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Lesson in Apathy

Part I: "Apathy"
Read Eve Bunting's "Terrible Things." Listen to Simon and Garfunkle's "Sound of Silence." Write a brief essay addressing the lessons of "Terrible Things" and your impressions of the song "Sound of Silence." In your essay discuss reasons people remain indifferent in the face of the suffering of others. Include past and current examples of the dangers of apathy.


Reflect on the following questions as you read "The Terrible Things":
What is the poem about?
Who are the "Terrible Things"?
Why didn't the animals resist the "Terrible Things"?
Who might be the "Terrible Things" today?
How are people fighting the "Terrible Things"?
For people who do not resist the "Terrible Things," why don't they?


See me for a copy of "Terrible Things" or visit the link below for an excerpt.
http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch546/annefrankelit/IntoActivities,html/Activ.2.html


Watch "Sound of Silence" performed in Central Park:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kd8xp86reY
"Sound of Silence" Lyrics:
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/simon+and+garfunkel/the+sound+of+silence_20124712.html


Part II "Do Something!"
Visit the link below and answer the two discussion questions.
http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/facingtoday/young-people-who-rock


Part III "Investigate"
Want to learn more about young (and "old") people who ROCK? Visit the links below. Which site or sites did you visit? What are some of the causes people mentioned in the sites below are fighting for? Are you interested in any of these causes? What will you do to make a difference?
http://ypwr.blogs.cnn.com/
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/cnn.heroes/
http://www.dosomething.org/
http://www.idealist.org/kt/
http://www.un.org/works/goingon/goinghome.html


"First they came…" is a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me.














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Comments

ChrisU.S. said…
Part I

1. The “terrible thing” is about racism, and tries to warn us that in order to fight it, we must stay together, because if we don’t, it could be our turn eventually. In the excerpt, the creatures represented different races and cultures, and the humans (terrible things) represented the racist people, or more specifically, the Nazis. The animals (others) didn’t resist them because they believed that the terrible things wouldn’t come for them.
2. “Sound of Silence” seems to be about him trying to get people to speak out about the evils that are happening around, yet no one seems to listen to him, instead continuing to ignore the things, even if they affect the person next to him.
June 20, 2008 at 12:10 PM
ChrisU.S. said…
Part II

1a. What are different ways individuals and groups choose to participate in the civic life of their community? helping out older citizens, cleaning up areas (such as a park), starting an environmental club of some sort.
1b. What motivates people to take action to make the world a better place? the fact that if they don't, their community isn't going to be a very pretty place to live, and won't bring others to visit.
2a. When you see a problem in your community, how do you decide whether or not to get involved? I would decide by seeing how big the problem was, seeing what it would take to fix it, and then think about how much help it would take to make the project feasible.
2b. When you’ve decided you want to get involved, how do you know what to do? I don't. I just do what's needed to help when I'm asked.
June 24, 2008 at 10:07 AM
ChrisU.S. said…
Part III


1. Which site or sites did you visit? http://www.dosomething.org/
2. What are some of the causes people mentioned in the sites below are fighting for? It has just about everything from alcohol abuse to wrongful imprisonment.
3. Are you interested in any of these causes? I'm interested in the one on cancer because noone can really find a way to completely prevent it for some reason, and same with the HIV/AIDS one.
4. What will you do to make a difference? I do what I can. I don't have much money, so financial wouldn't work very well, I've done a school fundraiser for it when I was in elementary school, and if someone needs information on either, I tell them what I know about it.
June 24, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Social Studies Toolbox said…
chrisu.s.- I read your responses. Good job with all three parts. You've satisfied another project requirement.
June 24, 2008 at 11:11 AM
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