A Reflective Final:

This Final Experience is the culmination of our study of Jewish History this year.  It is also the final step of our Facing History journey entitled – “Choosing to Participate”.  Please follow the series of instructions below, attain proper signatures and complete to the best of your ability.
While the first step of the Facing History Scope and Sequence investigates the ways that society influences the individual, this last step explores the many ways in which individuals can influence the society in which they live. How does learning about the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust educate us about our responsibilities in the world today?  How does learning about Zionism shape your involvement in advocating for Israel on college campus or in continuing your learning through the next few years?  How does our study make you an active participant in your community?

Option A: What has been the most moving, engaging, or thought-provoking lesson that you have learned within our Jewish History class this year?  What is the life lesson or souvenir that you will be taking with you from this course? An adequate response will have the following:

• Reference to at least TWO lessons throughout the year.  This can be referencing a Gallery Walk, quotation, or historical facts.  Please include the page number you are referencing in parenthesis.
• Use at least 4 Quotes pulled from your reflections throughout the year.
• Can be typed or hand-written. Typed papers should be Times New Roman, 12-Point font, 1”  margins, double-spaced and between 2-4 pages.  Hand-written responses must be on even-edged loose-leaf paper, written in black or blue pen and between 3-4 pages in length.  

Option B: ​Complete the “This I Believe” Reflection on page 438 of your book to showcase a personal statement of belief that is an outgrowth of the learning we have done together this year.  A proper answer will deal closely with the questions raised above regarding “Choosing to Participate”.

• Follow directions on page 438.
  
• Can be typed or hand-written. Typed papers should be Times New Roman, 12-Point font, 1”  margins, double-spaced and between 2-4 pages.  Hand-written responses must be on even-edged loose-leaf paper, written in black or blue pen and between 3-4 pages in length. 

Student Responses to Option A
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Student Responses to Option B
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10th Grade student presenting our project at the annual NEO Facing History Year End celebration!

10th Grade student presenting our project at the annual NEO Facing History Year End celebration!

Student Reflections:

Our opening night was held on the evening of Thursday, April 12th, 2018.  It was an incredible experience for me as an educator, however, I was even more excited to hear the reactions of my students.  The previous night I had immediate feedback from parents and colleagues but Friday morning (yes, Friday the 13th), I asked students to complete the following sentence:
                             "Last night I felt..."
 Here is what they said:

Last night I felt proud of my teacher and all of my classmates.  Everyone put in a lot of hard work and I believe it truly paid off.  It was a really important thing to do for our community and I will never forget this experience.  I am really thankful to everyone who gave it their all to help our film festival really come to life."

Last night I felt proud and united to be able to unify our class with the broader Jewish community.  It was a great privilege and honor."

Last night I felt very good about myself & what our class did to commemorate the Holocaust.  I was very happy that all the hard work really paid off.  Last night was a really amazing experience and it really let us pass on these Holocaust stories and it gave a sense of how huge a responsibility our generation has to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive. "

Last night I felt really happy/proud with how our projects turned out.  We worked so hard with our projects and seeing them come together and that people loved them, was a great feeling.  I'm really thankful that we were given the opportunity to do this project."

Last night, I felt that we successfully conveyed our sincere impressions of our history.  Parents, especially mine, were constantly repeating how powerfully the documentaries impacted their perception of how real the tragedy was."

Last night I felt very inspired by the speeches and videos displayed.  I was so thankful that people came and appreciated our hard work.  We accomplished a great task and I was relieved to be done and show off my hard work."

Last night I felt proud and moved. Viewing my work, as well as that of my classmates, in it's finished form was an amazing experience.  After weeks of cutting videos, finding pictures and putting together a script it all came together beautifully.  My favorite part was seeing how my video impacted viewers: some cried, some asked questions, but you could see that everyone truly understood our take-away message."

Last night I felt that the hard work we did was properly displayed to the public."

It was definitely better than I expected.  It was really nice to show our work and the setting and preparation made it all feel more real.  I thought that with our time constraints they wouldn't turn out as well as they did, but they were really good.  I enjoyed being able to see everyone else's in my room and seeing the different approaches people took and then comparing that to how I did it."

Last night I felt honored that so many people came to look at the projects that we created.  I was so happy that we were able to touch so many people with our projects."

Last night I felt accomplished with my work.  During the actual project I was so stressed during the process because it was so new to us.  In the end I never felt so happy about any work I've done before."

Last night I felt proud of what we accomplished.  The parents were very complimentary and felt genuinely moved.  Even though the process was long and hard, we were able to present a whole film festival on a very important day.  My mom mentioned to me that she was thankful to be there because she normally doesn't participate in anything to commemorate Yom Hashoah.  This was an amazing way to spend the night of Yom Hashoah and it's great that considering most adults don't commemorate the day, they  had a chance to from their own children.  It was educational for everyone involved."

Last night I felt ... nervous to begin the event.  I didn't know what to expect.  I also didn't know how people would react to our documentaries, whether they would be impressed or not.  I also felt nervous because my documentary was first and there were 35 or so people watching which was a lot.  However, after playing the video I was no longer nervous and although I felt proud that our video was heavily applauded, the part that I ended up being most proud was how we answered questions that were asked to us in a way that made people see we were really involved in this experience."

Last night I felt really proud of everything we have accomplished about the class.  It made a huge impact on many people as well as me, or at least I hope so. It is so amazing that we were able to do this.  It's extremely important to remember these stories and to carry on the burdens of the past.  One of the greatest things was watching my grandmother react to the videos she was starring in and her pride in doing so."