PhyreBards

I forgot to post last week, so there will be two posts from me this week. I don't know if any of you are feeling the same way as I am, but there is never enough time in a day/week/month/year. It is already almost November, there is about 3 weeks until Thanksgiving break and even less than that until we begin teaching our units. Not to mention, that once this semester is over we are basically done with traditional college classes. The fact that in a matter of months I will be student teaching scares me immensly. Don't get me wrong, I feel that the middle school program here has really prepared me to be comfortable in the classroom with three semesters of practicums that involve teaching a unit, and many other classes that have had both theory and method. I guess I'm just not ready to grow up yet. I don't want to be out in the real world and I don't want to have to find a job (yikes!). Does anyone else feel overwhelmed at this idea? How do we make the transition from a student to a teacher? How do we make the most of the time we have left?

Summary:
Elie Wiesel was born in Sighet, Transylvania, and his narrative Night describes his experience as a Jewish teenager in the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Buchenwald. His narration begins with his experience as a student of the Torah and Kabbalah under the guidance of Moishe the Beadle. His studies are cut short when Moishe is deported but miraculously survives a mass massacre executed by the Gestapo. When Moishe returns to Sighet to tell his story and warn the other Jewish people of the city, he is dismissed as a lunatic and the Jewish people ignore his warnings and continue to live unaware and in denial of the imminent dangers.

In the spring of 1944, the Nazis occupy Hungary, and Elie’s city experiences an increase in the repressive measures against the people of the Jewish culture. Elie then continues on to describe his experience as the Jews of Sighet are forced into small ghettos before being herded into cattle cars and taken away to concentration camps. This heart-wrenching account goes on to detail specific experiences in the camp, the separation and death of his family members, the loss of innocence, the loss of identity, and the disillusionment of faith. Elie’s testimony ultimately provides an unforgettable personal account of the journey and experiences of the Jewish prisoners in concentration camps and the identity crisis and personal development that inherently occurs.

Possible Classroom Uses:
This book would be a great choice for a classroom because you can take it in so many different directions and use it to fulfill different purposes. Analysis could be approached from a biographical or historical perspective and could be used while students are discussing the Holocaust in their history courses (if not the Holocaust, then other events related to mistreatment and oppression of a targeted culture or during discussion of world religions). The text could be used to open a discussion on the importance of cultural awareness, racism, and cultural tolerance, considering that at the most basic level, the Holocaust was partly a result of one culture’s racism and complete lack of cultural tolerance. This book is also unique because it clearly identifies the Jewish people as a culture; usually we are quick to address issues of race and ethnicity when we discuss cultural awareness rather than peoples of a religious affiliation. Or, the text could be used to complement a writing unit on personal narratives. A teacher could choose to focus on general themes such as the disillusionment of faith or the loss of innocence and pair the text with pieces that have similar overarching themes.