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Friday, 11 June 2010 |
On June 10, 2010, Rocky Run Middle School, in Chantilly, Virginia, hosted its annual World War 2 Day, an extraordinary event designed to bring together World War II veterans, civilian volunteers from the war, and the school's students in small group settings.
This school-wide event--called "The Greatest Generation Meets the Latest Generation"--is a tremendous example of how a school can make a powerful impact on its students by inviting veterans into the school to interact with students.
Each year, as part of the event, the school's Oral History Project arranges a series of interviews for each veteran and volunteer attendee, in which small groups of students (usually four to six) actually sit down and spend 30 to 45 minutes asking questions and interacting with the guest.
In a number of cases, these student-led interviews were recorded (by students) in the school's Oral History Center, and will be sent to the National Archives to become part of our national record. Over the course of the day, each attendee hosted five to six groups of students, and thus was interviewed repeatedly.
This year, more than seventy veterans of the war attended, along with nearly thirty more volunteers and civilians who each played a role in the war. The name for this year's event was "The Greatest Generation Meets the Latest Generation."
The Joe Foss Institute was pleased to support the effort and is excited to be developing a partnership with the school's Oral History Project. In the coming months, watch for instructions on how your school can create and host a similar day for your students. |
