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Homework assignment "If You Give Hitler a Country" for kids

oil&gas

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Apr 16, 2002
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Very challenging assignment for middle school kids.
At that level of school all I knew about the Fuhrer was
his moustache and the Nazi salute.

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School Forced to Apologize When Hitler-Themed Homework
Leaves Parents in Uproar


December 11, 2017

Students at a middle school in Gurnee, Illinois, received a controversial homework assignment in their language arts class that has left parents fuming.

“If You Give Hitler a Country,” was assigned to students at Woodland Middle School last week, according to Chicago’s WGN-TV.

The assignment, themed after the children’s book “If you give a mouse a cookie,” featured a character similar to “My Little Pony,” students to draw “Fun & Colorful” pictures to “create a comic strip for little kids that exemplifies Europe’s appeasement towards Hitler.”

School Forced to Apologize When Hitler-Themed Homework Leaves Parents in Uproar

The assignment, themed after the children’s book “If you give a mouse a cookie,” featured a character similar to “My Little Pony,” students to draw “Fun & Colorful” pictures to “create a comic strip for little kids that exemplifies Europe’s appeasement towards Hitler.”


“Everyone in the class was given the paper and it tells you all the directions and requirements,” 8th grader Michael Masterton told WGN-TV.

Michael’s mother, Kelly Masterton, recalled that she was “flabbergasted” by the assignment.

“I asked him ‘did you ask the teacher if you could use these images?’ and he said ‘yes,'” Masterton said, according to Fox News.

Masterton added that she was perplexed and unsure “what the appropriate manner is to use a swastika.”

“I don’t think she did it on purpose to be anti-Semitic. I think she was trying to teach that there was propaganda…It did not come through the assignment that way,” she added.

Another parent let their distaste for the assignment be known, stating that “There’s got to be a better way to teach our kids about the horrific things Hitler did.”

Woodland Community Consolidated School District 50 released a statement apologizing for the matter while reassuring parents that the assignment was in alignment with district curriculum and state standards on the coverage of World War II.

“However, the ‘fun’ and ‘cartoonish’ elements of the activity students were asked to complete did not fully represent the intent of the teachers,” the school district said. “The intent of the student activity was to help students understand the complex issues leading up to World War II, not to minimize the atrocities of Nazi Germany.”

Opinions on the assignment and subsequent backlash from parents were mixed on social media with some users calling the assignment “disturbing,” while others defended the root meaning behind the assignment.

“Yeah that’s mildly disturbing. What kind of animal is that thing supposed to be anyway?” one Twitter user wrote.

“Kids are learning about history and challenged to hypothesize the worst case scenario (Hitler Wins),” another Twitter user wrote. “They are in 8th grade not 3rd. This assignment will also teach empathy and acceptance on top of history and creative writing. I wouldn’t have a problem with this at all.”

The district refrained from commenting on whether any of their teachers would face disciplinary action.

What do you think? Scroll down to comment below.

https://www.westernjournal.com/school-forced-apologize-hitler-themed-homework-leaves-parents-uproar/
 

Celticman

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It did not work out when they gave him Germany
 

rhuarc29

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It did not work out when they gave him Germany
So they tried France, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Belgium and a healthy dash of the Soviet Union.

I remember learning about World War II in the 7th grade, but we were never asked to think critically on the propaganda/indoctrination of the people, Hitler's motivations, nor hypothetical situations of Nazi victory. Hell, the first two I didn't encounter until university and the last one was never covered at all!
 

TeeJay

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I fail to see what exactly is wrong here...

In my middle school (gr 7-8) (which is obviously years before the PC days) we had a history project which was essentially war games
I kinda got screwed since I got stuck with Austria (world power my ass) but had fun betraying everyone around me


 

oldjones

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Aug 18, 2001
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I think that printing the article without the quoting the complete assignment instructions was stupid, irresponsible, and inflammatory. It invalidates any comments about the school, but leaves the original 'journalists' and those who spread this incomplete and slanted sort of trash open to deserved ridicule. The term might be SPM: Stream of Piss Media.

Thanks to TeeJay for showing us how it should have been done in the first place. But we still need the 'If You Give a Mouse a Cookie' example the kids were instructed to "mirror".
 

TeeJay

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Thanks to TeeJay for showing us how it should have been done in the first place. But we still need the 'If You Give a Mouse a Cookie' example the kids were instructed to "mirror".
Book is here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld5Ro8Y0EUQ

Basically give cookie he wants milk, give milk he wants napkin, give napkin he wants ....

In other words Hitler will never be satisfied and they should never have tried to appease him
 

thirdcup

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Hmmm, it sounds a lot like "If you allow someone to see an SP, then he'll want too see another, and another, etc."
You have to know your audience.
 

basketcase

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Dec 29, 2005
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So they tried France, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Belgium and a healthy dash of the Soviet Union.

