The Experience: 2011

Facing history and ourselves is a course that helps you discover yourself though acts in history. In facing history you will focus on different movies and teaching about the holocaust and what and how you would react to those situations. There are a lot of reasons why you might want to take this course. Mr. Gallagher is a very good teacher and I think that if he wasn’t teaching it the class wouldn’t be the same. He adds a spin/ an new look on different subjects that we learned about. He made us think outside the box, a different side. For me I love learning about history the good and the bad. History has always fascinated me. I have always been eager to learn new things on almost anything. I feel like if you study history you can learn a great deal about how to do anything. Ive also have always wanted to fully understand how the holocaust could happen and why no one tried to stop it. Taking this course well help you learn in more detail about the holocaust and will make u think differently then u did before. The holocaust in general is a very sad subject to be taught. Some of the material that is shown in this course is very graphic and gruesome. I feel that if we weren’t shown these graphic imagines that the points Mr. Gallagher was trying to teach us would not be make. I would recommend this to every person who wanted to learn about history and themselves.

At the beginning of my high school career I have always wanted to take facing history and ourselves. I’ve had a lot of friends that had taken the course and highly recommended it to me. I had Mr. Gallagher my sophomore year for U.S history and I understood why I would love that class. What I found so interesting was the way he taught. He didn’t just get up in front of the class room and start lecturing us about U.S history he would help relate it yourself. He would tell us stories about his real life experiences or would help relate your life experiences. I found this to be a great way how to learn about almost anything because I wasn’t just sitting there taking notes I was actually learning about myself. What I also learned from taking his class was everyday was different. The class was entertaining because it was so random. I don’t really mean random like it was disorganized but by the way he would teach the material.

I have always found that history was my favorite subject and I’ve always been excited to learn as much as I can. I had to fight the guidance department to get into this class because no one has ever believed in me. Ever since I was in school I have been labeled at that weird stupid kid. You would think that my fellow students would have but this on me but no the teachers did. Though my entire schooling career my teachers have held my hand through everything. After years of working I finally was allowed to take harder level classes. Throughout this course I have learned that one person can make a difference. We watched a movie called “freedom writers” in facing history and ourselves. That movie was about a teacher who changed a group of her students around for the better. As I was sitting there watching this movie I kept telling myself that this was impossible and that this couldn’t be really I mean how could one person change a group of people for the better. I couldn’t believe that she accomplished what she did. Almost everyone was against her from the start saying that they weren’t worth teaching. After watching the movie I was talking to one of my classmates and to my disbelief I found out it was based off a true story.

What I have learned taking this course is that one person can make a difference. I never really believed in that statement until I took this course. My view on anything is that someone else has to help you get to where you want to be. There are multiple examples of this. Let’s just say this, if you would want to become president of the United States you would need lots of money and lots of different people to back you campaign. Almost my entire family has either been in the military or is still serving to this day. What I’ve been taught since day one was to listen to order and don’t question them. It’s a pretty crappy way to be brought up. There is no individual in the military its everyone as a group. I don’t think that’s a very good way how to bring up your children. People aren’t just bodies with no emotion or no personality that you can command at will. Mr. Gallagher once asked us “what do you think of the bell system in this school”. We all talked about this question and decided that it didn’t really bother us. He then explains to us that we were like lab rats in a science experiment doing the same routine everyday without fail. I never really thought of it that way but he was absolutely right. We are just little rats running around to the rules that barley hold society together without even questioning it.

At the beginning of the year Mr. Gallagher made us read a book “the bear that wasn’t”. I had read it sophomore year in his history class but I re-read it anyways. The book is about a group of people in power tell someone something that they aren’t. This was a very emotional book for me. As I read though the pages I would refer my life to that of the bears. My entire life was a lie up until the beginning of this year. I have been told false opinions for my entire life. The bear story is absolutely true. A group of people or people with power control your entire life. One of the lessons that Mr. Gallagher asked us if the group is more important then the individual. Most people said no but I was one of the few who said yes. He curiously asked us why we thought that. I answered “because no matter what you say or do having other people in your life is important and so you are always apart of a group”. I have learned that this statement is wrong. Yes, you may be apart of a group or multiple but they don’t necessarily influence your decision making process.

I think one of the most influential parts of this course was the other student and Mr.Gallaghers opinion and there shared knowledge. The reason I’m saying the other students is because hearing other people opinion on matters helped mold my own opinions on subjects. What I also really like was that I could express my opinion and not get shot down. I could argue my point without being called stupid or that I was completely wrong. I never have had my own opinion until I stepped into that classroom. That classroom was like my safe place, a place I could open up and be free. What I never have experienced though high school was equal respect from everyone all in one place in the school. I have been taught so much in half a year then I could I a life time. This course, this classroom was my safe harbor.

The Experience

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Intro

Essay

Works Cited

Works Cited