Shane-Thank you for this track talk. Years ago I was selected to participate in the Vietnam Teachers Network.  We met in D.C. and we were asked to pick a solder from our community, write a remembrance, and select an item to leave for them at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  I chose the twin of a neighboring farmer and ultimately I chose to leave some soil from his farm at the memorial.  I can speak to the power of that experience.  I do find it difficult to create authentic experiences like this in a world history classroom. Iowa didn't exist unit my last three units.   I typically have my students investigate the stories of people affected by the holocaust.  Anne's question about long term impact of the work on the students has me wondering if by focusing on one solder each year, the depth of your research, and the connection to your community is more impactful than the approach I have been taking.  I wonder if there is a way to assess that.  For me, the memorial, my neighbors farm, or evening seeing a post from his family on facebook makes me think the the solder I researched.  

I think both approaches can work if they spark interest and learning. This has worked for me and my students, but finding what works best for your school community is important. I met teachers from a High School in Belgium where the school is a 10 minute walk from the Flanders Field American Cemetery. Their students adopt these American soldiers from WW1 and do research to tell their stories. The teachers tell me they get a bit of backlash from locals who think the students should focus on Belgian fallen instead. But they make the point, the cemetery is right next door and a big part of their community. I think there is merit to doing both in this case, and since we can't do it all, sometimes proximity, opportunity and community connection should maybe drive the approach? 

Hey Shane- great talk. I think the empathy piece is huge for the development of young people. Call it SEL- call it good teaching. I remember I had a teacher in high school who had us analyze a graph of deaths in the Civil War. We compared the Northern and Southern strategies and overall populations, etc, etc. The last question compared the number of puppy deaths on both sides. I vividly remember an extra gullible student standing up in protest talking about how horrible that was. Being disappointed and/or amused that someone took the bait, we looked at a couple letters/photographs of soldiers who died in said battles to humanize those large numbers and do some base level psychoanalysis of why so many people cared more about the pups. I think it's similar. In years past, I utilized the trifecta you mentions- proximity, opportunity, and community connection to run a program with a local Rolling Thunder chapter. During the Vietnam unit we would go to the NJ Wall on a class trip where each group was led by a Vietnam veteran. Then before or after Memorial Day, the Rolling Thunder chapter(s) would put on an assembly. It was symbiotic- some of the veterans had never shared their stories and it was part of their process. A couple years ago one of my middle school teachers was given a uniform from a faux funeral given to the family of a soldier from our high school that went in MIA in Cambodia in 1968 and was confirmed to be a POW. He was never found. We studied his yearbooks. Talked to his friends. We even found out that the music teacher at the elementary school lived in his childhood home. His best friend spoke at that year's assembly. There wasn't a cell phone in sight. The kid's were moved. Students who never showed must interest in my class helped me create a shadow box for his uniform that hangs in our hallway. When field trips were put on hold this year, we walked down to the shadow box. We studied his story. It brought the Vietnam War home for a lot of students. 

Hey Shane- great talk. I think the empathy piece is huge for the development of young people. Call it SEL- call it good teaching. I remember I had a teacher in high school who had us analyze a graph of deaths in the Civil War. We compared the Northern and Southern strategies and overall populations, etc, etc. The last question compared the number of puppy deaths on both sides. I vividly remember an extra gullible student standing up in protest talking about how horrible that was. Being disappointed and/or amused that someone took the bait, we looked at a couple letters/photographs of soldiers who died in said battles to humanize those large numbers and do some base level psychoanalysis of why so many people cared more about the pups. I think it's similar. In years past, I utilized the trifecta you mentions- proximity, opportunity, and community connection to run a program with a local Rolling Thunder chapter. During the Vietnam unit we would go to the NJ Wall on a class trip where each group was led by a Vietnam veteran. Then before or after Memorial Day, the Rolling Thunder chapter(s) would put on an assembly. It was symbiotic- some of the veterans had never shared their stories and it was part of their process. A couple years ago one of my middle school teachers was given a uniform from a faux funeral given to the family of a soldier from our high school that went in MIA in Cambodia in 1968 and was confirmed to be a POW. He was never found. We studied his yearbooks. Talked to his friends. We even found out that the music teacher at the elementary school lived in his childhood home. His best friend spoke at that year's assembly. There wasn't a cell phone in sight. The kid's were moved. Students who never showed must interest in my class helped me create a shadow box for his uniform that hangs in our hallway. When field trips were put on hold this year, we walked down to the shadow box. We studied his story. It brought the Vietnam War home for a lot of students.