My name is Andrew Whamond, and I am a senior at Westborough High School. I have grown up in a family where I have learned that all people should be respected regardless of how they might be different from me. I have always considered myself to be open-minded, but after taking this class, I realize I may have made comments in the past, that may have been hurtful to certain groups of people. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take part in a course called Facing History and Ourselves. I had heard many positive comments from students who had taken the course in previous years. They encouraged me to take it because they felt everyone should take this class. It is rare to find a class that makes you think about how the events and experiences that have happened in history, have directly impacted our lives. Facing History and Ourselves did just that. This class made me stop and think about how I view other people who may be different from me. It makes me want to defend people who are discriminated against, and stand up for them. No human being, regardless of their race, religious views, or sexual orientation, deserves to be treated badly. There is no one group of people that is better than another. Since taking this class, I can safely say that there is no other class at Westborough High that compares. I feel as though my high school career wouldn’t have been complete, without participating in this class.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
What Facing History and Ourselves Meant to Me
Facing History and Ourselves benefited me as a student and a person in many different ways. It opened my eyes to new ideas and beliefs. It also made me become more open minded, and in some ways, it changed my opinion about people and viewpoints. I am a different person now, and hopefully a better person, as a result of having been a part of this class.
Each class offered a new topic for each of us to think about, and in some instances, provided a different perspective. I enjoyed participating in each and every class, whether it be through class discussions and listening to other people’s ideas, or through readings or watching films. I am also very grateful for the opportunity to have participated in this class. My Westborough High school career truly would not have been the same without it.
Throughout this past semester we have watched many films, read numerous documents, and looked at several different pictures. Out of all of these learning experiences, there are three things that have really stuck in my head, and I have continued to think about. The first thing is the movie “Freedom Writers.” I really enjoyed this movie because it completely opened up my eyes to what life outside of Westborough is like. It is not perfect everywhere and there are kids out there who don’t know if they will wake the next morning in their homes or next to their friends and family. It also showed me that there are people out there who truly do care and want to make a difference. I admire these people for what they do because they don’t do it because they have to. They don’t do it because they are told to. They do it because deep down they truly care and want to make a difference. In this movie the main character wanted to make a difference in the kids’ lives. I used to think that I appreciated all of the things I have in my life, but after watching this film, I realize I may have taken things for granted. I recognize just how lucky I am, even if I don’t have as many material things as the person sitting next to me in class.
The second thing that sticks out in my mind and was meaningful to me, was when we watched the Milgram experiment. While watching this film, I was amazed at what people were capable of. In this film, people were told to ask another person questions. Every time an incorrect answer was given, the tester was to electrically shock the test taker. They did not know, however, that there was really no test taker, but rather recording of people screaming and yelling for help. This film bothered me most, because had there actually been a test taker being shocked, some of them would have been killed, all because of how willing the testers were to shock them even at deadly levels. It was very powerful to watch this film, and think about what must have been going through the minds of people who participated in this experiment, especially the people who were willing to inflict pain. However, I was happy to see that there were people who were not willing to go all the way and refused to administer the shocks. After watching the film, I found myself thinking about what I would have done if I had been in that situation. I know without any doubt in my mind, that I never would have shocked another person, or caused pain in anyway.
Another film that we watched, which I will never forget, is called “Boy in the Striped Pajamas.” I found this film to be very emotional, and at some parts very hard to watch. It hurt me inside to know that there were human beings out there who had no respect for Jewish people. Not only did that have no respect for them, they were willing to hurt or kill. What they did to the children was especially upsetting. At the end of the film, it killed me when the Jewish boy and the soldier’s son went into the gas chamber. I found myself almost yelling out “No don’t go.” At this point in the film, two innocent boys were killed for no reason at all except that one was Jewish, and the other was a friend trying to help the Jewish boy find his father. This prejudice way of thinking is hard for me to imagine. It seems so far removed from my life, yet it was very real. It is really hard for me to imagine a human being abused or killed for no reason, other than someone disagreeing with your beliefs. I know that discrimination still exists, but this film really opened my eyes to the hatred people have been subjected to in years past. It makes all of us be more aware of how our words and actions can impact people, especially in a negative way.
I truly believe that this class was the way it was because of Mr. Gallagher, the course teacher. He was not afraid to hold back and showed us films and documents that I never would have seen if he hadn’t shown them. Also, you could tell how dedicated he was to the class. He watched every film with us and was not afraid to answer questions or help us understand what was going on. I have gained an incredible amount of respect for Mr. Gallagher, as a person, a teacher, and a mentor. He has been a great influence on my life as a person. He has opened my eyes to real life issues and helped me to be able to go out into the real world and help other people.