I remember learning about World War II in the 7th grade, but we were never asked to think critically on the propaganda/indoctrination of the people, Hitler's motivations, nor hypothetical situations of Nazi victory. Hell, the first two I didn't encounter until university and the last one was never covered at all!
I would expect the majority of grade 8's to be incapable of the higher order critical thinking skills needed.
 

basketcase

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I fail to see what exactly is wrong here......
Beyond the My Little Hitler drawing.

From a history perspective, it would be extremely challenging for a well educated adult to show all that information with any level of academic integrity in a kids comic strip, let a lone a 12 year old with a tenuous grip on the topic and marginal level of psychological development.
 

managee

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I know they teach WWII in grade 10 here, so I don’t see much of a difference in-terms of a grade 8’s ability to have some sense of appreciation for that war.

I’m pretty sure I watched more reruns of The World At War than I watched Monty Python as a kid, and I REALLY liked Monty Python.

Was that image of pony-Hitler on the original assignment? If I hadn’t seen that, I think I would have said “so what?” With that on it, it’s clearly over-the-top.

I don’t get this stuff, but I can’t imagine the state school curriculum specified this assignment, or an assignment like it where they’d expect kids to create something related to War for an audience of “Little kids.”

Seems like really poor choices made exclusively by the teacher. Not sure it’s enough to get them fired, but they’d have to be an absolute muppet to not see how this is a bit inappropriate.
 

buttercup

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I would expect the majority of grade 8's to be incapable of the higher order critical thinking skills needed.
It's people who are incapable of the higher order critical thinking skills who were the targets of Nazi propaganda. Hitler didn't sound like the voice of pure evil to them.

Think of the people who defend Trump.
 

oldjones

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I would expect the majority of grade 8's to be incapable of the higher order critical thinking skills needed.
Perhaps because they were shielded from them instead of being made to encounter and critique and analyse such standard tools of politics.
 

Insidious Von

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It's people who are incapable of the higher order critical thinking skills who were the targets of Nazi propaganda. Hitler didn't sound like the voice of pure evil to them.
Shalom to that brother and Happy Hanukkah. The disturbing part is Germany was the most scientifically and culturally advanced nation on earth, how did Hitler bamboozle them so thoroughly? 12, 13 year olds must learn how to defend democracy, I'm all for the assignment.

Good on the education system.

 

oldjones

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Shalom to that brother and Happy Hanukkah. The disturbing part is Germany was the most scientifically and culturally advanced nation on earth, how did Hitler bamboozle them so thoroughly? 12, 13 year olds must learn how to defend democracy, I'm all for the assignment.

Good on the education system.

Getting crushed and humiliated in WW1, then hammered by the Depression, and looked on a ripe pickings by revolutionary Communists mighta had something to do with the rise of a Know-Nothing who promised he'd make the Fatherland Great Again. And he had an alt-media whiz-kid and a war hero or three touting for him as well.
 

basketcase

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Perhaps because they were shielded from them instead of being made to encounter and critique and analyse such standard tools of politics.
Either that or a matter of psychological development. That field feels that many young teens, especially boys brains are not yet capable. Try talking to a 12 year old boy about behaviour and their ability to include consequences in their decision making.
 

basketcase

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...The disturbing part is Germany was the most scientifically and culturally advanced nation on earth,...
In the Canada we still see the difference in urban/rural beliefs. The German image is also really the Prussian image. Germany only became a unified country half a century before Hitler started and even still there are significant cultural differences. Add in the Depression and people were happy to look for someone to blame.
 

TeeJay

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Beyond the My Little Hitler drawing.

From a history perspective, it would be extremely challenging for a well educated adult to show all that information with any level of academic integrity in a kids comic strip, let a lone a 12 year old with a tenuous grip on the topic and marginal level of psychological development.
Actually it is quite simple (and I linked the actual assignment + original book as per request)
It has to be a basic comic strip showing you can not appease Hitler by simply giving him something he wants

History is rife with other examples if Nazis scare you...

The My Little Pony drawing is probably serious IP infringement but beyond that who cares?
Or does the swastika scare you as well?
Maybe we should censor some movies or burn some books while we are at it
 

TeeJay

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It's people who are incapable of the higher order critical thinking skills who were the targets of Nazi propaganda. Hitler didn't sound like the voice of pure evil to them.
You mean like the Pope, the IOC, or any other number of people who supported or helped Hitler out?
Hindsight is all fine and dandy but back in the day noone really cared what was happening
The bs about "not noticing" the final solution is absurd

The real truth is most of the world is pretty anti-Jewish
Of course they all deny involvement today
Wouldn't want to lose customers or pay lawsuits
 

PinotNoir

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Remember that Americans did not enter WWll until after Pearl Harbor in 1942. So most do not understand the genocide that occurred in Europe or the lead up to 1939 including Hitler's indoctrination and persecution of the Jewish peoples. However, since they have a president that is following Hitler's regime to the fullest, then maybe it is important learning for grade 8 students so they can understand why people say history is repeating itself.
 
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