Why do books burn? Or rather, why burn books?

Recently, as I was perusing Twitter, I stumbled upon a cool video posted to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's web page. I thought it was appropriate for both my English II students (recently having completed their Holocaust unit) and my (1984-studying) British Lit kids. Take a look!

What's going on around the world? Ask English II students...

Over the course of this semester, English II students have been studying the Holocaust. Now, as we end the semester, we turn our attention from 1940s Germany to more recent places across the globe. Students are working on a project called Silent Screams where they'll study genocides and democides around the world. To keep track on what they're doing, take a peek at their Google Sites:

A-Day	B-Day
Cambodia Calvin Eddie Samuel	Darfur (Sudan) Amy Ben Joanne
Rwanda David Krikki Max	Israel / Palestine Aleena Cameron Joyce Nancy Rachel
Syria Grace Y. Kevin Wade	Myanmar (Burma) Christine Robert Sally
Tibet Billy Kelly Takako	North Korea Alex Amanda Brian
Uganda Angela Belle Betty	Pakistan Grace C. Kathrina Kevin
	Somalia Jass Jonathan Sabrina

What is your duty to the world?

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

(Martin Niemöller)

My English II A-day class had a really interesting discussion today, reminding me of the above quote from this German pastor. It got me thinking about what is really the responsibility of a regular person in speaking up against injustice to society. For this reason, I assigned some questions:

• What do you think Niemöller’s purpose was for writing and speaking these lines throughout his life after the war?
• Do you think that everyone in Germany was partly responsible for the Nazi’s rise to power, or that only those active in the Nazi Party were responsible? Explain your answer.
• How much responsibility do you feel for what takes place around you: in your family, in your school, in your city, in your country, and in the world? List at least three responsibilities you feel for each level.

Please blog these before next class!

Using tech to study the past: English II's Holocaust Tiki-Tokis

For a fear years now, students in my English II class spend the better part of a semester focusing not only on literature and grammar, but on an important part of history: the Holocaust. The terrible things that happened throughout Europe in the 1940s occurred a long time ago, but they're just as important—actually, more important—to us today, which is why we spend so much of the semester reading literature like The Diary of Anne Frank, Elie Wiesel's Night, and this year, Art Spiegleman's Maus, a graphic novel written by the son of a Holocaust survivor. We also will watch a few movies, write a few reports, and possibly even get to have a firsthand look at some Holocaust history. ^{[HINT HINT]}

Aleena Hsu's Tiki-Toki

Another new addition to the class this year is the addition of a semester-long project using the web-based timeline program Tiki-Toki. As students read, they'll be adding in information they find into one "master" timeline that will chronicle everything we study in the semester. Right now, the only events on their timelines have to do with The Diary of Anne Frank, but hopefully, by the time the semester is over, they'll be filled with one in-depth resource that they can share with others who don't know about the Holocaust.

Below are the Tiki-Tokis of the English II students. As we progress through the semester, they'll be adding more and more to them, so check back periodically to see the powerful things they are studying.

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A-Day		B-Day
Angela C. [Rec'd] Belle [Rec'd] Betty L. [Rec'd] Billy Calvin [Rec'd] David L. Eddie Grace Y. Kelly Kevin M.	Krikki Martin Max [Rec'd] Miyuki [Rec'd] Samuel Takako [Rec'd] Wade	Aleena [Rec'd] Alex Amanda Amy Ben Brian Cameron Christine Grace C. [Rec'd] Jass [Rec'd]	Joanne Jonathan H. Joyce Kathrina [Rec'd] Kevin C. [Rec'd] Nancy [Rec'd] Rachel Robert Sabrina Sally

^[Rec'd] = Really, really good examples

Recommended Read: Ishmael Beah's A long way gone

Every now and then, in discussions with students or other teachers, I'll stumble across a book that I haven't read, but am interested in. When I finally get my hands on the book, read it, and enjoy it, I can't help but feel like I should climb to the top of a mountain and shout how awesome that work was. I don't have a mountain; I do have a blog. Here's a Recommended Read for no extra credit other than your life.

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I've always been really interested in Africa. Maybe it was The Lion King or some National Geographic documentary I watched when I was a child, or maybe it was the foreign-ness of it, but for whatever reason, Africa has always really intrigued me. That's one of the reasons I decided to take a year off from college in 2005 to go to Kenya and be an assistant dean. It was a life-changing experience that ended up with me becoming a teacher, and ultimately, sitting here in my office in TAPA, where I write this post right now. And even though I haven't been back since I left in May of 2006, I've always felt like I left a little of my heart there.

The first time I'd heard of Ishmael Beah's story, I was living in Nebraska, watching the Daily Show, when my mind was blown by the life of this amazing kid. Check this out:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Ishmael Beah
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

This might be one of the only serious interview I've ever seen Jon Stewart do, and that did it for me. I went to the bookstore, bought A long way gone, and devoured it in no time flat. I don't know how many times I was nearly pushed to tears. It's been 5 years since I read it, but I can't forget the feeling I had towards this book. I'd heartily recommend you try to get a hold of a copy!

Using Tiki-Toki.com for your Holocaust semester projects

I've teased it, I've hinted at it, and, at one point, I even directly told you, but now it's official: English II will be beginning our final, end-of-the-semester project today, right in time for midterms! (Hold your applause.)

