Reflections
Student Reflections
Student Reflections
"How can he remember exact dates from almost 70 years ago?"
"How can he remember exact dates from almost 70 years ago?"
"I can't believe they came all this way just to speak with us."
"I can't believe they came all this way just to speak with us."
"I hope they write back to us."
"I hope they write back to us."
(They did.)
(They did.)
"It was such an honor to meet them - I'll never forget it."
"It was such an honor to meet them - I'll never forget it."
"Interviewing was the best part. Rewriting the letters over and over was the hardest - but I learned a lot."
"Interviewing was the best part. Rewriting the letters over and over was the hardest - but I learned a lot."
"I didn't think I could do it, but once we started I was alright. He was so nice to us."
"I didn't think I could do it, but once we started I was alright. He was so nice to us."
"Can I speak at the assembly about this?"
"Can I speak at the assembly about this?"
(She did. In front of the entire school.)
(She did. In front of the entire school.)
Community Reflections
Community Reflections
"It's taken me over 60 years, but tonight I finally feel like a hero. To see that young man speaking tonight - I didn't know he had it in him. He spoke with real copy and I'm so proud of him."
"It's taken me over 60 years, but tonight I finally feel like a hero. To see that young man speaking tonight - I didn't know he had it in him. He spoke with real copy and I'm so proud of him."
"Thank you. Before this project, my brother never talked about his experiences in Korea. Now, the stories are coming out and he is even talking about writing a book."
"Thank you. Before this project, my brother never talked about his experiences in Korea. Now, the stories are coming out and he is even talking about writing a book."
"It's so important for young people and older people to spend time together. It benefits everyone. Thank you for the chance to get to know these students."
"It's so important for young people and older people to spend time together. It benefits everyone. Thank you for the chance to get to know these students."
Teacher Reflections
Teacher Reflections
This was one of my first forays into student-directed learning. Admittedly, I was apprehensive and filled with doubt: "Can I really do this? I don't know what will happen." Thankfully, somewhere along the way "I" was replaced with "we." That's the big difference - "assigning" was replaced with asking questions: "What should we do next? What will we need to pull off this presentation and make it meaningful? Who can help us? How do you want to go about interviewing veterans? What are we going to ask them? How do we decide?" The process of allowing for imperfection and empowering students to create meaningful experiences for themselves left a lasting impression on myself, the students, their new friends, and their families.