Why?

Well, I suppose I have answered that a bit.  Why am I wanting to bring this story to light in a new way?  Because the story and the life of Anne Frank is so engaging, so powerful.

But there is more... a few years ago, I had the unpleasant duty in a school to be a Distance Learning monitor for 5 High School kids taking a Holocaust Class.  I was to take attendance, pass out any of the required paperwork, turn on the Distance Learning Polycom machine and make sure the students were somewhat paying attention.  There were 3 other schools involved so the teacher was teaching in a Distance Learning room Far Far Away. 

And so he began to lecture.... and lecture... and lecture.  Occasionally he would throw in a video.  A history video of the Holocaust, and Oprah Winfrey interview with Elie Weisel, and that was about it.  The rest of the time he would talk... and talk.  Now to be fair, he knew his stuff.  I found him very interesting.  I had been groomed to listen to long lectures with no interruption.  And to be honest, I enjoy that type of class because I can feel at ease to listen without much required of me at that moment. 

And yet, the students in this class that I was in charge of became hopelessly bored within a week.  This class required a lot of outside of class work.  Read Elie Weisel's "Night" for one, and the students were falling behind.  They took a quiz or two and did not do well.  They were getting discouraged and bored, and what's worse, the professor on the other side of the Polycom, did not care less.  He did not engage them, he did not try to engage them... the lecture continued, the work continued the quizzes continued.  The students were losing interest, they were failing. 

And me?  I was just supposed to sit there and pass out the work and turn on the tv and take attendance.  And... Watch them fail, and hope to keep them from falling asleep, or worse get unruly.  I went to the principal I begged him to give me a solution?  What can I do?  The teacher in me could not sit back and let this happen without me doing something on my end.  I asked if I could give them supplemental material, he said sure... I asked if I could offer additional study questions, he said sure.  His final point to me was.... these kids just need to pass this class.  They need a C. 

Well, I had to try... I brought printed worksheets with extra materials, I tried breaking down the reading.  I tried reviewing with them the key points that would be on the quiz.  They did better but the struggling continued.

But the worse part of all of this... the worse part!  These kids didn't care about the Holocaust... they didn't show one ounce of empathy for this sad chapter in world history! 

And the mad professor on the other end of the screen didn't care one bit. He was teaching to the kids that were self motivated enough from other schools to pass his class.  He had written off these kids... and they knew it.  There was a deal made... they would sit, I would take attendance, and he would talk.  And they were failing, and despite my efforts to help... it wasn't enough to give them the motivation or the information to pass.

Stay tuned for more...