Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Teaching with Primary Sources Program (TPS SIUE) was recognized during a proclamation from Governor Pat Quinn and Secretary of State Jesse White to the Illinois Veterans and Community Classroom (IVCC) Project.
The proclamation honors the veterans, students and teachers who have participated in the IVCC Project and declared October 2, 2014, to be Illinois Veterans and Community Classroom day in the state of Illinois. Rodrigo Garcia, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, brought attention to TPS SIUE along with several other programs.
TPS SIUE is one of several founding partners for the IVCC Project, which began in 2008. More than 5,000 middle and high school students and teachers across the state of Illinois have interviewed U.S. veterans to capture stories from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War.
More than 525 digital stories have been captured and saved for future generations. Students and teachers alike are learning about the nature of oral histories, interviewing, editing and publishing an interview.
Amy Wilkinson, director of TPS SIUE, witnessed how studying and collecting veteran and home front stories can motivate students to learn about the past and connect with their community.
“In partnering with the IVCC Project, we saw students highly invested in learning the details of war and the human condition,” 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.”
Funded by a grant from the Library of Congress, TPS SIUE is housed in the SIUE School of Education, Health and Human Behavior. TPS SIUE is one of 29 educational consortiums nationally.
The program began in 2002 by offering professional development to K-12 educators in 16 surrounding counties. In its 12th year, TPS SIUE has worked with more than 900 educators, offering professional development on the use of primary sources to strengthen information and media literacy, citizenship and diversity.
According to Wilkinson, TPS SIUE will continue to host teacher institutes in the summer to prepare teachers to work with students to collect veteran and community stories. All stories will eventually be available online at the Illinois Veterans & Community Classroom Project Website at ilvets.ltc.k12.il.us/ilvets. Unedited videos are also submitted to the Library of Congress Veterans History Project for future researchers to access at loc.gov/vets.