My 6th grader's Soc. Stud. Teacher: "I think Anne Frank survived."

[elehhhhna]

Swear to god.

Social Studies is digging into WWI, then WWII, this semester.

Toots told Mister Teacher he was mistaken (how would a 5'7" strawberry blonde 12 y/o know this? Maybe she's DUTCH? Hello.) Then she explained that Anne died in the camps, and her father published her diary. Teach said "Oh."

The upside is now my daughter is, I think, ready to read the book.

Only in Texas, people. Only in Texas.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

1. That guy is a teacher?

I am very, VERY frightened.

:scared:

[InsultComicDog]

64. This kid is smart

Unlike me. When I was in second grade, I got suspended from school. I had no idea what that meant to be suspended so I looked it up in the dictionary.

As a result I was convinced that I was about to be hung (suspended) from the ceiling.

I was incredibly relieved to find out that all it meant was that I was going to get a day off from school.

My parents still tell that story... and I guess I do too, now.

Anyway, it's hard to believe a Social Studies teacher would not know that. No, wait, actually, it's not that hard to believe.

[elehhhhna]

86. LOL! Reminds me of the blizzard of '67-- we were sent home from

school early. A teacher told her students to go straight home because there was a huge blizzard outside.

Our neighbor-kid ran home screaming.

She thought the teacher said "lizard".

[sabra]

2. WHAT ?!?!

:banghead:

[Maat]

3. Thanks for the story.

I'd be proud of that daughter!

What a teacher!

:rofl:

ON EDIT:
Please tell me that the school isn't in the Houston Independent School District! (I'll explain the deal later if it is)

[elehhhhna]

7. Fort Bend.

[Maat]

22. HeeHee.

I'd best not say more.

Thanks.

[lostnfound]

68. aw, don't tease. I live in HISD...?

[Maat]

70. Hubby has a consulting/computer-based company ..

and he has contracts with HISD.

That's all.

:)

His partners live in Texas; he can work from the home out here in California.

He works hard; HE gets along with everyone.

The district is so HUGE, you can't make many generalizations about it (seriously-speakin').

[displacedtexan]

4. When I was teaching German in TX...

the principal came to my door one day and said, "You know, Hitler had the right idea, didn't he?"

I was speechless.

[AspenRose]

11. Was that in New Braunfels?

I hear the KKK is pretty active there.

[displacedtexan]

12. Close.

Dripping Springs.

[tavalon]

53. Ouch

I currently live in Dripping Springs' liberal cousin and even that place is becoming less blue.

I tell people when I'm in Austin, I don't go outside its boundaries if I can help it. It's funny that DS would be so xenophobic given that they hosted the largest pagan gathering in Texas for about 10 years. Sheesh.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

62. Perhaps he wasn't talking about the Final Solution

Not many people know Hitler actually had the original idea for the La-Z-Boy recliner. Only since it was German they had to call it the Sitzenbackzenshoesenoffensleepensnoren.

[northzax]

80. and the Volkswagon Bug

that was his idea as well. and the Blitzkreig, brilliant! and the Anschluss, brilliant! and the invading of the Russia...well, ok, that one wasn't so brilliant, but hey, it's not like their wasn't decent historical precedent for that idea, it worked for Napoleon, after all. Come to think of it, I guess the blitzkrieg, the Anschluss and the Beetle were pretty much it on the 'ideas that history doesn't paint you as a genocidal monomaniac blinded by ambition" front. And they even redid the Beetle. So I guess all we're left with is the killing of 7 million people based solely on their ethnicity and religion.



(note) the above flippant tone is in no way intended to make light of the actual evil perpetrated by the Nazis, it's the reason I don't use the term to describe the current American administration, it's too loaded with history and evil. It's simply what I might say to someone who told me 'Hitler had the right idea, you know', using the flippant tone to prevent myself from assulting them with my fists.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

5. Please tell me this a joke.

Because if it's not, this country is in far worse shape than I believed.

