Westborough High School offers dozens of electives ranging from a study of modernism to a practice in international cooking: worlds of knowledge in every field. Students can learn about world history or the arts or even raising children. Then, of course, a student might find himself in Facing History and Ourselves. And if you were this student, you would learn about you.
Entirely unique in its design and function, this course allows students to study themselves through studying others and to engage in discussions of morality, forced to challenge their own choices. It's a psychologically stimulating class that pushes one to think, not only of the actions of others, but of his own actions as well. An indivually self-reflective course that stands alone in the curriculum, Facing History and Ourselves is a class I'd quickly recommend to others.
I was turned onto the the class when a friend had told me that it was, "really deep" and, "interesting." Despite the vague description, in my unending quest for intellectually provocative classes that would maintain my interest, I signed up. And I can't possibly say I regret that.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Essay
Facing History and Ourselves represented a valuable time in my high school career in which I developed an entirely new outlook on not only my life but those of others, looking out on the work and decisions of other people with an entirely new attitude and an ability to discern no longer what I think is best for me, but what I think is universally right opposed to wrong in circumstances that I'd otherwise hold skewed and clouded judgment. The course benefited me as a student because in a school environment you are forced to be subjected to an entirely diverse culture and experience people of all different kinds in a uniquely confined setting. Thus, knowing how to think plays an enormous role in not only enjoying your school experience but doing what is right and making that school environment a strong and safe place to be. And Facing History and Ourselves provides that education, teaching students how to think and how, consequently, to act. With this knowledge, students are able to provide services and behave in manners that make this place an enjoyable environment to all those who are here, allowing people to live happier lives as better people. The class for me taught me how to think this way, how to treat others with an inherent respect. Therefore, it not only benefited me as a student, but as a person, helping to produce a mind more readily able to be a valuable part of a thriving and secure society. I am now not only able to make my school environment a better place for my peers and for me to be, but I also have to tools and the frame of mind to make the world a better place for everyone. The three facets of the course that I believe had the most significance to me and my moral education in this course were the documentaries we watched, the discussions we had in class, and, by far, the photographs we viewed of Auschwitz. The documentaries we watched, such as Warning from History, the story of the rise of the Nazi Party and their political actions as well as their regiment to exterminate the Jews. This un-dramatized look at the Nazi Party resonated most with me because it was unfiltered and unaffected by cinematic grandeur and it provided an unflinching look at the Nazis. Another extremely powerful documentary, the most powerful we watched all year, was the US Military Death Camp documentary. This showed real, unnerving footage of the death camps following their liberation and provided a visceral understanding of the conditions and activities of these horrific camps. We also had many discussions that would engage the whole class, such as those on current societal values regarding things such as current public manners and the actions of Jerry Sandusky and the subsequent firing of a number of members of the Penn State staff. These discussions would allow one to express their views and opinions in a safe and open environment as well as to listen to the views of others and formulate new and changing opinions based on the opinions, testimonies, and emotions of others in the class. Therefore, one be able to remain open minded while discussing currently relevant topics that would aid in establishing a deep, guttural understanding of right and wrong their the most basic yet complex states. These discussions also helped me better appreciate the power of listening. I've become so accustomed in my life to focusing only on what I think and almost disregarding others because surely I am always right. However, this of course was a fatal philosophy to have and the ability to sit and actually absorb what my peers are saying, to respect and comprehend their opinions, evaluations, assertions, etc., has been magnificently huge in evolving myself as a human being and establishing a true sense of societal obligation. This has been enormous for establishing myself as member of mankind and building myself a strong personality that no longer acts simply out of selfish want, but out of a duty, well more of an obliged desire, to help others and make the world in which I live a better place for all. Thirdly, the day where we viewed in silence the photos from Auschwitz while it was in operation had perhaps the most profound effect upon me as an individual. This was where I was able to peer into the still and haunting eyes of a trembling humanity and I learned of the extremes of the human condition. This provided the deepest understanding of how actions affect the world and it made me truly realize the power of morality, and more importantly, the wide-reaching horror of a collapse in such humanity. These all provided such a driving and deep education of the actions of others and consequently the actions and thoughts of myself that I would never want to lose this education and I think the world would benefit from a wider scale to those who receive such an education as that provided in Facing History and Ourselves.
Works Cited
A sign on the electric fence in Auschwitz. The sign reads: caution, danger. (After January 1945). History1900s.about.com. Image. 13 January, 2012.
Aerial view of Auschwitz. Globalsecurity.org. Image. 13 January 2012.
Arrivals at Auschwitz. Deathcamps.org. Image. 13 January, 2012.
Clothes flowing out of a warehouse at Auschwitz. History1900s.about.com. Image. 13 January, 2012.
Medical Experiments photo: Auschwitz. Deathcamps.info. Image. 13 January, 2012.
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