Intorduction

     My name is Anna Petrunich.  I am a senior at Westborough high school and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take Facing History and Ourselves.  This course first appealed to me junior year, when I was sitting in my US History class.  Mr. Gallagher’s classroom was right next to the class I was in and I could hear parts of the movies that were being watched during class.  They sounded intense and interesting.  At the end of the period, I would see kids walk out from that classroom looking like they were considering what they had just watched.  I was interested in what students were learning that course and, when I asked around, everyone had something positive to say about it.  They said the videos were a little depressing, but they were so interesting and they taught so much.  I found this class to be even more than interesting and educational.  What I didn’t expect to get out of this class were certain life lessons. 

     The beginning of the course began mostly with class discussions on present day issues in society. We contiued to watch some movies that dealt with people’s morals.  For the rest of the course, we watched documentaries and movies relating to the Holocaust.  We also read articles, viewed pictures, and had discussions on the Holocaust.  It was difficult to watch some of the scenes, but that is what made the course so impactful in learning to not be a by-stander and to stand up for what is right.