I assuming this moron was teaching in a public school. What kind of standards does Texas have for accrediting teachers? I am assuming, of course, they have to have at least a bachelor's degree in some field, preferably in elementary education.

[elehhhhna]

8. He's ex-mil, retired, then got certified. We must be desperate.

The guy is actually pretty decent so this was really alarming.

[babylonsister]

20. Ex-mil and retired presumes he has some years and

experience in life. This is frightening indeed. And why is he teaching stuff he knows nothing about? Makes you wonder what other 'facts' he's taught the kiddies.

[tavalon]

54. Yeah, he should have known that

especially if that was an area he was teaching but that said, all of us have holes in our knowledge base. It's good that he acknowledged that your child was right. I think that shows character, actually. Most lousy teachers I had would refuse to admit they were wrong about anything. The good ones could.

[AspenRose]

14. When I went to college in TX (80-90s)

You had to get a major and minor in the subjects you were planning to teach. You couldn't major in "elementary ed," per se. You took education classes but didn't major in them. Don't know if that's changed.

[Horse with no Name]

25. Oh it's better than that now (sarcasm)

You can actually teach on your life experience skills...
I think it is only in certain underserved districts, you know, the ones that they don't give any money to? Up until a couple years ago (if not still) DISD was included in the list.
A friend of mine got laid off and was considering a job in teaching...

[bunkerbuster1]

48. A couple years back, I heard of a Georgia middle-school teacher

who claimed that the Jews of Germany wore their Stars of David with pride.

And I didn't disbelieve the person who told the story, either. Boy was he angry when he heard that his kid was being "taught" such a thing.

(and no, he's not Jewish, just >75 IQ...)

[in_cog_ni_to]

6. That's one of my all time favorite books.

I cannot believe the teacher didn't know that. Did he not read the book?

[skooooo]

9. Read it?

You don't have to read it to be aware of what happened to Anne Frank. If you are an adult who has an IQ above 85, you should have just "picked it up" from TV, school, newspapers, etc.

[in_cog_ni_to]

28. That goes without saying.

:)

[tavalon]

55. Now wait,

there are a number of things that I didn't pick up from my society. For instance, I knew nothing about the DLC until I came here. Well, that's not true, I knew the name and I thought that it was great that Democrats were showing "leadership". That's just one fact he messed up on and he was willing to admit it.

While Texas schools are, in fact, abysmal, I don't think this example makes that case.

[LostinVA]

73. You can't compare knowing about Anne Frank to knowing about

the DLC. Anne Frank is taught in schools, the play is put on, books come out about her almost every year, several new TV movies have been shown with the last 10-15 years, the old MGM film with Millie Perkins is shown quite a bit, plus her diary is just a basic cultural, historical, and literary icon. I could excuse a sixth grader not knowing about it, but NOT an educated adult,e specially on who was in the military AND is teaching about WWII!

[elehhhhna]

10. well, she doesn't die in the BOOK. (sarc/off) I've had the honor

of touring Anne Frank Huis and it was a very, very powerful and moving experience--highly recommended.

[displacedtexan]

13. The quote at the exit door made me cry.

"Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart."

[elehhhhna]

16. I started crying when I saw the pencil marks measuring how much

the children were growing, and blubbed my way through the rest.

Truly, the best and worst of all humanity is commemorated by that place.

[FreedomAngel82]

44. Yes

I remember that. :( :cry: I wonder if she's watching everything going on with the Bush neocons. :\

[calico1]

17. Lucky you. I wish I could.

When I read the book I was about the age she was at the time so it made a very powerful impression on me. I can't believe there is any adult breathing that old that doesn't know about her. Geez.

[tavalon]

57. I was 14 at the time and it made a very powerful impression on me

I swore at the time that I would have hidden Jews and done everything in my power to topple Hitler. It was very disconcerting after 9/11 to recognize that same sort of xenophobic, fervent rageful nationalism. I wasn't very political before that (I always voted in the Presidential elections but not much else). That nationalism is what galvanized me into becoming the highly political aware person I am now. Heck, I credit that and Anne Frank with radicalizing me.

