ERIC Number: EJ779241
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Nov
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0036-6439
EISSN: N/A
Confronting a Neo-Nazi Hate Group
Furin, Terrance L.
School Administrator, v64 n10 p32-36 Nov 2007
The peaceful quiet that often accompanies the warming of a mid-April morning in a rural/suburban school district outside Philadelphia was broken harshly when several alarmed high school students arrived at school with Neo-Nazi flyers. The flyers were designed to recruit new members into a hate group calling itself the Pottstown SS. In addition, the group attempted a show of strength by calling for a boycott by students of all the district's schools to commemorate the anniversary of Heinrich Himmler's death. The flyer contained a rough drawing of Himmler, chief of the German police, flanked by swastikas and twin thunder/lightning bolts meant to replicate the dreaded SS insignia. Dramatically, one of a superintendent's most-dreaded nightmares is a community upheaval fed by rampant rumors and fears of violence caused by a clash between students and members of an organized group. This article describes the author's experience as a former superintendent near Philadelphia in finding teachable moments for a community in crisis through the creation of a public pedagogy.
Descriptors: Suburban Schools, Superintendents, High School Students, Rural Areas, Death, Racial Bias, Violence, Fear, Organizations (Groups), Teaching Methods, Community Problems
American Association of School Administrators. 801 North Quincy Street Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22203-1730. Tel: 703-528-0700; Fax: 703-841-1543; e-mail: info@aasa.org; Web site: http://www.aasa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Administrators
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: American Association of School Administrators, Arlington, VA.
Identifiers - Location: Pennsylvania
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A