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After filling out surveys and looking at the results (listed on pictured posters below), it was clear that everyone has a different style. Some students (and teachers) need a quiet space. Others need background noise to help keep them focused. Some students like reading along when a teacher reads aloud. Others like reading independently. In fact, in the entire survey, there was not a question that everyone answered the same. What does that mean for a class? COMPROMISE. We will need to understand that nothing is going to work for everyone (except, perhaps, no homework). We will need to continually strive to meet each others' needs. This will mean communicating when something is not working, checking our own behavior when it's hindering others' performances, and remembering that we all are different in our approaches to learning.

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How did churches help spread anti-Semitism? Why did people believe lies about Jews? How did laws that prevented Jews from owning land and being in guilds give rise to the stereotype that Jews are money-loving and greedy? We watched a short documentary from the Holocaust Memorial Museum. We discussed that when the majority of people were illiterate and were told by their priests that Jews worked with the devil, and frescos, statues, and paintings in church illustrated the lies with images of Jews with horns, Jews working with the devil, and Jews killing Christian children propagated prejudices that were then handed down for generations.

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[Narrator] Between 1939 and 1945, the Nazis killed about six million Jews and millions of other civilians throughout Europe.

These are some who were slaughtered in the Holocaust-a generation lost forever.

[Text on screen] EUROPEAN ANTISEMITISM FROM ITS ORIGINS TO THE HOLOCAUST

[Narrator] Jews are the people of the Hebrew Bible who lived in a land now known as Israel. They believe that there is only one God.

Christianity emerged from Judaism. Jesus of Nazareth was a Jew who preached a singular religious message. The first Christians were Jews who prayed in Hebrew and observed the customs and religious rituals of Judaism. The Last Supper was a Jewish religious meal, probably at Passover.

Jesus was put to death at the hands of Roman authorities under Pontius Pilate in Judea, but the gospel accounts were interpreted as blaming all Jews for the crucifixion. To his followers, Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah. His death, sacrificial atonement. Most Jews believed the Messiah had not yet come. Redemption was not at hand.

Soon after the crucifixion, Roman armies destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. Jews were exiled and scattered-to live as a dispersed minority. By the 5th century, Christianity had become the dominant religion in the Roman Empire.

The early Christian church portrayed Jews as unwilling to accept the word of God; illuminations showed Satan binding the eyes of the Jews. Some church leaders intensified the charge-condemning Jews as agents of the devil and murderers of God. The accusation was not renounced until the 1960s when the Second Vatican Council officially repudiated the ancient charge that Jews had murdered Christ.

For centuries, state and Church laws restricted Jews, preventing them from owning land and holding public office. Guilds excluded Jews from most occupations, forcing them into pursuits like money-lending, trade, commerce. Excluded from Christian society, Jews maintained their religious and social customs.

In 1095, Pope Urban II called for the liberation of Jerusalem. Christian crusaders set off to free the Holy Land from the Muslims. On the way, they slaughtered thousands of Jews.

Throughout the Middle Ages, Christians persecuted Jews. Portrayed as alien, Jews were regarded as usurers. It was said Jews poisoned the wells of Europe, causing the Black Plague. Illustrations depicted Jews as the devil, with horns and cloven feet, and showed them using the blood of Christian children in ritual sacrifices. These lies came to be taken as truth.

But where they were needed, Jews were tolerated. When they were allowed to participate in the larger society, Jews thrived.

In many places, secular and religious states forced Jews into segregated districts later called ghettos. England, France, Spain, Portugal, and many German states expelled masses of Jews-most of whom migrated eastward taking with them their religious convictions and traditions.

In 1517, Martin Luther attacked the Pope and corruption within his own Roman Catholic Church, beginning the Protestant Reformation. The young Luther hoped that tolerance would persuade Jews to convert. But when Jews adhered to their own religious beliefs and refused to join his new reformed church, Luther's disappointment turned to hatred.
What then shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews? . . .Their synagogues . . .should be set on fire, and what does not burn must be covered over with earth so that no man will ever see stone or cinder of them again. . . .Their houses also should be razed and destroyed. . . . All their prayer books. . .should be taken from them.
The Protestant Reformation brought no end to the anti-Jewish tradition of Christianity.

