Ryan Blackney's Blog

My name is Ryan and I am a student at Westborough High School and I am proud to have been able to take Facing History and Ourselves. Before taking this course I was less tolerant as a person and that has changed after what I have experienced in the last few months. I never really used to think about what I was saying and how a slight comment can easily affect a person’s life. Now I do think about that everyday and try to not let anything slip out for it could harm someone. This course taught me a lot of lessons and I am happy to say that it has made me a better person. No other course that I have taken has had the ability to do that.

Previous students who took this course repeatedly said that it was one of their favorite classes, if not the best one that they have ever taken. I have to agree with them completely. I chose this class because of how many high remarks it got and I wanted to take a course that had subject matter that could affect someone’s life. When I selected this course I knew the work was not going to be rigorous but I liked what the class had to offer, which was primarily talking about the Holocaust, which I have become a lot more informed about and it has made me more comfortable with a wide range of topics. Facing History and Ourselves is a great course for someone to find the person they really are. So many lessons are brought up and the primary focus is the Holocaust and what it did to a person’s life. This was an intense course content wise, but easy the most interesting and should be taken by all students.

This course was not only was not only one of my favorite courses I have ever taken at Westborough High School, but easily the most interesting and influential courses and I was extremely happy to be able to take it. Students that previously took this course said that it benefited them and that they really enjoyed it. I wanted that same experience and that is exactly what I got. This course has left a positive influence on my life despite the many tragic and disturbing images that were shown. This course has made me care so much more about what actually happened during the Holocaust. I have a much greater appreciation for it now. This class also has helped me as a student in that I am more willing to open up to a wider range of topics.

With everything that was shown to us in this course, I believe that it has easily made me a better person. Although nearly every film was very graphic, they were all shown for a purpose and the more I watched, the more respect I had for those who suffered through the Holocaust. It amazes me that jokes about this subject still exist and it frustrates me when I hear them. The big thin I noticed is that this course has made me more mature as a person. I am much more conscious about anything I say now whereas before taking this course, I am not sure if I would have corrected it on my own. Almost every film, if not all of them made me feel horrible for those who had to experience the horrors in the concentration camps. The powerful film “The Grey Zone” was hard to watch because there was no holding back when this movie was made. It was disturbing how much more in depth this movie portrayed the Holocaust. Watching this movie opened a whole new understanding of the Holocaust to me. This movie was probably the most eye-opening movie that we watched and this one affected me the most. It was unbelievable how a human life was valued. And after seeing that, I care so much more about what they had to go through. It can’t be compared to anything else. Other movies like “The Boy in The Striped Pajamas” and “The Island on Bird Street” showed the struggle that children had to go through everyday. I don’t know how I would have been able to survive like that. This course has made me care more about everything in my life, even the little things I value a lot more, because in an instant, that could be taken away. The people in my life mean even more than they already did. This course benefited me in many ways, but most of all it made me a better person.

As a student, I might not have known how to handle certain topics that we covered in this course. But after taking this course, I feel a lot more comfortable dealing with topics like this, among other things that were brought up in this course that went beyond the Holocaust. Aspects of this course that I took away with me were to make a difference and to stand up for what you believe in. I was able to use these lessons in my life but even more so in school, so I was able to be a little bit of a better student because of that. I was able to be myself in this course and say what I wanted, which I thought was perfect for a course like this. One of the things I try do a lot more now is to make a difference. Before this course, I know I wouldn’t have done it on my own. It is still hard for me to do that only because I don’t default to doing it. But I have tried to take action more rather than sitting back and watch something happen. One film in particular that jumped out at me was “Uprising.” The Jews refused to sit back and let the Germans take advantage of them. They fought with everything they had and weren’t going go take a beating without a fight. They had an unbelievable amount of heart to be able to do what they did. Still after seeing what they did, it is hard to believe that they were able to fight for as long as they did. It showed a lot of courage and this film made me think about how to never give up. They could have just let the Germans kill them, but they refused to take it. I now think about that more frequently with whatever I am doing. Another film, which I have seen before, “Freedom Writers” showed how Ms. Gruwell was able to make a difference in each one of her student’s lives. It was amazing how she was able to completely change their lives around and make each one of them an entirely new person. This course has given me the confidence to do that, and I hope to make a difference someday.

This class also would have been different if Mr. Gallagher was not the teacher. I feel that he made this class as interesting as it could possibly be. I really listen to everything he says and he is someone that has made me think different about several different things in my life. There is no other teacher like Mr. Gallagher. I feel that he taught the course exactly as it was intended to be. Mr. Gallagher made an impact in my life and I have great respect for him.

After being able to take Facing History and Ourselves, I believe that it has changed my life. I am a much more mature person now and it was the most influential course I have been able to take part in. This course was very beneficial to me in many ways. It has single-handedly made me a better person without question. I have much more respect for everything in my life. Also, I have applied several of these lessons to my education and I know they will stay with me for college. I know I won’t forget them. This course demonstrated the truth about the Holocaust, which is the most important part. I got a lot out of this course and I recommend it to anyone.

Ryan Blackney's Blog

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Introduction

What Facing History and Ourselves Meant to Me

Works Cited