Loading ...On Friday, April 12th, one Albany High English teacher’s controversial assignment sent shockwaves around the world. Now students, staff, and the community alike are trying to determine the most effective plan of action moving forward.
The assignment called for 10th-graders to use the persuasive techniques of ethos, pathos, and logos to craft an essay from the mindset of a 1930s German youth required to defame Jewish people in order to prove loyalty to the Third Reich. The task set to prepare students for the brutality depicted in Elie Wiesel’s Night, which the students would begin reading in the coming days. Perhaps the assignment would have been followed by one from the alternate perspective, with the ultimate purpose being to teach the students of argumentative techniques?
But the assignment predictably did not sit well with many students. Among the three classes to which the assignment was given, several students refused entirely to do what was asked of them. Albany High administrators also pulled the assignment from one entire class immediately after learning of it.
Many in the greater community tended to agree, as they took to social media to voice their complaints and also communicated those sentiments to the school and district offices.
In kind, a number of students–and many others from as far away as Israel and Finland–went to the English teacher’s defense. Many went on record saying that the teacher always aimed to challenge students, and that this assignment was designed as a way to help them critically approach Night.
But the question of the assignment’s sensitivity was not overlooked.
Media outlets including the Capital Region’s Times Union, The New York Times, and Great Britain’s Daily Mail and BBC immediately picked up the story. Not surprisingly, they focused on the question of the teacher’s judgment—but not the teacher’s willingness to challenge students.
City School District of Albany Superintendent Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard, Ph.D, addressed the media Thursday and Friday, saying that the assignment “displayed a level of insensitivity that we absolutely will not tolerate in our school community. I am deeply apologetic to all of our students, all of our families, and the entire community.”
The superintendent’s words suggested immediate action, which came later that day. By Friday evening, the teacher was placed on leave, with possible repercussions to follow. The district continues to review the matter.
The action has left a community divided.
Some say that the teacher’s leave couldn’t have come soon enough. Others sympathize with the teacher, whom they would argue was simply trying to help students think critically.
The subject is touchy any way you approach it. But it has to be discussed.
Insensitivity works contrary to the ultimate goal of tolerance toward which Albany High has been working for years. We must acknowledge that the teacher was brave enough to challenge students to think contrary to the norms. We must also realize that such a challenge must be considered appropriately and done in good taste.
We now move forward more tolerant than ever, knowing full well that we have each other’s support.