Assignment Checklist Questions Essay

1. Did you adhere to the length requirement of the assignment? If not, reduce your words.Essay will not be accepted if it is more than 50 words beyond the max. The essay contains 1095 words. 2. Did you use MLA first-page format and do it properly? Did you check your first-page against the textbook example? Proper MLA first page format has been used. 3. Did you include a lead in at the start of your introduction? If you don’t know what this is, you are not ready to submit your assignment. The essay contains a captivating introduction. 4. Did you briefly and neutrally summarize both sides of the debate in your introduction and/or did you provide necessary background and then add a transitional sentence before your thesis? The other side of the debate has been briefly addressed. 5. Is your thesis the last sentence of the first paragraph, or do you have a good reason it is not? The thesis is the last statement of the intro para. 6. Did you include a parallel-structured essay map with your thesis sentence? The essay contains a parallel-structured essay map. 7. Have you used third person point of view throughout? Check and make sure you have not shifted into first person (I) or second person (you) without having a good reason. You can use a global search to double check. Third person is used. 8. Does each paragraph have a topic sentence (stated or implied) with at least two supporting points, details, and a conclusion? Each paragraph contains all necessary elements. 9. Did you use a transitional word, phrase or sentence at the beginning of each body paragraph? Did you use transitional words or phrases between sentences within paragraphs, as necessary? Transitions are used. 10. Did you follow all 18 instructions on page two and three of this assignment handout? All 18 instructions have been used. 11. Did you correctly follow the four-step research inclusion method we discussed for both paraphrases and quotations? The four steps are as follows: introduce, present according to MLA, credit your source parenthetically and discuss. Research inclusion methods are followed. 12. Did you check each use of research to determine whether you integrated it? Which integration methods did you use? Check each instance and report it here. Do not skip this step.I am asking if you integrated paraphrases and quotations into your own writing by using either (1) a snippet; (2) a colon; (3) the author, title, or both. Author, Colon and Snippet methods were used. Avoided the use of titled integration due to lengthy titles which made it choppy. 13. Did you make sure that no paragraph ends with a quotation? No paragraph ends with a quotation. 14. Did you check any titles you named in your essay against the handout I put on BB called Titles: Italics vs. Quotation Marks No titles are used. 15. Does your in-text citation properly match the corresponding Works Cited entry? Check this very carefully – remember the first word/first word formula. Proper match of citations. 16. Did you make sure to do your in-text and Works Cited entries correctly? Did you check each citation word for word and punctuation for punctuation against an example from our textbook or the MRU library handout or another reputable source? Make sure you checking against MLA, not APA. In text and works cited entries are correct. 17. Did you create a suggestive, emphatic conclusion rather than one in which you unnecessarily repeat the main supporting points? The conclusion is suggestive and emphatic. Jeremy Roberts Sharren Patterson GNED 1401 26 October 2014 The Importance of Teaching the Holocaust Inhumanity reached a point in the early 1940s that will be spoken about for years beyond our existence. The largest genocide of the 20th century, the Holocaust, was described by Samuel Totten as the â€Å"systematic, bureaucratic  annihilation of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and their collaborators as a central act of state during World War II† (â€Å"A Note†). This significant event in history presents an ongoing discussion regarding its role within high school curriculums. The Holocaust’s profound nature is why numerous individuals avoid teaching the subject in school, despite its historical significance. Farnham states that even though there is â€Å"potential for direct pain and guilt from [teaching the Holocaust], the significance of the subject in human as well as in historical terms is such that the burden [of teaching the subject] must be endured† (â€Å"Teaching the Holocaust† 274). Even though the subject needs to be taught with great care due to its sensitive nature, high school history classes should include the Holocaust because it is a major event that helped shape the world we live in today. Including this act of genocide in curriculums will provide an accurate representation of history, an ethical framework for students, and a foundation for our future history. To better understand history, it is paramount that the most accurate and detailed information about the Holocaust is taught to students. By detailing how and why the event occurred, students will be given an opportunity to fully understand the pain and suffering individuals endured in Germany during this time period. â€Å"One of the values of Holocaust education, one hopes, is that it increases sensitivity to the suffering of others† (Farnham, â€Å"What is† 22). In addition to helping students empathize with the suffering, Holocaust education should also address the role politics and media played in organizing the massacre of millions of individuals. The views that led to this massacre were deeply embedded within the German culture and surrounding countries prior to the Holocaust. However, it was the radical leader, Adolf Hitler, who utilized politics, media, and technology to impose his â€Å"final solution.