Tuesday, November 11, 2008

VETERANS DAY WITH MY STUDENTS



I celebrated and remembered Veterans Day with my students today. I made a PowerPoint listing all our nation's wars along with the number who served and died in those wars. I explained to them the meaning of serving your country in a war and what it meant to them as Americans that these men and women sacrificed for them. Too many Americans do not understand that the freedoms we enjoy were bought and preserved with the sacrifice, blood, and sometimes the lives of these heroes.

I wanted them to realize that they are able to enjoy their lives and pursue their dreams because dedicated men and women put their dreams on hold and in too many cases, gave up their dreams. It was touching to see the looks on their faces as they listened and absorbed the sheer numbers of brave Americans who have lost their lives in America's wars. There was no shortage of tears as they realized the gift of freedom that has been given to them by the sacrifices of so many.

I showed this video to every class. The students sat transfixed by the emotions they were feeling. I told about my experiences in the military. I was able to show them pictures of an 18 year old me in uniform as I prepared to leave for SEA. I tried my best to describe to them my emotions at the time and to describe the feelings of soldiers. My feelings were mixed because I was worried about being too intense for them. I wanted to impress upon them that war is not a glorious undertaking. It is a necessary evil and the soldiers mainly worry about survival more than anything else. I told them my wish for them was that there would never be another war and that I hoped they could live their lives without that clouding their future. I told them I want them to be able to achieve their dreams and that war gets in the way of that.

As the class ended a lot of students rushed forward to tell me stories of their relatives who had been in the military and I enjoyed sharing their stories. I think I achieved my goal for the class and that was to educate the students about their great good fortune to be Americans and to never forget the sacrifices of millions upon millions of Americans that keeps them free. I asked them to please remember the images they saw today of the sacrifice of so many heroes who lie in graveyards all over the world. AND TO REMEMBER TO THANK EVERY VETERAN AND SOLDIER FOR THEIR SACRIFICE AND THE GIFT OF BEING AMERICANS WHO ARE FREE.

16 comments:

The Vegas Art Guy said...

so would you be willing to share that powerpoint with interested teachers?

hint hint...

Law and Order Teacher said...

Vegas,
I'd be willing, however, two things. One I'm not the most computer savvy guy, so its pretty basic. Two, let me know where to email it and I will. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks.

Dan Edwards said...

Cool. Have you considered your students writing down their family military history stories and creating a class book or some sort of thing like that.....?

Happy Veteran's Day and THANK YOU for your service.

Tapline said...

L&O Teach, Great Post, Took me back a few years. I am so glad someone has the forsight to tell some of the students what it was like.....Most don't even know where Southeast Asia is. I believe most teachers will have a video on how to get to Canada in case of a war or national emergency. Sorry to put a monkey wrench in it but that's the way it is....I agree with Vagas art guy it should be shown to teachers, most however will not watch it. Make love not war....stay well.....

Big Blue Marble said...

Good post.

So many people like to concentrate on the political rights and wrongs of wars but once on the ground, the men and women are fighting for themselves and their friends. Once you look at it closely, there are some amazing personal stories.

Z said...

Your students are SO LUCKY.

Law and Order Teacher said...

Polski,
That's a great idea. Let me mull it around in my cranium. Thanks for the visit and the idea.

Tap,
I live with the anti-war, Vietnam bad, thing everyday. Screw them. We did our best. Welcome home, brother.

ET,
War is very local. Do what's asked of you and come home. Nothing more, nothing less. Thanks for the visit.

Z,
As usual I love for you to stop by. I am lucky to be a teacher. The students are fine. I love to be with them everyday. What a great job!

Anonymous said...

Law&Order,

Thank you for service, both in the military and in what you do for your students.

Texas Truth said...

I know that was a GREAT lesson and would have loved to been there to witness it. I echo "the vegas art guy" on sharing the power points.

What about it? Just let us know!!!

Law and Order Teacher said...

Nun,
Thanks for the visit. I'm glad to see you getting out again. I did my part and I'm proud to have done so. Thanks again.

TT,
As usual we agree on most everything. I'd be glad to share the power point by email if you like. Otherwise I'm not that great with computers. Thanks for the visit.

The Vegas Art Guy said...

L&O my email is on my profile.

Texas Truth said...

My email is texastruthblog@yahoo.com

Thanks.

AmPowerBlog said...

Awesome post, LOT.

I can't help thinking, sorry, that some of the more liberal/radical students would report me to the administration for pro-war indoctrination if I was able to give an awesome presentation like yours.

Thanks for your service, to country, to community, and to our students.

Law and Order Teacher said...

Dr.D,
Thanks for the visit. I'll continue to teach patriotism until someone stops me. Today some of we teachers posted a beautiful sign in our rooms bearing the motto of the US "In God We Trust" and Ohio's motto "With God All Things are Possible." I wonder how long it will survive. A complaint will cause it to be taken down I'm sure.

Average American said...

Every day those signs stay up is a day that YOU won. Keep up the great work!

Law and Order Teacher said...

AA,
I'll keep up the good fight. I'll keep you informed as to the fate of he signs. It will be interesting, eh?