Who should be remembered?
Introduction
During the Holocaust and
other periods throughout the past and present, groups of people are persecuted
and oppressed with little attention or relief to stop their horrible, wrenching
grief and death.
Consider this piece
by Martin Niemoeller, a German Lutheran pastor whom the Gestapo arrested
and sent to a concentration camp in Dachau in 1938. The Allied forces
freed him in 1945:
I Didn't Speak Up
In Germany, the Nazis first came for
the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I
wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I
didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.
.
This webquest will require you
to stand up for a group of people that no one stood up for when they needed
it most.
Task
You work for a service organization
trying to heighten awareness of a group's plight.
You and your coworkers are responsible for creating a public service campaign
for your community and the surrounding area. You want your audience
to contribute time and/or money to fund your organization's efforts to
help this group.
Purpose: to increase awareness
(inform and persuade)
Audience: your community and
surrounding area
Subject: a
group of people
Structure: a service campaign
consisting of a monument and at least
two choices, each from a different column
Process
1. Look at these sites of public service
campaigns to become familiar with their purpose and information provided.
What
is Public Service? * FEMA
* NIDA
* Save
the Children * HHS
2. After your manager has given you
a group to address in your campaign, you should first collect information
about the group. Use the Group
Information Page to help you record information. You may
use the Internet links provided and sites
you find on your own, but remember to use encyclopedias and other reference
materials available.
Your
manager must review your research before you continue.
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3. Next, considering the information you
collected, decide on the two structures
you will create with your coworkers to campaign for donations. Consider
the strengths of everyone and what ideas are most effective yet efficient
in your week's project. Use the Who am I? strategy
to plan your group's work and guarantee that work is distributed equally.
Each group member should complete the sheet and show your manager for approval.
Your
manager must approve your WHO AM I?
responsibilities before
you continue.
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4. Once your manager has approved
your campaign responsibilities prepare a list of qualities to describe
your structures. For example, if you want to create a banner,
your manager will want to know its size, color, text, etc. Letter
writers should brainstorm letter qualities in addition to letter contents.
Your group needs a separate list for each structure.
Your
manager must approve your criteria list
for each structure before
you continue.
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5. You are ready to draft your
structures. As you draft, consider the qualities that your manager
approved because this will be used in your campaign evaluation.
6. When you finish a draft
of each of your structures, your coworkers should
compare your draft to your qualities
list. If any quality is missing or inadequate, you should revise
your structure. In addition, check for correct spelling, capitalization,
and punctuation so your audience focuses on your message and not your mistakes.
Show
your manager your drafts and
revision ideas before
you continue.
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7. Now you
are ready to present your campaign. First, develop a plan
for your presentation that includes all your coworkers as speakers.
Decide what important points you want to include and how your structures
can share this information. Practice the presentation so you know
the order, develop transitions, and include the structures.
Evaluation
Your manager will use a rubric
to evaluate your job performance.
Conclusion
Now that you have experience standing
up for a group of people in a formal way on behalf of your service organization
you should consider standing up for those who might be oppressed by others
for different reasons. Always consider who should be remembered today.
Return
to A Warning from History