THE Grade 11 pupils of Waterfall College were recently taken on a historical journey at the Holocaust Museum in Durban.The tour included a visit to the Garden of Remembrance, where students spent a few moments of respectful contemplation of those who died in the Holocaust during World War II.
Head of history, Ms Linda Filmer, said, “The motivation for the outing was the Grade 11 IEB syllabus. One of the reasons that I am so passionate about the teaching of history is because it makes us aware of the potential for evil in every one of us. Not only does the Durban Holocaust Centre teach the pupils important lessons about the tragic deaths of millions of people under Hitler’s regime, it also provokes thought about discrimination and prejudice in general, and challenges the pupils to be aware of and confront prejudice whenever they may encounter it. At the end of our tour of the memorial, pupils shared their own experiences of witnessing or of being a victim of discrimination. This powerful exercise really helped to bring home the message.”
Principal of Waterfall College, Jeanette van der Merwe, added, “We encourage lively debate at WFC. By the time our pupils reach matric, they have developed opinions that are not merely based on feelings, but are considered opinions based on research and discussion.”
The Waterfall College team also won the first round of the Rotary Team Talk public speaking contest on Thursday, with their speech: ‘Talking for Tolerance’. In their presentation, three matric girls spoke about each others’ stories and sent a strong message of building tolerance between young people from different backgrounds.
