8th-graders given Hitler-themed assignment to rate Nazi monster as a ‘solution seeker,’ ‘ethical decision-maker’
An Adolf Hitler-themed question-and-answer assignment given to students at a private school in Atlanta has sparked outrage among parents over its suspected antisemitic nature.
Eighth-grade students at the Mount Vernon School in Atlanta were given a series of questions asking them to rate some of the characteristics of Adolf Hitler — the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, whose antisemitic ideology fueled the Holocaust — as a leader, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
One question posed to students asked, “According to the Mount Vernon Mindset rubric, how would you rate Adolf Hitler as a ‘solution seeker’?”
A second question asked how students would “rate Adolf Hitler as an ethical decision-maker?”
For both questions, the students were given the option of selecting “Lacks Evidence,” “Approaching Expectations,” “Meets Expectations” or “Exceeds Expectations” to describe the ruthless dictator.
The bizarre questions ignited outrage among parents — many of whom were concerned the queries were antisemitic by nature, according to the outlet.
Students at the private school also had issues with the questions, with one telling the outlet the assignment was “troubling” and could be seen as glorifying the warmongering totalitarian leader.
“Obviously, that looks horrible in the current context,” another student told the outlet. “Knowing Mount Vernon, we do things a little odd around here.”
The student added that the school is known to “try to think outside the box” but shared that “oftentimes that doesn’t work.”
Several former students told Fox 5 that those questions weren’t given to them during eighth grade.
While many parents and students were shaken over the assignment, one student believes the school attempted to pose a historically provocative question that required students to use their critical thinking skills.
“I can definitely see why they’d be upset, but overall, I think it’s important to look at both sides of the coin in every situation, and I think it’s important to be able to compare and contrast everything that’s happened in our world history, whether it’s been good or bad,” said the student.
Upon learning the phrasing of the questions in the assignment, Mount Vernon officials said they had removed it from the school’s curriculum.
The principal of Mount Vernon, Kristy Lundstrom, wrote in a statement that the assignment was “an exploration of World War II designed to boost student knowledge of factual events and understand the manipulation of fear leveraged by Adolf Hitler in connection to the Treaty of Versailles.”
“Immediately following this incident, I met with the School’s Chief of Inclusion, Diversity, Equality, and Action, Head of Middle School, and a concerned Rabbi and friend of the School who shared the perspective of some of our families and supported us in a thorough review of the assignment and community impact.”
“Adolf Hitler and the events of the time period are difficult and traumatic to discuss.”
The private school, about 16 miles outside downtown Atlanta, is a “co-educational day school for more than 1200 students in Preschool through Grade 12,” according to the institution’s website.
“We are a school of inquiry, innovation, and impact. Grounded in Christian values, we prepare all students to be college ready, globally competitive, and engaged citizen leaders,” its mission statement reads.
