- April 23, 2024
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Parent, one-sided article bullied teacher; ‘Night’ study canceled
Dear Editor:
I am writing in response to the article (or should I say parent complaint), “Required reading: Holocaust literature,” which appeared on the front page of your Nov. 14 edition.
My daughter is also in Mrs. Paige Beamesderfer's advanced language arts class. It is one of her favorites! I was very saddened to hear of all of the drama caused by one parent recently regarding the study of "Night," by Elie Wiesel. I admit the Holocaust is a very tragic event in our past and hard to read and learn about. However, it is an important event from history that needs to learned about and discussed. It is a state standard.
I applaud the way Mrs. Beamesderfer incorporated learning about this historic event through an engaging study of an award-winning autobiographical text. She was doing so much more than just brushing the surface with a few facts to fulfill the minimum requirement. She went above and beyond by bringing in real artifacts for the students to see first-hand.
My daughter was so engaged and interested in learning about the Holocaust and outraged at the same time about how this could have happened! It led to many deep conversations at home and higher-level thinking on her part. She really had an appreciation for our veterans this Veterans Day. She was proud knowing her ancestors helped put an end to this tragic situation. She even asked for me to buy the book so she could read ahead at home. This is what exemplary teaching is and what is expected with the increased rigor and complexity of the Common Core.
Then she returned to class after missing Tuesday to find out they will not be continuing this study in class. This makes her and me very sad that the actions of one parent and this article published by the Palm Coast Observer led to the other 20-plus students being denied this learning experience. Ms. Beamesderfer was basically bullied by this one parent to the point that she felt the only way to make it all end was to stop midway through this study.
My daughter is in advanced classes for a reason. She is at a higher academic and maturity level than the average seventh-grader. I expect her to be challenged. It saddens me to see this happening in education. It seems we continue to lower our expectations, concentrate on the few and in the meantime we prevent the above-average students from soaring higher. Even though they have stopped reading this book in class, my daughter will continue at home. Your “article” was a very one-sided view of the situation, and I just wanted you to hear a voice from the other parents and to support what Mrs. Beamesderfer is doing in the classroom.
Eric Phillips
Palm Coast
We still have much to learn about the Holocaust
Dear Editor:
I have always believed that education for young and old alike has always been about opening up minds and exposing them to the world we live in. As a parent, I personally exposed my children to the Holocaust at a much younger age than 12. I did not want my children with closed minds, ignorant to what we as a species are capable of.
The Holocaust was the most organized form of genocide ever devised by man. Its violence even to this day defies human understanding. Holocaust education is about learning about man’s inhumanity to man to ensure that this form of hatred is never seen again, but what have we really learned? Recent memory draws me to the genocide perpetrated in Bosnia as well as Rwanda, so as far as learning from the Holocaust, we still have a long way to go.
The Nazi Holocaust consumed the lives of 2 million Jewish children, and I prefer that my children be exposed to that pain and suffering through reading than through having to actually live through that experience.
Genocide spares no one of any age, so why should we limit the ages of those who can actually learn from it? Besides, who are we fooling? Our children are exposed to violence through video games, movies, music and as an everyday fact of living: Just turn on the news or pick up a newspaper.
Jose Vasquez
Palm Coast
