It's that time of year again. The time of year when my AP students study and discuss my favorite speech ever: "The Perils of Indifference" by Elie Wiesel. I love this speech for a variety of reasons: Wiesel develops a strong ethos, his diction is sophisticated, his tone is completely appropriate and commendable, the organization is clever, and while I can go on and on about all the things I love about his rhetoric, I love most that this speech inspires my students. As a class, we really dissect what it means to be indifferent, why people are indifferent, when people act differently, and whether or not it is ever acceptable to be indifferent. In fact, our discussion on indifference really got me thinking about myself. Again, I reflected. I mentally debated for quite some time if I acted indifferently. Do I go against the grain of education? Have I done anything to try to reform education, like my last post suggests? My conclusion upset me. More times than not, I act indifferently toward the directive of my administration and our whole educational system. And that's just plain wrong. I then thought, well, I alone can't make a difference - a change. Or can I? Maybe if I inspire enough teachers to stop being indifferent, we, as a collective whole, can make a change. Teachers and students no longer have to be victims of educational genocide. We no longer have to lose valuable teachers and the minds of our students.
Here's Wiesel's speech. Read it and be inspired. Together, we can make a change. It just takes people willing to act and realize that they, alone, can make a difference.
http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/wiesel.htm
Such a great post! Wiesel is amazing! My eighth graders read Night last year and became enamored with him because of his strength and desire to speak the truth. I was so proud of how well they analyzed the text. I think we can each take a stand for change. Sometimes it only takes one person to inspire others to make a difference!
ReplyDeleteYou make a great point by connecting Wiesel's theory of indifference to education, especially given our focus in this class. I'm also glad that you posted this speech, because it's a great way to help use English class as a means of teaching social justice. This would be an effective introduction to our unit on argument and persuasion, in which we explore the genocide and injustice of the modern day. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing speech and what important words at a time when our country is currently debating what do to in Syria. We, as educators, have to help this generation be better than the past. Thanks for sharing this with us.
ReplyDeleteI am beyond thrilled that so many of you appreciate this speech! You all are so very welcome :) And, Cori, it is a great speech to use when discussing modern day genocides. I also use this speech to preface Night (which my Sophomores read) so that my students have a greater understanding of Wiesel's reasoning behind writing his memoir. We then move into modern day genocides and make a connection back to his speech. It is all very successful and eye opening for students!
ReplyDeleteDo you every show Life is Beautiful (whole or even parts) when studying Night?
ReplyDeleteYESSS! I do show the movie when we read Night! I love to compare the two to discuss the morale of victims. That movie is one of my favorites, and only a few end up loving it as much as me, but that's OK! I love exposing them to the beauitful Italian language (I refuse to show it in English because it's just not the same).
ReplyDeleteOh I so agree. Kids need to be exposed to foreign language films and after a few minutes I never even notice that I'm "reading" the film. The emotion just pours off the screen. (Aside: I love the first few minutes of Pixar's Up because it shows how we don't always need language to tell a story. Especially a love story.)
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