10 year olds learning about the holocaust etc

[restbetweentheelements]

Dc's yeargroup are 9/10
His teacher this year has told them in graphic detail about:

• gas chambers in german concentration camps
• terror in french revolution by showing painting of chopped off head with blood held up next to guillotine and details of what happened
• all about the charlie hebdo teacher terrorist attack in france
• murders in news how many women were killed by partners - they chatted about the news on fridays and dc said it was never about life affirming things (he said nice or interesting things)

DC has been affected by it, and he drew a picture of his teacher with a guillotine and children and he wrote "our teacher is killing us with terror" (he draws a lot, is quite expressive generally...) - i found the drawing screwed up in the bottom of his bag

YANBU - the teaching is not appropriate, the subject matter of treatment of Jews etc is ok in age appropriare way is okay but focusing on terror aspects is not
YABU - no problem with this

If YANBU, then WWYD
I remember learning about medieval torture methods when 10, at school. Is there some sort of theory about terror being useful for 10 year olds???

I think 10 is a bit young more so because you probably don't truly understand the ramifications, emotions, nuances about wars, deaths etc at that age.

You only "know" that all the teacher focused on was the terror, as that's what your DS told you. Maybe he/they asked questions, maybe that's the only bit he remembered, maybe that's the only bit he paid attention to....and that drawing may just as well be drawn as a joke between friends almost taking the micky of the lesson or teacher. More knowledge of both sides is needed....what was actually being covered that term, that lesson? Check with teacher or the Head. And irrelevant as to what we, or indeed the teachers think, the curriculum was changed by Michael Gove several years ago so they are pretty much stuck with teaching these issues in year 5 and 6.

I think YABU. Your original post lists historical events (which would have been explained in an age-appropriate manner) but you next post says it is not the content of the lessons that is bothering you but how it is taught. Unless you've omitted something, you aren't in the lesson. How can you comment on the teaching?

I think you are being sensitive and should be encouraging your child to learn about these things without making themselves in to a victim. The teacher killing us with terror is VERY dramatic and I would not take it seriously for one minute.

I learned about the holocaust and Hitler in the 1980s aged 8 or 9... from my primary teacher mother.

She must have thought I was old enough to know.

The Holocaust Education Trust has a guide for schools. I am linking you to it here - www.het.org.uk/primary

The guide for Primary schools is downloadable and gives advice and guidance on age appropriate topics. There is very good training available and it really should be undertaken. At the very least the guide should be in schools or teachers made aware of it.

I think there are too many people advocating turning kid’s into snowflakes. My older brother grew up during the war and witnessed actual horrors. He seemed to survive.

I think that's a ridiculous thing to say.

@Geamhradh

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3154886-AIBU-to-think-yr5-is-young-to-learn-about-the-Holocaust

Last time around.

I thought this was familiar!

There were kids in my daughters primary school who had to flee a war torn country on foot. They’d had their homes destroyed, seen family members killed and had to live in the most appalling conditions in camps before coming here. There will be children like this in many schools in the UK.

I don’t think learning about some of the nastier aspects of history at that age is inappropriate, for those of us who have had more comfortable lives. I remember learning about the atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan at that age in school, seeing photos of disfigured people, deformed babies etc.

The news is there all the time. It’s important to introduce that these things happen in a safe environment such as home or school, so that children can ask questions, get sensible answers, and build resilience. Bad things happen and it’s better they learn about it at school than find their introduction is a “real life” introduction.

Way too young, imo. My son is ten, and home educated. He will learn such things, but not at this age. Plenty of time for that.

Responsible adults who understand the meaning of good of evil. How do we best achieve that? That's the question.

I agree

My DD is still traumatised about the boy in striped pyjamas. She watched it (with me) 5 years ago. She’s now 17. That said, I think they need to know about this horrific murder of millions of innocent people.

