School apologizes over pro-Nazi essay assignment

[grumbler]

I guess that's why teachers are often up against the wall when budgetary issues come along.

No, it is because administrators are morons and punish advanced teaching while rewarding mediocrity.

[DontSayBanana]

I don't think you understand what Naziism was about.   The premise that Jews were evil is at the core of Nazi beliefs.  To say that students should try to think like a Nazi but not to think of Jews as evil is absurd on the face of it.   Your concept only works if the exercise is designed to be a useless joke.

I'm gonna call bullshit on this.  The reason Nazism was so insidious was that it didn't solely consist of raving, antisemitic ideologues.  Antisemitism was at the core of Hitler's credo; that doesn't mean it was a defining trait of every Nazi and Nazi sympathizer.

[CountDeMoney]

I'm sure even you could've come up with something better than "You must argue that Jews are evil, and use solid rationale from government propaganda to convince me of your loyalty to the Third Reich!" for a critical thinking exercise.

It is a terrific exercise.  It forces the students to actually read the rationales that the Nazis actually created here in the real world, instead of just making shit up on their own.  It makes the familiar unfamiliar, and the unfamiliar familiar.

Most people don't like to think, and so they don't like exercises like this that require thinking.   You sound like you just don't want people writing about Nazis because they are "so icky."

It's still a bit much for 10th graders.

[garbon]

I guess that's why teachers are often up against the wall when budgetary issues come along.

No, it is because administrators are morons and punish advanced teaching while rewarding mediocrity.

Nope, I think I had it right as your three posts right before this one illustrate.

[garbon]

I'm sure even you could've come up with something better than "You must argue that Jews are evil, and use solid rationale from government propaganda to convince me of your loyalty to the Third Reich!" for a critical thinking exercise.

It is a terrific exercise.  It forces the students to actually read the rationales that the Nazis actually created here in the real world, instead of just making shit up on their own.  It makes the familiar unfamiliar, and the unfamiliar familiar.

Most people don't like to think, and so they don't like exercises like this that require thinking.   You sound like you just don't want people writing about Nazis because they are "so icky."

It's still a bit much for 10th graders.

Don't slide back, it's a ridiculous exercise. No need to ask college students to prove Jews are evil either.

[CountDeMoney]

You're not a teacher, and obviously only Teacher Knows Best.

Obviously, Teacher Knows a Fuckton More Than You Do! 

Enjoy all the free press when your critical thinking exercise on "You must argue that gays are evil, and use solid rationale from propaganda to convince me of your loyalty to the Republican Party!" backfires on you.

Or do you have the girls working on their "You must argue that slavery is good for negroes" plantation dioramas this semester already?

[Agelastus]

...The premise that Jews were evil is at the core of Nazi beliefs...

...Antisemitism was at the core of Hitler's credo...

So basically you two agree, then.

I think it's harder to find non-Anti-Semitic Nazis than it is to find non-Anti-Semitic Fascists; can you name one of any prominence?

[derspiess]

Don't slide back, it's a ridiculous exercise. No need to ask college students to prove Jews are evil either.

I think it's a useful way to learn about Nazi ideology.  Know your enemy & all that.

[grumbler]

I don't think you understand what Naziism was about.   The premise that Jews were evil is at the core of Nazi beliefs.  To say that students should try to think like a Nazi but not to think of Jews as evil is absurd on the face of it.   Your concept only works if the exercise is designed to be a useless joke.

I'm gonna call bullshit on this.  The reason Nazism was so insidious was that it didn't solely consist of raving, antisemitic ideologues.  Antisemitism was at the core of Hitler's credo; that doesn't mean it was a defining trait of every Nazi and Nazi sympathizer.

I( gonna call bullshit on this.  No one claims that Nazis "solely consist of raving, antisemitic ideologues" - that's a classic strawman argument.  Antisemitism was at the core of Naziism.  The goal of the Nazis was to restore Germany and then advance the Aryan race through purifying it of "tainted blood" and wrong thinking, until the Aryans evolved into Supermen.  The Jews were a threat to all of these objectives, and the government said so.  See the Nuremberg Laws, for instance.  To argue that antisemitism wasn't part of government propaganda (which is what the assignment is about) is to ignore history.

[grumbler]

It's still a bit much for 10th graders.

I don't think so.  I think the kids would enjoy it, for the most part.  Not many would succeed at the task, but that's fine.  Failure creates more opportunities for learning than success does.

[garbon]

Don't slide back, it's a ridiculous exercise. No need to ask college students to prove Jews are evil either.

I think it's a useful way to learn about Nazi ideology.  Know your enemy & all that.

I think you can do that without writing an essay showing how the Jews are evil (with help from Nazi propaganda). After all, I don't think most of us were tasked to write such essays in school.

[derspiess]

...The premise that Jews were evil is at the core of Nazi beliefs...

...Antisemitism was at the core of Hitler's credo...

So basically you two agree, then.

I think it's harder to find non-Anti-Semitic Nazis than it is to find non-Anti-Semitic Fascists; can you name one of any prominence?

Oskar Schindler

[grumbler]

Enjoy all the free press when your critical thinking exercise on "You must argue that gays are evil, and use solid rationale from propaganda to convince me of your loyalty to the Republican Party!" backfires on you.

Godwin's Law strikes again.  .

[CountDeMoney]

Enjoy all the free press when your critical thinking exercise on "You must argue that gays are evil, and use solid rationale from propaganda to convince me of your loyalty to the Republican Party!" backfires on you.

Godwin's Law strikes again.  .

Doesn't apply, as the OP was already about Naziism.  VOID WHERE PROHIBITED MEIN FUHRER

[grumbler]

I think you can do that without writing an essay showing how the Jews are evil (with help from Nazi propaganda). After all, I don't think most of us were tasked to write such essays in school.

Those of us who went to good schools certainly were.