News From The Nest - May 8-12, 2023
Spotlight on Learning: Social Studies 10
This semester in Mr. Porth’s Socials 10 classes we analyzed the incident of the SS St. Louis, a ship with over 900 Jewish immigrants that sailed from Nazi Germany in 1939 seeking freedom from persecution only to be turned away from disembarking in Canada. Having been forced to return to Europe, many of the original passengers were later rounded up by the Nazis and killed during the events of the Holocaust. Students studied how anti-Semitism was a potent force in Canada’s history, influencing all levels of society, from the Prime Minister on down. We considered whether, by turning away the Jewish refugees, Canada played an indirect role in the attempted genocide of Europe’s Jews. Finally, we reflected on if Canadians today have an ethical obligation to remember this dark period of our past, and, if so, then how?
Students who wished to extend their learning were given an additional question to answer: How would you convince the Halifax Port Authority, the organization that manages the current memorial to the victims of the SS St. Louis incident, to replace the current memorial with one of your own creation instead? Students’ proposals needed to be typed and presented in class and needed to include a 3-D prototype of their proposal.
The results were remarkable! Students that opted to create a prototype and a proposal put their creative services to work and made prototypes out of Lego, toothpicks, and art supplies. One student even opted to create a prototype on 3-D software and then screen capture a video “walk through” of his design. Their proposals were thoughtful and creative and demonstrated a high level of engagement with the complex issues around anti-Semitism, memory, loss, and historical judgment.