Veterans in the Classroom

Connecting Veterans and Active Service Personnel to Social Studies Classrooms

The most obvious connection for inviting a veteran or active service member into a social studies classroom is to speak to students about days of remembrance), a specific war or the life of a soldier. However, there are many places in our curriculum where local veterans can be an excellent resource. While Veterans Day and Memorial Day are obvious classroom connections, we encourage teachers to consider opportunities like those listed in the OCSS Veterans in the Social Studies Classroom Resource.
The booklet provides:
  • curricular connections
  • tips for both the teacher and the guest speaker in preparing for classroom visits
  • links to educational programs and resources
  • flag etiquette and folding ceremony information
  • links to state and national veteran organizations
Download the Veterans in the Classroom booklet!
Teaching about veterans is part of an larger mission for social studies teachers: citizenship education and teaching about civic ideals and practices (Theme 10, NCSS Standards). There is a healthy debate in our society about the meaning of civic education, patriotism, and civic ideals. The National Council for the Social Studies offers practical guidance for social studies educators on these and other topics. We encourage all social studies teachers to review the NCSS National Curriculum Standards, the NCSS position statements, and the article “Should Social Studies Be Patriotic.”
NCSS National Curriculum Standards – http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands
NCSS Position Statements on A Vision of Powerful Teaching and Learning in the Social Studies: Building Social Understanding and Civic Efficacy,  Academic Freedom and the Social Studies Teacher, Creating Effective Citizens, Preparing Citizens for a Global Community, Service-Learning: An Essential Component of Citizenship Education
Article: Should Social Studies Be Patriotic? Social Education, v73 n7 p316-320 Nov-Dec 2009
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ864090&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ864090
“A brief narrative description of the journal article, document, or resource.In November of 2001, less than two months after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Nebraska’s state board of education approved a patriotism bill specifying content for the high school social studies curriculum in accordance with the state’s 1949 statute–the Nebraska Americanism law. Nebraska was not alone. Within a few months, more than two dozen state legislatures introduced new bills or resurrected old ones aimed at either encouraging or mandating patriotic exercises for all students in schools. Seventeen states enacted new pledge laws or amended policies in the 2002-2003 legislative sessions alone. Since then more than a dozen additional states have signed on as well. Thirty-five states now require the pledge to be recited daily during the school day. Across the country, state legislatures and even the federal Department of Education have aimed policies at recapturing what many citizens see as a lost sense of pride in America. What it means to be patriotic, however, is a matter of considerable debate. Some believe that patriotism requires near-absolute loyalty to government leaders and policies. Others see patriotism as commitment not to the government, but rather to “ideals”: democratic ideals such as equality, compassion, and justice. Still others advocate a healthy skepticism toward governmental actions in general, but prefer to close the ranks during times of war or national crisis. Indeed, there are as many ways to express commitment to country as there are ways to show commitment to loved ones or friends. Nowhere are the debates around the various visions of patriotism more pointed, more protracted, and more consequential than in schools. In this article, the author discusses whether and how to teach patriotism as part of social studies education. “
Source: ERIC – Educational Resources Information Center: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ864090&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ864090