Throughout the months of November and December, I spend much of my time speaking to students; presenting a program on WWII based on the book, "All my love, George...Letters from a WWII hero".
The presentation consists of interacting with students to find out what they know about WWII, a brief reading from the book itself, letting students look through George's original letters, pictures, the medals he was awarded for his service, and other war memorabilia, and answering their many questions. I love doing this. I'd do it just about every day if I could--and here's why.
1: I love spending time with middle school thru high school kids. Yah, I know--that qualifies me as crazy as far as a lot of you are concerned, but so be it. I just really enjoy tweens and teens.
2: I love sharing George's story. In telling George's story through his letters and the thoughts of the little brother he was writing to, (sixty plus years after the fact), we literally get to step back in time into their lives. We experience things from their perspective instead of just reading the facts.
3: I love explaining to students WHY they are able to enjoy the privileges they have and show them the faces of some who made their lives possible.
Did you get that--the fact that I have to explain why? When we say things like, "We must always remember," or "Let us not forget...." young people don't have any idea what that means because they don't have memories to remember. Think about it--they can't remember what they didn't experience. I can't even remember, because I wasn't there, either. Were you?
The point I want to make is this: We have to stop expecting our kids to remember the men and women who served and died selflessly for our benefit. Instead, we need to teach them who these men and women were, teach them the realities of WWII (and war in general), and teach them to honor and respect the history of our nation and the people whose lives and deaths authored that history.
Parents, if we want our children to have a future in the greatest nation on earth, we need to teach them to live lives of gratitude and respect for the greatest generations--those who fought to make and keep us great and free.
Love,
Momma D
No part of this can be used or copied without permission by the author. Copyright 2019 Darla Noble.
The presentation consists of interacting with students to find out what they know about WWII, a brief reading from the book itself, letting students look through George's original letters, pictures, the medals he was awarded for his service, and other war memorabilia, and answering their many questions. I love doing this. I'd do it just about every day if I could--and here's why.
1: I love spending time with middle school thru high school kids. Yah, I know--that qualifies me as crazy as far as a lot of you are concerned, but so be it. I just really enjoy tweens and teens.
2: I love sharing George's story. In telling George's story through his letters and the thoughts of the little brother he was writing to, (sixty plus years after the fact), we literally get to step back in time into their lives. We experience things from their perspective instead of just reading the facts.
3: I love explaining to students WHY they are able to enjoy the privileges they have and show them the faces of some who made their lives possible.
Did you get that--the fact that I have to explain why? When we say things like, "We must always remember," or "Let us not forget...." young people don't have any idea what that means because they don't have memories to remember. Think about it--they can't remember what they didn't experience. I can't even remember, because I wasn't there, either. Were you?
The point I want to make is this: We have to stop expecting our kids to remember the men and women who served and died selflessly for our benefit. Instead, we need to teach them who these men and women were, teach them the realities of WWII (and war in general), and teach them to honor and respect the history of our nation and the people whose lives and deaths authored that history.
Parents, if we want our children to have a future in the greatest nation on earth, we need to teach them to live lives of gratitude and respect for the greatest generations--those who fought to make and keep us great and free.
Love,
Momma D
No part of this can be used or copied without permission by the author. Copyright 2019 Darla Noble.
