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8.6 Road to Ruin (Origins)

ERIN CUNNINGHAM

I'm using the 8.6 Road to Ruin (Origins) resources for the first time and I've found them really useful. The activity is great for showing kids that Britain and France were not in a place to start a fight with Germany. I added a "Country X To Do List" step between the reading and the best/worst case scenario just to show all of the issues Country X would have been dealing with when Germany remilitarized.

However, I did notice that the article included a picture of Churchill showing the "two-fingered salute"! I read somewhere that he didn't realize the palm-inward gesture was offensive. There are other pictures showing him giving the V-for-Victory gesture correctly V Maybe the photos could be swapped........

Parents

  •   Nice catch! This reminds me of one of my favorite Gary Oldman scenes.

    We can certainly put this on our update list to swap, but I'm of two minds. It's kind of a fun opportunity to relate to students. Not the rude gesture, but the misuse/cluelessness from the older generation. They will be familiar with this trope. From what I've heard, Churchill was either unaware of the orientation connotation or just didn't care that much. Both feel pretty on-brand. The V for victory sign was popularized during WW2, in no small part by Churchill himself, despite his apparent cluelessness. So, it was still quite new when he was misusing it, no doubt with many eyerolls and snickers from younger colleagues and members of the public. I'm sure students can think of other examples beyond 6-7.  

    A questiion for you: Is your concern about students being offended or giggling in class or more around historical accuracy? I'm guessing your students are less familiar with the rude connotations than students in the UK would be. Did any of your students notice? 

    Either way, thank you for brining it to our attention!

  • in reply to Bennett Sherry

     thanks for your response! I went on a student trip to Europe in 7th grade and we had it absolutely DRILLED into our heads to never do the reverse peace sign while in England. That warning has stuck with me all these years since.

    To be honest, I made the catch about 30 minutes before school started so I simply removed the picture from the article before copying it for my students. I like the article and the accompanying activity so much because I finally have kids understanding the tough spot Britain and France were in that led to appeasement and I didn't want to distract them away from that understanding! 

    That said, I like the idea of showing Churchill as a "normal" old guy trying to be hip but ending up being "cringe" (even offensive!) instead. There's a lesson in there about cultural norms for sure that could be really interesting and useful for kids. I mean, if it's stuck with me from 7th grade that the reverse peace sign is obscene, it clearly resonates!

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  • in reply to Bennett Sherry

     thanks for your response! I went on a student trip to Europe in 7th grade and we had it absolutely DRILLED into our heads to never do the reverse peace sign while in England. That warning has stuck with me all these years since.

    To be honest, I made the catch about 30 minutes before school started so I simply removed the picture from the article before copying it for my students. I like the article and the accompanying activity so much because I finally have kids understanding the tough spot Britain and France were in that led to appeasement and I didn't want to distract them away from that understanding! 

    That said, I like the idea of showing Churchill as a "normal" old guy trying to be hip but ending up being "cringe" (even offensive!) instead. There's a lesson in there about cultural norms for sure that could be really interesting and useful for kids. I mean, if it's stuck with me from 7th grade that the reverse peace sign is obscene, it clearly resonates!

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