With the 18th century Enlightenment's emphasis on reason, the domination of the Church diminished. Some Enlightenment thinkers called for full rights for Jews, but only on the condition that they discard their religious customs. Others blamed Judaism as the source of irrational religious faith.

Even though many Jews assimilated socially and culturally, prejudice did not disappear.

In France in 1894, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, the only Jewish member of the French Army's general staff, was convicted of passing military secrets to Germany. Later, proof of forgery confirmed his innocence, but Dreyfus remained the victim of a cover up to divert attention from army corruption. A century after the French Revolution proclaimed Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, giving Jews their freedom, frenzied mobs in the streets of Paris chanted Death to the Jews.

[Text on screen] It is not a question of religion. The enemy is JUDAISM!

[Narrator] Religious discrimination had gradually changed into a thriving secular, political, and social antisemitism.

Nevertheless, freed from some restrictions, many Jews entered the Christian World and became prominent citizens.

Then, around 1900, a new lie was promoted: that Jews conspired to dominate the world using their money and intelligence to manipulate trusting Christians. Russian secret police forged a document to support the story of a take-over plot supposedly authored by a conference of Jewish leaders. A proven forgery, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion was nevertheless translated into every major language and distributed worldwide. It is circulated even today despite indisputable proof that it is a fake.

To divert popular discontent at appalling living conditions and autocratic control, Russian authorities encouraged antisemitic violence. Jews were blamed for the assassination of Czar Alexander II in 1881. Pogroms, murderous rampages against Jews, erupted in Russia many times during the next three decades.

The second half of the 19th century saw the emergence of yet another kind of antisemitism. At its core was the theory that Jews were not merely a religious group but a separate "race"-Semites-set apart because of genetically inherited characteristics.

Antisemites believed racial characteristics could not be overcome by assimilation or even conversion. Jews were said to be dangerous and threatening because of their "Jewish blood." Antisemitic racism united pseudoscientific theories with centuries old anti-Jewish stereotypes. These ideas gained wide acceptance.

The devastation of World War I, the demeaning peace of Versailles, the hyperinflation of the 1920s, and the depression of 1929 fueled mass discontent.

The presence of Jews in German cultural, economic, and political life made them convenient scapegoats for Germany's misfortunes.

Enter: Adolf Hitler. Hitler viewed world history as a racial struggle for survival of the fittest. He saw Jews as the source of all evil: disease, social injustice, cultural decline, capitalism and all forms of Marxism, especially Communism.

Antisemitism would become the predominant ideology of the Third Reich.

Nazi racism victimized many groups of people, but it was against the Jews that the Nazi state mobilized all its resources for terror.

After the Nazi takeover of power, anti-Jewish measures were put into effect one after another: Jewish businesses were boycotted, then seized. Jews were defined, separated from non-Jews. Jews were excluded from professions and studies. Jewish children were barred from schools. Jews were subjected to public humiliation.

The changes-whether gradual or sudden-were incomprehensible. Few could imagine what would happen. Even Jews.

The Nazis took antisemitism to an unprecedented level of violence. Genocide: the systematic murder of millions of people deemed inferior. Six million Jews. These are some of them.

[Text on screen] In the aftermath of the Holocaust, some Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, have re-examined their teachings on the Jews and Judaism.

Many denominations are continuing to address the role played by centuries of Christian antisemitism in contributing to circumstances that made the Holocaust possible.

Antisemitism did not end with the Holocaust and persists in Europe, the United States, and around the world today. Efforts to minimize, deny, or even celebrate the Holocaust are among the many ways antisemitism endures.

Hatred of Jews is fueled by myths, lies, and conspiracy theories. Some advocates of religious, political, and racial ideologies continue to exploit the hatred of Jews to achieve their own ends.

As the Holocaust demonstrates, antisemitism often appears alongside other forms of hatred, with potentially devastating consequences for individuals, communities, and nations.

