So last week I started my unit on The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien (link on Amazon). It's an awesome book, and the kids are always really into it... so my challenge this year was to make this unit more purposeful. To give it a real clear objective.... Right now, I've decided that it's about students understanding the real experience of soldiers, and knowing that if they are going to support a war, they need to understand what exactly it is they are supporting.
The stories deal primarily with, as the title says, the things soldiers carry, both physically, emotionally, and mentally. It becomes quickly apparent that the intangible weights are far heavier than the tangible ones, and many soldiers come home with lasting effects of the soldier's lifestyle. While the book is about Vietnam, I want students to see that this is not a unique experience, and we have soldiers today dealing with the very same issues as Tim O'Brien's characters. I think for their final assessment, they are going to be asked to write a paper proving that very idea -- that the issues O'Brien are concerned with are not unique to Vietnam, but are still issues to combat veterans today.
After seeing the success of using a documentary in the forgiveness unit, I'd like to use another film for this unit. Two I have watched are Soldiers of Conscience, which is about soldiers struggling with the question to kill or not to kill, and This is Where We Take Our Stand, a documentary by Iraq Veterans Against the War about their desire to share their experiences via the 2008 Winter Soldier hearings. I need to really pin down the goal of showing a film, and decide where to go from there....
I also want there to be some application piece -- something the kids DO with what they learn. That's currently my big question mark...
Anyway, that's where I am at the moment. I hope you are all well :)
Hugs,
Laura
The stories deal primarily with, as the title says, the things soldiers carry, both physically, emotionally, and mentally. It becomes quickly apparent that the intangible weights are far heavier than the tangible ones, and many soldiers come home with lasting effects of the soldier's lifestyle. While the book is about Vietnam, I want students to see that this is not a unique experience, and we have soldiers today dealing with the very same issues as Tim O'Brien's characters. I think for their final assessment, they are going to be asked to write a paper proving that very idea -- that the issues O'Brien are concerned with are not unique to Vietnam, but are still issues to combat veterans today.
After seeing the success of using a documentary in the forgiveness unit, I'd like to use another film for this unit. Two I have watched are Soldiers of Conscience, which is about soldiers struggling with the question to kill or not to kill, and This is Where We Take Our Stand, a documentary by Iraq Veterans Against the War about their desire to share their experiences via the 2008 Winter Soldier hearings. I need to really pin down the goal of showing a film, and decide where to go from there....
I also want there to be some application piece -- something the kids DO with what they learn. That's currently my big question mark...
Anyway, that's where I am at the moment. I hope you are all well :)
Hugs,
Laura
What a great topic for discussion, Laura. It was cool to hear that the kids got to connect w/ your friend Mario, too.
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