Introduction

       The Facing History and Ourselves course has always been a very popular class here at Westborough High School. Students that have taken the course have very positive and interesting things to say about it. This is why I knew I would have to make room for this course in my schedule for senior year. I understood that the class focused on significant segments of our history, such as The Civil Rights movement, the Armenian Genocide, and the Jewish Holocaust. These were units that I was eager to learn more about. So, I decided it was a must for my senior year, which was already full to maximum. Unfortunately, I had to give up Psychology to make it work out, but I have to say I think it was a really great decision. This course has really been a rewarding experience and I will definitely recommend it to the future students. 

What Facing History and Ourselves Meant to Me

This course offers so much information and knowledge in a way that is very unconventional. It moves away from ramming facts down your throat and rather offers information and allows for the student to reflect upon it. I enjoyed it because it allowed for more of an application of the knowledge obtained into the real world.It is not your typical history class. Some of the facts that i did learn will stay with me forever. I hated seeing Holocaust images such as the ones below because they are just so powerful and intense. I really can not fathom how this could have occurred. 

I feel that all of the activities that I participated in were very beneficial. The movies and discussions that we had really allowed for me to build on my knowledge of the topics discussed, including the Civil Rights movement, the Holocaust, and the Armenian Genocide. Additionally, I very much appreciated the blog format of our homework. The blogs were very cool because they were not difficult, yet they did make one think and reflect on that day’s class. Also, I found it very enjoyable to go back and read what my other classmates were writing and gain a different perspective that I had not thought about before. At times, I would even get anxious as I waited to see what others would post. After classes where we watch a really great movie, I would wait to see if others felt the same way I did. I also enjoyed when others would comment on what I had to say because it showed me different ways to analyze something. 

One of the movies that we saw that I thoroughly enjoyed was Freedom Writers. This film was very inspirational and very informative yet enjoyable and funny. The movie teaches many important lessons about life and society. The movie centered on an integrated California school in which a very diverse population of students attends. These students are all part of a different social group and have very strong feelings of hate, anger, and resentment towards the other social groups at the school. The new teacher in the film sees this and takes it upon herself to illustrate to the students the concept that in essence, they are all the same, and that they should respect themselves and one another. In the end, the students are able to put their differences aside and become a very loving and cohesive group. I love this film because it shows how we could all get along just fine if we stopped looking and peoples color, culture, language, or gender and focused on their personality, actions, and thoughts. The image above was one of my favorite scenes because it showed the teachers true passion and dedication for the students. She refused to let her student just quit, she saw the potential in him that no one else had ever seen. The student felt so worthless because that is what society had constantly told him so he began to believe it.

Another movie I enjoyed was Uprising. This film did a really great job of illustrating how the Jewish community rallied together to fight back against the Nazi forces that were intruding on their neighborhoods and killing millions. The film showed how not all the Jews were bystanders, many of them fought back and revolted against them. A scene that was particularly interesting was when the Nazi are trying to take over a Jewish living complex and they are met with a huge battle in an effort to keep them out. There was a woman that had constructed small glass bottles that were flaming and hung from her roof dropping them on Nazi soldiers. The image below is the DVD art that I find very interesting because of the fist that is illustrated. It shows the Jewish power of need to resist against the imposing forces. 

This course left a listing impression on me and i will be changed forever. 

Works Cited

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