The Vietnam War: History, Learning, and Leadership

Abstract

When I was a graduate student, the most interesting course I took was called Interpreting the Past, in which consider the different perspectives that can be applied to learning about the While technically accurate, this description from the course catalog does not begin to describe what I learned from my studies. At each meeting of Interpreting the Past, my colleagues and I shared personal views and perceptions of historical events and listened to guest speakers who shared their own, usually contro versial (and sometimes offbeat), views of history. We read texts that juxtaposed conventional historical views with less traditional ones and analyzed documents from the event or time period in question. Topics of discussion ranged from the mystery of Stonehenge to Custer's Last Stand, from Leonardo da Vinci to racial discrimination in Scottsboro, Alabama. At each meeting, the class would establish what we collectively believed was the historical truth about the individual or event in question. Then we would examine documents, look at works of art or artifacts, read texts, listen to guest speakers, and more often than not arrive at new conclusions about history. Certainly, neither my colleagues nor I always accepted the views of the historians whose work we read or to which we listened. But by examining historical topics in a more comprehensive way, we learned that what we had taken to be historical fact (and therefore indisputable) often repre sented just one, albeit popular, version of history. It was a great lesson in the value of examining more than one side of an event and looking beyond traditional teachings. I left this class excited about history and, more importantly, wondering why most of us leam only one version of America's great past. While it is impossible to teach students all sides o{ every event in history, it is clear to me that we must encourage them not simply to memorize what a textbook tells them or to take what one author states as the only account of a historical event. Instead, we must teach students to examine different views of an event and to think critically about what they read and what they are told, so that they may come to their own conclusions about history. By reading various historical perspectives, learning about the experi ences of different individuals and groups, and being exposed to primary sources like documents, works of art, and oral histories, students gain a more well-rounded view of history. At the same time, they also learn to respect viewpoints and ideas that differ from their own, to articulate their positions clearly, and ultimately to make better decisions for their own?and the nation's?future. Indeed, this one graduate course did much to shape my views on history education and made me realize the importance of actively engaging students in the study of the past. Today, as a professional educator, I see first hand how effective this sort of education can be. As the program director for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (the nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 1979 to build a national memorial to Vietnam veterans and whose mission today is to educate about the effects of the Vietnam War), I encourage educators to teach their students about the Vietnam era using a comprehensive, balanced approach that draws on a variety of resources. Using this educational methodology, the Memorial Fund developed a curriculum titled Echoes From The Wall: History, Learning and Leadership Through the Lens of the Vietnam War Era. In October 1999 the curriculum was distributed cost-free to the country's 27,000 public and private high schools. In April 2001 a modified version of the curriculum was sent to each middle school. The kits include two books of essays on the war and The Wall; two posters that chronicle the Vietnam War era and the history of the Memorial; a Veterans of Foreign Wars combat chronology; a video; and a teachers' guide that includes background informa tion, lesson plans, activities, and appendices with documents, bibliographies, and a glossary (1). The purpose of these materials is three-fold. First, we want students to learn the dates, facts, and figures relevant to the Vietnam War. (When did the war start? When did it end? Who led which side? Where did it take place?) From a 1999 survey, the