[Wordie]

81. Same here...

although I think I was a bit younger when I read it. Or actually what I first read was an excerpt, published in either Life, or Look, I think (remember those?). I can even remember clearly the act of reading it and the room I was in when I did (my family was on vacation and it was raining, so I curled up and did some reading).

I see the reading of it as marking the start of my transition to adulthood - it was really my first glimpse of the the extent of human cruelty in our imperfect world. It changed me forever.

That said, I'm not certain this teacher was guilty of such great an offense. How old is he? He should have known, true, in his capacity as a teacher. But perhaps our own knowledge has more to do with having been born in the shadow of WWII. A younger generation might not have gotten the exposure to this particular story to the extent that we did. Without knowing more about this teacher's views, its hard to judge what his comment means.

[in_cog_ni_to]

35. Oh dear. I don't think I could make it through that

without being hysterical. I STILL sob every time I read the book....and I'm 50 years old and have read it at least 6 times, the first time I was probably 11-12 years old. It tears me up.:cry:

[elehhhhna]

38. incog, when you see the little postcards of American movie stars ...

Anne pinned to the wall over her bed, you want to just hit the floor.

Do not go there alone, on a rainy day, with PMS & no kleenex. Ever.

[LostinVA]

74. But, all editions do have an epilogue telling about her death!

Moran...

[Mrs. Overall]

15. This reminds me of my son's first grade teacher, who told

the students that the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria were the ships which sailed along with the Mayflower, bringing more pilgrims to America.

(This was in WA State, though, not TX)

[Cocoa]

24. that's funny

did any of the kids ask why the Pilgrims gave their ships Spanish names. :-)

[John Q. Citizen]

52. that's worse than the Anne Frank thing. Were you in the class

when the teacher said it?

[Mrs. Overall]

71. Yes, I was in class volunteering that day

and I, too, am a teacher. I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing, but I cut her some slack because it was only her third month of teaching (1st year teacher) and she was very nervous having me in the classroom (teaching in front of another teacher), so I simply told my son the correct history of Columbus' ships and let it go.

[tavalon]

58. That's funny

Horrifying but funny.

[AbbyR]

78. And it reminds me...

of my child's teacher - and she was teaching in the gifted and talented program - who asked her class to read a biography and a bibliography. Pretty dry reading, no?

[KoKo]

18. OMG!!!! I have sympathy with you...It's amazing that kids need to ask this

but then I'm of the WWII post Boomer who lived very different lives than the Boomers after me. It sort of makes me think of the "Creationists" who want to re-write Scientific Discovery since the Old Testament to read your post. That "innocent" kids today would think Anne Frank lived???? :wtf:

[Ian David]

19. Maybe in the animated Disney version? Anyway..

I also suggest this book:




Number the Stars (Laurel Leaf Books)
Lois Lowry
Mass market
New $5.99
(List Price: $6.50 — You Save: $0.51)

http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-0440227534-0



Number the Stars (Laurel Leaf Books)
by Lois Lowry

ISBN:
0440227534 (More details...)
Available at:
Burnside

Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life.
Synopsis:
When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated" during World War II, 10-year-old Ellen Rosen moves in with her best friend Annemarie Johansen and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life. An ALA Notable Book. A "School Library Journal" Best Book of the Year.

[mitchum]

21. And Helen Keller got her sight back!

just incredible

[calico1]

26. Helen Keller was blind?

:sarcasm:

[KittyWampus]

40. Yes Blind and pretty damned close to being a COMMUNIST

;)

[John Q. Citizen]

59. I have a friend whose mom and dad knew Helen Kellor. He has a

picture of his mom, dad, Helen Kellor, and Einstien (I kid you not) and a couple of other people I didn't recognize who used to socialize together.

It's an amazing photo.

[LostinVA]

76. A flaming ultra pinko!

[Reader Rabbit]

23. I Don't Know What to Think!

Every year when I get to the end of the Anne Frank/Holocaust unit, at least one student will ask, "Is she still alive?" :o To their credit, most of the other kids yell at the clueless one, but still....

