A school district in New Jersey is defending a teacher and fifth-grade student over a controversial writing assignment. Students were tasked with writing an essay in the first person, touting the accomplishment of historical figures.
One student decided to write about Adolf Hitler, and the teacher agreed. After the student turned in the essay, it was posted on the wall of Maugham Elementary School. A concerned parent shared the photo of the essay in a post on Facebook that is currently unavailable.
"My greatest accomplishment was uniting a great mass of German and Austrian people behind me," the student wrote. "I was pretty great, wasn't I?"
"I was very popular, and many people followed me until I died. My belief [sic] in antisemitism drove me to kill more than 6 million Jews," the student continued.
The parent also claimed that the student dressed up as Hitler when they turned in the assignment.
The photo went viral, and the teacher was condemned by numerous people and groups, including the Anti-Defamation League.
"Educational assignments, especially those centered around the history of genocide and oppression, need to be handled carefully and sensitive to those who may be personally impacted," Scott Richman, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League's New York and New Jersey branch, said in a statement. "We have reached out to local school officials and look forward to offering our support to the school and district to address this situation and build stronger educational practices moving forward."
The Tenafly School Board said that it will investigate the incident but stood by the teacher and student. Officials accused people of taking the assignment out of context and said, "it is unfair to judge any student or teacher in this matter."
"The assignment (which was given by a teacher who happens to be Jewish) asked students to speak from the perspective of one of these individuals and how they might have perceived and rationalized their actions," the statement said. "When people saw the students' projects, which were displayed in the school, they did not understand the assignment, resulting in justifiable concerns."
Photo: Getty Images