Substitute Teaching
With the in-laws (parents only!) gone to Mexico for a week, I got to step in as a substitute home school teacher. 🙂 In addition to the normal subjects (well, we got most of them done!), we took advantage of several educational opportunities offered in our community. Even our tiny little town has some pretty fun stuff going on! Here are some of the things we learned about:
History – The Vietnam War
What better way to learn about a war than from a veteran? More than just an “eyewitness;” Bruce Knieff was an active participant – in this case, the left door gunner inside a hefty CH-47 Chinook helicopter. Their carefree days as teens and young adults cut short, he was one of many young men drafted to go face death overseas. He told of the war as it really was for the soldiers on the ground, what they ate, what they hauled in his Chinook, and how it felt to be part of a war that was misunderstood by the American public. He was shot down three times.
With emotion he shared this poem, written by his grandfather who sent it to him in a letter when he was on his tour of duty in ‘Nam.
A Soldier’s Story
Harry Edward Knieff Why should I be on this distant shore? In this rice field of blood and gore. I wonder what I am fighting for, In this strange land. When back on the streets of home, Boys of my age are allowed to roam. With their long hair they never comb, And make demands. And officials on every hand, Give in to each new demand, And haven’t the guts to take a stand, But resign instead. Just because they have a face, Doesn’t give a right the flag to disgrace, Send them over to take my place, In this worn torn land. Because see I am no fool, I would be glad to go to school, And gladly obey the strictest rule, And obey all laws. Why should I hear the wounded cry, Why should I suffer here and die, And try to hold the flag up high, While others tear it down. Why fight communism over there When in our schools communists appear, And teach their brand of doubt and fear, To boys and girls. And this fact I now will state, America, turn back before too late, Or we will receive the same fate, Of folks in other lands.
Thank you to all our Vietnam vets, including our own Grandpa Ken Berge, for fighting for freedom in this war, and thank you, Mr. Knieff, for passing your stories on to the next generation.
Geography/Culture – International Day
They’ve hosted exchange students from Germany, Mexico, Switzerland, Australia, Thailand, Denmark (and more, I’m forgetting some). At this year’s “International Day” at the public high school, we got to see Bas, their current exchange student from Switzerland, and lots of other countries represented.
- Hmong traditional costume. Walnut Grove, home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, now has many 2nd-generation Hmong-Americans whose ancestors came from Laos.
And now for a few miscellaneous pictures since I had the camera with me this week, closely documenting everything we did… 🙂
Here’s a parting shot of the preschool boy in the best classroom for his age – the great outdoors! Stay tuned for part 2 of our home school week!
Victoria Morrison
So cool!
Trip Down South - Little School on the Prairie
[…] was a Huey helicopter and it reminded me of listening to the veteran at the library tell his stories. For a movie about how helicopters were used, go here. {Hint: home school history lesson for […]