(ISRAEL HAYOM) — Eleventh grade students at Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts in the central city of Givatayim were asked to write a suicide note as a homework assignment for an advanced English class.
The assignment was given after the teacher taught the class the poem "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson. It is about a wealthy, kind and well-respected man -- Richard Cory -- who has what appears to be a perfect life, and yet he abruptly commits suicide in the last line of the poem.
"Richard Cory" is authorized to be taught by the Education Ministry, and while it is not a mandatory part of the English curriculum, it is taught at several high schools.
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The controversial homework assignment was designed to have students explore the depths of Cory's character to understand the motives that drive someone with a seemingly perfect life to commit suicide.
