the boy in the striped pyjamas

[workshy]

my yr5 DD watched this in school the other day

school sent home a permission slip explaining that it was a 12 but was related to a topic they had been covering in school

I know about the film and chatted to DD about it and was confident she would be ok so I gave my permission -obviously lots of parents had absolutely no idea what the film was like and many DCs were upset by it

is it really a film they should be showing to 9&10 year olds?

[Yellowtip]

Absolutely agree with your last sentence maples.

And I've been shocked that primary teachers can lift resources from the internet without any particular understanding of the enormity of the subject and its ramifications.

But that's another thread.

[mrz]

Actually Yellowtip they send out annual packs to schools but archive previous year's resources for anyone (not just teachers).
I actually find your blanket comment that primary teachers will not have any particular understanding of the subject

and in answer to your previous question yes I have visited a camp and yes I had an uncle who perished in WW2.

[mrz]

Holocaust Memorial Day provides an opportunity for everyone to learn lessons from the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and subsequent genocides and apply them to the present day to create a safer, better future. On HMD we share the memory of the millions who have been murdered in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur in order to challenge hatred and persecution in the UK today.

[mrz]

Thank you

[Yellowtip]

mrz it wasn't a blanket assumption but the fact remains I'm pretty shocked that teachers can simply crib off ready prepared packs if they wish. The fact that they're posted on hard copy makes no difference. It's things like the poems: how can one teach them as a mere collection of words, and claim them to be inspiring when there's no background or context. I may be a bit purist, but I'm shocked.

I read your links and read what message the HMDT attempts to convey, and quite see it's value - but it's a slightly side issue to the main issue in the thread.

Another very important thing to remember is that the experience of mainland Europeans was so totally different to that of those in the UK that, for my children at least, I would want reassurance that teachers responsible for tackling this subject have a full understanding of the facts and don't compare the two experiences or draw comparisons. That in itself is slightly insulting to those who died in the camps, though that's not to belittle even a single wartime death, just to recognise a qualitative difference, which I'd have thought one must in order to pay respect to the the memory of Holocaust victims.

[mrz]

I think you are making another assumption that teachers simply receive/download these resources and use them without any consideration for their school/class/pupil's unique experiences /particular circumstances/ backgrounds etc etc etc.
Basic plans/resources are there to be adapted.

[KatAndKit]

Some teachers unfortunately do that, especially when they are being asked to teach outside of their comfort zone. A good and experienced teacher would hopefully not do that. But I have seen ready made resource packs just been followed to the letter many many times, usually by teachers who are having to teach outside their own subject area, or who have not been given adequate training and guidance on the subject matter they are teaching.

[Yellowtip]

I'm concerned that some might mrz yes, now that I've seen the resources and think back to certain lessons my own children have had and also because of one or two things which have emerged on this thread.

You've told us that you feel strongly that this approach is lazy and you say that you've used the Niemoller poem in the HMDT's assembly. How exactly would you expand it that particular resource? And at an assembly in your school, do the children have an opportunity to discuss or, because it's an assembly, do they simply sit and listen? Was the assembly for a particular year group or a whole school assembly? Your posts raise lots of points.

[mrz]

Yes there are some lazy teachers who pick up off the shelf planning and use without any thought. IMHO that is what has happened in the OP's child's class.

[mrz]

I often hear/read teachers raving about sites like Hammilton Trust and then see teachers asking for books they need to teach the unit (they have downloaded) the next week, which they have obviously never read or seen before and shudder

[KatAndKit]

It isn't always laziness. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it is the lack of appropriate training and support and management. I'm thinking of the 22 year old NQT who has no historical knowledge past what she learnt up to when she gave it up at the end of year 9, who is focussing mainly on the literacy and numeracy planning as that is the main part of her job and what she is judged on, and who is also being asked to give lessons in a foreign language she doesn't actually speak.

In some of these circumstances it is hardly surprising that ready made resources are used. However a stronger school would address these issues and ensure that subject co-ordinators properly supported class teachers.

[Yellowtip]

But back to the subject in hand mrz, how did you yourself give the assembly? How did you adapt the resource and how did you explain Niemoller's poem? Could the children discuss? What age range was the assembly for?

[mrz]

The assembly was a culmination of a lot work done in upper KS2 classes based on prejudices and exclusion. Previously we'd had visits from a group of asylum seekers and from a South African school (where we have close links) speaking about racial/ethnic suppression/persecution. The children had very strong feelings on the subject. They actually wrote the assembly and performed it for their parents with support from their teacher.

[mrz]

my part was to read the poem.

[cory]

Am I the only one to think that The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas adds little to history because it is totally implausible and little to literacy because it is badly written?

[WatneyShed]

Such an interesting thread. I'm particularly interested to read MrsHooch's thoughts, as the urge some parents seem to have to get their children reading books aimed at tweens/teens is something I've observed (not as a teacher or bookseller, but when seeing 8yos at a Department 19 book event for example). I wonder if they're stuck in some banding mindset - their dc was on gold books in Reception so reading "Age 10-13" books in Y3 is "good progress"

Totally agree that you cannot teach some form of Holocaust Lite. It's unnecessary, disrespectful and counterproductive. If a child shows an interest, by all means find material to feed that interest. But we're not missing some window of opportunity if we delay introducing them en masse until they're 12 or 13.

As an aside, we watched and read various mainstream depictions of the holocaust at university as part of Genocide Studies, not to understand the atrocities themselves but to get a handle on popular understanding of them, if that makes sense. Ours was a Soc Sci degree rather than a History one though.

[WatneyShed]

madamehooch sorry

[Yellowtip]

So in fact the Niemoller poem was used without reference to the Holocaust and without an explanation of its genesis. No particular criticism there, though I think that I personally would prefer it wasn't used that way - even having read the HMDT's resources. But it seems that the assembly and the preliminary work of the Y5s and 6s was to do with current political situations and actually avoided discussion of the genocide in WW2.

Is that fair?

[Yellowtip]

WatneyShed DD2s current essay for university is about the memory of the Holocaust and why it wasn't the dominant memory of WW2 in the aftermath of that conflict. I completely agree, it's about vastly more than the 'facts'.

[WatneyShed]

That sounds really interesting, Yellowtip.

[mrz]

The poem wasn't used without reference to the holocaust or the author's background or the fact that genocide continues around the globe Yellowtip but that was in the children's presentation.