Diary of Anne Frank

[Anonymous]

English class:

Kid read the beginning of the Diary of Anne Frank and wrote some essays about friendship and parents.

No reading or discussion about WWII or the Holocaust.

What is going on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:English class:

Kid read the beginning of the Diary of Anne Frank and wrote some essays about friendship and parents.

No reading or discussion about WWII or the Holocaust.

What is going on?

I think you are correct in that students should be provided context to a reading. The genius of Anne Frank is that exists poignantly on more than one level: adults tend to focus on the horror and fear within which the families lived. Younger people often focus on fraught interactions with a parent, typical in many experiences across the world, and the awkwardness of young love and how we feel about ourselves when we are young.

[Anonymous]

I’m impressed your kid got to read it. Our english teacher originally said they were reading it but changed it saying it was too hard.

[Anonymous]

My 7th grader is learning about The Diary of Anne Frank but apparently, they don't read the actual book, even though this is ENGLISH class. They just watched a movie about it and then did a "research" essay.

MCPS ELA instruction is trash.

That being said, my 7th grader's prompts and assignments from their teacher about The Diary of Anne Frank do talk about the Holocaust and World War II. So not sure why your kids omitted that context.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:English class:

Kid read the beginning of the Diary of Anne Frank and wrote some essays about friendship and parents.

No reading or discussion about WWII or the Holocaust.

What is going on?

Pyle did a whole unit where the kids read the full book and learned about the holocaust. They even had a holocaust survivor come and speak. Sounds like it’s a problem with your school.

[Anonymous]

My MCPS 7th grader read the book, took a WebQuest on Intro to the Holocaust, and watched a documentary on Path to Nazi Genocide. I think teachers have discretion in what they teach based upon the school.

[Anonymous]

Neither of mine read it at MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grader is learning about The Diary of Anne Frank but apparently, they don't read the actual book, even though this is ENGLISH class. They just watched a movie about it and then did a "research" essay.

MCPS ELA instruction is trash.

That being said, my 7th grader's prompts and assignments from their teacher about The Diary of Anne Frank do talk about the Holocaust and World War II. So not sure why your kids omitted that context.

Is that clear from the title of the assignment in Canvas? Or do you only see it in the documents on Google Drive or handouts?

[Anonymous]

My kid's class devoted a whole class period to discussing the historical context around the Diary, including geopolitical events, WWII, and the Holocaust. I think they're also getting to watch a play or movie on Anne Frank next week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grader is learning about The Diary of Anne Frank but apparently, they don't read the actual book, even though this is ENGLISH class. They just watched a movie about it and then did a "research" essay.

MCPS ELA instruction is trash.

That being said, my 7th grader's prompts and assignments from their teacher about The Diary of Anne Frank do talk about the Holocaust and World War II. So not sure why your kids omitted that context.

Is that clear from the title of the assignment in Canvas? Or do you only see it in the documents on Google Drive or handouts?

This was on their handout.

[Anonymous]

Our school used to do it in 8th but now it’s scheduled for 7th so my 8th grader missed it. But the 7th graders did it this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:English class:

Kid read the beginning of the Diary of Anne Frank and wrote some essays about friendship and parents.

No reading or discussion about WWII or the Holocaust.

What is going on?

My oldest graduated in 2024 and this was something he complained about when they read Anne Frank in middle school. No content, no history lessons.

[Anonymous]

My 8th grader read it in a lit circle, which means that all context was missing. Seems like a wasted opportunity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grader is learning about The Diary of Anne Frank but apparently, they don't read the actual book, even though this is ENGLISH class. They just watched a movie about it and then did a "research" essay.

MCPS ELA instruction is trash.

That being said, my 7th grader's prompts and assignments from their teacher about The Diary of Anne Frank do talk about the Holocaust and World War II. So not sure why your kids omitted that context.

In 7th Grade, a core text is Tales from the Secret Annex. It’s not the diary.

https://docs.google.com/document/u/2/d/1GbCzfM3glwSUsf1DSYrYvCDhz4JgECgsStTaHLk8J3I/mobilebasic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grader is learning about The Diary of Anne Frank but apparently, they don't read the actual book, even though this is ENGLISH class. They just watched a movie about it and then did a "research" essay.

MCPS ELA instruction is trash.

That being said, my 7th grader's prompts and assignments from their teacher about The Diary of Anne Frank do talk about the Holocaust and World War II. So not sure why your kids omitted that context.

In 7th Grade, a core text is Tales from the Secret Annex. It’s not the diary.

https://docs.google.com/document/u/2/d/1GbCzfM3glwSUsf1DSYrYvCDhz4JgECgsStTaHLk8J3I/mobilebasic

Wow!!!

Replacing the Diary with the Tales strips away Anne Frank's identity as a victim of genocide, sanitizing the historical record and minimizing the Holocaust.