post this week

     In English we are taking a a detour and using our social studies topic to write a research paper. I have to admit, I am slightly overwhelmed; however, I think having a research paper will majorly benefit me when I present at national history day. I got to choose any topic that was obviously back in time, that dealt with human rights. I searched for a while and couldn't find a good one until Mrs. Baggett suggested the Lodz Ghetto. I was open minded and decided to go with it. I decided on it because I soon found out there were tons of cases where children were killed and I was very interested to learn more and educate myself on how terrible those poor children lived and what they experienced. Basically the people in the "ghettos" had no rights, especially the children. Gas chambers and other tortuous creations were used to kill. The children had no choice besides getting killed, experimented on, or forced to work. It was randomly chosen, but none of the options were fair. I am really finding myself thinking about this topic because I am so puzzled how humans could treat other humans that poorly for no reason. Jews were mainly focused on to be captured which then ties racism into the mixture. The rights were slim to none and it's interesting to read the survivors blogs and documentaries about their experiences. I am now more appreciative of how we are free in America, and those poor people forever remain in my heart.

     When first faced with the task of choosing a history topic involving human rights, I was unsure of how to begin or what to research.  A suggestion from Mrs. Baggett led me to the Lodz Ghetto, which first interested me because it involved the death of many children close to my age and even younger.  As I continued to research this topic, I found multiple documentaries and images illustrating the personal experiences of people who survived the terrible conditions they faced while living in the Lodz Ghetto.  Although the Nazis originally intended this ghetto to be a temporary holding place for the Jews, the Lodz Ghetto became the place where the Nazis confined over 230,000 Jewish people to a very small area and subjected them to extremely horrific conditions, oppressing their basic human rights from 1940 until 1944.  Not only were these people starved and deprived of water, but they were also forced to do manual labor and basically work themselves to death if not killed first.  Each story I read provides a slightly different perspective and teaches me something new about the oppression of human rights in the Lodz Ghetto, as the survivors’ stories vary in the gruesome details with the same sad ending and theme of torture and death.  This topic has taught me about how poorly some humans were treated in the past, especially in some ghettos, such as the Lodz Ghetto, where their rights were not recognized or respected at all. 

Reading/Work Time

Reading:

Title: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian 

Author: Sherman Alexie

Times / Date: 1-15 ( read for 20 min)
1-16 ( read for 25 min)
1-17 (read for 30 min) (Also worked on note cards this day for (20 min)
1-18 (read for 10 min) (Also worked on note cards this day for 30 min)

total work time = 135 min.


Ps:

This book is really comical and interesting. It keeps me interested and eager to continue reading!

The Lodz Ghetto

My topic for National History day is the Lodz Ghetto. I chose this topic because I am interested in the treatment involving children. The Lodz Ghetto was created because of the Nazi invasion of Poland. It is the second largest ghetto that the Nazis created. On September 1,1939 the Nazi Germans attacked Poland and the Lodz were captured that same month. The majority of the population was made up of Jews. The Nazis believed having the Jews in one area would make administration much more simple. As far as the children, majority of them were killed. Germans and collaborators killed as many as 1.5 million children. Over a million of those children were Jewish. If a child was 13-18 years old, their chances of living were much higher than those 12 and under. The older kids would still be forced to do labor. The children’s fate became categorized. Any children would be killed once they arrived in killing centers. Most children were killed immediately after birth or standing foot in an institution. If a child was born in a camp or the ghetto; they were killed as well. Kids 12 and older were used for labor or for medical experiments. Jewish children typically died from starvation and lack of clothing or shelter. Germans wanted to kill all the young kids because they thought of them as “useless eaters.” The young kids we not stable enough to be deployed to labor jobs, so the young kids, the ill people, and old people were shipped to killing centers. They would then shoot them. Once Auschwitz-Birkenau and other killing centers arose, the camp authorities sent the majority of the children to gas chambers. A non-Jewish child from a certain groups would not be killed. If a child was spared and used as a medical experiment; they would typically still die. The children attempted just about any task in order to remain living. The children and people of the Lodz Ghetto had few to no rights. The Nazi Germans has all control of them and kept a strict handle on people. I am really excited to learn more and more about this topic. 






Reading Post:

Title: Lightening Thief

1-8-14  (20 min)
1-9-14 (30 min)
1-10-14 (30min)
1-12-14 (45 min)

total = 125 min 

Student Generated Prompt

"Write about one interpretation of evil and then write about how you see this interpretation."

In my eyes there are multiple types of evil, it just depends on the type of person you are and what you believe in. One example of evil is someone simply isn't respectful. When that person has nothing better to do than talk about people who hadn't done anything to them. They are easily jealous of people and target the ones they envy. Evil is when you wake up and have violent or harmful thoughts in mind. When a person is evil they typically have medical conditions or bad childhoods, due to parenting issues. Evil can also be identified as a deceptive person. This type of person lies and tricks innocent people. Evil is never a good thing in my opinion. Evil is envied and no person wants to hang around evil people or things. People are not the only things that are evil. Animals carry that as well; however, most evil animals are abused or assaulted in some way.

I see the interpretation of evil as sickening. I think anymore with evil traits or actions needs to get medical and physiological help. I see evil as the dark side. It is trouble. It is wrong doings and intentions. Religiously looking at evil, it is known as a supernatural force. It is a major unbalance of emotions that can not be contained. I see evil as a something chosen unlike something that chooses you. People decide how they want to act and when they choose evil, it is a bad sign and quality to have and live with.