the class agreed with my statement but it was good to know that others listened to what I had to say and the people raising their hands were ready to give their points. I enjoyed the class discussions when we all were involved because I was happy to see how many people wanted to voice their opinions and I was curious to see what they had to say. Lessons I learned from the discussion would include to always voice your opinion because if you don’t, then it might never get the chance to be heard. It is also important that you listen to everyone in the group so you can’t choose a side until everyone’s finished. The discussions during class taught how to use manners to respectfully get input from everyone involved.

Another film that emotionally hit me was the Grey Zone, in which prisoners from Auschwitz are working in the gas chambers and the crematoriums and they find a girl who had survived the gassing and could still breathe. The goal of the prisoners was to rebel against the camp and free the girl before they are the ones to be gassed and others take their place. Unfortunately, the rebellion does occur but all of the participants are executed and the girl attempts to run away from the camp but a Nazi officer shoots her. This made me very emotional because during the whole film, you could tell how bad the conditions really were for the Jews and how hopeless they were with the no authority that they had. Nazis were allowed to do anything to them and it wasn’t a big deal and that’s the part I hate the most about the Holocaust, because Nazis were allowed to literally do whatever they wanted in the camp even just for entertainment, and I ask the question, “How could humans possibly do this to other humans”. My answer is still unknown after watching the real footage of the camps and the acting of the Grey Zone made everything even more realistic. The worst part was seeing how little hope there was for the poor girl who actually survived, because she had zero chance of being able to escape the camps and had no hope throughout the film. I didn’t like watching something about a girl who is probably close to my age die when she had to chance anyway. Mr. Gallagher used film to help bring out the emotion that everyone had during the Holocaust and that’s what allowed me to experience how I view things now.

The course uses all types of material to help guide us as to who we are as people. After taking this course I am figuring out that I consider myself someone who would be part of the resistance, because I can’t stand watching something I don’t believe in happen and like Mordecai I would fight if necessary. This also taught me to respect everyone around you because you don’t know what type of person someone is and by being respectful, you bring happiness. Mr. Gallagher made this class a comfortable environment for use as student, which helped us all learn more and be interested in what he has to say. This course should deffinetly be a bigger part of WHS, because of how well if brings the people back into reality and make you want to change who you are for the better.

Mattie D's Blog

Friday, January 13, 2012

Introduction

What Facing History Meant to Me

Works cited