LISSA CHEN: (in her home office, sitting at her desk with Cade and Logan’s email on her laptop screen) Thank you for getting in touch with me. I must say I’m deeply impressed by your documentation and detailed account of what has transpired.

LOGAN: (sitting at her desk with her laptop ready to take notes) Thank you. Can you help us?

LISSA CHEN: I’ll do my best. I have this job because these situations are so much more common than you’d think. Many of these incidents don’t hit the media. We’re able to deal directly with the school and take immediate corrective measures quickly and quietly.

CADE: (closes the door of the bridal suite he’s cleaning) Do you think that could happen with this assignment?

LISSA CHEN: Absolutely. Recently, a teacher had her students read Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. When they finished, she asked her students to pretend they were the Gestapo who captured the Franks, the Van Pels, and Fritz Pfeffer. The students were supposed to explain their actions. She thought it would help her students be sensitive and sympathetic to Holocaust victims. Not only was this misguided, but several of her seventh graders targeted a younger Jewish student, saying that she and her family deserved to die. We received a call from the parent and together we spoke to the teacher and principal. The principal was horrified. Instead of punishing those students, we brought in a Holocaust survivor’s son and provided effective restorative justice activities. They’re currently in the process of revamping the curriculum.

CADE: (sits on the stone hearth in the suite’s bedroom) And it worked?

LISSA CHEN: We believe so. In your situation, I feel it’s best for me to email your principal. I’ll let him know you have the full support of HPJ and will explain our concerns and give suggestions on how to alter this assignment. There is nothing wrong with learning about the Wannsee Conference and the Final Solution, but it’s completely inappropriate to ask students to represent Nazis and defend the indefensible. People can contort the truth to justify atrocities. Make excuses for the inexcusable. No matter what they conjure in their minds or how society turns away, they’re still responsible. Just like your teacher is responsible for this assignment. Your class could have been researching how the Nazis’ actions were based on pseudo-science, propaganda, lies, and antisemitism.

LOGAN: Exactly. What if Principal McNeil refuses to change the assignment? What will the next step be?

LISSA CHEN: We contact the press. (pauses) Neither of you mentioned your parents. Do you have their full support or support from other adults on this?

LOGAN: My dad was the one who suggested we contact you.

CADE: I haven’t told my parents yet. Do you really think it’s necessary?