First off, I've asked you guys to go and try out Tiki-Toki, the timeline website where our project will take place. Once you sign up for a free account (I don't have a class code for you, so just make it the regular free account), you can start entering in events. Here's how:



Ok, got it? Hopefully. If you'd like to see an awesome example of a completed timeline... too bad. There's none. You will be the first students ever to do this (for me). However, if you want to see my terrible example of a completed timeline, it's right here.

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Now, to go over some of the intricacies of this site, CREATE A NEW STORY:

You will see this under Basic info.

Under Basic info:

• The Title must be a quick sentence fragment that just gets the point across (e.g. "Anne Frank born").
• The End date must be the same as the Start date.
• Intro should be one short sentence that gives a very basic idea of what the event was. More detail than the Title, but still not a full paragraph.
• A Category for Anne Frank must be set.
• Any website used must be added in on Link.

You will see this under Story media.

Under Story media:

• Click + ADD NEW MEDIA to add a picture, video, or audio file.
  
  
  
  
• The Source should be the link to where the picture is located. (If the picture is on your computer, load it to your blog and then put the link in.)
• Make sure the Type is set to the right thing (Images, Video, Audio).
• You may use more than one picture for each timeline event, but at the very least, you need one appropriate, applicable picture or video per event.

You will see this under Extra info.

Under Extra info:

• Write a full paragraph about the event (in your own words) under Full text.

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Got it? The first 10 events will be due by next Wednesday, March 7th.

Anne Frank's last diary entry

August 1, 1944

Dearest Kitty,

“A bundle of contradictions” was the end of my previous letter and is the beginning of this one.  Can you please tell me exactly what “a bundle of contradictions” is?  What does “contradiction” mean?  Like so many words, it can be interpreted in two ways:  a contradiction imposed from without and one imposed from within.  The former means not accepting other people’s opinions, always knowing best, having the last word;  in short, all those unpleasant traits for which I’m known.  The latter, for which I’m not known, is my own secret.

As I’ve told you many times, I’m split in two.  One side contains my exuberant cheerfulness, my flippancy, my joy in life and, above all, my ability to appreciate the lighter side of things.  By that I mean not finding anything wrong with flirtations, a kiss, an embrace, a saucy joke.  This side of me is usually lying in wait to ambush the other one, which is much purer, deeper, and finer.

No one knows Anne’s better side, and that’s why most people can’t stand me.  Oh, I can be an amusing clown for an afternoon, but after that everyone’s had enough of me to last a month.  Actually, I’m what a romantic film is to a profound thinker – a mere diversion, a comic interlude, something that is soon forgotten:  not bad, but not particulary good either.

I hate having to tell you this, but why shouldn’t I admit it when I know it’s true?  My lighter, more superficial side will always steal a march on the deeper side and therefore always win.  You can’t imagine how often I’ve tried to push away this Anne, which is only half of what is known as Anne - to beat her down, hide her.  But it doesn’t work, and I know why.

I’m afraid that people who know me as I usually am will discover I have another side, a better and finer side.  I’m afraid they’ll mock me, think I’m ridiculous and sentimental and not take me seriously. I’m used to not being taken seriously, but only the “lighthearted” Anne is used to it and can put up with it;  the “deeper” Anne is too weak.  If I force the good Anne into the spotlight for even fifteen minutes, she shuts up like a clam the moment she’s called upon to speak, and lets Anne number one do the talking.  Before I realize it, she’s disappeared.

So the nice Anne is never seen in company.  She’s never made a single appearance, though she almost always takes the stage whem I’m alone.   I know exactly how I’d like to be, how I am . . . on the inside.  But unfortunately I’m only like that with myself.  And perhaps that’s why – no, I’m sure that’s the reason why – I think of myself as happy on the inside and other people think I’m happy on the outside.  I’m guided by the pure Anne within, but on the outside I’m nothing but a frolicsome little goat tugging at its tether.
As I’ve told you, what I say is not what I feel, which is why I have a reputation for being a boy-chaser, a flirt, a smart aleck and a reader of romances.  The happy-go-lucky Anne laughs, gives a flippant reply, shrugs her shoulders and pretends she couldn’t care less.  The quiet Anne reacts in just the opposite way.

If I’m being completely honest, I’ll have to admit that it does matter to me, that I’m trying very hard to change myself, but that I’m always up against a more powerful enemy.  A voice within me is sobbing, “You see, that’s what’s become of you.  You’re surrounded by negative opinions, dismayed looks and mocking faces, people who dislike you, and all because you don’t listen to the advice of your own better half.” Believe me, I’d like to listen, but it doesn’t work, because if I’m quiet and serious, everyone thinks I’m putting on a new act and I have to save myself with a joke, and then I’m not even talking about my own family, who assume I must be ill, stuff me with asprins and sedatives, feel my neck and forehead to see if I have a temperature, ask about my bowel movements and berate me for being in a bad mood, until I just can’t keep it up any more, beause when everybody starts hovering over me, I get cross, then sad, and finally end up turning my heart inside out, the bad part on the outside and the good part on the inside, and keep trying to find a way to become what I’d like to be and what I could be if . . . if only there were no other people in the world.

Yours, Anne M. Frank

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3 days later, Anne Frank was found and imprisoned.  Later, she was transported to Auschwitz, then later died in Bergen-Belsen.