“Just look around and say to yourself who got me all of this and what price did they pay”
– Robert Hood
Classroom 5 packed up our binders and a basket of muffins and headed north to, once again, meet up with our new Veteran friends. Today was Interview Day! We have spent the month since our last visit thinking of and researching questions to ask our Veterans that were both informational/educational and respectful to what they endure(d) for our Country.
Amanda Z. graciously typed all of the questions the students agreed would be good to ask; then each student decorated their Service Learning binders. Then – and seemingly as important as the questions – the students decided that muffins would be the ‘treat of the trip’!
Upon entering the activity room on the CLC Unit, the whiteboard with the Veterans’ daily activities listed “Visits with Wyoming Conference Students,” to which the students were both surprised and honored to see! Most of our new-found friends remembered us and shouted, “Hello!” as we walked in. Without directing my students – or even saying anything, each one took their binder and found a table with a Veteran friend and began their interviews! Gabe had the honor of interviewing 2 Veteran friends, Paul and Phil – and enjoyed some of the answers he was given! Adreonna got to work immediately; graciously thanking her Veteran friend, Richard, for talking with her before the interview even started!
It is with immense pride that I tell you about our first-time Service Learners, Chaim and Amanda. To begin, Chaim walked up to his Veteran friend, David, and got right to work! Chaim stated, prior to our trip, that he’s quiet in social situations and wasn’t sure how “well” he’d do talking with the Veterans. Well…this proud teacher happily reports that he impressed me so much! He asked each question with respect and said, “Thank you” following each answer. In addition, he is so adept at conversing that he produced 3 additional pages of notes/questions/answers just by taking a genuine interest in his Veteran and going with
the flow of the conversation! So incredibly proud of him!
It is with great pride – and quite a bit of jealousy – that I tell you about first-time Service Learner, Amanda. Being excited with our endeavor since entering my classroom, Amanda took the reigns with the questions and helped classmates with their binders as well. But, and this is where my teacher jealousy comes in, Amanda had the tremendous honor of interviewing Bill, our World War II Veteran friend that quickly became a favorite of many, including myself, during our first trip. Amanda was quiet and incredibly respectful. Bill was over-the-moon thrilled to be able to talk about his service! He talked for the entire hour we were there, giving Amanda ample content for her questions…and then some! Bill told us that he was fortunate enough to have gone on the Honor Flight – a service provided by a non-profit organization to transport honored Veterans to Washington, D.C. to view War Memorials and reflect on memories with fellow servicemen.
In addition, Bill will be traveling BACK to Normandy, France in April 2020 and will once again walk the sandy beaches of Normandy – at the location in which he landed 10 days after D-Day…76 years ago, on a ship filled with Officers of the United States Navy. On his own accord, Bill excitedly stated, “And I can’t wait to tell you all about that trip as well!”
After saying our goodbyes and being asked to come back soon, my students spent the time in the elevators and walking to the car reading their answers and telling Mr. Madziarz and I about their Veterans! Each one of our students read their conversations to us, with so much laughter, admiration, and respect! There truly are no words “big” enough to convey the amount of pride I have for these students – for their resiliency, motivation, willingness to appease their teacher’s ideas, and their incredibly caring and genuine hearts!
Barbara Bush said it far better than I ever could:
“At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent.”
Until next time Veteran friends and our Children’s Home family…
-Ms. Winans, Teacher, Classroom 5 
