EdCafe Reflection

Yesterday our class embarked on a voyage into the 21st century with something called an EdCafe. For two classes beforehand we had been researching a World War II-related topic, and during our EdCafe we each led a small group discussion on our topic.

Well, that was the idea at least. In the end, each "discussion" was really just a presentation by the lead student on the topic they led. It was great to hear about some of the lesser-known figures and battles and whatnot, but I think the point was lost a little bit. There was a lot of talking and hearing, but not much speaking and listening.

I think this is kind of inevitable given the circumstances. The only place we really have discussions on anything is English class, and even then there's a topic that was chosen by the teacher and some times the teacher will gently nudge the class in a specific direction. Expecting students to discuss to lead discussions on anything might be a little optimistic.

I think there are two things that are necessary for making EdCafes work. The first is consistency. If we devoted one week in a month to an EdCafe, by November we'd all get the gist of it and I think EdCafes would be wildly successful. I also think if, before we started researching our topics, the fact that EdCafes are built around discussions was stressed a bit more we would've done much better. We were all looking for answers instead of questions.

EdCafes could be really neat. We just need to find a way to make discussions the focus instead of lectures.

American and German Propaganda

After watching the start of both Triumph of the Will and Why We Fight back to back, I was struck by one key difference: Triumph of the Will was a clearly nationalist "documentary" about the government that created it, while Why We Fight was a subtly nationalist "documentary" that promoted its government by placing itself in opposition to the enemy. While the Nazi Party was trying to rile up support for a way by loudly declaring that Germany was in the right, the American government simply pointed out faults in its opposition. 

That's a key difference because, while the Americans were clearly implying that they knew the "real" way to affect change in the world, that "rightness" was supposedly demonstrated by the "wrongness" of other doctrines. This is an important part of American identity. From monarchy to communism, the US has debated and fought against forms of government that it saw unfit for the modern world. You'll hear the names of these systems of government casually thrown around on the political stage. The worst thing you can be called is a fascist, or a Nazi, or a communist. 

So Why We Fight was, as the title suggests, an explanation for the American people. While completely condescending and without acknowledging the damage the Allies did at Versailles, the movie did a pretty goof job of outlining what was wrong with recent developments. I don't think there are many people who would be comfortable saying that 1930's Japan was moving in a good direction. I think that's true for 1930's Germany and 1930's Italy as well. But who knows. Maybe we've all been raised on propaganda.