JFI Veteran Volunteer Works with Teachers in Arizona
This month, our Veteran Volunteer Spotlight is shined on Bob Madden, a long-time JFI volunteer who has been giving classroom presentations in the greater Phoenix, AZ area for more than five years.
The Beacon (TB): Please tell us about your military service.
Bob Madden (BM): I served with the 173rd Airborne in Viet Nam, and then taught at the Airborne School at Fort Benning and earned the rank of Captain before leaving the military in 1973.
TB: How did you first hear about the Joe Foss Institute?
BM: I don’t remember how I first heard about it, but I have loved being a part of it and appreciate having the opportunity to help inspire patriotism in the classroom.
TB: What motivated you to get involved?
BM: I really care about patriotism in schools, and I want to see it promoted. If you read Joe Foss' book, you'll see that's what he cared about, too.
TB: Tell me about your experience volunteering?
BM: I really enjoy getting into the classrooms and talking with the students. I believe it is incredibly important for me to NOT simply do all the talking, but to get the children talking, too. I feel like a presentation has been a good one when the students talk as much as I do, and when there is a lot of give-and-take.
Also I have enjoyed the relationship I have developed with Dylan [ Ed. Note: Dylan is the Joe Foss Institute Program Coordinator who works with teachers and veterans in Bob’s region to schedule presentations]. He and I have become friends over the last three or four years, and I have enjoyed that as well.
TB: When Dylan calls and says a teacher has requested a classroom presentation, what do you do next?
BM: To help prepare for my visit, I start by talking to the teacher. This only succeeds—really succeeds—when we (the teacher and I) are working as a team. The teachers I’ve worked with have been great. We discuss what they would like me to cover. We discuss where the teacher would like the students to be when I walk out, and I share where I would like the students to be when I walk out, so we set those goals together. Obviously when a JFI Veteran Volunteer like me walks into a classroom, we do so with a plan in mind, but that plan will vary depending on the age of the students.
TB: What is your goal with younger students?
BM: For any age student, the thing that always goes through my mind is this: I have accomplished my goal when the students themselves start to talk about patriotism and their families and how important it is to be an American.
I like to ask students questions to get them talking, and to help me understand what they know: What freedoms do they enjoy? What are freedoms? Why do we have those freedoms? Why does that matter? How do we preserve those freedoms?
But making my presentations age-appropriate is very important, so I do take their ages into account: how much they know, how much they can retain, and how I want them to feel when I leave.
TB: How do you want them to feel when you leave?
BM: I want them to feel energized and patriotic. I want them to feel proud to be an American and thankful for our freedoms. That is a big goal for the younger students. For older students you can go a bit deeper.
Older students want to know more about “Why?” and we go into more depth on the Constitution and Bill of Rights. This often leads to a discussion about why the Constitutional Convention was important, and about what it looks like to negotiate and find a middle ground.
TB: Can you share a story or anecdote about a student or incident that was particularly memorable?
BM: I think the thing that will stick with me the most is this: I’ve never had a bad classroom. The students in the classrooms I’ve visited are always well-prepared for the discussion and their responses typically reflect what they have been talking about in the classroom before I arrived. All I’m doing is picking up the ball and running with what their teachers have already started. I’m not trying to be the whole show, I’m there to supplement what the teachers are doing, and I enjoy that.
TB: What would you tell a veteran who was considering volunteering but who might be hesitant, for any number of reasons?
BM: I can't imagine that any veteran would NOT want to go into schools and interact with school children -- it is just a great opportunity.
TB: Thank you so much for volunteering, and for investing in the lives of tomorrow’s leaders through the work of the Joe Foss Institute.
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All schools that invite the Joe Foss Insitute to bring its Veterans Inspiring Patriotism program to their campus are eligible to receive free American flags for their classrooms, along with copies of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
This program is delivered at no cost to schools by The Joe Foss Institute. The Institute does not promote any political, religious or military organization or agenda.
If you would like to schedule your school or youth group for a presentation, simply fill out our online request form with your desired presentation date.
If you are a veteran or active duty service member and would like to volunteer to give presentations, please fill out this form.
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