The teachers, like the students, reflect on their own experiences and openly share what they find. Teacher Linda Hooper says, “I have learned more from this project than I ever could have taught.”
Teacher David Smith said:
“I believe people from the north and the west, I believe when they look at children of the South, they think, ‘dumb little redneck children.' They are stereotyped and that's what we are trying to teach in this project. You can't stereotype anyone because you yourself are stereotyped. I am stereotyped because I live in the South. I look at people who live in the North and I have a bad habit of doing it - I stereotype. And that is what we are trying to do - break those stereotypes.
The paper clip drive prompted incredibly moving, personal comments to the students in letters from survivors, not to mention actual visits. The most moving letter from a Holocaust survivor reads:
I witnessed what intolerance and indifference can lead to... The teaching of tolerance is alive and well and bears fruit. When I heard about your project, I cried. You are the testament that a new age has dawned: The age of responsibility and the age of kindness of the heart. You are living proof that each and every one of us can make a difference and do his part to shape a better world. When you ask the young and innocent, they will do the right thing. With tears in my eyes, I bow my head to you. Shalom."
The movie reinforces a thesis I stated in a Blogcritics article: That it can be helpful to use items — be they paper clips or piles of shoes representing people murdered by the Nazis — to help people reflect on the enormity of the Holocaust.
The most compelling part of this story is not really the paper clips but the people –- the teachers, principal, students, and a pair of German reporters. These people work so hard to make sure that not only do students and others learn from the past, but that they can avoid repeating such heinous crimes in the future.
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1 - Scott Butki
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