Introduction

My name is Michael Ceruolo and I am a senior at Westborough High School. This year I decided to take the course Facing History and Ourselves as one of my three electives. There were several reasons that caused me to make my decision to take this course. The first reason that I took this course was due to Mr. Gallagher’s high praise of the course. During my sophomore U.S. History class, Mr. Gallagher talked about the curriculum of the Facing History and Ourselves course. Though I will admit that my opinion of Mr. Gallagher influenced my choice to take the course, the majority of my decision was based on this curriculum which contained several elements of history that I had never learned about. My previous knowledge of the Holocaust was very minimal and Facing History and Ourselves allowed me to study the area much more in depth. Facing History is a course that through the use of a wide variety of primary sources, videos, and pictures causes those taking it to look more closely at themselves. Though it focuses heavily on the Holocaust, it also covers topics such as the Armenian and Rwandan Genocides. On top of these interesting topics, I have had a lot of friends that have taken this course. I can honestly say that not a single one of those who have taken the course have thought negatively of it. With a virtually perfect track record, interesting curriculum, and one of my favorite teachers teaching it, there was no doubt in my mind that Facing History and Ourselves course was the perfect course for me.