Last week news broke out about a writing assignment given by a teacher at an Albany High School to challenge the students to “formulate a persuasive argument” tasked with them writing an essay about why “Jews are Evil,” as if they were trying to convince a Nazi official of their loyalty. One third of the class refused the assignment.
To make matters worse, the students were to draw from a packet of Nazi propaganda, “what you have learned in history class, and “any experiences you have.” Does this mean experiences with Jews being Evil?
This assignment is deeply troubling on many accounts. The premise is suggestive of relying on negative stereotypes and false premises upon which to base a persuasive argument. After building such a case for a Nazi official, how many will be persuaded themselves?
The teacher has explained that the exercise reflects the type of writing expected of students under the new Common Core curriculum, the tough new academic standards that require more sophisticated writing. Such assignments attempt to connect English with History and Social Studies, she said.
There are many rhetorical arguments that can be made in collaboration with multi areas of study that are based on facts and supportive of critical thinking and writing. Perhaps topics involving gun control, Animal rights, stem cell research, and issues of electronic communications and rights of Privacy, which are multi-disciplinary and ripe for research and analysis.
Instead, we have a lesson taught in support of hatred of a certain religious group called Jews, based on the premise that they are Evil. Evil connotes someone who possesses negative traits, someone to be shunned.
Perhaps equally disturbing, are the responses ,which appeared as blogs on various news sites that express the belief the assignment was a matter of promoting free speech. As a Civil Rights Attorney, I hear about Bias in the workplace and the Evil it promotes. Hurtful ethnic Jokes are told when Bias is deemed permissible, allowing the Bully to Flourish. I think that an essay on Tolerance and Forgiveness may be better topics for teaching persuasive writing concerning a period in history. How about: Examining the effect of being children of Holocaust survivors?
The assignment given was Evil!
