Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 25, 1994 TAG: 9402250354
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BECKY HEPLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
"Get mean, stick your finger in their face and make your voice as cold and unfeeling as you can," she coached and that's what they tried to do.
It was an odd juxtaposition. Their frivolity was innocent and warm, like the 50 degree spring breeze just outside and it collided with the ugly emotions they were trying to portray, sodden and cold as the dirty remains of the previous week's ice storm.
Supporters of the Montgomery County curriculum called "Facing History and Ourselves: A Study of the Holocaust," which these students are taking, hope the course will have the same effect, melting prejudice and intolerance by recognizing and then fighting the evil that lives within all people.
Because these are some of the same goals of Coalition for Community, and in as much as Jane Goette was instrumental in getting the curriculum into the county schools, the Coalition awarded her one of its community service prizes last week.
"We want to be a proactive group that supports tolerance and solves problems without polarizing people and we wanted to recognize those people who are doing the same thing," said Ann Hess, speaking for the group.
Until a year ago, Goette's role was strictly an organizational one, but she wanted her own experience with the students.
So last year, she taught a special study group open to the students who had just finished the course, and interest was high enough to garner 21 student.
This year, the study group is again performing a play, though Goette is the play's author and it examines the curriculum, holding it up to public view as a way to talk about the issues raised in the class.
The harrowing realities of the Holocaust as well as the human tendencies that caused them would seem serious subjects for eighth graders. Yet BMS English teacher Karen Thorpe thinks their idealism makes them perfect for the interdisciplinary course. "They have such a great sense of justice at that age," she said.
Thorpe and other English teachers work with the social studies department on the six-week course that doesn't stop with just a historical look at the Holocaust. The teachers and students spend time talking about why people are prone to prejudice, what is responsible citizenship, and what happens when private conscience conflicts with public values.
The course has had a profound effect on the students. Teachers notice that the level of sensitivity seems to go up and the level of cruelty to go down the semester after the class is taught. Students are more aware of current events and what impact that might have on their lives, as well as having a deeper understanding of themselves.
Thorpe told the story of one exercise called "Choice." Students had to choose the most important things they would take into hiding with them. One student finally got the list down to between her boyfriend and her parents. Obviously the struggle was long and hard, because at 13, relationships with parents can be a trial, unlike relationships with boyfriends. But eventually she said to Thorpe, "Don't you dare tell my mother, but I chose them."
Thorpe said the effects are intangible and yet very visible. "When you see an auditorium full of eighth-graders spellbound, listening to a concentration camp survivor, completely rapt and not a sound but the survivor's stories, you know you've touched them," she said.
Goette is the coordinator of the Language Arts for Gifted Students division, but she felt the lessons being taught were too important to confine to a small segment of the school population. The course is offered to all students in the eighth grade.
Until a year ago, Goette's role was strictly an organizational one, but she wanted her own experience with the students.
So last year, she taught a special study group open to the students who had just finished the course, and interest was high enough to garner 21 students.
One of the requirements for the class was to create a play. The students wrote and performed it, using the voices of both the victims and the perpetrators of the Holocaust, as well as other manifestations of human cruelty and human goodness.
"One of the reasons I chose a play as part of the course is the importance of the power of imagination," Goette said. "The play lets the students step out of their 13-year old bodies and for a little while, be some one else. That deepens their understanding and personalizes the subject matter."
That certainly was the consensus of those taking part in the play.
Ann Brinckman, now a freshman at Blacksburg High School, thought the class was the most meaningful class she'd experienced. "So many things we do that we aren't even aware of can cause pain to other people," she said. "I'm much more aware now, and more careful in dealing with people's feelings.
"In the Holocaust," she continued, "the minorities needed some one to stand up for them, but no one was there for them. My feelings are, people should never feel like there's no one out there."
This year, the study group is again performing a play, though Goette is the\ play's author this time and it examines the curriculum, holding it up to public\ view as a way to talk about the issues raised in the class.
The play is being presented to other Montgomery County eighth grades, including Auburn and Shawsville on Monday, February 28, Blacksburg on Tuesday, March 1 and Christiansburg on Wednesday, March 2. The play will also have two public performances on Friday and Saturday nights, February 25 and 26, 7:30 p.m. at the Blacksburg Middle School Auditorium. While there is no admission charge, the group is asking for donations. The money collected will be used for a project yet to be decided by the students.
"When you think that the Holocaust was created by one of the most civilized countries, in the middle of the 20th century, it goes to show you that we can never stop soul searching, asking questions, analyzing what we're doing," Goette said. "This curriculum does a marvelous job od promoting that."
This year's play will be performed for other Montgomery County eight-grades next week. The play will have two public performances, tonight and Saturday night at 7:30 in the Blacksburg Middle School Auditorium.
While there is no admission charge, the group is asking for donations. The money collected will be used for a project of the students' choice.
by CNB