I just can't believe that there is an adult alive in the world today that doesn't know Anne Frank's story!

[FreedomAngel82]

45. That's a kid and this is an adult

Big difference. Kids are supposed to question and wonder like that. An adult should already know something like that! Just scary.

[China_cat]

27. Maybe you need to send this to him

[cmkramer]

29. My story

I got into an argument with my 6th grade history teacher over her assertions that Helen Keller was mentally retarded. Her reasoning was that if she weren't mentally challenged, then she wouldn't have needed to be taught how to communicate.

[annabanana]

33. Imagine the arguement you'd have had if you'd told

her that Helen Keller became a famous socialist (IWW), suffragette and pacifist!

[cmkramer]

63. Anne Sullivan Macy

Anne Sullivan Macy -- Helen Keller's "teacher" is still my most admired woman of all time. She was a woman who came from the most dire circumstances you could imagine, she was practically blind herself and she had a very spotty education. Yet under her tutelage, Helen Keller managed to graduate with honors from college and to write several books. And from what I've read, her views on many subjects such as politics and religion were very different from Miss Keller's.

[SmokingJacket]

30. Not only in Texas.

People can be pretty ignorant. Shockingly so.

Too much time spent discussing "Sex in the City," IMHO.

[havocmom]

43. Sad & true. We have a high school teacher who laments we don't burn books

here in town! Heard her with my own ears. A-fuckin-mazing. Her kids are total anti-social wrecks too. She doesn't see it. Takes on other teachers when her kids get punished for stuff. Insists any punishment her kids are given (including just talking to them about stuff they got caught red handed at) be administered to their whole classes. :eyes:

Sad that the good teachers have to deal with the total idiots that got certified. Sadder that kids are trapped with such poor choices for positions of authority and influence.

[annabanana]

31. Good for Toots!!

It's not every 12 year old self possessed enough to correct one's teacher. Big kudos to her, really.

[elehhhhna]

32. C'mon, people! ONE more rec. needed...Do it for Anne Frank.

[annabanana]

34. there ya go!. . . n/t

[elehhhhna]

37. Dank u

[in_cog_ni_to]

36. K & R

:kick:

[bonito]

39. Saw a copy in my garage yesterday

while looking for something, my daughter read it a number of years ago.
You know what, I think Ann is alive and well. Peace

[elehhhhna]

46. that is a kind and sweet sentiment, bonito

[FreedomAngel82]

41. And this person is a teacher?????

:crazy: I thought everyone knew about Anne Frank. I remember reading the book in sixth grade. I always loved and admired her and her story. Her and Elie Wiesel.

[elehhhhna]

47. Teach thinks "Elie" is a supermodel. lol

[mopinko]

42. do you wonder why people homeschool?

i was always comforted to know that it would be hard for me to do worse than a lot of the "professional" teachers out there.

[FreedomAngel82]

50. Yes

I do love public school and had a good one (I was brought up during the Clinton years thank goodness) and I think things with public education has just really gone down hill. Hopefully the next democratic administration can really clear that up and make things better than what they are now. I remember I had to go to summer school once for math and I actually did better in summer school than in regular school. I guess the teacher didn't go so fast with the lesson and everything. :shrug: I'm just glad I'm in college now.

[preciousdove]

67. My sister visiting for a month was giving her home schoolers their lessons

I heard her say. "In French, German and Spanish "the" is not an adverb so I am sure it is not an adverb in English either despite what your book says." How many parents would know enough to challenge that? Just wondering.

[John Q. Citizen]

49. I'd say give him a break. It's one of those things that someone

might want to believe in an empathetic way. People make mistakes like that all the time.

Everyone assumes teachers are supposed to be infallible in their grasp of all knowledge. But that isn't the case, even with very good teachers.

If it's a continuing pattern then I'd worry.

I hated the book years ago when I read it in school. It was so heartbreaking

[MountainLaurel]

51. Reminds me of dear Miss Sweeney

Who told our 6th grade class that Samuel Adams was president. I would have told her otherwise, but she scared me. (She was the sort of teacher who screamed at you if you asked questions.)

