Every year the students in my class are invited to introduce their classmates and me to the Veterans in their lives or Veterans they are or were related to who may have passed. It is a phenomenal opportunity for them to learn more about heroes they are close to, understand better some of their family history, and appreciate that heroes are all around us but are “normal” people.
The students bring photos, newspaper articles, obituaries, medals, and other artifacts and tell us about their loved ones who have served and sacrificed for our nation. We get to meet our classmates’ parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles, brothers, aunts, sisters, neighbors, and friends. It is fascinating, moving, enriching, and enlightening, and the kids get to practice researching and presenting to an audience. We display the photos in the hallway outside our classroom. We might expand the project next year by encouraging the entire school to participate.