History class focuses on more than facts
SAMOHI — Students stood in a circle here on Thursday night, passing around a big ball of rainbow-colored yarn, forming a web.
The purpose of the exercise was to show strength in numbers. Each student holding a piece of string represented a powerful and important link, and if one let go, the whole web would crumble.
These students know all too well the power one person can have. Each participated in Santa Monica High School’s Freshman Seminar — “Facing History and Ourselves” — a history class that goes beyond memorizing names and dates by studying choices made and the consequences of remaining silent while those around you are unjustly persecuted and made to feel inferior.
By committing to be active in their communities, each student who held a piece of yarn was saying loud and clear that they would no longer stand by while others are mistreated.
So goes the success of the seminar. “A lot of things were ridiculous, but as cheesy as some parts of the class were, you did find yourself taking away something from each lesson that helps make you a better person,” said Maisy McVicar, a sophomore at Samohi who joined a handful of her classmates to discuss the impact of the seminar, now in its second year at the high school.
Facing History and Ourselves is a required course for all freshman at Samohi to help students develop confidence in themselves, build tolerance for others and become active in their communities by studying events in history such as the holocaust and the eugenics movement. Students also discuss homo-phobia, racism and class division.
The new freshman seminar was created following a series of racially-charged incidents on campus, in which students of color began lashing out at one another. A group of teachers gathered to discuss ways in which this tension could be addressed. The freshman seminar, which continually evolves, was seen by some as being outdated and ineffective, creating the perfect opportunity for change.
Teachers looked at the success others had using the Facing History curriculum and decided to shape the seminar around that.
“Freshman seminar at that time was really about skill development, but there seemed to be a lack in focus and we felt there were more pressing issues on campus that needed to be addressed,” said Mary Hendra, a former history teacher at Samohi who now serves as an advisor for Facing History. “We really felt the kids were struggling with issues of identity and division into groups and what that means when a community breaks down, because we really did have our community break down.”
A group of teachers presented the plan to the school board in May of last year, and it was approved.
Last year, roughly 850 freshman participated in the Facing History class. Six chose to stay after school for close to three hours Thursday to share how the seminar positively impacted their lives.
“This made a big difference in how I view people,” said Sophomore Dimitry Malkov. “Before, I was very judgmental. I was not as tolerant to others as I am now.
“I began to see people not as this dark gray group but as individuals.”
UNDERSTANDING THEMSELVES For freshman currently enrolled in the seminar, the curriculum has helped them better understand themselves by forcing them to consider what they would do if they were faced with the difficult decisions tackled by those in the past.
“You think identity is about just your personality, but it is so much more than that,” said Freshman Valerie Wacker. “Identity is formed by how you view the world, how others view you …”
When asked if they had heard a racist, sexist or homophobic comment uttered on campus, all of the students said they had.
When asked if they had laughed at a racist, sexist or homophobic remark, most admitted they had.
“It’s hard to deal with that reality,” said Sophomore Katherine Semel. “I’m embarrassed to admit it because this is my school, my community and I am supposed to be proud, and when we admit to something like that, it really wakes you up.”
After discussing the class, students heard from Beverly Hills High School graduate Jennifer Chadorchi, the volunteer coordina-tor for the Greater West Hollywood Food Coalition, which helps feed the homeless.
Chadorchi said she was like many Samohi students in that she came from a loving family, had everything she could ever want and still wasn’t satisfied.
“I took it for granted,” Chadorchi said. “I felt entitled.”
Then one day when she was 17, Chadorchi was driving in her new Range Rover that her parents bought for her when she noticed a line of people standing in the rain. Curious, Chadorchi went to investigate and discovered that the people were waiting hours for food.
“If someone told you to wait an hour in the rain for a Subway sandwich, you’d say ‘no way’ because you know you’ll be fed in a few hours or something,” Chadorchi said. “But these people didn’t have that security.”
Form that moment on, Chadorchi has lived to help others. She organized peanut butter and jelly sandwich drives in which she opened up her home to fellow students to help make sandwiches for the poor. Recently she organized a singles night at the Playboy Mansion in which she raised thousands of dollars for the needy.
“I want to communicate to you that if you feel passionate about something, just don’t give a dollar, or five dollars... give of yourself,” Chadorchi said. “If I can just get one of you to commit to some cause, that would be incredible... You’ll get a lot of jealousy on campus. People will think you are just doing it for the attention or to get in good with a teacher, but you just have to remember the most important thing is that you are doing something because you want to help someone.
“Who cares what other people think?” At the end of the evening, students held the ball of yarn and identified ways in which they could make a difference, from volunteering at local homeless shelters and starting service clubs and campus to getting friends involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. “(Freshman Seminar) has been more than just a history class,” said Sophomore Sarah Gross. “It’s more like a human behavior class. It forces you to look at the other side and how much decisions of the past still effect us today and are still relevant.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 16, 2006. Read the original PDF.