What Facing History and Ourselves Means to Me

The class Facing History and Ourselves had a lot of meaning to me , it is almost impossible for me to truly explain in words how this course had changed me, this course open the eyes of many people by throwing that past in our faces. What you learn in this course is not something you are taught, you have to learn throughout you experiences and learn from your mistakes and achievements. Learning about the holocaust how you Mr Gallagher help us get in the mind set of a Jewish person during that time was crazy. It was defiantly an eye opener to look at history in such a different way.


The Course without a doubt will have great impact on anyone who takes the course. I am your typical teenager that hates school and puts close to no effort towards school, and I walked away from the course with a new outlook on life. Anyone and everyone who takes a facing history and ourselves course will learn a new life lesson by then end of the course.
Now to the real question In what ways did the course benefit you as a student and as a person? In Many ways the course changed me as a person and as a student;
As a student this course changed me because of the lack of assessments and homework it was a less stressful and easier way to take in the knowledge you were teaching us little by little. Rather then worry about what was going to be on the next quiz or test or what was for homework each night, you were able to take in whatever you wanted. It was a nice change for me and I really wish that the rest of school was exactly like this course.
I believe that in order for the class to have to as much meaning and impact that the my class got from it all comes from the teacher. I don’t think I would have taken that class if any other teacher was teaching. Only because I didn’t know how powerful the course really was. I also think that since you Mr. Gallagher has such a desire to teach the course made it all that much better.
One of the most important lessons I learned that has changed my life is the value of respect. Without having respect for others ,people having respect for yourself and people having respect for you, you are nothing. I think respect is one of the most valued things a person can have because many things re vole around having respect.
Another important lesson I learned was to never be a bystander. Never just watch something happen because that is how things like the Holocaust happens. If you see something that you could potentially stop step in and make sure that it is stopped and stand up for what you believe and try and teach them a lesson.
Another lesson that I learned was if you ever didn’t agree with something someone said research it, find the facts and present it. You should never have to believe something you think is wrong and if you work hard enough to gather the information and show the facts and prove yourself.
It changed a lot of how I talk to people and how I react in situations differently. After watching many of the films and documentaries I felt like I went through the Holocaust and witnessed it firsthand. Being able to feel that way after sitting in a class and watching a movie just hits you with many different emotions.
Another lesson I learned is that not everything around is just black and white there are shades of gray that you need to look for ,and in order to understand what someone is feeling you need to put yourself in their shoes to understand.
One of the films in particular “The Pianist” had great affect on not just me but the entire class. After the scene where the old man in the wheel chair gets thrown off the balcony , I believe everyone was in shock. After watching such a horrifying scene people understood truly how cruel the Nazis where.

Another movie we watch that had great affect on the entire class was “Freedom Writers”. After watching the movie I tried reading the book but me and reading just don't get along. Knowing that it was based on a true story this reminds us that people really have to go through situations like that. Also it should remind us how lucky we are to has a school like Westborough to teach us and provide us what we need to get a good education. I personally saw a similarity between you and the teacher in the movie. You care a lot about your students and you actually care.

The last Front-line documentary that we watched ,The film was about the concentration camps and it showed how the camp where ran and what they did with the bodies. I believe was the most horrifying thing to watch.; I believe at one point of another every had to look away and take a break from watching it because it was just so in your face seeing all of the dead people from the concentration camps.

In closing this class I know I will never forget the lessons taught in this class and the experiences I had. I think the class is what you make of it, you are not going to change as a person or student if you don't believe what you are being taught and I think that no one in the class has walked away not believing what you taught us. It just the short time from having that class I have changed my ways of thinking dramatically. I actually think before I act now,I looked back in that past and think of all the stupid things I have done and wish I could back and fixm them because of this course. I feel that this course should be required for every student to take because it will changes them for the better.