Confronting White Nationalism In Schools
Classroom Resources
Eugenics, Then and Now
Grade Level: 9-12
Objectives
Students will be able to describe the theory behind eugenics and articulate its fundamental flaws.
Students will be able to trace eugenic ideas to their racist, classist, misogynistic, nationalist, and ableist origins.
Students will be equipped to recognize eugenic ideas when they encounter them.
Essential Questions
Why do eugenic ideas resurface throughout history?
How does science influence social beliefs?
How do social beliefs influence science?
Social Justice Standards
Identity 4. Students will express pride, confidence and healthy self-esteem without denying the value and dignity of other people.
Diversity 10. Students will examine diversity in social, cultural, political and historical contexts rather than in ways that are superficial or oversimplified.
Justice 12. Students will recognize unfairness on the individual level (e.g., biased speech) and injustice at the institutional or systemic level (e.g., discrimination).
Justice 13. Students will analyze the harmful impact of bias and injustice on the world, historically and today.
Action 20. Students will plan and carry out collective action against bias and injustice in the world and will evaluate what strategies are most effective.
[https://www.tolerance.org/frameworks/social-justice-standards]
Timeframe
Two 50-minute class periods
Readings
Prior Knowledge
This lesson assumes students have learned that Nazi propaganda and false beliefs about the genetic “fitness” of Jews, LGBTQ people and others were a driver of the Holocaust.
Global Note: Before teaching about sensitive topics such as genocide, racism, antisemitism or any other form of oppression, it is critical to lay a foundation of trust in your classroom. Have you established explicit community norms and agreements for engaging in emotional conversations? Do your students have the language to discuss these issues? Have you done the internal work necessary to address identity, diversity and justice with students?
For more information on preparing to engage emotionally charged topics in the classroom, see Let’s Talk: Facilitating Critical Conversations With Students from Learning for Justice.
Procedure
Before
Post the essential questions in a visible location.
Begin by alerting students that the material in this lesson is sensitive. Remind them of your community norms and agreements. Make it clear that eugenics has been declared a crime against humanity and that the validity of eugenic ideas is not up for debate.
Check for prior knowledge. If necessary, address any gaps in students’ understanding of the Holocaust.
Decide whether students will read the articles in class or whether you will assign them as preparatory reading. Split the class into two groups and assign each group one article.
During
Distribute or post a KWLQ chart with four columns:
Ask students to answer the question in columns 1 and 2: What do I know about eugenics? and What do I want to know about eugenics?
Vocabulary
2. If reading is to be done in class, have students read silently, once. As they read, ask students to identify words they want to know the meaning of. Depending on students’ reading levels, consider providing additional supports such as Text Coding.
3. Post these vocabulary words in a visible location: eugenics, coercive, selective, misogynist and egregious. Ask students to add any other words from the reading that they didn’t recognize.
4. Ask for volunteers to help define each word as a class based on their initial reading. Correct any incorrect definitions.
Close Reading
5. Share with students the Pyramid of Hate. Ask them to identify behaviors and attitudes from the pyramid that they recognize from the reading. How do these behaviors and attitudes indicate society’s willingness to support eugenic practices?
6. Have students read their assigned article again, this time filling out the remaining columns in their KWLQ chart.
Speaking and Listening
7. Put students into groups of four with other students who read the same article. Encourage them to discuss their KWLQ charts and help each other answer any lingering questions about the article.
8. Next, put students into new groups of four composed of 2 students who read each article or excerpt.
9. Ask the students who read the same article to summarize it for five minutes for the rest of the group. Then, switch groups.
10. Have each group of four answer the text-dependent questions (see below).
11. Bring the large group together. As a whole class, clear up any lingering confusion about the text-dependent questions.
12. As a whole class, engage in a dialogue about the three essential questions.
After
Writing
13. Ask students to revisit the Pyramid of Hate. Ask them to write a paragraph responding to the following questions: What power do I hold as an individual to help stop eugenic ideas from escalating from one level to the next? What groups do I belong to or know about that could help stop eugenic ideas from escalating from one level to the next?
Extension
14. Encourage students to research current examples of eugenic ideas and practices. These might include forced sterilization of Indigenous women in Canada, the debates surrounding disability rights and human germline editing, or Britney Spears’ conservatorship.
Text-Dependent Questions
What did supporters of the eugenics movement believe?
Answer: They believed they would improve the human race by encouraging “superior” people (usually wealthier white Protestants) to have more children and preventing people of other identities from reproducing.
What is sterilization abuse?
Answer: forced or coercive sterilization
What do all forced sterilization campaigns have in common?
Answer: They dehumanize a population of people and classify some lives as more worthy than others
When were the first federal guidelines prohibiting forced sterilization enacted in the U.S.?
Answer: 1975
What was the Committee to End Sterilization Abuse?
Answer: An advocacy group formed by women of color to end coercive sterilization through various policy initiatives.
Why did “Mainers” believe the people who lived on Malaga had “bad genes”?
Answer: The people who lived on Malaga were Black and of mixed races. Some of the couples were not legally married. Due to living in an isolated place, they did not know specific facts about modern life.
How did the popularity of eugenic beliefs impact the people of Malaga?
Answer: They were forced to leave their homes. Many of them were put in an institution called the Maine School for the Feebleminded. The state removed all evidence of their community.
How are the states of Maine and California acknowledging their racist eugenic pasts?
Answer: California passed a bill banning state prisons from sterilizing inmates against their will. In Maine, the governor apologized, and the state passed a resolution expressing regret for the mistreatment of the residents of Malaga.