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About the use of Hitler ´s caricature on my speaking cards
Hi everybody!
After I shared a speaking card with the caricature of Hitler, I ´ve received many messages by people who felt angry/sad/extremely disappointed about the use of it as teaching material.
The card as got a comic effect, comes with a caricature, and list a few adjectives to describe the character. It is included in a set called "famous peple".
I would like to use the forum to reply to many of them and/or to open a useful discussion on this topic. I won ´t
try to convince anybody, but I ´ll try to explain my point of view.
I ´m sorry if people feel furious about using the image of Hitler. I
understand it, but I have a different perspective of the situation.
Would you use the image of Julius Caesar? Or Bush? Or any other powerful SuperPresident? There are hundreds of politics that acted
shamefully and are/were responsible of murderous actions. That does
not mean that cannot be used in an activity like this one. I would have used them if I had had their caricatures.
About the cards.
The cards were born from the idea to use caricatures. What I love about
these images is that they show you a detached way to look at famous
people. We ´re overwhelmed by the perfect or just manipulated images of
"successful" people. Comic drawings are a wonderful chance to detach
yourself from the mainstream way of thinking and try to improve your
critical thinking skills.
I don ´t believe that Madonna is the embodiment of success, as I don ´t
believe that Hitler was the embodiment of the devil. This is what they
want us to believe, but I would like my students to use their own
brain. If they follow the mainstream idea, they will think that Hitler
was an exceptional person, a devil, a satanic and evil superman. I
would like them to think that Hitler, like many other politics and
responsibles of atrocities, was a normal human being with radical and
dangerous believes. I would like them to think that unfortunately
history may repeat itself.
And as Chaplin taught me, comicity is not only a way to decrease the
importance of a person, but most of all it is a way to make people
detach from an issue and make them look at it in a more critical
perspective.
Of course, I don ´t believe that after this activity my students will be
aware of what I ´m saying here, but I hope it may be a step in that
direction. And most important, the activity was designed with this aim.
About Personal Reactions
I would not use this image if I lived in a country where the specific
person was responsible of scars that are still painfully alive in our
society. But that is not the case in Spain. Talking about the place
where I live, I ´m sure I ´m not hurting anybody ´s feelings.
Culture
A few days ago I read a post about a teacher who questioned the taboo
we have to name genitals when learning the parts of the body. I read
many different answers and they definitely reflected the different
perspective we may have according to our culture. I don ´t consider my
collegues, my friends and me irresponsible or bad educators for using
this image in this context. But I understand perfectly the reason why
other people would not use it.
The
difference between Julius Caesar and Hitler, is that
there are still
people alive today who witnessed and were touched/hurt by Hitler �s atrocities.
They don �t need comedy to understand what happened.
Our students visit the concentration camps to understand what happened and
to gain a deeper understanding of how to avoid this monstronsity from ever
happening again.
It is still too close to home for many people to either find this amusing,
entertaining or funny.
To hide "history" because we don �t agree with something or it �s too raw for some - is a sure way to let something repeat itself... We should not hide or not let others use something just because we don �t like it. It is historical - and it is important - kids need to know these things, not just know that Hitler was a bad man but not anything else. That is hiding our heads in the sand and avoiding things...
I think your idea is a wonderful one and it �s nice to see new innovate ideas for the classroom. I have no problem with using such an idea in my class. Also, kids are less and less informed as each year goes by. It doesn �t hurt to give them a "history" lesson once in awhile!
I think it is silly to prohibit something for the whole world because some people were affected. For the Jewish nation and Jewish people it is still a delicate subject, but to be fanatical about not mentioning Hitler �s name, except in the approved context and having bad reactions about the use other people make of his name and deeds is not that far from what he deed. Is just ideological, but that �s where everything starts, in the idea.
If you as a person, or as a teacher in a context where such a thing is inappropriate, do not want to use it or find it offensive, do not look and walk away, do not use it. But I like to believe we are a somewhat free world where freedom of expression exist, regardless of its rightness or wrongness in the eyes of some or others. Making fun of a person like Hitler is for some the way to express their disapproval, and anyway should we be unidirectional, closed and focused only on one thing ? Isn �t flexibility an advantage and a quality.
Even if some people do no possess the necessary amount of flexibility, they should not condamn others for theirs.
You don �t like something, don �t use it (in our case as members of this site), as long as it doesn �t do any harm why should you make a big deal out of it.
I did not want to comment because my ideas about the subject are crystal clear. (...crystal-Hitler...there is a connection).
I find it terrible that teachers think it is appropriate to use Hitler �s image as a "fun" way to study/teach English.
I don �t think we should not teach about him - he affected (and infacted) the whole world and not just Jews.It is shocking to see that people ignore this part of the world history. Hitler did not kill only jewish people. This dark era should be taght and discussed but not as a fun English role-play. It is not a question of "If you like it download it or if you don �t - don �t" It is a moral issue. A univeral issue and not only a Jewish one.
Go back to the history books and think twice before stating "He is another famous person" - There is a limit to innovation! You cannot do everything in the name of innovation and the desire to be unique.
