The Wave

This novel dramatizes an incident that took place in a California school in 1969. A teacher creates an experimental movement in his class to help students understand how people could have followed Hitler. The results are astounding. The highly disciplined group, modeled on the principles of the Hilter Youth, has its own salute, chants, and special ways of acting as a unit and sweeps beyond the class and throughout the school, evolving into a society willing to give up freedom for regimentation and blind obedience to their leader. All will learn a lesson that will never be forgotten. A high school experiment to test social interaction backfires when an elitist group is formed. What starts as an innocent experiment brings terror to a high school. The Wave is based on a true incident that occured in a high school history class in Palo Alto, California, in 1969. The powerful forces of group pressure that pervaded many historic movements such as Nazism are recreated in the classroom when history teacher Burt Ross introduces a "new" system to his students. And before long The Wave, with its rules of "strength through discipline, community, and action," sweeps from the classroom through the entire school. And as most of the students join the movement, Laurie Saunders and David Collins recognize the frightening momentum of The Wave and realize they must stop it before it's too late The Wave is based on a true incident that occurred in a high school history class in Palo Alto, California, in 1969. The powerful forces of group pressure that pervaded many historic movements such as Nazism are recreated in the classroom when history teacher Burt Ross introduces a "new" system to his students. And before long The Wave , with its rules of "strength through discipline, community, and action", sweeps from the classroom through the entire school. And as most of the students join the movement, Laurie Saunders and David Collins recognize the frightening momentum of The Wave and realize they must stop it before it's too late. A dramatization of an actual classroom experiment in establishing a fascist society. In this account, Laurie tries to persuade Mr. Ross to call off the experiment. Todd Strasser. Laurel Leaf Books. This Work Is A Novelization Of A Teleplay By Johnny Dawkins Based On A Short Story By Ron Jones.--t.p. Verso. Laurie Saunders sat in the publications office at Gordon High School chewing on the end of a Bic pen. "Ben Ross and his history class are about to learn a lesson they will never forget."--Cover, p.4 A high school student's trials and tribulations of growing up.