Butterflies...
In English class we are reading the book Night by Elie Wiesel. And we had an assignment where we had to create butterflies that symbolize ourselves. The butterflies were hung on the ceiling around the classroom about 2 weeks ago and pretty much forgotten about for the time being, until today. Ms. Fraze (my teacher) explained the true purpose of the butterflies, there was a death camp called Terezin where a lot of kids were sent, over 15,000 to be precise. Of the 15,000 only 100 survived. And there is a book that has pictures and poems wrote/drawn by some kids there, called I Never Saw Another Butterfly, in the back of the book is info on some of the kids, like their birthday, the day they were deported, their death day, etc. Ms. Fraze photocopied this and cut it up so that the stories were on little slips of paper and put them into an envelope. What would happen was she would pull a Student ID Number out of another envelope, and who ever had that number had to pull a 'fate' out of the envelope and read the poem written by the person, out loud. If the person died, your butterfly was cut down. If your person lived, your butterfly stayed up until the next time your number was drawn. It was a way to symbolize Selection. I found it a bit nerve-wracking.
So when we first started this, and I found out I actually need to know my Student ID number, I mumbled under my breath to try and remember it. I didn't remember it until the teacher drew the first number, and it turned out to be mine. So I drew a slip of paper, and read page 22 to 24 of I Never Saw Another Butterfly. Here’s the persons bio:
Helga Weissova was born in Prague on November 10, 1929. She was deported to Terezin with her parents on December 17, 1941. She was sent to Auschwitz with her mother on October 4, 1944, and, later, to the work camps of Freiberg and Mauthausen. She survived and returned to Praque, where she studied painting with the Czech artist Emil Filla. Helga Weissova-Hoskova lives and is an artist in Praque.
I can't find a copy of the Poem, but I did find some sources on line that had drawings created by Helga Weissova.
My butterfly still hangs above my desk.
Comments
Someone give Ms. Fraze a medal.
Posted by: Pixy Misa | October 23, 2003 02:09 AM
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That has to be one of the most disturbing methods I've heard of... Not that I think that's bad... Somehow I suspect if someone tried that up here in the garden state, they'd be dragged out and flogged by the same idiots that don't think anyone should fail a class since it might hurt their self-esteem...
My suspicion is you'll remember this exercise forever... Cheers to Ms. Fraze!...
Posted by: Tim | October 23, 2003 08:35 PM
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I couldn't agree more. I think its an awesome way to show us what it really was all about. What I didn't quite mention though is that the Student ID numbers is also away to show us what it was like to be reduced to a single number. Props to Ms. Fraze and the other english teachers..
By the way, did I mention that I'm printing this out and giving it to her? I think it would just be a nice gesture.
Posted by: Mookie | October 23, 2003 08:44 PM
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You've got Ms. Fraze?? i had her when i was a sophmore too!! If you'd told me, i coulda told you about that project.i survived it as well, and agreed w/ it too. kinda sad, and a good way to make you think. Ms. Fraze is an awsome teacher.
Posted by: Tracey | October 24, 2003 10:10 PM
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I would like to reach Helga Weissova-Hoskova. Do you have any idea? Many questions to ask about her work since her sad experience.
Posted by: Mich | March 31, 2004 12:35 PM