Wiesel's Night

I just finished reading Night by Elie Wiesel. I often avoid stories like this because of how deeply and darkly they affect their readers. I have learned that a book like this must be read and must be read seriously. This book doesn't allow one to just read and forget. This is a book that will stay with me for forever. It is a story that has to be told and read and realized by the world. I both hate and love this story. I hate that atrocities like this story took place. But, I love that it is being told and that the mistakes of the past are being displayed. We need these stories because if we don't have them, how can we learn? History often repeats itself and even now the world is going through so much horror and pain but when we read a story like Night we are reminded that it is much more dangerous to turn a blind eye than to listen and seek to make a difference.

I would 100% without a doubt teach a story like this in my classroom. It is short and not difficult to read in a language level sense. However, it is powerful. Our students need to know this part of history and they need to be able to read and realize stories like this. We cannot, in good conscience, teach the future of our world without helping them learn from the mistakes and horrors of the past. Students who make a difference are students who are impacted and inspired and deeply affected. I think that this is a story that can be used with a variety of language levels and can also be delved into much more deeply than a longer and more difficult text. I think this book would be fantastic for a unit on the holocaust because it is so accessible and so powerful.