[donheld]

56. "Only in Texas, people. Only in Texas." -- sadly no

Idiots can be found in all 50 states.

[nomatrix]

60. No child left behind....

watch this.
My daughter went to school in TX for one year, when he was governor of the state. Did great on the the TAAS tests. Moved to another state the next year and found she missed a vital step in algebra. The weeks the school spent on making sure every student passed the test (or get cut from funds)took away time that other states used to teach from chapters of the textbooks. When regular studies resumed, the teachers glossed over the chapters they missed, and picked up where they normally would be. It was 8th grade. The 9th grade in her new state couldn't understand how she did so well that year. I wished I had known that was what happened. She was so frustrated she dropped out of math and changed studies. I see why so many drop out in TX.

[dsc]

61. Any teacher can make a mistake

I will admit that this is a pretty big mistake, but teachers are human beings and it may well be that he hasn't begun preparing for the WW2 part of the year yet. I know when I first taught the class I am teaching now I would have been hard pressed to be able to speak about things that came later without making a mistake or two. I hadn't studied any of what I was teaching before in any kind of depth. I do admit that Anne Frank is hardly esoteric.

[ulysses]

65. heh. I've been there.

I used to correct my sophomore history teacher (wrestling coach with too much time on his hands)pretty regularly on the world wars. He liked to make shit up when the book ran out of things for him to read verbatim. He didn't like me much. :D

[Greyhound]

66. I guess that's what $34,000 buys these days...

:shrug:

[eppur_se_muova]

85. $34K ? I've heard of high school teachers starting at $24K...

of course that was 3-4 years ago. Want better? Spend better.

[LWolf]

69. And this 6th grade teacher

spent the day discussing the development of culture and civilization in the fertile crescent with her students. I hope your daughter's teacher accepted the correction with good grace, and manages to make sure he's better prepared in the future. If it is his first time teaching a particular period in history, it's a good idea to review. We don't all remember every historical event and culture accurately from having passed classes in college. I can't imagine anyone not knowing Anne Frank, though; that's kind of like an American who's never heard of a hamburger. I generally have a clue what I'm talking about when I talk to my kids. Still, I'm human, and I'm sure I make mistakes sometimes. Like frequently switching the names of two kids who have similar physical characteristics and names that are only different by 2 letters. Like calling my grandson by his father's name; they both start with the same letter. Every once in awhile it's bound to happen with the reams of minutia I need to be on top of for classroom discussion. I hope, when that happens, someone will just point out the error so I can correct it. I hope they don't publish it on anonymous message boards in support of current efforts to promote teachers as incompetent.

[LostinVA]

72. I'm American, and I knew that in the sixth grade

OMG...

What was the context in which this was said? ie... the teacher wasn't even AWARE that Anne died in the camps? WTF???????

[Blue_Tires]

75. please

MY history teacher in HS was convinced that Elvis was still alive (she was an admitted Elvis freak)

[immoderate]

83. If Elvis was still alive...

...he'd be dead by now.

--IMM

[noamnety]

77. My kid's social studies teacher in middle school

gave them worksheets with maps still showing the Soviet Union as one county, and Germany as two - and never mentioned to the class that things had changed. This was about 6 years ago.

[Celebration]

79. Fifth grade social studies teacher of my daughter

Said Antarctica was the North Pole.........................sad, really. This was a good school, too. He didn't last there. Nice guy, too. Terrible teacher.

[greiner3]

82. I seem to remember a recent poll;

That said 18% of college students could not identify the US on a world map. Maybe they're right, dumb down and just forget what's right and leave it all to those who want to run it all! NOT

[yurbud]

84. think about what teachers are paid, micro-managing and who do you

think will end up taking these jobs?

I went to a teachers college and a lot of my classmates never read a book that wasn't assigned, even if they were planning to become English teachers, and had to take the CBEST several times to pass it, a test of whether potential teachers possess a sixth grade education.