Local veterans help wrap up history unit

PLAINS – Just in time for Veterans Day, two junior high classes at Plains Public Schools dedicated their time to learn more about local veterans in the area.

After a month long unit, which discussed the U.S. Constitution and veterans, U.S. History teacher, Keith Baker, decided it would be a good idea for his seventh and eighth grade classes to meet a few veterans firsthand. He hoped the experience would solidify that veterans were everyday people, living in the community around them.

The three VFW members sat in front of the classroom, yielding questions from the inquisitive students.

All three were veterans of the Vietnam War and included Joe Eisenbrandt, Larry Smith and Otto Otnes.

As the students bombarded the veterans with questions, they were able to put a cap on a unit that was in the works for weeks.

According to Baker, the classes started the project by learning the basics.

“We were emphasizing this country, the constitution and the responsibility that came with that,” explained Baker. “As part of the responsibility of being a citizen you get into things like Veterans Day. We are trying to tie in our role.”

The kids began to learn the cost of freedom in our country and in order to accomplish that, the students first took off for the Plains Cemetery in search of fallen veterans.

As the students scoured a list of provided veterans, they chose a veteran and researched information on that particular person. The students located a handful of others in order to get a grasp of how many were located at the cemetery.

The kids created pencil rubs of some of the graves and added them to a poster, which honored those who served. Along with the rubs, poems, essays and thank you notes could be spotted. The poster took up an entire wall in the classroom and it showcased the hard work put forth by the students.

“This is the first time we’ve done this. I had this idea that the facts were slipping out of their heads and that history is something they forgot,” explained Baker. “I thought maybe we could do something that could bring it to life and make it more real for them.”

This idea spanned to include the veterans that came to the classroom. Each veteran provided a brief history of themselves and their service. Once introductions were complete, the floor opened to questions.

As the inquisitive kids picked the veteran’s brains, they began to understand more about the sacrifices that were made for their freedom.

“I was trying to get them to realize that (veterans) are citizens – real people who made history and created their freedoms,” explained Baker. “Maybe when Veterans Day comes along they have a little bit more of an understanding now.”

Baker said overall the visit with the veterans was successful.

“You could tell it had some kind of effect because you had a classroom of 8th graders who were raising their hands and were interested in what was going on,” said Baker. “That tells me there is an interest level there and that it did have an impact on them.”

As the years go on, Baker hopes to keep the tradition of this unit alive. This was the first time he tried the longer unit and he hopes to continue to move in that direction. Baker explained the goal is to ingrain this memory in the student’s head for many years to come.

“I think they ought to have something that they remember for future years. If you can get something in their heads that they remember and that can have an impact on them for the rest of their lives, then you have had some success,” said Baker. “I know you can’t do it every day but even a few times is what I would like to see.”