One of the very first lessons I learned upon walking into the Facing History and Ourselves course was to listen to others. Although this may be obvious to some people, something they think they learned in their early schooling days, I mean that I really learned to listen. It started when one of my classmates was answering a question, giving her opinion on the subject we were discussing. As she was talking, it was obvious that some were listening and others were not. But, as Mr. Gallagher would point out, were those that were even listening actually listening? He interrupted her mid-sentence and asked the rest of the room why we cared. Why should the rest of the students sitting in the room care what she had to say? I thought it was a good question. He pointed out that her identity was different from each individual’s in the room. Everyone’s identity is different. He again asked why we should listen to what she has to say, when she has a different opinion than another student may have. In the end, I learned that it is because she has a different opinion that I should listen to her. I should care what she has to say because she has a perspective that is not the same as mine. From this girl answering this question, I could learn something or think of something that I would not have on my own. I should listen when people talk in order to see a different perspective, and ultimately so that I will actually hear what some one has to say.
Another early lesson came from A Class Divided. In this film, a third grade teacher, Mrs. Elliot, decided to teach her students a lesson on discrimination. However, she did not teach them, but instead guided them in an exercise that would show them what it would feel like to be discriminated against. It was incredible to watch Mrs. Elliot divide her third grade class based on the color of their eyes, giving privileges to one group the first day, and then reversing roles for the next. In a matter of one day, the film showed friendly third grade students turning on one another and becoming hateful because they had the “superior” color eyes. I watched as the group eye color that was designated to be “better” quickly decided they were better, started to look down upon their other classmates, and actually performed higher on tests when they thought they were on top. The fact that third graders could talk and be taught about discrimination from this exercise, and then be able to turn around and learn from it, was astounding to me. I respected Mrs. Elliot for what she was able to do, and through the film I learned something about discrimination as well. I was able to see how easy it could be to fall in a trap of discrimination and forming a collective identity that could be destructive. The lesson she taught her third graders made me appreciate the people I have in my life and the power of inclusiveness. Furthermore, Mrs. Elliot then performed this experiment on a group of adults. I did not think that she would get the response that she did, but in a way it seemed to me that the adults were even worse at the discrimination exercise than the third grade students. The lesson that Mrs. Elliot was trying to teach was just as effective on the adults as the students. When I was watching the film, I was thinking that there was no way that this group of adults could fall for a trap consisting of a group with certain colored eyes being deemed superior. However, the adults fell into the same behaviors as the students had, belittling and demeaning the other group to feel better about themselves. What I learned from this film is that discrimination is a very real problem that people still struggle with in society today. I was able to face myself and ask if I would ever be able to stand up for someone that was being discriminated against. I learned the power of discrimination, and watched the feelings it brought to the victims, and realized that I would never want anyone to have to experience that.
Throughout the semester, we watched many films. I had never taken a course before that was so raw in the material and filled with in-your-face reality. Every film that we saw in Facing History served a purpose and many revealed the hard truths of history. When we started studying the Holocaust, I do not think any film had so much impact on me as The Pianist. It is the true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman who was the most accomplished piano player in Poland during the 1930’s, and the time of the Nazi reign. It explained the hardships faced by the Jewish people living in Warsaw and how it was almost impossible for Jews living in Europe to escape the Nazis. This film was one of the first in this class that had such an impact on me that I felt physically sick watching it. I could not believe the way the Nazis treated the Jewish people. The treatment, acts, and destruction of the Nazis toward the Jews was, for a lack of better description, atrocious and inhumane. I couldn’t believe the struggle the Jewish people had to endure and at times I could not even watch the horror of the Nazi treatment. This film helped me grasp why the Jewish people could not just stand up for themselves against Hitler and his government. It showed me how the Germans were so brainwashed that they would do anything and everything to destroy this “different” group of people. I still am not able to fathom the mind-set of believing so much that a group of people deserve to be put through that insurmountable torment and destruction. However, the reality of this film and the meaning of its history will stay with me forever. The films and documentaries I watched in Facing History were as close as I will ever get to experience the Holocaust. The meaning of this history to me is something I can not put in to words, but throughout my life the impact will forever shape my individual morals and beliefs.
Though I learned a lot from this course, and I was able to discover many things in myself that I was forced to face each day, there was one message that I will never forget. In the end, I believe the most important lesson that I learned is that it is always possible to make a difference, but you must first put one foot forward and it starts with a single step.
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