{"id":16836,"date":"2014-12-28T11:42:52","date_gmt":"2014-12-28T11:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=16836"},"modified":"2022-11-02T13:43:34","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T12:43:34","slug":"hitler-history-taught-by-dummies-using-lego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=16836","title":{"rendered":"Hitler History Taught By Dummies Using Lego"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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WARNING: This image shows the depths some people will sink to and is not intended to endorse Nazism in any form. I absolutely and uttterly condemn the pathetic minds that decided to create this scene.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Regular readers will know that I periodically cover topics that are associated with the dumbing down the education system in this country, and the annual hullabaloo come exam results time which seeks to pretend everything is really OK. So this latest story fits in rather well<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems that a teacher, David West, from Rossett School in Harrogate – came up with the \u201cbrilliant\u201d idea of using Lego figurines to cover the history of Hitler in the 2nd World War. And this was to A-level students – not kiddies. West published the \u201clesson\u201d on his blog – the viewing of which I ought to point out is by invitation only, so it\u2019s more of a private notice board – as an example of what others should do. This led to a storm (on closed student and teacher forums).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as a reminder, Hitler and his regime was directly responsible for the deaths of around 6,000,000 Jews and around 5,000,000 non-Jews. When you factor in the manner in which many of these deaths occurred, the entire story is off the scale. And certainly well beyond Legoland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The exercise involved pupils being asked questions such as \u2018why is Hitler wearing a witch\u2019s hat?\u2019, which prompted the response \u2018to show the spell that Hitler put on Germany\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The man is obviously a genius, and his claims to be \u201cworld renowned on Twitter\u201d and \u201ca sensation on YouTube\u201d (according to his page on Edmodo) must be well founded. West insisted:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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…[the lesson] was \u2018creative\u2019 and \u2018memorable\u2019 while not compromising on \u2018depth and detail\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Yes. I\u2019m sure that it WAS memorable. But perhaps West needs some re-training so that he can learn to distinguish between \u201cmemorable\u201d and \u201cuseful\u201d. Oh. And \u201cembarrassing\u201d. Because I remember that when I was at school, extrovert or childish activities like this would have been hugely embarrassing to me and many others. Sometimes – and for a great many people – the best way of learning is to be provided with the facts and then to talk about them sensibly. Not to end up in some sort of pantomime dreamed up by someone who considers himself to be a \u201cworld renowned sensation\u201d in spite of providing no back up evidence for the claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re still not convinced, here are some of other questions posed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why is Hitler waving to a cat? He is giving up his personal happiness to devote himself to the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is the spider laid like that? He is giving the Nazis salute showing how devoted all his people were.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Is this really for real? It\u2019s like a Santa Claus myth you\u2019d teach to pre-schoolers, not A-level students who are almost classed as adults. And to make matters even worse, Rossett School is apparently rated \u201coutstanding\u201d by Ofsted, so is it any wonder we have the annual festival of trying to pretend that the 100% crop of A* grades actually means something?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

West is talking up the \u201csupport\u201d he has received from inside the school, arguing that simply because students have said that they got a lot out of the lesson then he must have done a good job. Of course, he fails to see that it is a case of the tail wagging the dog – because how the hell can a student tell you if they have learnt anything? It is down to exams to do that. Oh, wait. Guaranteed A*s… a sad downward spiral. However, West dismisses the near-universal negative comments outside of his little enclave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Face facts, Mr West. It IS dumbing down. It IS childish and inappropriate for A-level students. It IS shallow. And let\u2019s not even get started on how it trivialises the issues of Hitler, Nazism, and anti-Semitism among young minds which may not yet have grappled with the topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n