Historical Interpretation - Blind Review

Last week was pretty rough.  I had a 7-9 page paper due and I struggled at harnessing my thoughts; not to mention I didn't have the time I would have liked to work on the paper.  All that stress came to head, leading to another discussion about our goals with Mrs. AE.  I love her to death, and sometimes I feel guilty for taking on so many things in my life.  She never complains and always encourages me, but I know deep down she gets frustrated with my indecisions and over-activity!  School is getting stressful, I have opportunities at Engineering Company that I never thought I'd have, the job market for social studies teachers is poor, I just got a raise and I'm over-loaded with a multitude of commitments.  Despite all that stuff, I was able to turn in a decent paper.

Last Monday we brought copies of our paper to class without our names on them for doing blind reviews.  I was lucky enough to have my paper reviewed by four different groups... It received ratings from B+ to A-... It was the encouragement I needed for sure.  I feel pretty good about my work after reading some of the other papers as well.  I'm not trying to degrade my classmates, but a lot of the papers were definitely subpar.  I'm only saying that because it's nice to know that there are people in the same boat as myself.  The blind review exercise was great, but now it's in the hands of our professor...

I'm at work right now, so I'll either get my paper posted over lunch or before the Twins demolish the Yankees this evening!

AE

P.S. Moss is boss.

From Left Field

Yesterday was my 1 year anniversary at Engineering Company since my return. I was hoping for a pay raise and a pat on the back, so that I could get back to my desk, finish the day and then concentrate on my next paper. I came out of my review an utterly confused person - well more confused than usual I suppose. An 8% pay raise was more than what I expected, but a compliment and suggestion that come from left field is what really surprised me.

Our discussion turned to continuing my education. Engineering Company's owners know that I'm in school; they know that I attended Associate Community College to finish my general education requirements. They simply asked what my plans are now that I'm done. Of course I couldn't tell them that I'm now taking history classes at Bachelor State. Instead, I just told them that I was torn between getting an accelerated bachelor's degree in Industrial Technology and going the more lengthy route of obtaining my bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering.

What came next is what has placed me into an even deeper state of confusion. They flat out told me that they want me to pursue my mechanical engineering degree at whatever pace I deem necessary. They've even offered to increase their educational reimbursement and would allow me to drop to 30 hours per week, when necessary, while maintaining full time employment status and benefits.

My instincts tell me to take them up on their offer, switch course and get into an engineering program with the intent of achieving partnership in the company. If I did that, I'd be going against everything that has steered me towards a career change in the first place, and that is avoiding the attraction of money and opportunity to do something on a daily basis that I truly enjoy. A poor job market for history teachers also doesn't make going to school for it any easier. For now I think I'm going to stay the course... but I can't promise that I won't bring up the word "partnership" to my company's owners in the very near future.

AE

My First Post Via Email

Figured I'd test this out as I'm taking a break from work.  This could be a dangerous tool!  I'm currently in the process of filling out my performance review at work.  It'll be 1 year on September 14 that I've been back with my original company (roughly 11 years total).  I left my current job about 2 years ago for more opportunity and more money, unfortunately it was for a defense contractor that lost a major contract last summer.  That meant a 3 month vacation for me.  I was lucky enough to have maintained good relationships with my former employer and they graciously took me back.

I'm struggling on the all-too-familiar sections titled, "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" and "What are your goals for the coming year?"

Here's how I would like to answer the former question:

"I see myself as a partner in the company.  If I gain a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, industrial technology or business, is that a possibility?  If not, I see myself as just another qualified social studies teaching candidate, painstakingly looking for work."

And the latter:

"I would like to be set up with a computer at home, because I can do my job without any issues from my home office.  I would also like to switch to a 20-30 hour work week, with health benefits intact of course, so that I can attend school on more of a full-time basis."

Time will tell if I have the courage to copy and paste this post into my performance review.... For now though, it's back to work.

AE

Dear Erin

Dear Erin,

I’m a thirty-one year old student at a local community college near my home. A few years back I decided to make a career change out of the corporate world and into public service. Because of my desire to help people and my belief that impacting kids early on is so crucial, I decided to pursue a teaching career. I’m currently enrolled in a class that is devoted to the history of the Holocaust. I thought it would be a perfect compliment to my pursuit of a history degree. What I’m finding, however, is that it may end up playing an intricate role in defining my future teaching methods. After watching the movie Freedom Writers, I became even more excited about educating teenagers. Although it is not directly about the history of the Holocaust, it has broadened my view of how a catastrophic event can be used to better our world. Your story directly justifies that belief.

I have become a proponent of the sociological imagination. In today’s world we are often too quick to pass judgment on someone or something without examining the historical background. Along that same line of thinking comes the ability to use history as a tool used to craft our own behaviors. You’ve shown me that the Holocaust is the ultimate, historical tool we have to influence young lives. By utilizing all of the Holocaust’s historical elements you were able to unite a substantially diverse classroom. The benefits of a book like Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, can only get you so far. By implementing venues like the Museum of Tolerance and its artifacts, movies and pictures, you effectively complimented what a book has to offer. You did not stop there. By providing your students with the ability to sit and talk with actual Holocaust survivors, you gave them an experience that only a few people will ever encounter.

Just like the Holocaust should never be forgotten, neither should your story. Finding out that none of your students were aware of what the Holocaust was must have been shocking. I cannot fathom an entire class of freshman being entirely oblivious to Nazi war crimes. This frightening realization is exactly why we should remember your story. Room 203 didn’t forget about the Holocaust – their families did. Proof, that if we fail to teach our youth about crimes against humanity the crimes will be forgotten – if they are forgotten, they will get repeated. We cannot just simply tell our children that we must not discriminate; we need to tell them why we must not discriminate. The Holocaust is the epitome of prejudice in human history. Learning about it is depressingly effective. Seeing such positive life transformations, like those of the Freedom Writers, come out of such evil acts vindicates the teaching of the Holocaust.

As morbid as it sounds, I can’t help but ask myself one question. With the benefit of hindsight, can it be possible that the magnitude of the Holocaust was a good thing? Of course that is easy for me to say as I sit in my own home, buy my own food, vote in elections and go to my own job. But what if the Holocaust hadn’t happened – this tremendous educational tool would not exist. And if the Holocaust hadn’t happened in the 1930s and 1940s, would one have happened in the 1950s or beyond? The simple fact is that it did happen – it’s what we decide to do with it that will perhaps define its true purpose. Strictly sympathizing with the victims is an act of pity, but utilizing the horrific magnitude to influence our youth for the good of humanity is honorary. You motivated a group of hopeless teenagers to show us that there is hope. Erin, you’ve chosen to honor the victims of the Holocaust by using their experiences to enable our youth to grasp the consequences of discrimination. That very act is worthy of honor itself. Thank you.