Learn more at ushmm.org/antisemitism.

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Why the Jews: History of Antisemitism - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

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This 13-minute film explains the history of antisemitism from the days of the early Christian church until the 20th century.

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We watched the UK narrated version of the short story, "The Bear That Wasn't." Students then answered questions and we discussed it.

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Once upon a time-in fact, it was on a Tuesday-the Bear saw that it was time to go into a cave and hibernate. And that was just what he did. Not long afterwards-well, in fact, it was on a Wednesday-lots of workers arrived near that cave. While the Bear slept, they built a great, huge factory. As winter turned to spring, the Bear awoke and stepped out of his cave. His eyes popped. Where was the forest? Where was the grass? Where were the trees? Where were the flowers? What had happened?

I must be dreaming, he said. Of course I'm dreaming. But it was real. Just then, a man came out of the factory. "Hey, you, get back to work," he said. The Bear replied, "I don't work here. I'm a Bear." The Foreman laughed. "That's a fine excuse for a man to keep from doing any work, saying he's a Bear." The Bear said, "But I am a Bear."

The Foreman stopped laughing. He was very mad. "Don't try to fool me," he said. "You're not a Bear. You're a silly little man who needs a shave and wears a fur coat. I'm going to take you to the General Manager." The General Manager also insisted the Bear was a silly man who needs a shave and wears a fur coat. The Bear said, "No, you're mistaken. I am a Bear."

The General Manager was very mad too. The Bear said, "I'm sorry to hear you say that. You see, I am a Bear." The Third Vice President was even matter. The Second Vice President was more mad, or madder. He was furious. The First Vice President yelled in rage. He said, "You're not a Bear. You're a silly man who needs a shave and wears a fur coat. I'm going to take you to the President."

The Bear pleaded. "This is a dreadful error, you know, because ever since I could remember, I've always been a Bear." And that's exactly what the Bear told the President. "Thank you for telling me," the President said. "You can't be a Bear. Bears are only in the zoo or a circus. They're never inside a factory. And that's where you are, inside a factory, so how could you be a Bear?"

The Bear said, "But I am a Bear." The President said, "No. You're a silly man who needs a shave and wears a fur coat. But you're also very stubborn, so I'm going to prove to you once and for all that you are not a Bear." The Bear said, "But I am a Bear." The President packed the Bear and his Vice Presidents into the car, and they drove to the zoo.

The zoo Bear said he wasn't a Bear because if he were a Bear, he'd be inside the cage. The Bear said, "But I am a Bear." So they all left the zoo and drove to the nearest circus. "Is he a Bear?" the President asked the circus Bears. The circus Bears said, "No. If he were a Bear, he would be wearing a little hat with a striped ribbon, holding onto a balloon and riding a bicycle." The Bear said, "But I am a Bear."

When the President and his Vice Presidents returned to the factory, they put the Bear to work on a big machine with lots of other men. The Bear worked on a big machine for many, many months. One day, a long, long time afterwards, the factory closed down, and all the workers left and went home. The Bear was the last one left. And as he walked out of the factory, he looked up at the sky. He saw a flock of geese flying south and the leaves falling from the trees. Winter was coming, he thought. It was time to go into a cave and hibernate.

So he walked over to a huge tree that had a cave hollowed out beneath its roots. He was just about to go into it when he stopped and said, "But I can't go into a cave and hibernate. I am not a Bear. I am a silly man who needs a shave and wears a fur coat." So winter came. The snow fell. It covered the forest, and it covered him. And he sat there, shivering with cold, and said, "I sure wish I was a Bear."

The longer he sat there, the colder he became. His toes and ears were freezing, and his teeth were chattering. Icicles covered his nose and chin. The poor Bear was very lonely and very sad. He didn't know what to think. Then, suddenly, he got up and walked through the deep snow towards the cave. Inside it was cozy and snug. The icy wind and cold, cold snow couldn't reach him here. He felt warm all over.

