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What I Do When My Students Praise Hitler
Teachers aren’t supposed to be political, but we have to be.
One of my students started praising Hitler during a class discussion. It was the first time he’d talked all semester, a few days after the 2016 election. “He was a great leader, just with really different ideas.” Yeah, I guess genocide counts as a really different idea.
Fortunately, a few students spoke up. They asked how he defined a “great leader.” Because in most ways, Hitler wasn’t one.
So we talked about Hitler for a few minutes. Yeah, in an English class. Even though it wasn’t my job — technically. Even though I’m not an expert on history, WWII, or Germany. Even though I’m untenured.
It’s a sad day when you worry about getting fired for expressing your views, as a teacher, on Nazis.
But I’ve always loved a good risk. So we took the plunge. My class discussed Hitler’s style of persuasion, how he mainly whipped people into a frenzy and stoked their worst inclinations. Hate. Fear. Tribalism.
All the stuff Yoda told us to avoid.
We concluded that a good leader doesn’t plunge his country into war, and exterminate his own people. Then I went back to my office and waited for the administrative blowback. None came. Whew.
