The Mycenaean

Night by Elizer Wiesel is a true story that confronts the horrors people experienced during the Holocaust. 

15-year-old Elizer gets forced from his home to ghettos and then into concentration camps in the depths of Germany over four years. In the process, he loses his family, faith, and himself. 

For all that the book attacks, the audience has the power to decide its worth. Students can view reading Night in two ways: as an assignment for class or as a way to examine the past. 

Night is introduced to 10th-grade high school students. It is a part of the English ll curriculum, but we do not think Night is being taught for a further understanding of the messages of the story. I asked 20 random sophomores if they believed that Night was taught for a greater understanding of the book or simply to meet the curriculum. 60% of students said that Night was taught for students to earn credit and meet guidelines.

Night makes the events of the Holocaust accessible. However, because we are forced to focus on memorization, plot summaries, and have a lack of discussions, a lot of the deeper meaning of the book is lost. 

The majority of English classes focus on memorization and plot summaries.

George Shrager, sophomore, said, “It gave me a better idea of the monstrosities that happened during the Holocaust, but we didn’t do any analysis at all.”

Night presents the opportunity for students to discuss serious topics such as humanity, hope, and morality. 

Yet, many students are reluctant to participate in class discussions. In many English classrooms, teachers often lead by asking and answering their own questions.

Some English teachers encourage students through book groups. After every few chapters, students would get together in groups to discuss the reading.

Jake Kriwox, sophomore, said, “I think the book groups are good, but there wasn’t enough structure. I don’t feel like important discussions or topics were pushed about.”

Due to classroom structure and limited student participation, students struggle to gain a deeper understanding of the books they study. In an attempt to mitigate this issue, Leesville’s English department has students participate in a Socratic Seminar. 

A Socratic seminar is a discussion, based on one text, with open-ended questions. Students are supposed to be analyzing the text for a deeper understanding of what happened and how it can apply to their lives. Seminars require students to think on their feet, create their own thoughts, and explore open-ended possibilities of the text.

I participated in a seminar for the book Night, and these things were heavily restricted to getting participation credit and working for a good grade. 

Students were confined to asking one question — the basics for getting participation credit — and were denied the opportunity to build off of each other’s questions. We were told to answer the question and move on to the next. 

Many questions were tied to the plot summary or surface-level analysis. Students were not allowed to discuss the overarching theme of morality or relate the text to events of today. 

A tool such as a Socratic seminar can be a great way for students to connect classroom material to their own lives, but when the school system is more focused on meeting standards, that connection gets lost. 

When talking to students about the structure of class, we would have liked to participate in pre-reading activities to further our understanding of the Holocaust. 

Corrie Moore, sophomore, said, “I think my knowledge of the Holocaust is still kind of the same… I wish we would have done something hands-on, but more in-depth where I could view what was happening, what the camps looked like, and how hard it was for them to have relationships with each other.”

Taking a virtual tour of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum before reading can bring a sense of importance to the story’s message. We are reading the book for the horrors to be remembered. If students have the opportunity to learn and explore how the United States is honoring Holocaust survivors, they are more likely to do it themselves. 

After reading the book, instead of a structured seminar, students could work on a project that connects the book to modern-day events.

We could have done a character analysis or explored the state of concentration camps today as a way to deepen our understanding of the book’s themes and their relevance in the modern world.

Spending more time relating the book to other Holocaust survivor stories could have helped students value the message of the story. There are hundreds of TED Talks with Holocaust survivors that can provide other perspectives on the Holocaust. 

We could have analyzed Wisel’s Nobel Peace Prize speech. His acceptance speech carries themes that bring awareness to how naive someone can be in the face of danger. Today, there is a lot of injustice flying under the radar. By using the lessons of the Holocaust, the next generation can take action to protect the liberties of others around the world.

Night brings light — light to the horrors of the Holocaust and light to the power of human will. The way it is currently taught limits deeper understanding, minimizing its importance to just another assignment. 

If books like Night are only taught for credit, students will miss the opportunity to learn critical historical and ethical lessons. If we refuse to engage with the past, we risk repeating it.