supercheesegirl

Full title: On Austrian Soil: Teaching Those I Was Taught to Hate. Nonfiction. I found this book because I'm doing research for my composition theory class, and Sondra Perl is the only researcher we've read who really engaged me and whose theories made sense to me, so I started looking up her other work. This book is really a memoir, the story of Perl's teaching experience with a group of master's students in Austria, and the story of Perl, a Jew, confronting her feelings about religion, heritage, and hatred. Sometimes Perl comes across a bit heavy-handed--like she's pushing through an agenda unrelated to the classroom--but she also teaches that the teacher should be fully present in the classroom, and if she didn't talk about the issues she was experiencing, she wouldn't have been true to herself or to her values as a teacher. Overall, Perl is to be admired for her clarity of thought and for her willingness to engage in dialogue with others. Perl is constantly open to dialogue throughout the book; even when talking with former Nazis, she is open to hearing their stories.

This is an excellent book for teachers, possible future teachers, anyone interested in Jewish issues or Holocaust issues, anyone interested in how to foster true communication even through shame and fear. Highly recommended.