On the one hand, it’s almost a good thing that a school district, somewhere, is trying to teach some kind of critical thinking. Kids today seem to get virtually none of it.
The Rialto school district in California is under fire over a stunning eighth-grade assignment that asked students to write an argumentative essay about the Holocaust and “whether or not you believe this was an actual event in history, or merely a political scheme created to influence public emotion and gain wealth.”
Now, this story is only from the mainstream media – the San Bernardino Sun and KTLA TV – so take it with a block of salt.
But still…
[the assignment] gives students three sources to use to write their essays. One of the sources reportedly alleges the gassings in concentration camps were a “hoax” and there is no evidence Jews actually died in gas chambers.
The source, traced to a webpage on biblebelievers.org.au, states: “With all this money at stake for Israel, it is easy to comprehend why this Holocaust hoax is so secretly guarded. In whatever way you can, please help shatter this profitable myth. It is time we stop sacrificing America’s welfare for the sake of Israel and spend our hard-earned dollars on Americans.”
The other two sources were from About.com and History.com, KTLA-TV reports.
Teaching the youngsters to deny the deniers? Plausible.
But how much do you want to bet the kids have gotten to eighth grade without really knowing what the Holocaust is?
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