Holocaust studies are essential to stop denial

Stop Holocaust Denial!

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Echo response to a school principle who called the Holocaust a "belief"- The Palm Beach Post’s story about a high school principal who characterized the Holocaust as a belief, rather than a fact (“Principal’s emails on Holocaust jolt mother into action,”) flared into national news.

And it elicited strong reactions from readers.

Amid the uproar, district officials on Monday removed William Latson as principal, saying his “statement is not supported either by the School District administration or the School Board.”

Among the many letters received were from these educators:

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The principal of Spanish River High School west of Boca Raton claims that the Holocaust is not something everyone believes in, and that he, as a school principal, must remain neutral and allow parents to have their children opt out of learning about it.

People who believe that historical events like the Holocaust (and accepted scientific theories like evolution) should be optional subject matter, based on the opinions of ignorant parents or educators, do not belong in public education. They don’t belong in private accredited education, either. And it makes no difference whether he, personally, accepts the Holocaust as fact; his job is to make sure the curriculum is taught properly.

Some parents don’t believe in evolution. Some parents incorrectly believe that abstinence education reduces teen pregnancy. Some people believe that the Newtown, Conn., school shootings were a hoax and that the 911 attacks never really occurred. The whole point of education is to inform, not to support the views of the misinformed or help ignorance, bigotry or paranoid conspiracies prevail.

The principal obviously doesn’t comprehend the difference between curriculum content that is factual and that which can be legitimately debated. The district, state and country need to do a better of job of making sure there aren’t similar problems in other schools.

Joan Friedenberg, Boynton Beach

Friedenberg is professor emeritus in linguistics and teacher education, Southern Illinois University.

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The Post’s article should be an absolute wake-up call to all of us that the horrible facts of what happened in Nazi Germany between 1941 and 1945 can never be forgotten.

The murders of millions, the concentration camps and the inhuman treatment of innocent people has to remembered and taught -- not only in schools, but in the home as well.

I am proud that, back in 1991, I was given the opportunity by my principal of Carver Middle School to present a two-week seminar on the Holocaust to 6th, 7th and 8th graders. With cooperation from Florida Atlantic University, liberators and survivors, our students were exposed to the gruesome details and the atrocities which took place.

The undeniable facts of the Holocaust will never change, and neither will the fact that anti-Semitism still exists in the world today. All of us need to remember that and do something about it.

Darryl Harris, Lake Worth

Harris is a former teacher at Carver Middle School.

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As a former assistant principal, I was shocked to read Principal Latson’s suggestion in an email that the Holocaust was a belief not an event. Denying the Holocaust as a plausible theory is a form of antisemitism, and for it to be espoused by an educational leader in a public school is reprehensible.

Studying the Holocaust deserves in depth study, not a one-day assembly. Facing History and Ourselves is a non-profit organization my school partnered with to provide teachers with professional learning for a two-month unit of study on the Holocaust. This resulted in engaging students to make connections to current events and reflect on their own ethical behavior.

Educators need to shift away from curriculum that covers historical events to curriculum that emphasizes analysis of primary and secondary sources. Using textual evidence to support argumentation is the most important skill educators can teach students. Clearly, Principal Latson lacks this skill.

Rhonda Naidich, Lake Worth

Naidich is a former assistant principal at IS 254, Bronx, New York.

Days of Holocaust Remembrance are scheduled annually. 

The US Congress established Days of Remembrance as the nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust, encouraging observances throughout the nation.