Dear Teacher Letter - We Must Teach Humanity

If you haven't, read the Dear Teacher Letter below:

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Dear Teacher:
I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no man should witness:
Gas chambers built by learned engineers.
Children poisoned by educated physicians.
Infants killed by trained nurses.
Women and babies shot and burned by high school and college graduates.
So, I am suspicious of education.
My request is: Help your students become human. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, educated Eichmanns.
Reading, writing, arithmetic are important only if they serve to make our children more human.
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I first read this letter in June and the content has stuck with me ever since. The most important goal of education is to prepare humane, responsible, kind, and ethical citizens. Students' so-called "academic" performance may speak to their intelligence, but the most noble responsibility of a teacher is to make sure that the students' hearts are in the right places, such as empathy, understanding, patience, tolerance, kindness, etc. Teaching a student to think is not enough; we must teach students to think with their heart.

We must teach humanity, teach character, not just content.


For more information, see Facing History and Ourselves resources at https://www.facinghistory.org/for-educators/educator-resources/readings/education-and-future.