Elie Wiesel's Night

I have never read Night before, and I'm honestly shocked I've gone 23 years of my life without reading it. It was beautiful, heart wrenching, emotional, and hard to swallow. Never will I ever read any Holocaust text without being shocked to my very core. The fact that this is a true story, written by the man who survived the horrific events we have only read about, is so crazy to me. I absolutely loved it and completely despised it at the same time. It's not a story that was made up, in the creative mind of an author. It was a completely true, real life nightmare that millions of people didn't wake up from. I think it's a great text to use either instead of, or as an alternative to, The Diary of Anne Frank. Students could have the option to chose between the two texts. I honestly don't know how I would teach either of these texts because it is such a difficult subject, but I do know that it's possible. I went to the Holocaust workshop this weekend in Pullman, and learned some great things about how to effectively teach sensitive subjects like this one in the classroom. We just need to make sure that, as teachers, we are appropriately addressing a subject like the Holocaust, and supporting our students. It's a heavy topic that many will be struggling to grasp. Even outside of the classroom, this book could be suggested to students because, although it is incredibly sad and difficult to read, it is a powerful story about overcoming the odds and surviving one of the most atrocious acts of human evil in history. I cannot say it is one of my favorite books I have ever read, but it is definitely a great book. I'd like to think that I will try and incorporate it in my classroom at some point.