Kelly's+Conference+Reflection

Conference Reflection Eastern Michigan University Writing Project Social Justice: The Holocaust and its Effects October 15th, 2011

My Grandfathers both served in World War II thus I have always had a soft spot when it comes to learning about this event in history. In fact, World War II sparked my interest in history to encourage me to become a teacher in that subject area. The Holocaust is a particular focus I have read many novels about, the humanity (rather inhumanity) element always struck a heart string. How do you teach such an emotional event in history?

Jennifer Walsh and Chelly Eifert presented some tips of the trade that I deem very useful. Some suggested approaches included the use of poetry, examining photographs to understand the “why,” and perhaps my favorite, writing a Holocaust journal.

For the first lesson on poetry, we actually did as a group during the conference. Taking a simple poem like //Dusk// and doing a dramatic reading can spark interest in students immediately. While they may get wrapped up in the performance aspect, what they don’t realize is they are learning as well. This approach can encourage creativity and discussion.

A second lesson revolved around trying to understand the “why.” Why did Germans allow this to happen? What was the mentality of the time that allowed them to be so submissive? I never thought of approaching it this way. If students understand the context, perhaps they will have a better sense of understanding. Showing photos of propaganda could be a good place to start with this lesson.

Finally, the Holocaust journals. These journals would be entirely student driven and would require them to step into the shoes of a person involved in the Holocaust: whether it was a victim, a sympathetic Nazi, or even a family member hiding a Jew. This activity incorporates classroom notes and knowledge in a creative format that encourages students to fully understand the implications of what was happening.

All these activities in addition to the resources provided will offer a good foundation to teach a unit on the Holocaust or any social injustice for that matter. I was impressed at all the different angles to look at one issue/event. I feel much more confident in approaching an emotional topic such as this in a classroom of my own.

5/10
Conference Reflection #2

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

Plymouth High School English Department In-service

For my second “conference” experience I attended an in-service presented for the English faculty at Plymouth High School. At this conference, the focus was upon a writing workshop. 3 pieces of student writing were examined. The process was very detailed and new to me. Each teacher was presented with a copy of the work (with no name or subject) and asked to make comments in the margins. These comments could not be judgmental, rather simple statements of factual evidence from the writing.

Next, we discussed what the writing was saying. We then developed questions about the writing including things such as, “Did the writer draw upon personal experiences?,” “What is the age of the writer?” and “What was the purpose of this writing assignment?” Following this question session (in which no answers were to be supplied by the teacher whose classroom this sample was from), teachers posed accusations on what they felt was trying to be said, what was inferred, what the student was like, and what the teacher did or could continue to help with in the future.

The final piece of this process was for the presenting teacher to answer the questions previously posed. Some of these answers were surprisingly shocking and not what we expected. It was a neat way to look at a piece of writing without being judgmental, rather simply looking at it for what it is.

This process/in-service was a new idea proposed by a member of the English department and this was the first time it was implemented. I thought it was a great idea and very effective. I was glad to be a part of this and hope to be able to apply this process not only with my future colleagues but also modify it for use within my own classroom.