He sat down on a bed of pine boughs, and soon he was happily asleep and dreaming sweet dreams, just like all bears do when they hibernate. So even though the foreman and the general manager and the Third Vice President and the Second Vice President and the First Vice President and the President and the zoo Bears and the circus Bears had said he was a silly man who needed a shave and wore a fur coat, I don't think he really believed it, do you? No. Indeed, he knew he wasn't a silly man, and he wasn't a silly Bear either.

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Once upon a time-in fact, it was on a Tuesday-the Bear saw that it was time to go into a cave and hibernate. And that was just what he did. Not long afterwards-well, in fact, it was on a Wednesday-lots of workers arrived near that cave.

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We previewed some of the words that will be used in this course. Students then did a crossword puzzle to review the words. The goal is that reading the definitions and then writing out the words will help with remembering the words, and also reinforce spelling.

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Click on this image to access the PDF full text version of this short novel. 

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We saw what life was like in the 1550s for a peasant boy living near Prague, and his experience being a bonded servant to a Jewish family who lived in the Jewish ghetto.

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What makes it difficult for you to be your best self in the classroom?

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What makes it difficult for you to be your best self in the classroom?

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To review the vocabulary we went over yesterday, students filled in a crossword puzzle.

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We did a quick overview of the monotheistic religions, Judaism, Catholicism/Christianity, and Islam and watched a video that explains the rise of anti-Semitism.

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Judaism to Catholicism to Christianity and Origins of Anti-semitism 

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Facing History and Ourselves Weekly Agenda and Homework

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Who influences how people think about themselves?

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Who influences how people think about themselves?

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Practicing finding evidence and the “so what?”

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Practicing finding evidence and the “so what?”

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Students discussed their opinions on the Oscars incident when Will Smith hit Chris Rock after Rock made a joke about Smith's wife's hair. Some students did not know what happened, others had strong opinions on the subject. The reason I brought it up was because this is a topic on which there are many opinions, and many depths to the discussion. Should people make fun of other people in the name of comedy? Should violence be acceptable? Was Smith right in defending his wife, or was this an example of toxic masculinity? How does race play into this event? Smith was one of few African American actors to win for best actor. Do his actions overshadow his accomplishment? Do I react differently on this issue because my son has alopecia and perhaps I am more sensitive about Rock's joke than those who don't have a relative with the disease? Should Rock have known better? He produced a documentary called "Good Hair" to help his daughter understand African American women's relationship to their hair in order to empower her. Would he make fun of his daughter if she'd gone bald?

After some lively debate, we also stepped back to think about two of the films, "Coda" and "Summer of Love," that deserved time in the spotlight that lost the spotlight because of the two men's actions.

We also acknowledged that in light of world events, such as the war in Ukraine and anti-LGBTQ laws being passed, perhaps the Oscars should not be dominating the media.

The big takeaway from the classes' discussions was that THERE IS NO ONE RIGHT ANSWER. People all have their own opinions. People can back up their opinions with different evidence and different life experiences. What is important is to listen to peers and teachers, think about and weigh their opinion, evidence, and argument, and form your own opinions. I pointed out that even though I am a teacher, I do not have a "right" answer. My opinion and others' opinions differed, and that's okay as long as opinions are formed with evidence and thoughtfulness.

The "no right or wrong answer" will be the case for how people respond to the class materials we are about to study going forward. Everyone will react differently to the materials presented when we learn about wars and genocide. People's life experiences, family backgrounds, and religions mean that we will each have our own take and reactions on the history we study. We need to remember that and try to listen to each other and keep an open mind. We also need to remember that people all react differently to hearing hard history and we will have to learn to support one another, particularly when we make mistakes.

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"His rage was frantic; he declared whoever had stolen [his dog] should die on the rack" (15).

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After we read the first 30 pages of the novel, students each picked a part of the novel and illustrated it. The goal is to not only pay attention to the history described in the novel, but to practice reading skills. How do we visualize what we read? Please note that this drawing is Jenn's as she tried to explain what the medieval "the rack" was. The actual drawings that students and Jenn did for the assignment are better - and will be added to this Padlet on Monday once everyone finishes them.