Military Families
Peter Ortell
Embedded Files
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to...
Explain how factors of military life may influence students’ behavioral and academic performance
List tactics on how to support military families and their children (our students) as educators
Describe the unique challenges and circumstances military families commonly face
Meet Nate
One great example that effectively captures the perspective of a child living the military life is from Nate, a 16 year old who has already lived in more places than many other people have in their lives (Martin, 2022). Nate discusses how answering the question, "where are you from?" is not easy, and he feels like he is from everywhere. Growing up moving every 2-3 years, I can relate to this feeling and it is a complicated emotion for young students to process and have to adjust to. For the 1.6 million children of active military families in the U.S. right now, relocation is a fact of life. Moves are stressful, things get broken, relationships are left behind; it is a life that not everyone can endure easily.
Reflection
As educators, being informed on the impact that the military life can have on our students is very important in knowing how to best teach them to our best ability every day. As someone who went through the first 13 years of my life as a military child, I understand the struggles and think it is important to inform and emphasize the importance of making our military students feel welcome and making their transition as stress-free as possible. As a kid, I was a part of a military brat club at one of my schools, where I connected with other students with parents who were deployed or away. Clubs like this one can help a child cope with their military related stressors and provide them comfort with other kids who are going through similar experiences (Purdue University, 2013). What we need to understand as educators moving forward is that there are ways to truly connect with and support a student through understanding their military struggle, and we should make an effort to implement them.
Multiple Choice
From ages 3-17, children inside of active duty military families are more likely to develop signs of
A. ADHD
B. anxiety
C. behavioral issues
D. healthy classroom habits
According to Purdue University Military Family Research Institute, which of the following is true about students from military families?
A. They tend to have less friends than students not from a military family
B. They deal with stress inside the classroom at a higher rate than their peers
C. Students attending Department of Defense schools score above the national average on standardized tests of achievement
D. Students from military families tend to have more physical outbursts
As educators, which of the following strategies would be best to implement with a student from a military family dealing with a transition?
A. Limit your expectations
B. Do not inquire about their lives outside of school
C. Assign them more placement tests to see where they are at academically since they have transitioned between many school systems
D. Invite service members to visit your class when they return from deployment
References
Briggs, E. C., Fairbank, J. A., Tunno, A. M., Lee, R. C., Corry, N. H., Pflieger, J. C., Stander, V. A., & Murphy, R. A. (2020). Military Life Stressors, Family Communication and Satisfaction: Associations with Children’s Psychosocial Outcomes. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 13(1), 75–87. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.odu.edu/10.1007/s40653-019-00259-z
Mancini, J. A., O’Neal, C. W., & Lucier, G. M. (2020). Toward a framework for military family life education: Culture, context, content, and practice. Family Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 69(3), 644–661. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.odu.edu/10.1111/fare.12426
Martin, N. (2022). My Life With a... Military Family: Nate, 16, has already lived in more places than many people live in their whole lives. Here’s what he wants you to know about the ups and downs of life as a child of a service member. Scholastic Choices, 37(9), 10–13. https://research-ebsco-com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/c/lnv5pa/viewer/pdf/afldgpujcn
Purdue University Military Family Research Institute. (2013). How to help military and veteran-connected children in school settings: A guide for teachers. Retrieved from https://www.mfri.purdue.edu/wp-content/uploads/resources/hth/HowToHelp_Teachers.pdf
S. B. Ruff, M. A. Keim, (2014, April). Revolving doors: The impact of multiple school transitions on military children. The Professional Counselor. 4(2), 103-113. :10.15241/sbr.4.2.103
How I Used AI
I used ChatGPT to assist me in coming up with source material for my lesson essay, which I heavily took from for this lesson. It produced helpful results of recommendations from websites I could visit to government reports, media & videos, and even activity suggestions like interviewing a military family member or veteran. I integrated the results into this assignment by visiting some of the sites it recommended like MFRI and NCFR and finding sources that way. It provided me the boost I needed to get started on my research, as well as giving me more ideas for the future (interviewing a military veteran or child from a military family is something I would like to include for my final lesson).
1 B 2 C 3 D
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