Learning about the holocaust at 10?

[Othersideofthechannel]

What do you think about thiswww.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1478183420080214?

[Othersideofthechannel]

oops, messed up the link

[ahundredtimes]

Yes 10 y-o should learn about the Holocaust I think, there is nothing wrong with that.

But as part of a history lesson surely - rather than it being anything to do with religious education?

[AuldAlliance]

What is odd about it, IMO, is not the fact of learning about the Holocaust per se, but the idea that each individual child is to identify with one victim and be responsible for that person's memory.
When I was 10, I would have found that highly traumatic.
Learning about the Holocaust is important, but it needs to be done sensitively with qualified history teachers, not as a gimmick imposed by a President desperate to improve his plummeting popularity rates.
It's like Sarko's idea that on Oct 22nd (I think) every lycée in France should read out the farewell letter written by Guy Moquet; when the President arbitrarily forces these things on school staff and pupils, it detracts from their true significance.

[Othersideofthechannel]

I completely agree with you AA.
10 seems too young and I don't like the personal approach of identifying with one particular victim.

[scaryteacher]

I'm not sure that I would have wanted my DS to have studied it in that depth at 10; however, I ensured that he was aware of the Holocaust.

As an RE teacher, we tackle it in year 9, as part of a unit on Evil, and use texts, videos both factual and fictional to examine the issue. Assemblies are done for all year groups on or around National Holocaust day, as I think it is only pointing out that it did happen, and is happening again, (Rwanda, Kosovo, Darfur) that we can educate future generations to stop it.

It can be studied in History of course, but there is a religious element to it that also needs to be touched upon and explored, and RE teachers are really rather good at that IMO! (I teach history too).

[oliviaelanasmum]

We have talked to dd1 (6) about the holocaust as her paternal grandmother is jewish and her family fled from holland, but we havent gone into detail and will talk at length when she is about 13. I hope to take her to Auscgwitz when she is 16ish.

[chrissi1]

To learn about it at ten is ok but they should not mention God together with the Holochaust. If so they should also tell what exactly the church did during the second world war.10 is a bit too young to adopt a victim too much talking about it is also no good .I know this from my own schooldays at some point especially at teenager time they have heared it too many times and stop listening

[AuldAlliance]

Think Simone Veil's reaction today says it all, really. For a former deportee to condemn the idea so wholeheartedly is fairly telling.

He can't have been suggesting this was done in RE lessons, since RE lessons don't exist as such in the state education system here because of the whole secularism principle, which he is now trying to alter.

[slim22]

Glad to see madame Veil's reaction.
Really a daft idea to burden children with such intimate traumatic details.

How about adding to that traumatic biographies of turn of the century 8 year old street children used and abused in factories/workshops/underground mines etc... etc....

I went to french schools and I remember literature did a good job educating us on all types of serious issues (Anne Franck , Jules Vales , Zola etc..). There was a lot of follow up discussion. Isn't that done anymore?
It's great to create inquisitive minds, but not in that pathological way!

[Anna8888]

That was Sarkozy saying the first thing that came into his head - the one child approach is just silly and they are now busy doing a cover-up PR job.

However, there is plenty of wonderful literature for children covering WW2, including the holocaust, and 10 is a good age to learn about WW2 IMO.

[Anna8888]

slim22 - children in French schools don't seem to read much literature at school, or write essays, any more and the parents we know all complain about this between themselves.

The collège (11-15) is very problematic. Officially there is the collège unique ie no selection, but in reality all kinds of semi-tacit selection goes on.

[ggglmpp]

My children seem to do quite a bit of school reading A888. Dd1 currently ploughing through Voltaire and Balzac (and watching Schindlers List in her English classes, btw).

[needmorecoffee]

10 wouldn't bother me. I covered it with my kids about that age and we also looked at the Disabled Poeple Holocaust (one and a half million disabled people killed) which seems to be forgotten in schools. Became rather relevant a couple of years later when we had DD.
With younger children I thik it makes more of an impact that then stays with them while teens might dismiss it all to be 'cool'. Something that makes an emotional impact is less likely to be repeated whe they grow into adults IMO. Hopefully.

[Anna8888]

I think your children are in private school, GGG?

The children I know are in state school, being Jewish (and therefore not having much choice of private school...).

[CoteDAzur]

Why do Jewish children not have much choice of private school in Paris? Just curious.

[ggglmpp]

most private schools are catholic

my friends child (jewish) goes to a catholic school here in bx, btw