Teaching the Holocaust to High Schoolers

How do you try to explain to students who have grown up all their lives being discriminated against that discrimination was the cause of a World War? What words can say "look you suffer each day but let's learn how their story is different/worse/more intense/more publicized than yours"? I'm struggling with these things as I am getting more comfortable in my role as a "teacher" at City Mission Educational Services (CMES). So often, the Holocaust is presented in such a way that nobody could understand or empathize. It was such a tragedy that there is no good way to teach about it. For this reason we often don’t. That's not my style. Starting with human rights and moving through to the Holocaust I intend to shed light on the toughest parts of our past and share the story that weighs down on so many people even decades later.  I want so badly to empower these young learners to take charge of their education and appreciate the history of our world but sometimes I feel like I can't even begin to teach them about the human rights violations that plagued our past when they are still living in the repercussions of Apartheid each and every day. I feel really silly. My students want to learn but because of the situation they have found themselves in they are not able to be vocal about their education. They can't learn what they really care about. I wonder if they have ever been asked what they actually want to learn. This is partially because of the national curriculum that prohibits creativity at all costs but it is also because so many people have expected them to fail that the minimum is exceptional. I've been grappling with a way to inspire and motivate these students for a while. Thumbing through pages of research and trying to engage them in this process has kept me quite busy. In fact I'm doing more planning than teaching. I'm not sure if this is a good thing.  Regardless of the push back from the students and the system I'm determined to succeed. I want to show them how easy it is for discrimination to become our norm. I hope to explain that there is no simple answer to these complex histories but there are things we can do to advocate for the future so these injustices do not happen to any person ever again. I'm realizing there's not enough time so I need to make my mark fast or I'll miss out!  Time is flying by faster than I can believe and I'm learning so much. The worst part is that it's just becoming more clear that I'm never going to want to leave. I already know that this is someplace I'll be dying to return. CMES is a crazy, stressful, surprising, intense, throw something new at you each day type of school and I LOVE IT! I couldn't have asked for a better way to experience Cape Town. My students teach me something new every day and whether it hits me instantly or hours later I am appreciating every minute I have to spend with them!

Grade 9 watching "The Wave"

Just to leave on a happy note, I have had some really unexpected, great things happen since I've been teaching the students. I asked my students to submit a journal entry on their thoughts on a movie we watched in class. The Holocaust is not an easy topic so I'm encouraging the students to write their thoughts as we learn to help them reflect on what they are learning. For once they can just write. No length requirement or expectations and the results have been outstanding. I could tell they really grasped some of the concepts. Some student took the opportunity to write me separate letters as well which I will cherish and use as guides for how I teach in the future. Last week I introduced the students to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Many of the students did not even know what human rights were but after a while they all got  really involved and we had a list of over thirty words or things we knew were human rights up on the board. Next I asked the students to look over the UDHR and categorize each thing as something they had seen or not seen in their lives. I encouraged them to work with a partner and talk through each human right until they both agreed. Those who took it seriously shared their observations and experiences and as I listened I was learning so much! I realized that there was not enough time for them to finish the activity and I too quickly assumed that they would not finish it. I was surprised when I was wrong. This morning when I came into the class the students were eager to show me their work and present me a finished copy. Even those who had not finished yet said they would do it soon. It made me so happy and I was proud. I am not sure if I was proud of myself or them, probably both, but I felt like seeing them complete the assignment on their own volition was a huge complement and step in the right direction.  Even on days that I'm tired I’m so ready for CMES because I can't wait to see how these learners make me smile each day. It might be something small or something big but I can tell they are capable of amazing things. If I don’t teach them the exact curriculum I hope I can teach them to be proud of themselves, to be respectful, conscientious,  and inspired!