South Lanarkshire, UK – A group of stunned primary schoolchildren began crying when their teacher told them during a bizarre Holocaust game that they were to be taken away from their families.
The pupils, aged 11, became upset after a number of them were segregated and told they were being sent away or might end up in an orphanage.
The ordeal was meant to give the youngsters at the Lanarkshire school an insight into the horrors faced by Jewish children during World War II.
But the exercise, which was sprung without warning on the children at St Hilary’s Primary School in East Kilbride last Thursday morning, reduced several to tears.
Deputy head teacher Elizabeth McGlynn segregated nine pupils and told them they were to be sent away. After 15 minutes they were told it was all an act but that the role play would carry on up to lunchtime.
One angry parent, who has lodged an official complaint about the exercise, told how the ‘barbaric’ role play upset the children.
In a letter sent to council bosses, the unnamed mother said: ‘Mrs McGlynn told the children they would probably have to be sent away from their families and that their parents had been informed about this and knew all about it.
‘When one child asked if that meant they might have to go to an orphanage, they were told that might be a possibility.
‘At that point many of the children became very distressed.
‘One boy kicked his chair over, one was angry and demanded to speak to someone in charge but most were crying on a scale ranging from mildly to severely.
‘Their ordeal lasted between 12 and 15 minutes before the children were informed that it was all an act but that the role play would continue until lunchtime.’
The mother added: ‘When I asked why on earth they thought it was appropriate to deliver a role play situation to the children in this way, Mrs Stewart informed me that they didn’t inform the children beforehand.
‘This was because they wanted the children to experience an “accurate emotional response” to this scenario in order for it to be reflected in their story writing.
‘Mrs Stewart then invited me to come up to the school and see the excellent work that had been produced as a result of the exercise.
‘I declined and my position and opinion on the method used to extract emotive story writing from the children was cruel, barbaric, traumatic and totally, totally unethical.
‘My daughter and indeed no child needs to feel the terror, fear, panic, segregation and horror that a child of the Holocaust experienced during one of the worst atrocities in history to be able to empathise with them in order to produce good story writing.’
A South Lanarkshire council spokeswoman, who confirmed that a role play activity took place, said: ‘The council can confirm that a parent handed in a letter to Education Resources on Monday, March 8, 2010, and this will be responded to shortly.’
(Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/)
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6 Responses
Since England is so full of antisemites, I would say the parent is werong and that at least some of the children did need to feel what it was like to be on the recieving end of the hatred they usually grow up, to help spread.
#1, I disagree with you. It is wrong for a teacher or school to conduct such an exercise without discussing it with the parents. No child deserves to be traumatized in this fashion.
They could have worked something else out, such as telling the children we are conducting an exercise in order to understand what the children felt like being victims of the holocaust. They should have told them that they were going to go through certain exercises that might be very frightening such as those the Jewish children experienced, but we are here with you and want to remind you no matter how frightened you become this is only role playing.
Had they separated the children from their friends and teachers and put them in separate rooms where they didn’t know each other nor the adults in the room, it would have been a good example of separation. Had the adults then told the children what they did, they would have still been frightened and nervous but they would not have lingering trauma as what might have been caused by the way they actually handled it.
Agreed with #1. In Holland as well, I can see why such a method would be very useful.
“They should have told them that they were going to go through certain exercises that might be very frightening such as those the Jewish children experienced, but we are here with you and want to remind you no matter how frightened you become this is only role playing.”
I could not agree more. When I look into the faces of my friends who survived the holocaust, I see tremendous fear and pain; feelings of degradation, of some shame. People need to understand this fear and pain and to understand history in order to repeat the atrocities of the past; however, the children should have been told in advance it was an exercise and that the object was to condiser themselves in the positions of the holocaust victims in order to understand the violent past history. And, the parents should have been consulted beforehand. The other thing that needs to be done is for each person to consider his or her treatment of others outside our faith and how that translates into their hatred of Jews.
Should have read in order to “not repeat the atrocities of the past.” Sorry for the mistake!
#1 & #3:
You do realize we’re talking about 11-year-old CHILDREN?!
This is 5th grade! If you ARE going to do such an exercise with students of that age, you would most definitely need to be more responsible about it. There is sometimes a problem with authority, where people are put in a position for which their judgement doesn’t necessarily measure up. This teacher has children’s lives in her hands and while I do appreciate her good intentions, she made a very bad judgement call.