YABU
I’m old. We learned about Anne frank and the Holocaust at primary . Yoy can’t hide the horrid of history if you want to raise kids to learn but to repeat thrm

@SetPhasersTaeMalkie

The Holocaust Education Trust has a guide for schools. I am linking you to it here - www.het.org.uk/primary

The guide for Primary schools is downloadable and gives advice and guidance on age appropriate topics. There is very good training available and it really should be undertaken. At the very least the guide should be in schools or teachers made aware of it.

This is what I read after my dc told me the class content. The teacher has not followed these guidelines at all. Quote from the guidelines for people who have not read them:

"It should be evident that both the emotional impact and
intellectual complexity of learning about the Holocaust
dictate that great care is necessary when selecting
suitable content for primary school students. The Trust
very strongly believes that it is not appropriate for them
to directly study the murder of Europe’s Jews during
the Second World War. In particular, the horrifying
history of the Nazi extermination camps and other
mass killing operations should be avoided"

I was also surprised about that other subject under discussion: 'murders in the news & how many women were killed by partners', may I ask: is his teacher a woman? Perhaps she has had something in her past related to this and has let it get to her.

The (potentially) female teacher's past has nothing to do with teaching about women being murdered by their partners.

I didn't grow up in the UK so I don't know how the evening news are done here, but when I was little, the national number of domestic violence victims was regularly updated on TV. And still is to this day. There used to be 1-2 victims each week, they were reported in the evening news each and every single time. This is not some obscure, developing country. It's one of the biggest countries in Europe, so fully civilised.

These women deserved to be remembered, us as kids needed to know how often this happens. Little boys needed to be taught it's an atrocity to kill your partner. It's not the best piece of news for a 10 year old to hear, but that's definitely old enough to see how both 18 and 75 year old men, and every age and background in between, are capable of killing their spouses. Simply because they are women.

Don't kids in the UK see these things on the news anyway?

@Geamhradh but see the guidance linked by someone above.

YABU
I will tell my children all I know about the WWII and the holocaust. I'm glad to hear there are teachers out there that make an effort for children to learn extra about this important and unforgettable years of our history. I'd appreciate.

I agree because there are children aged 10 and far, far younger currently living in war torn countries and experiencing genocide, child soldiers, murder in front of them on a daily basis. They are the poor children genuinely experiencing real terror on a daily basis. It's hard to say without seeing the subject matter but I generally think a 10 year old can cope with learning about the holocaust. As long as Op talks through any questions or worries that he has.

I’m old. We learned about Anne frank and the Holocaust at primary . Yoy can’t hide the horrid of history if you want to raise kids to learn but to repeat thrm

My dad is 20 and he learned about Anne Frank at primary too, 7/8 iirc.

So let me get this straight......some sicko comes on here from time to time and makes something up about young children being taught in graphic detail about the holocaust?

I remember watching the World At War when I was little in my grandmas old house. I was about 4 at the time.

8-10 is about the age when, if they don’t learn the facts about the holocaust, they will definitely learn the mistruths about it. As for female murders / domestic violence - the horrific truth is that for many girls the sexual objectification starts between 8-10; and for future abusers the patterns of behaviour that will lead them to murdering / abusing a woman starts getting laid between 8-10 (if not earlier). So they should definitely be learning about how it is wrong.

And i had a Meccano guillotine when I was little.

WW2 and thw Holocaust was taught in primary school when I was a student. It's fine for issues and topics to be discussed, but they ought to be handled with care.

I am quoting from the Primary School guide from the Holocaust Education Trust -

'The Trust very strongly believes that it is not appropriate for them (primary children) to directly study the murder of European Jews during the Second World War. In particular, the horrifying history of the Nazi extermination camps and other mass killing operations should be avoided.'

I've linked to the guide upthread if anyone wants to read it.

Having thought about this more I think it's really hard for us to comment or judge if YABU or not. We don't have a clear enough understanding of the lesson content being delivered.

If you are concerned contact the teacher and ask directly about how age appropriate the lessons were.