KTLA 5: The Rialto school district planned to revise an eighth-grade assignment that raised red flags by asking students to consider arguments about whether the Holocaust — the systematic killing by the Nazis of some 6 million Jews and millions of others — was not an “actual event” but instead a “propaganda tool that was used for political and monetary gain.”…
In a statement released Monday, a spokeswoman for the Rialto Unified School District said an academic team was meeting to revise the assignment…
The school district initially defended the assignment, with Jafri saying it was meant to engage students in “critical thinking.”… (more)
EDITOR: We think it is a very apt assignment, but perhaps better for college freshmen than high school students. There is little danger that any serious student will conclude that the Holocaust did not exist. If they do, let them try to defend their stance.
The study will acquaint students with the dangers of assessing crack pot sources. Also, it should teach them that the same mindset and ignorance that fostered Nazism still infects a portion of the population.
If it causes them to approach even reputable sources critically, all the better. We sure could use more of that here in Lancaster.
The mindset that fostered Nazism (i.e., National Socialist German Workers Party) will always exist. It is an idea that will always appeal to some. It is an idea borne from the desire to better peoples lives by blaming social problems on others coupled with unbridled single party political power. We can’t say it could never happen here because history tells us that Nazism was once alive and well in the USA. I see nothing wrong with high school seniors being exposed to the horrors of Nazism, Stalinism and Maoism along with the value of a free and independent press and critical thinking.