Crystal Said:

Can you look at this please and see if it needs any corrections and help me add a closing paragraph. TEN POINT?

We Answered:

yeah, I will help you....

Throughout the short amount of time I spent in the Ethics Seminar, I was taught some lessons that have become a very important part of the rest of my life. I have realized that he lessons I have learned are invaluable - lessons such as making the choice between being a bystander or upstander, understanding the world outside my own and the best ways to approach it, and learning the best ways to treat people with respect. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to all of my classmates for all of their contributions to the Ethics class and for making it a fun and memorable learning experience.

Each day I was in attendance of the Ethics Seminar, I felt my understanding of what the class means was expanding - that it was truly meaningful. This class has enabled me to find the importance of treating all people properly - with kindness and respect. It has shown me that all people are more similar to one another than it may seem on the surface, and has better enabled me to appreciate the similarities and the differences. Each day, I felt that I was not only learning more about myself and my own personal history, but I was also able to begin to get in touch with the person I am today and the person I hope to become in the future.

The experience that impacted me most from the Ethics Seminar was the story of Erika Jacoby, the Holocaust survivor. Having the pleasure of listening to her recount her true stories of survival and the challenges she faced in her personal experiences made me realize that anything in life, no matter how difficult or hopeless it may seem, can be overcome with the right attitude. From this experience, I have learned a great deal of life lessons that I will be able to carry on and share with my family, friends, and loved ones.

Not only did I learn a great deal about myself, but also my peers and others that are close to me. I learned about change and how it can seem harder than it really is, and change begins from within. If I start with myself, work on making myself a better person, making those positive changes, things can and will become easier. I've also come to realize that my classmates and I have many things in common, and that we are truly not alone in the problems that we face. People often go through many similar things in life and problems are not unique to one person. People share many common experiences. This has opened my eyes and enabled me to be more comfortable around my classmates, as I got to know myself, as well as my peers, much better.

While in the Ethics class we watched many amazing movies about upstanders and bystanders such as “Schindler’s list” and “Pay it forward”. Each told the story of people seeing something wrong and trying to make it right, whether it be by help out one person or an entire nation of people. Prior to taking this class, I would see people being bullied or picked on, and I would occasionally try to defend the person, but not always - being the bystander. I was okay with playing that role, or even going so far as to being a part of the bullying. This class, watching those films, and being a part of this experience has caused me to want to change that part of me that was ok with being a bystander and becoming an upstander. I want to help the people around me and help the community I live it, not be a part of the problem.

Ethics not only taught me about myself, my past, my present, my future, high school, and life, but has also made me realize the importance of looking ahead to how I want to plan my future. I want to have the ability and desire to make good, positive choices that can lead to a bright, prosperous future for myself. I've realized attaining good grades, being a responsible student, and living up to my potential as I work my way towards getting into a prestigious college are my tasks at hand. I want to take what I learned from this Ethics class and apply to other areas in my life - especially academically and socially. I want to be a positive role model and upstanding member of my community. I want to start caring about where I live and the environment. I think about all the small things I can do to get started - conserving water, conserving energy, recycling, even assisting the elderly and gradually I hope to go on to set higher goals for myself in time.

Teresa Said:

is my teacher allowed to do this?

We Answered:

Is your teacher *allowed* to do this? Probably, it is very fashionable to do this.

Is it a good idea? NO!!!!!!

Treating people this way, even for a lesson, teaches them to distrust the person who did this to them (i.e. the teacher) and also causes resentment.

I'd also like to point out that you are talking about the teaching method, rather than the horrors of the Holocaust. Clearly, it didn't help you to focus on what you are supposed to be learning, otherwise you would be talking about that, rather than what your teacher did.

Oh, and BTW, I am Jewish and, when I was in 1st grade, the teacher did something like what you describe. All I learned was that my teacher wasn't nice like I thought she was, that she wasn't honest with us, that some people (including me) cried more easily than others and that school wasn't always a good place to go. Notice, I didn't say one thing about learning how it felt to be in the Holocaust...because I didn't learn that. I didn't learn about the true horrors until later, when I read things like Number the Stars and the Diary of Anne Frank and when I went to the Holocaust mueseum.

Cheryl Said:

What do you think about this statement about Germany?

We Answered:

It's people like that who bring abuse to our nation's doorstep. I can assure him that an average German will feel far worse about the war than an average Britain will feel about the slave trade.
On his reasoning we could find many ways to suggest that the British economy should be destroyed.
Meh.....best just ignore him.

Nancy Said:

Okay guys, time to assess these two ideas?

We Answered:

So, um...what's your question? Your first plot is a strong one. I'd even say it was worthy of Harry Turtledove, probably the greatest alternative-history writer now working. (If you're not familiar with him, you might enjoy his works.) Your second plot...not as strong, IMO at least. Go with the first one, and good luck!

Rosa Said:

What do you think of my book ideas?

We Answered:

I can't believe the first one unless there's some time travel involved. There has to be a REASON things deviated from their "original" course. Sure, there's alternate timelines and all, but I just can't buy 'em unless there's a reason.

The second one doesn't really seem to have a plot. There's some interesting ideas there, but...it's just people. It needs to have a purpose and the characters have to mean something to the reader.

Irene Said:

I need ideas or a lesson plan for my music class on the Holocaust.?

We Answered:

Why not teach the kids a Jewish song, like Hava Nagila...no clue how to spell that...or are you trying to focus on the Nazi side of things??