This course has taught me a lot about what has happened in the past, especially the Holocaust, which has been the main focus of the class. I had some knowledge of the Holocaust before taking the class, but I now have a better understanding of what really happened.
Each class offered a new topic for each of us to think about, and in some instances, provided a different perspective. I enjoyed participating in each and every class, whether it be through class discussions and listening to other people’s ideas, or through readings or watching films. I am also very grateful for the opportunity to have participated in this class. My Westborough High school career truly would not have been the same without it.
Throughout this past semester we have watched many films, read numerous documents, and looked at several different pictures. Out of all of these learning experiences, there are three things that have really stuck in my head, and I have continued to think about. The first thing is the movie “Freedom Writers.” I really enjoyed this movie because it completely opened up my eyes to what life outside of Westborough is like. It is not perfect everywhere and there are kids out there who don’t know if they will wake the next morning in their homes or next to their friends and family. It also showed me that there are people out there who truly do care and want to make a difference. I admire these people for what they do because they don’t do it because they have to. They don’t do it because they are told to. They do it because deep down they truly care and want to make a difference. In this movie the main character wanted to make a difference in the kids’ lives. I used to think that I appreciated all of the things I have in my life, but after watching this film, I realize I may have taken things for granted. I recognize just how lucky I am, even if I don’t have as many material things as the person sitting next to me in class.
The second thing that sticks out in my mind and was meaningful to me, was when we watched the Milgram experiment. While watching this film, I was amazed at what people were capable of. In this film, people were told to ask another person questions. Every time an incorrect answer was given, the tester was to electrically shock the test taker. They did not know, however, that there was really no test taker, but rather recording of people screaming and yelling for help. This film bothered me most, because had there actually been a test taker being shocked, some of them would have been killed, all because of how willing the testers were to shock them even at deadly levels. It was very powerful to watch this film, and think about what must have been going through the minds of people who participated in this experiment, especially the people who were willing to inflict pain. However, I was happy to see that there were people who were not willing to go all the way and refused to administer the shocks. After watching the film, I found myself thinking about what I would have done if I had been in that situation. I know without any doubt in my mind, that I never would have shocked another person, or caused pain in anyway.
Another film that we watched, which I will never forget, is called “Boy in the Striped Pajamas.” I found this film to be very emotional, and at some parts very hard to watch. It hurt me inside to know that there were human beings out there who had no respect for Jewish people. Not only did that have no respect for them, they were willing to hurt or kill. What they did to the children was especially upsetting. At the end of the film, it killed me when the Jewish boy and the soldier’s son went into the gas chamber. I found myself almost yelling out “No don’t go.” At this point in the film, two innocent boys were killed for no reason at all except that one was Jewish, and the other was a friend trying to help the Jewish boy find his father. This prejudice way of thinking is hard for me to imagine. It seems so far removed from my life, yet it was very real. It is really hard for me to imagine a human being abused or killed for no reason, other than someone disagreeing with your beliefs. I know that discrimination still exists, but this film really opened my eyes to the hatred people have been subjected to in years past. It makes all of us be more aware of how our words and actions can impact people, especially in a negative way.
I truly believe that this class was the way it was because of Mr. Gallagher, the course teacher. He was not afraid to hold back and showed us films and documents that I never would have seen if he hadn’t shown them. Also, you could tell how dedicated he was to the class. He watched every film with us and was not afraid to answer questions or help us understand what was going on. I have gained an incredible amount of respect for Mr. Gallagher, as a person, a teacher, and a mentor. He has been a great influence on my life as a person. He has opened my eyes to real life issues and helped me to be able to go out into the real world and help other people.
This course has taught me a lot about what has happened in the past, especially the Holocaust, which has been the main focus of the class. I had some knowledge of the Holocaust before taking the class, but I now have a better understanding of what really happened.
Works Cited
“Facing History ." Consortium of Holocaust Educators. Web. 16 Jan 2011.
"Hillary Swank in Freedom Writers movie." atoWW. Web. 16 Jan 2011.
"The Boy In Striped Pyjamas." Film Guide. Web. 16 Jan 2011.
"The Island on Bird Street." cvmc.net. Web. 16 Jan 2011.
"Milgram Experiment." The Huffington Post. Web. 16 Jan 2011.
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