Moriah cancels Hitler Youth dress-up
MORIAH College’s new principal John Hamey faced his first big challenge last week when year 9 students were encouraged to dress up as Hitler Youth by a history teacher.
MORIAH College’s new principal John Hamey faced his first big challenge last week when year 9 students were encouraged to dress up as Hitler Youth by a history teacher.
The task was withdrawn by Hamey after complaints from parents and students and consultation with his senior executive.
A student who was given the assignment told The AJN this week they were surprised when they were asked to dress up as Nazis.
“I found it very weird that we would have to play the role of someone on the side of the Nazis because our whole school lives we were taught that it was so wrong,” the student said.
“The teacher gave us a sheet and said that we had to act like a person who lived during the time and someone that supported the Hitler Youth.
“We were asked to dress up by the teacher but before I started the assignment we were told we weren’t doing it anymore because some people had complained that it was inappropriate to justify Hitler.”
Hamey told The AJN that the decision to withdraw the task was made independent of parental pressure and based on his analysis of the task.
“While concerns regarding the task were brought to our attention by both parents and students, they did not unduly influence our decision-making nor our reasons for revoking the task,” Hamey said.
“The purpose of the task was to develop in students an understanding of (a) how Hitler and the Nazis were able to infiltrate and control every aspect of German life and (b) how this was achieved by a combination of propaganda and education and fear and terror.
“To achieve these particular outcomes through the use of ‘empathy’, as the task required, is highly problematic, subject to misinterpretation, lacking cultural sensitivity, and not grounded in educational best practice.”
He added there is a range of other more objective strategies that can be used to achieve the same outcome while providing students the opportunity to form a mature, considered response to the events studied.
“The college has addressed the issue with the staff member concerned and has also explained to the students why the assignment was withdrawn.”
The parent who first contacted The AJN said she was outraged, adding that the wrong message was sent to students. “Some of the kids apparently complained on Facebook about a mother getting involved,” she said.
JOSHUA LEVI
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