The Wave was a Good Idea

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When something like the Wave comes along, so promising and full of energy and optimism, people are bound to be caught up in it. The students at Gordon High got "swept up" in the ideals and promises of the Wave. No matter how poorly it may have turned out, though, the Wave did start as a good idea. It attempted to make all students equal, to eliminate competition and create a feeling of unity, and, most importantly, to teach the students in Mr. Ross class about Nazi Germany.

The Wave eliminated cliques and accepted outcasts. It made students like Robert Billings accepted by their peers. No student was left out, and all of the original Wave members even sat together at lunch. Robert spoke up without being made fun of, and even Brad, a boy who used to torment him relentlessly, accepts him as an equal. No student is considered better or not as good as another student within the Wave. Perfect equality is established, although at the cost of individuality.

As the Wave progressed, Mr. Ross noticed the students as a whole were doing better on tests and quizzes. It seemed there was no longer any competition for grades. Rivalry between two students and best friends, Laurie Saunders and Amy Smith, disappeared. Amy had always competed with Laurie for grades, friends, and boys. She loved the Wave because, as a member of it, she didn?t have to constantly compete anymore. Mr. Ross also encouraged the students not to work toward being the best, but to focus on the common goal of the class ? working together as one to achieve what they seek. By doing this, they utilized the section of the Wave motto ?Strength through Community?.

Of course, the most important reason it was a good idea is that it taught the students exactly what it intended to ? about being swept up into a large group, about losing the ability to think for oneself, and about unquestioningly following a leader. Many students had thought that nothing like the Holocaust could ever happen again. Only when Mr. Ross snapped them out of their ?Wave? mentality did they realize it almost did. It taught the students to think for themselves and be responsible for their own actions. The excuse of ?just following orders?

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