† The following statement from Totten emphasizes the importance of teaching how the genocide took place: [T]he education that students receive about the Holocaust has to be unique, powerful and bereft of perfunctory nature. . . . [The teachers] also need to appreciate and teach the fact that the persecution and extermination of the Jews . . . was bureaucratic in nature, and that modern technology was used to maximize the killing process. Most importantly, though, teachers and  students need to realize that the Jews were killed not for what they were or for what they practised or believed, but for the fact that they were; that, all Jews were to be exterminated simply because they existed. (â€Å"A Note†) Keeping such a significant event out of high school curriculums might increase the likelihood of misconceptions and stereotypes. Kitson states, there are many students who have misconceptions and stereotypes related to the Holocaust: all Germans are Nazis, the Jews were helpless victims and didn’t fight back, Jews living in Germany were not German, and all victims died in gas chambers (42). Providing accurate information to today’s youth about the Holocaust allows students the opportunity to eliminate misconceptions and understand the suffering that millions of individuals endured because of the tremendous influence and power that Adolph Hitler had. Broadening a student’s view of how and why the Holocaust occurred is just as important as outlining and understanding its unethical nature. Inclusion of this event in high school curriculum will help young students broaden their perspectives, and shape their moral foundation. Farnham asserts this point by stating, â€Å"[t]his is a moral function, for being able to imagine the effect of one’s contemplated deed on another person is necessary to any moral or ethical judgment one might make of a proposed act† (â€Å"What is† 22). Teaching the Holocaust, in combination with using our imagination, allows us to think of the conditions of the victims, and, in turn, increases our empathy towards them (Farnham, â€Å"What is† 22). The subject’s controversial nature will provide the type of engaging context that students require to think critically about the effects of their decisions. In addition, this subject provides context for individuals to examine the â€Å"use and abuse of power, and the role and responsibilities of individuals, organizations, and nations when confronted with civil rights violations and/or policies of genocide† (Totten, â€Å"A Note†). In-depth analysis of the Holocaust’s unethical nature will allow students to form and further strengthen their moral and ethical principles to which they hold themselves accountable in decision making. The development of students’ moral and ethical framework is not only vital to their future actions and decisions, but also the future of humanity.  Through the teaching of the Holocaust, today’s youth are given an example of one of the very worst acts of inhumanity. Students will learn that it was not only Germany who was responsible. Numerous countries refused to accept Jewish refugees, and, in doing so, were partly responsible for the events that took place. Totten provides graphic insight towards the inactivity of surrounding nations when he explains, â€Å"Germany alone is not to blame. If Hitler turned Europe into a pressure cooker for the Jews, then much of the free world helped to seal it by refusing to accept Jewish refugees† (â€Å"A Note†). By detailing this fact, students are made aware of the â€Å"danger of staying silent, apathetic and indifferent in the face of others’ oppression† (Totten, â€Å"A Note†). Students will understand how important it is to maintain their values and have the confidence to actually stand up against what they believe is right or wrong. Teaching the Holocaust will allow us to help guide our future generations to make morally sound decisions. There are very few events throughout the course of history which contain such a breadth of material. Learning about the Holocaust can be a transformative experience for students because it engages them to consider numerous elements, including, human rights, morals and ethics, and political injustice. It is for this reason that the Holocaust should not only be taught in high school, but should also be considered as one of the main topics for history classes. Although teaching the topic would not guarantee a world free of injustices or inhumane acts, the implementation of Holocaust into high school curriculums would be a way for the current educated population to help guide future generations towards a better society and a future history that everyone can be proud of. Works Cited Farnham, James F. â€Å"Teaching the Holocaust: A Rationale for Dealing with the Absurd.† The Journal of General Education 33.4 (1982): 273-283. Penn State University Press. Web. 11 Oct. 2014. Farnham, James F. â€Å"What is the Value of Teaching the Holocaust?† The Journal of General Education 41 (1992): 18-22. Penn State University Press. Web. 11 Oct. 2014. Kitson, Alison. â€Å"Challenging Stereotypes and Avoiding the Superficial: A Suggested Approach to Teaching the Holocaust.† Teaching History. 104 (2001): 41-8. ProQuest. Web. 11 Oct. 2014. Totten, Samuel. â€Å"Teaching the Holocaust: The Imperative to Move Beyond Cliches.† Canadian Social Studies 33.3 (1999): 84-7. ProQuest. Web. 11 Oct. 2014. Totten, Samuel. â€Å"A Note: Why Teach about the Holocaust?† Canadian Social Studies 31.4 (1997): 176-178. ProQuest. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.