The ABCs of Veterans Day

For most Americans, Nov. 11 is just another day. We might join in a moment of silence at 11 a.m. or catch a headline about a presidential address, but otherwise it's business as usual, unless we've got some direct connection to veterans.

But for school children across the country, Veterans Day is a holiday preceded by themed lessons and class discussions. And while public school kids may have Wednesday off this week, many of them will be working on Veteran's Day assignments, keeping the country's service men and women very much in mind throughout the day.

Second grade teacher Neil Glaser at P.S. 139 in Brooklyn says his Veterans Day lesson plan consists of several days of activities including a "shared read" he dug up on the education Web site EdHelper, a viewing of a film about Veteran's Day and assigned second grade level articles about the history of the holiday.

"I think it’s very important to teach what’s current and let students know why it’s a holiday and why it’s a day off," Glaser said in a phone interview.

On Wednesday, Glaser's seven-year-old students have been assigned a Veterans Day poster thanking American vets for their service to the country.

Glaser said his students are "very interested" in learning about the history of the holiday, which began as Armistice Day after World War I. The day of remembrance commemorates the armistice treaty between the Allied countries and Germany, which ended the war on the Western front on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. Paris time, also known as "the eleventh [hour] of the eleventh [day] of the eleventh [month]."

The date was declared a national holiday in many allied nations in recognition of those who lost their lives in the war, as Tonic writer Kathy Ehrich Dowd writes in her story about the holiday around the world. It was renamed Veterans Day in the US under President Eisenhower in 1954, changing it to a day to honor all veterans.

Glaser says he tends to keep the focus on the history of the holiday. "We don’t get into a discussion of wars right now," said Glaser. "It's not appropriate for this grade level."

Instead, students are asked to brainstorm ideas why it's important to honor veterans with a national holiday.

"Our freedom, so that we have a good life, so that we have opportunities, so that we’re safe from outsiders. We brainstorm what Veterans Day is all about, talk about the sadness of wars and how a lot of people get hurt," said Glaser.

He adds that sometimes students will mention a relative who fought in a past war. This year, he said, one of his students said he had an uncle who fought in Vietnam but never wants to talk about it. Glaser explained that war can be a tough subject for veterans.

"They understand what a war is. They don't have the depth or the background knowledge to understand what it's all about. Even though we talk about freedom, they have nothing to compare it to," said Glaser.

One thing he does emphasize, however, is the devastation caused by war. Glaser tells his students "wars don't achieve anything but killing and destruction."

Now that's a lesson we can all benefit from hearing again.

Photo courtesy of Jenny Downing via Flickr.