A high school teacher in Albany has been placed on leave, after students were given persuasive writing assignment this week which asked them to make a distasteful argument: "You must argue that Jews are evil, and use solid rationale from government propaganda to convince me of your loyalty to the Third Reich!"
WRGB-TV, CBS 6 Albany reported the students were assigned the writing essay in which they were to "pretend I'm a member of the government in Nazi Germany," and "convince me you are loyal to the Nazis by writing an essay to convince me Jews are evil and the source of our problems."
The district's superintendent, Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard, was quick to apologize for the assignment's wording - and to place the still unnamed teacher on leave. The exercise was intended to challenge students to formulate a persuasive argument and was given to three classes, Wyngaard said, adding that it should have been worded differently.
At a press conference, Vanden Wyngaard said that the teacher will face some kind of disciplinary action, which could range from a letter of reprimand to firing. "You asked a child to support the notion that the Holocaust was justified, that's my struggle," she said. "It's an illogical leap for a student to make."
A 16-year-old who received the assignment told the Times Union that she and her classmates "thought it would make more sense if we were Jews arguing against Nazis."
Vanden Wyngaard also said that the Anti-Defamation League would be conducting sensitivity training with district students and teachers by the end of the year, right after the people from the Common Sense Coalition have paid their own visit.
