Stories about three local veterans are now available online as a result of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Teaching with Primary Sources Program (SIUE TPS). The SIUE TPS focused on the incorporation of veteran stories in the classroom and how to produce community veteran stories with students.
The SIUE TPS hosted the Learning with Veteran Stories Institute during July 2012, and the effort resulted in three local veteran stories from World War II, Vietnam, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The stories can be viewed online at the Illinois Veterans Classroom Website and submitted to the Library of Congress Veterans History Project for future researchers to access.
Amy Wilkinson, director of SIUE TPS, witnessed how studying and collecting veteran stories can motivate students to learn about the past and connect with their community. “In partnering with the Illinois WWII Veteran Classroom Project, we saw students highly invested in learning the details of WWII,” Wilkinson said. “They developed an appreciation and compassion for all veterans. In turn, the veterans were thankful for the opportunity to share their story with the youth of today. It’s a program where everyone benefits.”
Guest presenters during the summer session included Shawn Healy, resident scholar and director of professional development at the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, and Jeff Manuel from the SIUE Historical Studies Department. The program included analyzing narratives from the Library of Congress’ digital collections and Veterans History Project.
The SIUE TPS program is a federally funded grant program housed in the School of Education and awarded by the Library of Congress. The SIUE program is one of 29 national educational consortiums nationally.
The program began in 2002 by offering professional development to K-12 educators in 16 surrounding counties. In its 11th year, the SIUE TPS program has worked with more than 790 educators by offering professional development on the use of primary sources to strengthen information and media literacy, citizenship and diversity.
There is a plan to follow up and collect a veteran story with students in the 2012-2013 school year. Learning with Veteran Stories Institute will be offered again during summer 2013.
School of Education: The SIUE School of Education prepares students in a wide range of fields including community health education, exercise science, instructional technology, psychology, speech-language pathology and audiology, administration and teaching. Faculty members engage in leading-edge research, which enhances teaching and enriches the educational experience. The School supports the community through on-campus clinics, outreach to children and families, and a focused commitment to enhancing individual lives across the region.