Copyright Chicago Tribune
A history class unit designed by the Flossmoor Veterans’ Memorial organization may be going regional, with the curriculum set to be presented at a Constitutional Democracy Project conference at the end of the month. The program, called the Flossmoor Veterans’ Time Machine, is a collaboration between the Flossmoor Veterans’ Memorial and Parker Junior High School in Flossmoor. It was designed to familiarize Flossmoor students with their local veterans’ history. “The program basically asks students two questions,” said Paul Braun, former mayor of Flossmoor and president of the Flossmoor Veterans’ Memorial. “We ask, why is it important for our country to have an armed forces, and then we ask, how have Flossmoor veterans contributed to the safety and security of our community, state and country through their service?” To Linda O’Dwyer, a teacher at Parker Junior High School who taught the program to her 7th and 8th grade history and social studies classes, the most important aspect of the lessons was getting students connected and interested with their local history. “When you look at something that is in your local area, it definitely connects you to your community way more,” O’Dwyer said. “That’s something I feel like is necessary for kids to have — the idea of civics, it’s mostly about how can you work together to build a good relationship in your community.” “It gives them a little more buy-in than just hearing about something from a different state,” O’Dwyer said. Part of the programming had students making presentations about specific Flossmoor veterans, and on branches of the military as they related to Flossmoor history. “A lot of them picked the ones that had to do with their family,” O’Dwyer said. “Like, oh, my grandpa was in the military, and he was in the Air Force, so that’s what they did. So they kind of gravitated towards their family or friends that were associated with veterans.” The curriculum has a focus on individual histories, with heavy use of archival photos and documents. Historical Flossmoor residents highlighted include Private James Mitchell Jr., who spent six months as a German prisoner of war during World War II, and fireman apprentice Darryl Dushon Edwards, who died in a peacetime fire aboard the U.S.S. White Plains in the South China Sea. “It really focused on the individuals,” O’Dwyer said. “A lot of them did end up getting captured, or prisoners of war, or they died in service. So, those fateful stories were very eye-opening to them.” The planning and construction of a physical veterans memorial in Flossmoor is currently in progress, and students decorated models of the planned memorial as part of the project. The Constitutional Democracy Project, a project of the Chicago-Kent College of Law, focuses on providing civics education programs and materials to middle and high schools. If other schools pick the program up, Braun said, they should be able to adapt the programming to their local communities. “We think this is a good standalone program that schools can adapt to their particular needs,” Braun said. The program, which received an award from the Illinois State Historical Society earlier this year, was designed to match state educational standards. “This isn’t something that, you know, we just said ‘here’s a bunch of worksheets’ and ‘good luck,'” Braun said. “It was designed for teachers to actually have professional development and to receive credit for the program itself, because the standards match exactly the Illinois state education requirements.” The program will be presented at the Constitutional Democracy Project’s Conference for Teachers in Civics, Law, and Government on Oct. 31 at Chicago-Kent College of Law. elewis@chicagotribune.com
